Holidays Are Here!

The most exciting time for a teacher is, of course... the HOLIDAYS! Who wouldn't want to sit back at home, enjoy their favourite TV programme, or finally read that novel which was bought some months ago, or cook their favourite dish while listening to their favourite songs, instead of running around the school getting all sorts of paperwork done, or be in a class of around 30 boisterous teenagers trying to drill some knowledge into their hyperactive brains? No one, I'd say...

Well, enjoying myself is exactly what I'm doing right now. Even though this year I'm invigilating the SPM exam, I still have lots of time on my hands to do what I like most: shopping, watching TV and movies, surfing the net, jogging, and of course, my favourite pastime -- reading. Yes, I've finally got around reading that novel I bought in September!

Basically, I've put everything about school at the back of my mind, only summoning them back when absolutely necessary, like when I went back to school to finish up some uncompleted tasks, or when I sorted out the teaching materials and handouts I used for my lessons this year. Sigh, this is the part I don't like -- sorting things out, but nonetheless needs to be done, if I ever want to have moving space around my room, or writing space on my desk! Well, at least mine is tidier than the teacher whose desk was stacked so full that there wasn't an empty space to be seen. Even the floor space was taken up by boxes of assignments and spare shoes... we teachers often discuss jokingly the possibility of sighting rats and cockroaches there, but thankfully, we haven't seen any to date!

But I digress. Back to the holidays. Well, after 2 weeks of stress-free days, what are my plans for the following 4 weeks? Hmm... I'll definitely continue enjoying myself, but it's time also to plan for next year. I hope to teach Form One, which is an important year to form a good foundation in Secondary School English... plus I get to have more fun in class, since they don't have to worry about any public exams looming round the corner. Hopefully, in the weeks to come, I'll come up with some language games or fun activities that I can use in the class, and do some planning with their syllabus. Yes, that will be my plan, and I hope to God that I'll stick to it!

Language Learning Fun

Over the years, I've tried many methods to increase the effectiveness of language learning among my students. After many frustrated attempts, I think I've finally hit jackpot! It's a language game called Word Target, which I adapted to suit the needs of my students. I'll try to explain it briefly here.

To start the game off, I draw a 3x3 grid on the board, with a letter in each grid. Students are required to use only the nine letters given to form any English word that they may know, and write it down on the board. The minimum length of a word is 3 letters, and the longest is, of course, 9 letters, provided that those 9 letters given can be rearranged into a word. To make the game more challenging, each letter in the grid can only be used once in the same word. Points are awarded for each word, with the shortest word (3 letters) earning 1 point, 4-letter words earning 2 points, etc. I also award bonus points if students can find the bonus word, which is the word that I had in mind when I created this grid.

Students are divided into groups and each group takes turn to write down a word. The game can be boring if prolonged, so I normally allow around 15 to 20 minutes of this game, depending on the level of student enthusiasm. After that, a class discussion follows where the meaning of difficult words on the board are explained. To make learning more meaningful, I allow my students to tell me which words they want me to explain, letting them take responsibility of their own learning. They are used to being passive learners, so I hope that through this exercise, they will experience the self-confidence and satisfaction which come from active participation.

After making sure that students understand the words, I proceed to the next round of the game, which is sentence construction. Students can use any word on the board to form a sentence (a minimum of 4 words) and a maximum of 5 points will be given if the sentence is correct. For each grammar mistake, 1 point is deducted. To add to the excitement of the game, any student from any group who thinks of a sentence can come to the board, so 2 or 3 students from the same group can come up one after the other. This motivates all students to think fast, or risk losing to other groups. Also, I make sure that only one student comes to the board at one time, so that the game doesn't get chaotic and students don't end up grabbing the marker pen from each other in their excitement.

One small reminder: with all the excitement to get ahead of each other, students tend to get rowdy, so I maintain order by deducting 5 points from groups that do not follow instructions or are too noisy. Got to spare a thought for the class next door... and those in the next block!

I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of my classes enjoyed this game, from the weakest class to the smartest one. They were equally interested in the game and couldn't get enough of it. The difference is only in the words they come up with, even with the same set of letters used. The smarter ones obviously had a bigger repertoire of vocabulary words. The only class who did not really enjoy the game was one of the smarter classes. Although, when I asked them to play it individually, they were so engrossed in it that they did not stop writing even when I asked them to. Well, seems like they are just too lazy to walk up to the board!

Needless to say, this game will remain as a permanent part of my lessons next year. It would be interesting to see if there's any improvement in my students' language mastery after one year of doing this. At last, one step forward... I just hope it's a big one!

Mr. Lee -- Male or Female?!

Just yesterday, a Form One student asked me, "Teacher, is Mr. Lee a man or a woman?" She was doing a grammar exercise I asked her to, and was not sure if she should use the pronoun 'he' or 'she' to represent Mr. Lee. Although rather taken aback by this seemingly simple question which I thought every student who has gone through six years of primary school education should know, my teacher instincts took over and I answered her as objectively as possible, being careful not to betray any expressions of incredulity or shock on my face, lest I made her feel bad for making a genuine effort to learn. In any case, I should be thankful that I could clear her doubt now. I can't imagine how her future teacher would feel if she asked this same question even later in her school life.

However, in retrospect, I realised that given the type of students I have in my school, this question didn't seem quite so out of place. Many a time, my Form Four or Five students have asked me if I am married. This may seem like a perfectly normal question, until I tell you that they have been calling me 'Miss' (or 'Cik' in Malay) all the time, which in the Malaysian school context, means that I am still single.

So, I asked my students, "Do you call me Miss or Madam?" I like to make my students find out answers on their own rather than spoonfeed them, because they will retain the new knowledge better through self discovery. They answered, "Miss."

"So, what does this tell you -- am I married or not?" I asked again. Seeing their blank expressions, I prodded again, "Miss means Cik in Malay..." Still, blank expressions.

I was literally strangling myself mentally. If they did not understand English, at least they should understand Malay, as it is the national language. Fearing that I might actually strangle them with my own bare hands if I put up with this any longer, I finally gave up my attempts to facilitate their self discovery and answered their initial question, "No, I'm not married."

"Oh..." was all they could say. Their neutral expressions made me wonder if my short lesson had registered in their brains. In the not so distant future, some of them may probably ask another "Miss" in school if she is married.

I, as well as my counterparts in other schools within the district, have always remarked that English is more like a foreign language to our students rather than a second language.Instead of feeling miserable about the poor standard of English among our students and grumbling our heads off all the time about our near impossible task of educating them, we see these "eye-opening" moments in the light of humour. Not in a bad way, mind you. We do not look down on our students because of their poor English, but with all the stress we get from trying to teach them English, and half of the time, failing miserably, God knows we need some humour therapy to keep our minds sane till we retire!

Retirement is a long way from me right now. Think another 26 years. As I continue my journey as an English teacher in Malaysia, I wonder what other "eye-opening" questions my students will throw at me in the future. Well, at least I can tell people that one advantage of being a language teacher is that my students never fail to make me laugh (even if it is just in my mind)!

The Wonder of Books

Recently, a friend and I went to a big-scale bookfair to see what books we could buy with great discounts. I myself am crazy for books, and despite my mother's protests -- she says my books take up precious space at home -- I still believe that books are the greatest treasures one can have. My friend, on the other hand, had just discovered the joy of reading and was eager to buy more books to satisfy her literary hunger.

Staying in the teachers' quarters one level below mine, her only entertainment at home is a TV that can only receive about three channels, and which come in poor quality. So, to avoid boring herself to death, she watches drama series on CDs, or reads books. That's how she discovered that reading is actually not such a boring activity after all.

I started reading at a young age; around 5, actually. That was when I fell in love with books. I could shut myself off to the outside world for hours and immerse myself in the world of make-believe characters and their wonderful adventures. I could feel them coming alive in my mind, and they were how I imagined them to be. That's the wonder of books -- they take you to places that you don't get to go, and they let you see life through the eyes of another person.

I'm guessing also that my friend is preferring books over movies or TV shows now, or if she isn't, she'll soon be. Watching a movie is less fun, because most of the time, you do not see what goes on in the minds of the characters. We interpret the movie mostly through the characters' actions, and for a person like me, this is only half of the story. We may even make wrong guesses. Whereas by reading a book, the author allows us to enter the minds and thoughts of that character. This is much like our personal encounters in life; we observe and experience what goes on around us, and we process them in our minds. And of course, a movie dictates how we see a character, i.e. their appearances, reactions etc. but a book allows more room for imagination, making it more dynamic and fun. So, if there's a novel version and a movie version of a story, you bet that I'll make a beeline for the novel version first!

Well, I get it that some people prefer the visual experience, so they would choose a movie over a book. And there are also people like me who prefer to "watch" the story unfold through words, which is why I prefer books. But this doesn't mean I don't watch movies at all, and likewise, those who prefer movies should also spend some time reading novels and get in touch with their imaginations.

Besides, as a teacher, I should point out that reading has a tremendous effect on our language learning process, introducing us to new words, expressions and sentence structures, all while we are enjoying the story. All these are registered subconsciously in our minds, so most of the time, we do not even realise that we are learning these things. This is way better than learning a language consciously in a classroom, which needs more effort on our part to remember the words or grammar items, simply because we are learning them out of context. Of course, don't expect a miracle to happen after just reading a few books. It has to be developed into a habit and practised regularly for it to make an impact in anyone's life. As they say, Rome is not built in a day, right?

So, try reading today... it may change your life!

Working Towards A Common Goal

PMR and SPM are just around the corner. Based on the PMR trial exam results, our Form Three students did not do very well. The passing rate was a mere 11%, which is a far cry from our target of 44%. Still, it doesn't really come as a surprise for us, as we know the potentials of our students, since we have been teaching them since the beginning of the school year. Setting a target for our students is easy, but to push them towards that goal is easier said than done. Knowing our students, we were careful not to set a target too high, but with their lack of interest in studies, it is difficult even to improve them by one grade.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my students have shown encouraging improvements in their test scores. Out of 31 students, 23 of them have improved their scores significantly, particularly in the essay section. Looks like all the journal and essay writing paid off! But still, most of them are in the average group, and since they have shown their potential in getting better results (which is the best improvement I have seen in all my 7 years of teaching), I am hoping that I could do more to help them get a better grade in PMR.

There is one month more before their actual exam, so I decided to have extra classes with the weaker students and give them as many exercises as possible. Having a smaller group allows me to give more attention to each individual and coach them on a one-to-one basis. This means I have to sacrifice my free time in school (the little that I have), but it will be worth it if my students gain from it.

So, I talked to some teachers whose subjects are not included in PMR, to see if I could take some of their students away for extra class during those periods. All of them have been kind enough to agree. To my pleasant surprise, I found that a few other teachers are also doing their extra bit to help the students. They are the ones who teach subjects that are not tested in PMR, like Arts and Moral Education. When they enter their classes, they teach the core subjects instead of their own subjects. We are all doing our little bit to prepare our students for their exams.

Some may say that we are too exam-oriented, but I beg to differ. The students in my school mostly come from poor families, and have no one else to guide them in their education except in the school. Most of them are not interested in studies because they do not see the importance of education in their future. Those who are interested are weak in most subjects and have no one to teach them except the teachers in school. That's why they really appreciate it when teachers spend time teaching them, and if they do well in exams, it will really give them a confidence boost.

The main reason I'm helping these students out is to prove to them that if they have the will power, they can succeed like anybody else. I want them to see themselves in a new light and to face life with confidence. And passing examinations is a concrete proof of their abilities. Once they have confidence, they can cope with whatever problems life throws at them. So, for me, it is not so much of reaching the school target, but more of helping the students become a stronger person inside. I believe that the other teachers who are going out of their way to help these students also have this aim in mind, and this inspires me to press on, even though it is exhausting work. Hopefully, what we are doing will make a difference. Go, teachers!

Welcome, School Supervisors!

A few days ago, our school was visited by the a team of school supervisors from the State Education Department. Their visit was unannounced, so everyone was kind of flustered. Administrators and teachers were 'summoned', countless files were scrutinised, some teachers were observed in class... It stirred up quite a deal of resentment among the teachers, as we were pulled out of our comfort zones and kept on our toes throughout the school day. However, one good thing that came out of this was that teachers went into classes on time, and teachers who were rarely seen teaching before were covering the whiteboard with notes while spewing knowledge from their mouths!

In a way, the supervisors' visit was not really a surprise. Being an under-achieving school, we are frequently visited by Education Department officials, from the district level right up to the federal level. It was just a few years back that a whole team of supervisors - about 10 of them - came all the way from Putrajaya, and they left no stones unturned. From office files to academic files, to lesson plans and classroom lessons, nothing escaped their watchful eyes, and by the end of their visit, there was a long list of 'improvements' that we had to make.

Every time they come, the supervisors stress that they are not here to criticise, but to help. Unfortunately, many of us on the receiving end don't take it that way. They are taking us out of our comfort zone, asking us to do more for our students, which means more work, and nobody likes more work. I personally think that a few constructive criticisms aren't going to kill anybody, and many a times, what the supervisors say are absolutely true. Maybe many of us are just in denial, refusing to acknowledge the problems to avoid the extra effort needed to put things right.

On the other hand, I feel that the supervisors should show more empathy towards the teachers as well. In reminding us to do more for the students, they should spare a thought for all the effort we have put in so far, even though we still fall short. Even though we do not work for the rewards, we do appreciate some acknowledgement and support once in a while. It does help to 'recharge our batteries', so to speak. It will also be comforting to know that the 'people on top' are still on our side. Teaching students nowadays are much more difficult and stressful. Many external factors that affect a student's academic performance come into play. Hence, finding a solution is much more complicated than it seems. No one should simply blame the teachers for not doing their jobs and ignore the other factors.

Having said that, I feel that as teachers, it is our job to give the best to our students, no matter what the circumstances. If challenges come our way, it is our job to find a way around them, even if we can't totally overcome them. I mean, we are trained professionally for this, aren't we? Never mind if others do not understand us. We are doing what we do because we care for our students. If more teachers think this way, and not see teaching as just another job - or worst still, as a last resort - we will definitely see more improvements in the field of education.

Meeting Woes

Why can't school meetings be short and sweet? Meetings are supposed to be a good platform for teachers to share their views on anything concerning the school, and to coordinate projects or school events. At other times, each of us are busy with our own work: teaching, marking books and endless paperwork. Well, some of us do find the time for gossiping about other colleagues, but that's hardly productive discussion...

But I digress. If meetings are handled properly, they can be very productive. However, reality is always very cruel. In all my 7 years of teaching, I think I've attended close to 100 meetings, out of which less than 10% of them are actually informative or effective. Most of us end up being bored during meetings, surfing Facebook on laptops with wireless connections, doodling on our notebooks, marking students' work (out of sight of the chairperson, of course)... and the list goes on.

The thing is, these meetings almost always ends without concrete solutions in sight. We bring up and discuss a range of problems, but the administration, including the principal, always promises to "look into it", which means that "it will be forgotten after a week or so". At the end of the day, after hours of meetings, things are still the same around the school.

Another bad point about school meetings is that people always digress. Worst still, if the chairperson gets carried away and doesn't stick to the agenda. My principal always does that. He tends to go on and on about something, and even repeats a lot of what he has said earlier. Somehow, he is also under the impression that the meeting is just a casual chat among friends over a cup of coffee. Maybe he makes casual comments to help us feel more comfortable around him, but he actually ends up making us more stressed. From our body language, it's not hard to tell that everyone wants him to get to the point, and quick!

The worst thing about all this is that we, the teachers, have to sit through this agony, which normally lasts for two hours. Some of us really do try hard to concentrate, but there are also others who couldn't care less. These are the ones who have their laptops open, and we know they are not looking up things pertaining to the meeting. One of my colleagues always bring a book to pass the time. A few others would mark books discreetly.

But before you think any less of us teachers, I assure you that despite what we are doing in the meeting room, our ears are still pricked to catch any important information that we need to know. Yes, we have mastered the art of multi-tasking. We only phase out when the discussion is irrelevant or insignificant to our scope of duty.

For my part, I try my best to put on my best behaviour during meetings, but sometimes, I do get distracted as well. What do I do during those times? Doodling and chatting with other colleagues... Well, I'm keeping all my fingers crossed that the day will come when we can have short and sweet... oh, and productive, meetings.

In The Mood for Celebration!

The puasa month will start next week, which means that Hari Raya will be just around the corner. Being Malaysians, we tend to get into celebration mood way earlier before the actual day itself. Tailors are busy finishing their numerous orders for Baju Raya, shops are doing pre-Raya sales, and hotels are offering Buka Puasa buffets at attractive prices.

In schools, where the majority of teachers are Malay, the first sign of celebration is the promotion of Hari Raya cookies, a.k.a. Kuih Raya. Teachers suddenly become part-time entrepreneurs, promoting their mouth-watering cookies and handing out free samples to their potential customers -- other teachers who can't wait to fill up their kitchen shelves with jars of kuih raya. The race is on for the cheapest and tastiest cookies on offer!

I have no intention of buying these cookies which are only available in 50's or 100's, because I know I'll have a hard time finishing them staying alone. I'll feel sick of eating those cookies halfway through, and I can't keep them for long or they'll go bad... And yet, there's no stopping me from sinking my teeth into those free samples, because they are really delicious. Well, anything is delicious if it's free and if it's eaten on an empty stomach!

It's funny to see teachers placing orders for these cookies even before the puasa month starts. I guess that during puasa month, nobody can actually taste those samples, so there's no way of knowing if they have ordered the right kinds of cookies for their taste. I just hope that those cookies won't be delivered to them during puasa month, or they will have to resist the urge to eat them before Hari Raya arrives.

As always, being in the 1 Malaysia spirit, it's not just the Malay teachers who are taking and placing orders. Non-Malay teachers are also joining in the fun as well: sampling the cookies and filling up the order forms. How else could we eat delicious Raya cookies if not during the Raya season itself? As for me, I'm just happy that I got to eat lots of free cookies...

Are We Showing A Good Example?

Education has evolved so much since the last century. One significant shift in the focus of education is from only teaching content knowledge to holistic education. This means that we value students as individuals, and strive to help them develop both intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. With this, the teacher's role has also evolved to be one of an "educator". Not only do we teach them academic subjects, so that they have adequate knowledge to serve society in future, but we also try to mould students into morally responsible individuals by instilling good values in them as much as possible, and as often as possible. In fact, 100% of the time.

And how do we achieve this? Well, it is common sense to know that good behaviour cannot be taught in theory, but must be shown through actions. It is no use for teachers to just preach about good values, but do not practise it themselves. Whether we realise it or not, students constantly observe our every move and our every word, and form judgements about us. Therefore, if we want them to have the right values in life, we must constantly show that through our actions and words.

Unfortunately, this does not always happen in schools. I see students regularly being reprimanded for bad discipline, and yet, the teachers themselves display the same bad behaviour in front of the students! Sounds far-fetched? Not quite... Here are a few examples from my own observations in my school.

Case 1 : Teachers bring students to the library for self-study. Students are expected to be quiet throughout that period, but teachers are talking at the top of their voices at the teachers' section. The irony here is that the students are really behaving themselves this time, and the library is generally quiet, except for the voices of the teachers mentioned above, which are clearly heard even at the far end of the library.

Case 2 : Smoking is an offence in school. Any student caught smoking will be dealt with severely, including caning or suspension for repeated offences. However, the discipline teacher (of all people!) who is a chain smoker, gives no second thought of smoking in front of the students, during school hours, in the school compound! He is even seen smoking in the classroom once! How can this teacher expect students to adhere to school rules if he himself breaks the most important school rule of all? Needless to say, many students have no respect for him.

I wonder if these teachers realise what they are doing, and what message they are sending across to their students. If they are really serious about being an educator, they should really change themselves before even trying to change the students. Hmm... it would be really interesting if the principal caught their actions on tape and show the video during meetings while discussing the role of teachers as role models... Maybe looking at themselves acting that way might accelerate the transformation process!

Learning From Mistakes?

I see myself as a perfectionist, but after working in the real world for so long, I've certainly mellowed down. What's the use of upsetting yourself when things go wrong, despite all your careful planning and meticulous organisation? In the case of my school, things almost always do NOT go as planned! So, I figured that as long as I work in this school, I can either accept things the way they happen, or risk dying young from a heart attack. The truth is, no matter how much we want things to turn out as we expect them to, there are many factors that affect the end result, i.e. other people or unexpected events.

On the other hand, I still think there's a bottom line as to how much we can compromise when things go wrong. Just like in exams, there is a passing mark for every subject, likewise in anything we do, there must be a yardstick to measure if something is a success or otherwise. Too many mistakes means a project/event/plan is a failure.

I can't help but wonder why my school administration doesn't ever seem to learn from mistakes. The same problems persist year in and year out, and despite acknowledging the shortcomings, there was no action taken to improve the situation. It seems as if they have attributed whatever happened to be an act of God, in which case, there's nothing we can do to make things better. Or maybe they just choose to ignore the real problems.

Take, for example, the Co-curricular Day held recently in my school. In conjunction with this day, a futsal tournament was organised for both boys and girls. Matches were held in the morning, and only those involved, which would constitute 10% to 15% of the student population, were allowed to be in the field. Meanwhile, the rest of the students were supposed to be in class for lessons. The problem is teachers were not given the name list of students involved in the tournament, so many of these students took advantage of the situation and skipped classes to be in the field, or somewhere in the school except in their own classrooms. Consequently, no lessons could be carried out properly as the number of students in class could be counted on one or two hands. The sad thing is many teachers also took advantage of this situation to skip classes! Talk about setting a bad example... And here I was, having everything planned for a nice lesson, only to be disappointed when I discovered that only a handful of students were in class!

This happens every year. Days before the event, everything will be planned out nicely on paper, but in reality, nothing goes as planned. For three days in the week, as long as the tournament is not over, lessons come to a standstill. The way I see it, this problem is not difficult to solve. The administration should just make sure that the sports unit prepare a name list of all students involved in the tournament and distribute it to all teachers, so that students do not have an excuse to cut classes. The discipline teacher should also make a few rounds to catch those brave souls who still choose to have some fun outside the class. Those caught should be duly punished for their behaviour.

What irritates me is that the administrators are aware of this problem, but none of them wanted to deal with this with a firm hand. And yet, teachers are always pushed to improve the school's academic performance, which is among the lowest in the country. How can we expect a miracle when there's so much indiscipline in the school? Do you expect the students to excel when they prefer to be anywhere else but in their own classrooms?

I don't think it takes a perfectionist to see that there's something very wrong here. Unless and until we budge from our comfort zones and make some serious changes, history will keep on repeating itself. Come on, people! Do something, if not for yourselves, then for the sake of our students!

Having Fun

Teaching life can be stressful, but just like anything in life, there is always a silver lining among the clouds. For me, if we let the stress get to us, we will get burned out easily and lose hope in whatever we are doing for our future generations. The trick is to find something beautiful that we can cherish and which reminds us of the noble aspirations we had when we first chose to enter the profession.

Entering the seventh year of my teaching career, I've had my fair share of stress and depression. At one point, I got so near to the point of burning out that I could not find the passion in teaching anymore. Fortunately, I had a short break from teaching and used that time to gather myself and move on. Of course, I still face stress now, but I'm better equipped to handle it. I know I'm stating the obvious when I say that the best way to beat stress is to find joy in whatever we do.
One way of finding joy in teaching is to bond with our students. Sure, they can be a pain in the ass most of the time (where do you think our stress comes from?), but I found that if we take the time to show that we care for them, instead of giving out punishments and reprimands to establish our authority over them, they will learn to respect us more, and are more willing to cooperate with us in the future. Students love it when teachers go down to their level, and they enjoy the attention given to them. In turn, they will readily give back their love and attention to you.















I used to take the role of a teacher seriously -- too seriously, I think. I felt it important to project myself as an authority figure in class so that students would not 'play smart' with me. I tried to keep as much distance from them as possible. That didn't work out well. Over the years, I learned to loosen up and to let students feel more comfortable with me. I learned to be their friend. I learned to be goofy with them... sometimes. Of course, this change in my approach also encompasses learning how to be firm with them when the need arises. After all, as a teacher, it is my job to ensure that they learn the right values in life. This is definitely an uphill task for me, as being an introvert, I'm shy and awkward in social situations.

However, I'm pleased to say that I'm making good progress in my social and teaching skills. I'm bonding well with my students now. I love to be around my students as much as they like being around me, although I'm sure they wish they could be somewhere else when I'm dishing out homework in class.















I think having fun with my students helps me as much as it helps them. It not only takes away the stress of teaching for me, but also the stress of learning for my students. Many of them may be feeling isolated from their family or friends, and bonding with them gives them comfort that they are still likable human beings. Nothing feels better than when your students come up to you to have their picture taken with you, or when they thank you wholeheartedly after a lesson, or when they just walk up to you and start a conversation that doesn't seem to go anywhere. That just shows how much they appreciate you, even though they never express it in words.
I'm glad that I have my students to brighten up my days.

Extra classes

The amount of things teachers need to cover in a syllabus each year is a lot, and more often than not, teachers find themselves either rushing to finish the syllabus by the end of the year, or having to conduct extra classes during school holidays.

Teaching exam classes is a whole different issue altogether. Besides having to worry about the syllabus, teachers constantly worry that students are not given enough exercises and lessons to prepare them for the public exams. The pressure is intensified with the knowledge that teachers need to answer to the school administration if their students fail to achieve the target set by the school early on in the year. Thus, many teachers, whether they like it or not, resort to holding extra classes in the hope of helping their students as much as they can. It is a race against time.

I teach in a below-average school. I can safely say that 85% of the students here have poor academic achievements, and have little or no intention of improving the grades in their report cards. However, the school still needs to achieve the target it has set each year, as the district education office will monitor all schools in the area. If we ever fall below the intended target (which we always do), official visits from education officers of all levels can be expected at our school. So far, we have had officials as high-up as the Education Ministry come down from Putrajaya to inspect and "guide" us, although I'm sure if they ever volunteer to teach our students for even a month, they will face the same problems as the teachers do.

Despite this, policies are still policies, and teachers are still required to achieve the intended target. Therefore, the need for extra classes. The school has made it compulsory for the best students of Form Three and Five to attend extra classes which start from 7am to 7.30am before school from Tuesday to Thursday. Then, after school from 3pm to 4pm, all Form Three and Five students are required to attend extra classes as well. Not to forget the co-curricular activities they need to stay back for when there is no extra class! The poor students can't even have a decent lunch as the canteen is closed. I wonder how much their tired minds can absorb during that hour. Of course, the teachers themselves are exhausted too... Surely, this does them more harm than good!

Almost every day, these students are in school from 7am to 4pm. That's as long as an average person spends in an office! No wonder they can't wait for the school holidays. And when that time comes, all they want to do is to forget about studies. Hence the poor attendance in holiday extra classes. For the past few years, I have travelled for one hour from my hometown to school to teach holiday classes, but the poor attendance was always a disappointment. Sometimes, I do not have the heart to blame these students as this is the only time they can take a break from their stressful routines during school days.

That's why this year, I've decided not to have extra classes so my students can have the rest they deserve. Hopefully when they return to school next week, they will be eager to start their lessons again with fresh minds and renewed enthusiasm. And hopefully, I can see a better passing rate in English this year!

Enjoying My Holidays

I haven't been posting anything here lately, but that's because I have been relaxing myself for the mid-term holidays. After 10 weeks of work and stress, nothing beats a week or two of holidays to recharge ourselves. However, as teachers, holidays won't be exactly work-free, as we need to mark exam papers during this time. For this, I feel a bit guilty because so far, I have spent more time enjoying myself than marking my papers. They're still sitting on my desk waiting for me to pore over. It's really hard to work when we're in holiday mode... Well, whatever the reason, marks are needed after the holidays, so I need to meet the deadline, by hook or by crook.

In the meantime, I'm in KL now doing some shopping at the various shopping malls around the city. My plan today: have some breakfast, then head off to 1 Utama, one of the biggest shopping malls in Malaysia, spend 4 or 5 hours there, then off to Mines Convention Centre for Read Malaysia Book Exhibition (I'm a book lover!), then it's back to my hotel to massage my sore feet at night.

I'll do the marking tonight... or tomorrow...

Technology in Education: Good or Bad?

The hottest topic in education today has got to be technology. Well, come to think of it, technology is pretty much the hottest topic in any field nowadays. I mean, movie producers are scrambling to include 3D technology to their blockbuster hits, iPads are selling like mad in the international market, and the newest digital camera has an extra LCD screen at the front of the camera, so that people can take their own pictures without having to risk snapping an out-of-focused photo of themselves. Etc. Etc. Without technology, life would be boring.

Likewise with education. Kids that have grown up surrounded by technology are not going to sit down obediently for 6 hours or more in a day listening to a teacher preaching from the textbook and scribbling notes on the board. It would take more to capture their attention and make sure that whatever we teach register in their minds. Therefore, teachers are always encouraged to make full use of technology in the classroom to maximise the learning experience. But the question is, exactly how big a part does technology play in the teaching-learning process? Does it complement the teacher or does the teacher take a step back and let technology run the whole show?

Some 6 or 7 years ago, when the Malaysian government decided that Science and Mathematics in all schools should be taught in English instead of in the national language, which is Malay, many steps were taken to ensure that this major change in the national education policy would be successfully implemented. Among them was equipping schools with laptops, LCD projectors and teaching softwares, which was hoped to arouse students interest in these two subjects and help them master the topics through interesting animations, colourful graphics and interactive activities.

If used correctly, these softwares would certainly engage the students and make learning more fun, apart from relieving some of the stress that comes from their lack of proficiency in English. Looking at animations and graphics would help them understand better than to just listen to the teacher talking and have no idea what he or she means half of the time.

Sadly, some teachers 'hide' behind the technology. They come into class, put the CD into the laptop, turn on the projector, and let the CD run. Students merely watch the presentation and listen to the narrator teaching them about a topic. There was no interaction between the teacher and students during the whole learning process. Needless to say, the students learned little and hated the subject. One disgruntled student complained to me that if that's how teachers are asked to teach nowadays, then anyone can be a teacher. All they need to do is to make sure that the CD runs properly from beginning to end.

As they say, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. No doubt technology is good, but it can never take the place of a teacher. Humans are social beings; we need to communicate and interact to get our ideas through. So, it is up to the wisdom and skill of the teacher to have a balance between using technology and human interaction to make a lesson work. Technology is just a tool, and like any other tools, it works best when it is used in the right place at the right time.

Will My Students Make It?

I teach exam classes every year. This year, I'm not just teaching SPM students, but PMR students as well. You can imagine my stress level now. PMR trial exams are coming soon in September, followed by the actual exam in October. Then it's the SPM trial exams in October, and the actual exams in November and December. I find myself constantly counting down to those dates, getting stressed up realising that I've not taught them certain topics in the syllabus, or wondering if I have given them enough exercises to help them master certain language or writing skills.

Recently, my SPM students sat their English mid-year exam. Looking at their answers, I could sense all my worries coming back. I thought I had given them enough practice all this while, and I was confident that the majority of them could score well. On the contrary, it seems that they had a lot of wrong answers. Usually, I would start marking their papers first, but now, I'm a bit apprehensive. Looks like I need to double my efforts if I want them to improve further. Well, on the bright side, this is a timely feedback for me which helps me to evaluate my teaching strategies.

My PMR students will start their mid-year exam next week. If they are nervous about it, they surely don't show it at all. In fact, their English teacher (that would be me) seems to be more worried about it. How ironic! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will fare well. I've taught them all I could, but I don't know if it will be enough. Let's hope that it is...

Well, one thing is for sure. Teaching exam classes is a tough job! I just hope that all this effort will be worth it in the end...

Happy Teachers' Day!

Here's a shoutout to all teachers in Malaysia... "Happy Teachers' Day!" Some say being a teacher is a 'work of heart'. I've been in the profession for quite a while, and believe me, I can't stress enough of the truth in this statement.

Teachers do not just teach, we educate. Teaching is easy, but educating can prove to be quite the challenge. Anyone can teach, but only teachers who are passionate about their job can educate a child. Alongside parents, teachers are given the noble responsibility to shape young minds, help them find their goals in life and guide them in every possible way to grow up as a wholesome and responsible individual. This is the ultimate mission of a teacher, but as many in the country have rightly pointed out, education in Malaysia today puts too much emphasis on intellectual excellence, so much so that personal and spiritual development takes a backseat. Many teachers go to class just to impart intellectual knowledge, but have little regard of the welfare of their students, or the personal struggles they go through.

Despite this, I have had the good fortune to come across many teachers who are still passionate about their job and care enough for their students to guide and advise them about matters beyond the curriculum. They have taken the road less travelled. These teachers are truly inspirational, and remind me that all hope is not lost. They motivate me to be a better teacher each day, not just to impart knowledge to my charges, but also be a good role model to them. Even though I need to be firm and authoritative in class, I allow myself to be approachable enough for students who need a listening ear. Many students in my school come from broken or dysfunctional families, or are too shy to discuss their problems with their parents, so teachers become the next best source of advice or guidance. If teachers do not show them the way, who will? Without anyone to guide them, they might end up making the wrong decisions in life. And if nobody cares enough to reprimand them for their misbehaviour, they will grow up to be broken individuals.

So, I'm thankful for all the teachers who have guided and educated me throughout my school years. Now, as a teacher myself, I always keep them in mind, giving the best that I can to my students, to carry on this tough yet fulfilling profession. What can be more exciting to know that you helped shape the mind of the future Prime Minister of Malaysia, or a future doctor or architect, or for that matter, any ordinary person who makes this country a better place to live in?

To all educators, have a happy Teacher's Day today!

Lessons From Our Children

We can learn so much from children and teenagers... For the past few years, Malaysia has had a tough time dealing with inter-racial issues. People were saying discriminatory and stereotypical things about other races, so much so that there is a general feeling of unease in the country. Politicians are not helping much either by bickering over trivial matters and making things more complicated. Many people were saying that they were not proud to declare themselves Malaysians anymore. It's just so sad...

No matter how much of these negative sentiments were splashed over the media day in and day out, I'm proud to observe that ordinary Malaysians are still sane enough not to get too emotional about these issues. Life still goes on. And despite what is being said in the media, Malaysians of all ethnic origins are still capable of getting along with each other. At least, in my school, I can still laugh, joke or show concern to my Malay or Indian colleagues. In fact, everywhere I go outside, I see people being courteous and helpful to each other, regardless of colour or creed. What I think makes me proud to be Malaysian is the fact that we are in fact a peace-loving nation, that despite all the negativity, we maintain our solidarity and keep a cool head.

There are also complaints from many quarters that schoolchildren are increasingly segregated in school according to their ethnicity. Even though they all study in the same school, Malay students generally prefer to hang out with other Malay students, Chinese students with their Chinese friends, and so on. As a teacher, I've seen a lot of this in school. It's true and it's really happening. I guess this is all due to the influence of the society at large. Somehow, the children absorbed these values and behaviours they see and hear from adults and the media. If this trend goes on, what will the country be like in 10 to 20 years' time?

Recently, some of my students showed that there is still hope for the future. I had given some work for my students to complete in an English lesson, but as usual, they sat with their friends of the same ethnicity. But as the lesson went on, they started fooling around with each other and cracking jokes. I had to say, it was fun watching them being genuinely tickled by their classmates' jokes and responded with their own jokes! In all my 6 years of teaching, this was indeed the first time I see students of different skin colours get along so well. Of course, as the lesson was still going on, I had to keep a straight face and made sure they didn't get too carried away with it, though in my heart, I was deeply touched. These children show that there is truly no barrier between us, except the ones that we set up ourselves.

As a fellow Malaysian, I sincerely hope that I can live to see the day when all Malaysians put the individual person above ethnicity, language, religious beliefs and culture, and truly be One Malaysia! Tunku Abdul Rahman would be so proud of us then.

Music for the Soul

It's amazing what a little music can do to lift our moods, especially if it's our favourite song that we're listening to. For me, it's "Truly Madly Deeply" from Savage Garden. Too bad they're not singing anymore... Anyway, it has been a while since I have heard this song. Two days ago, I decided to play it through my computer, and I can't tell you how exhilarated I felt after that. I played it over and over again, and it felt so good! I sang on top of my voice (thank God I live alone) and even danced a little, which is something I seldom do.

Working life is, needless to say, stressful. This is especially true if one has to deal with energetic teenagers who have short attention spans and most likely see school as a prison for innocent adolescents. Yes, teaching life is only fun on Teacher's Day! That's about the only day when teachers are treated like kings and queens... That's why it's so important that I need to de-stress myself every day, and listening to music is one way.

I'm going to collect as many nice songs as possible and put them all in one folder on my laptop, so I can access them easily when I need to. In fact, I'm even thinking of buying an MP3 player soon so I can bring my songs along wherever I go! Isn't that great?

I hope everyone can find their source of joy and use it as food for their souls, as we plod on day to day in this busy world. When life puts us down, we've got to find a way to lift ourselves up again! Cheers to life...