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!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
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!
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!
Friday, June 11, 2010
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...
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...
Sunday, May 30, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, May 21, 2010
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...
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...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)