The Day Of Reckoning Has Arrived

    10 June 2021... this is the day that many of us have been waiting for with bated breath. Today was the day that the SPM 2020 results would be announced. This was not like the result announcements of previous years, only because the SPM 2020 exam candidates had to go through what none of their seniors had before -- a year full of challenges adjusting to the new norms in the wake of a global pandemic named the Coronavirus Disease 2019, better known as COVID-19. Not long after the academic year started in January 2020, the whole country went into lockdown when the students were midway through their mid-term break in March. Then, both teachers and students had to adjust to online learning with almost non-existent knowledge and experience in this area. This was especially hard for Form 5 students who would be sitting for their SPM exam by the end of the year, and double pressure on the teachers to deliver their lessons as effectively as how they did in physical classes, so that students would not be left behind in their studies and lose out in the exams. Teachers scrambled to master the various online tools that were available to help them do their job well. On the other end, students struggled with internet connectivity problems, lack of devices and a difficult test of self-discipline due to the newfound freedom that learning from home offered. Thankfully, the government allowed SPM exam candidates to return to school in June, and postponed SPM to January 2021. Teachers were more able to teach and coach the students more effectively in person. Many people had been worried that the average and weak students would not do well in the exam, because they were not as motivated or disciplined as the smarter students, and many of them had not been attending online lessons, and would rather sleep or play online games at home. There was no way for teachers to punish students who did not submit their work online either. And since webcams were disabled most of the time during online classes, there was no way for teachers to know whether students were really paying attention on their end. Shy students would also refrain from asking questions or giving feedback online, making it very difficult for teachers to assess their level of comprehension.

    From June to November, students got to attend physical classes, but they had to adjust to new norms in school as well. Classes were split into two as each class could only be 20 pax due to physical distancing measures. Interaction in class was limited and students were not allowed to be physically close with one another. Facial masks had to be worn at all times, and sanitisers encouraged to be used regularly. Even going to the canteen or the toilet required strict SOPs. In the midst of intense preparation for the most important exam in their secondary school life, students had to adjust to this new norm, which brought a certain amount of frustration and stress. For Phase 2, classes were combined again, but the closer seating put more pressure on both teachers and students to observe the SOPs in order not to cause an infection cluster in the school. Any breach of SOPs would result in a harsh reprimand from discipline teachers or the school administrators, if they happened to witness it. Then, as a new spike in cases occurred in November, schools were abruptly closed again and it was back to online classes again until end of the year. SPM was postponed again to February 2021. Imagine having to deal with all these distractions while preparing for such an important exam.

    This batch of students finally sat for their exam from February to March 2021. I guess teachers, students and parents alike were relieved that it was not postponed again, even with COVID cases slowly on the rise. Everyone just wanted to finish the race, so to speak. This was followed by online marking of their exam papers, a first ever initiative again in this new norm. That presented a whole new lot of hurdles -- which I will not mention here -- so much so that there was growing doubt that results would be announced in June 2021 as was previously planned. Well, I would say that after a year of uncertainties and abrupt changes of plans, I felt rather surprised that the SPM results were confirmed to be announced on time! Everyone was interested to know the results... poor results would surely invite a lot of backlash about the various shortcomings of online learning, and criticisms towards the Education Ministry for not handling the situation better.

    For a high-performing school like mine, students really aim high, so they were extremely worried that all the difficulties of the previous years would affect their results. In fact, many of them were aiming for straight As. Anything less than that would be devastating. I as one of the Form Five teachers was also eager to know the results, as I wanted to see whether all the hard work had actually paid off. Finally, at 10 a.m., the results were finally revealed. SMJK Sam Tet showed overall improvement compared to previous years. Although overall passing rate dropped slightly from 91.34% to 91.29%, our average grade point improved by 0.23 to 3.54, and percentage of excellent increased to 11.41% from the previous 10.5%. 

    As an English teacher, of course my greatest concern was the result of the English subject. Good news! We had 98.19% passes (only 6 students failed), and it was the best result in the past 5 years! Out of 332 students, a total of 158 students got A (41 A+, 75 A, 42 A-), and our average grade point improved from 3.27 to 3.06. Needless to say, the English Panel was in a celebratory mood today. Time to give ourselves a little pat on the back for a job well done. Of course, with this result, I won't be surprised if our next target will be 99% to 100% passes for SPM 2021, which is of course postponed to February 2022 (schools are closed again as we are in the midst of a third nationwide lockdown).

    Later on, I learned that on the national level, the SPM results this year are the best since 2016, which means most of the schools in the country saw improvements in their results as well. This took some of my initial joy away, since Sam Tet's achievement was not unique to us alone, but was part of a national trend. I think this news took some of us by surprise, as it was widely agreed that online lessons were less effective than physical classes. Teachers, students and parents all agreed on this. And yet, with half the year spent on online classes, students managed to produce the best result in the past 5 years? Either the Examinations Board was more lenient in grading (maybe for political reasons, to avoid any unwanted criticisms), or online lessons actually yield better results than physical classes. In that case, maybe we should not go back to school, or if we do (which we will, eventually) teachers should cut down on teaching students in-person. Maybe we teachers are the problem all along! Haha... one year of being in the new norm, and results are better than ever? But then, there is another reason, and that is that students had more time to prepare for the exam, since they had more schooldays than previous years (year-end holiday started in late December rather than mid November) and they had 3 months more for revision than their seniors. Well, I'd rather be optimistic and pick the third reason. At least then we can all be happy that we earned the results through our hard work and determination, having made full use of the extra study days. With all that being said, I think that the best thing to do is to continue to work hard to improve, and hopefully next year, we as teachers can help our students to reach for their highest potential, and achieve our target of at least 99% passes. After all, getting the best results for themselves is an effective confident booster before sending them out into the real world. In the end, it is not the results that matter, but the building of character and reinforcing positive life principles like diligence, patience and determination. Preparing students for life -- isn't that the ultimate purpose of an educator?

Holiday Break

     One of the most common impressions that people have about teachers is that they get to enjoy long holidays. As a teacher for 13 years now, not once does a holiday break go by without at least one person commenting, "Oh, it's the school break now. Lucky you!" or something to that effect. And my usual answer will be, "Yeah true, it's the holidays, but I have tonnes of exam papers to mark. Teachers may not need to go to school, but we are working from home." This is true most of the time because exams are always timed to end just before the school breaks, so that teachers will have ample time to mark them during the breaks. And there goes our holiday! But personally, I would prefer to mark my papers in peace during the holidays rather than marking them after I come back from a tiring day at school.

     At the present moment, schools in Malaysia are having a one-week break because of the Deepavali festival on 18 October. For a change, this has been a rather relaxing week for me, as I only have one class of papers to mark. For the 4 other classes, I will have to wait till the end of the month, after I attend a state-level meeting before I can start marking, because it is a national exam taken by all Form 3 students on 10 October as part of their PT3 exam, but marked locally by the students' own subject teachers. Therefore, coordination at the national level is necessary to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to awarding marks.

     Well, so here I was, finding myself rather free, and somewhat at a loss on how to spend my time, other than the hours I would spend marking the one class of exam papers. It turned out quite well, actually. I had a good time tending to my small garden and tidying things up at home, going shopping, having lunch out with my sister, watching Youtube videos... all in all, a satisfying experience. I feel particularly happy that I get to straighten up my rather messy house (it tends to get that way after a few weeks from the last tidying up stint, because I am not a particularly tidy person), which makes me enjoy being at home more. Oh, I even went back to school one day and tidied up my work desk! A teacher's desk has quite the reputation of being rarely organised, and who would blame us, with the amount of things we have to take care of each day? 

     Now that the one-week break is coming to an end, I look back at it, feeling content that I have managed to remove the clutter, both at home and at work, and in doing so, created order in myself as well. I have enjoyed my time relaxing at home, and I'm sure, when I return to school next week, I will have more positive energy and  a more peaceful mind and heart. Now let's hope that the inevitable stress doesn't come back too soon!

This is as tidy as my work desk can get!

I'm Back!!

It seems like ages since I've updated this blog... in fact, the last entry was in January last year, during the Chinese New Year season. In about two months' time, it will be January 2014 and we are going to celebrate Chinese New Year again! So, it's been almost 2 years... Time really flies!

Well, what actually happened was that soon after I got my transfer to SMK Buntong (yes, back to Ipoh!) in June 2011, my application to pursue my Master's Degree in Education was accepted. So, for the next 2 years and a half, I became a part-time student. I still taught in school from Monday to Friday, then I would rush off to my university (which was a 2-hour drive from Ipoh) to attend lectures held between Friday afternoons to Saturday afternoons. And what does this all mean? Definitely more hectic days in a week for me!

Of course, I knew what I was getting into when I enrolled into the programme, but I liked the idea of becoming a student again -- learning new things, accepting new challenges -- something to spice up my life a little bit! And boy, did I get a whole lot of spice! Now, instead of having some time to wind down at night after a busy day in school, I would spend hours researching online and typing out assignments or meeting datelines for presentations. Nevertheless, I gained quite a lot from that experience. I made lots of new friends, discovered that I was actually quite good at multi-tasking, honed my skills at working under pressure, and... oh yes, discovered my passion for tea and black coffee! Nothing like a strong cuppa to keep the sleepy bugs away eh? What with joining church activities on Sundays as well, my whole week was practically gone, just like that. I must admit, I felt really tired at times, but I have actually enjoyed the adrenaline rush. More than anything else, it taught me to prioritise and be more time-efficient.

As of now, I have sent in my project paper draft, and am waiting for my supervisor's approval, before submitting it to my faculty for a review. If all goes well, I will complete my course in December, and have my graduation ceremony next year. It's been really a humbling and exciting journey, which I will not trade for anything else in the world, but I'm also looking forward to get back to a life which gives me more time to relax and do the things I enjoy... like reading and travelling! And hopefully, with the extra knowledge that I have gained, I will be able to give back to my students. We'll see about that next year...

Here Comes The Dragon!

It's the most important time of the year for the Chinese -- the Chinese New Year is here again! And to make it more special this time round, it's the year of the dragon, the mystical animal that has become so synonymous with the Chinese. In fact, the Chinese are said to be the descendants of the dragon. Unlike Western dragons, the Chinese dragon is considered the most auspicious and powerful animal. Yup, even if it's just imaginary. That's why the Dragon Year is the best year in the Chinese calendar.

Being in a school that has Chinese students as a majority, I get to enjoy one whole week of holiday. The official public holidays are just the first and second day of the New Year, but my school has applied for extended leave for the next 3 days, making it a whole school week. Of course, we have to have replacement classes on future Saturdays for that, but still, it's good that everyone can really enjoy the festivities without worrying about school!

My former school had mainly Malay students, so the administration was always reluctant to apply for extended leave during Chinese New Year. That made it hard for the Chinese students and teachers, who often had to go out of town to visit friends and relatives. It was okay for students to be absent from school for 1 or 2 days, but teachers had to apply for leave. Since we were only allowed 7 days of annual leave per year, it was terribly hard to part with even one day...

Well, now that I have one whole week, it's time to really enjoy it! It's already the middle of the week, but looking back, I'm happy to say that each day spent was fulfilling and satisfying, and I just hope that the second half of my holiday will be equally worthwhile! It's the time to take a break from the hectic school life and re-energise before stepping back into it again.

Here's hoping that the Year of the Dragon brings good luck, prosperity, health and happiness to everyone! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Things I did during the school break...

I had been looking forward to a relaxing 2-week break (from 28/5 to 12/6), but a few days before the holidays started, I received news that my transfer application was approved. Much as I was excited to be finally back in my hometown Ipoh, I received the news with an equal amount of apprehension. Not expecting to get the transfer so soon, I still had many unfinished tasks in school, not to mention the plans I had for my students after the holidays. Now, it seemed that I had to make fresh plans.

The top priority in my to-do list was to finish my tasks in school within the two schooldays left. If I couldn't manage that, I had a maximum of 2 weeks to settle everything before school reopens and I am officially reporting in my new school. That was what I did, and I was relieved that all my paperwork had been cleared, together with the contents on my teacher's desk, and the mid-year exam papers were marked, and the marks entered into the system.

The next on my to-do list, but no least important, was the problem of moving house. Having stayed in the teachers' quarters for 7 years, I had accumulated quite a number of things in my house, the largest collection being of books -- novels, magazines and school-related workbooks. As if packing all these was not enough, I had to bring them all down from the 4th floor! Luckily, I had one month grace period to clear up the unit, which meant that I could come back on weekends and move my things out slowly. Seeing that I'm doing this with only my car, I reckon it would take at least 4 trips to complete the task. So far, I've done 2 trips, and am planning to do a third trip this weekend.

In the meantime, I've decided to give myself a break and do a bit of backpack travelling cum shopping trip to KL, which was what I had planned before I got the transfer news. I refused to let this new development in my career path interrupt my holiday plans, so I still managed to squeeze in a 3 days 2 nights trip to KL. Yesterday was pretty much uneventful -- just some window shopping in One Utama. Today, I planned to go up the Petronas Twin Towers Skybridge and explore Batu Caves, but after queuing up for an hour to buy a ticket up the tower and finally getting a slot at 2pm, I have to push the Batu Caves visit until tomorrow morning. But no worries, I'm here to relax right? I just have to rearrange my itinerary. So I'll just spend my day in KLCC today, and after the skybridge visit, probably head over to Mid Valley Megamall for more shopping, then call it a day.

Tomorrow's plans? Batu Caves in the morning, and One Utama again in the afternoon and evening. There's just not enough time to go all round the biggest shopping mall in Malaysia in just one day! Then, it's back to Ipoh at night, and back to moving my stuff over the weekend, and getting myself mentally and physically prepared for a new and exciting start in my new school. SMK Buntong, here I come!

A Memorable Teachers' Day

May 16 has been a day that everyone in school looked forward to. It was the National Teachers' Day celebration. Students got a break from their mid-year exams, no lessons were conducted that day (a welcome relief for both teachers and students!), teachers could look forward to presents (possibly 'bribes') from their students, and last but not least, it was the only day that students could get away for being mischievous towards their teachers.

In Malaysia, students traditionally organise programmes for the Teachers' Day celebration, and the highlights are always the games or competition between the students and teachers. This is their only chance to make life 'miserable' for us, seeing that they have to endure a whole year of misery being dished out to them in the forms of exams, assignments and homework. Naturally, teachers are a bit apprehensive when they are invited for the games, but most of us set a good example by bravely taking up the challenges. Besides showing appreciation to the students for organising the events, this is also the only day that we get to be our silly selfs in school -- and get away with it!

This year's games in my school was both interesting and exciting. Many of the teachers took part in the musical chairs, telematches and tugs-of-war. Probably because of the fierce competition between the teachers team and the students team, the rope for the tug-of-war broke, not just once, not twice, but thrice! Looks like we need to get a new rope for our Sports Day next month... All in all, it was a few hours filled with laughter, silly antics and camera flashes, and the weather was merciful to us as well.

So, a hearty Thank You from me to all my students for making this an unforgettable day for all of us. We hope that you enjoyed watching our antics, and also hope that for the rest of the year, you won't drive us up the wall with your antics... well, of course you would, but just try not to drive us too far up, ok?

Preparing for a VIP Visit

In a teacher's meeting last week, the principal dropped the bomb -- the Director of the State Education Department will be paying a visit to our district, and our school might just be on his itinerary. In fact, there's a good chance he'll stop by, even for a quick visit. Given our school's reputation for having one of the poorest academic performances in the district, and the Director's enthusiasm in raising the academic achievements of all schools in Perak, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he is more than interested to pass on some advice to us in person.

Naturally, the principal is very anxious to give a good impression to the Director, that everything's in order, and basically everything required of the school under the directives of the Education Ministry and the State Education Department are executed efficiently. Of course, every school will have teething problems that need resolving, and our school is none the different. Aside from having a majority of students who prefer playing around than studying, the school building also needs a facelift. Graffiti on the walls, empty noticeboards, faded mural paintings, bare and messy classrooms, dirty toilets, all these need immediate attention, or else we'll all risk a serious firing from the Big Boss himself...

But how to do all these during school hours when students are having exams throughout the day, now that it is the exam season? Mercifully, we had school yesterday, which was Saturday, to replace a school day that we would be applying for leave in conjunction with the Deepavali festival towards the end of the year. This replacement day was really a God sent. No doubt student attendance was dismal (normal for a school day on Saturday), but they provided enough manpower for teachers who needed them to spruce up the whole school.

In those 5 hours, from 7.30am to 12.15pm, the school was a hive of activity, with students running around holding brooms , mops, paint brushes, stapler guns, and surprisingly, even the principal himself rolled up his sleeves to paint a part of the school wall that was filled with graffiti. The principal, in full batik attire, painting?? I hope someone took a picture of this...

Meanwhile, teachers who were not cleaning up classrooms were busy with their paperwork, making sure school files were updated and complete. Nobody wanted to be singled out for sloppy work. I, for my part, spent the whole 5 hours cleaning AND updating my files. At the end of the day, I got sore and tired legs in exchange for a great sense of satisfaction. I had completed a lot of things put on hold for far too long. Well, in between classes, homework marking, meetings and co-curricular activities, there's little time left for other things! At least now I have peace of mind knowing that I've done what I was asked to do. I'm sure all my colleagues felt the same way after school ended yesterday -- tired but relieved.

Now, there's just one more thing to do -- keeping our fingers crossed that if the Director does drop by next week, he will be satisfied with what he sees -- or at least, he won't have too many things to criticise us on... fingers crossed, everybody!