nice/rotten

Celebrate Mercy 4

2012-02-19T04:53:00.001+11:00

I signed up for Celebrate Mercy after viewing the above poster. With such an illustrious speaker lineup, I can't help but register for it even though I knew little about webcasts and how the whole thing will work.

So on Feb 18, I turned on my computer to view my scheduled webcast. A private link was sent to me via email with which I can access the broadcast. It was supposed to run for 2 hours but mine ran for a little over 3 (not that anyone was complaining).

In that 3 hours, we viewed pre-recorded videos from the various speakers and performers mentioned in the poster. Each speaker spoke for 4 to 8 minutes, but though their lectures were short, the stories they told were very profound. I'd like to share my favourite lessons here but I don't want to spoil the surprise for you :)

Suffice to say my favourite speakers were: Dr. Amr Khaled, Safaa Zarzour, Abdel-Rahman Murphy & Habib Ali Al-Jifri. Actually, all the speaker were amazing but these four told stories about the Prophet SAW that particularly touched me.

The theme of Celebrate Mercy 4 is Love & the Beloved; Muhammad SAW: Lessons from His Married Life. So, we got to hear beautiful stories about his relationship with his wives. Each of the vignettes told reinforces what an amazing man he was. He truly was the Quran personified and a mercy sent to the 'Alamin.

To encourage interaction and to allow people with slower internet connection to catch up, the talks were interspersed with polls, chats and brief ads by the sponsors. The mood was also lighten by performances by Dawud Wharsnby Ali, Junaid Jamshed, Raef [of It's Jumuah fame (a song that gives a fresh twist to Rebecca Black's Friday)] & Mona Haydar.

So, do register for the webcast if you haven't already. There are 5 more showtimes to sign up for and it only costs USD5 (equivalent to MYR15.50). An advice: a fast internet connection is essential in order to keep up with proceedings and to enjoy the experience.

Besides the wonderful talks, it was great being a part of the online gathering of people from all over the world. It's amazing to comprehend that all of us (from vastly different backgrounds and geographical locations) came together for the sole purpose of celebrating our beloved Prophet SAW :)

How I wished I had attended Celebrate Mercy 1, 2 & 3...

Weird Day

2012-02-14T19:51:00.001+11:00

The topmost floor of Block D has been without electricity since last Friday. And when you have 40 students in a class in a 30 degree Celsius weather..., well that's just recipe for disaster.

Today, even when it's quite early in the morning (7.30am), 3H asked to go to the library (where there's air-conditioning). But I managed to placate them by promising to bring them to the library later this week.

But it was already 10.10am when I entered 3I and the air had warmed up considerably. All the students were busy fanning themselves with whatever material they happened to have at hand and they all looked agitated.

As anticipated, they assailed me with requests to go to the library as soon as I walked into the class.

"Let me think about it", I replied while thinking of a brand new lesson plan to be carried out at the library.

Some of the naughtier boys started chanting "Library, Library, Library" in the hopes of influencing my decision.

I ignored it at first but the chanting grew louder. Now the other boys have joined in the "Library, Library, Library" chant.

Then something weird happened. Two boys started dancing to the beat of the chorus. It looked like a cross between zapin and an ancient tribal dance. Is the heat making my students unstable?

Noticing my perplexed and amused face, now the girls joined in the chants "LIBRARY, LIBRARY, LIBRARY".

My resolve was finally broken when a student said something hilarious while fanning his underarms for effect.

I burst out laughing and said the magic words, "Okay 3I, I'll see you guys at the library". This was met by loud cheers. It was as if I had said tomorrow was a public holiday...

I hope the fans will be working tomorrow as I don't think I can face the tribal chants and dance again...

For The Love of Poetry

2012-02-04T03:27:00.000+11:00

Poetry is hard to get. Some people are really into it but I think most people just don't get it.

I've always loved literature. But even when I was a student, I only gravitated toward the short stories and novels. I felt that poetry is a bit "phony".

I only started to think differently when I attended the International Conference on English Language Teaching (ICELT) last year. The conference's theme was 'Teaching English as a Performing Art'.

Paul Cookson, a poet, was one of the speakers there. He related how one day his daughter asked him to read a poem she had written. He flatly refused.

"Now you may think I'm a heartless father" he said. But he went on to explain that poetry is not meant to be read (silently). It has to be recited out loud. So he asked his daughter to recite her poem and he gave her feedback afterwards.

That was a light-bulb moment for me. So that's how you appreciate poetry!; you have to read it out loud and infuse it with appropriate emotions and some theatrics.

Besides Cookson, Adisa was another poet at the conference. And after attending his session and workshop, I was beginning to like poetry. *gasp*

This new development means that I no longer dread teaching poetry. Below is a lesson that I did recently. It combines the teaching of poetry with a listening activity.

[An aside: We English teachers are trained to teach the 4 skills: Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking. All 4 skills are supposedly equal (in importance) but for the longest time our education system only tests or focuses on the R & W skills. Speaking skills are only starting to get more attention with the introduction of PLBS & ULBS (school-based oral assessment). But listening skills continue to be neglected.]

I was introduced to Boona Mohammed at the Twins of Faith Conference. I bought his album and thought that 'For The Love' is the perfect poem to share with my students.

The poem's opening stanza really captures their attention:

You should only say "I love you" when it is completely obvious,
And does not actually need to be said.
So I pray to God that I love her,
Until my very last breath.

Once they're hooked, you can teach them about rhyming words, simile, metaphor, personification, etc. Another possibility is to do a vocabulary exercise with the weaker students.

All these, however, are supplementary activities because my main objective is to get them to appreciate poetry; to realise that poetry can be engaging; that it is meant to be performed, not read.

So hopefully, after this, my students will be more excited when learning the poems in their literature component and will give a more lively recitation when asked to read the poems aloud.

Worry

2012-01-28T03:05:00.001+11:00

I'm one of those people who worry too much. I worry about work, about my finances, the future, etc.

At the beginning of the year, when I got to know that I have to be in-charge of hockey, I worried myself sick.

In my school, the boys who enter hockey are the most ~~problematic~~ hard-to-manage kids.

I shouldn't say kids though because the majority of the boys are big and burly (they look more like rugby than hockey players). Any female teacher would be dwarfed in their presence.

Anyway, I was imagining all sorts of horrible situations. The boys would do as they please; skipping classes in order to "train", disregarding my commands, creating a ruckus at the district-level tournament, etc.

I pitied myself and asked why? why me?

To further compound my misery, the district-level tournament (MSSD) was held in the 3rd week of January.

Somehow or other, I had to build a team and get them ready for MSSD in a week's time.

And what a week it was!

Despite being incredibly tired running around attending the training sessions, getting all the darn forms ready, procuring the jerseys, 1st aid kit, drinking water, etc, I was pleasantly surprised by the boys' cooperation.

They were not so hard to manage after all. In fact, I was impressed by their commitment. They came on time for practice, did everything their captain told them to and lo and behold, they actually LISTENED to my instructions!

Admittedly, the notorious boys from last year had left school and I was spared from much grief.

But still, the ones in the team are what you would call "challenging" if they were in your classrooms.

Somehow, they are different on the field. They exhibit traits like dedication, commitment, respect for authority, etc that you didn't know they had it in them.

What I'm getting at is this: We should learn to be more positive and worry less. I bet most of the things we worry about don't even come to pass.

But even if they do, "worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles; it empties today of its strength".

Love in a Headscarf

2012-01-07T00:16:00.000+11:00

"At the age of thirteen, I knew that I was destined to marry John Travolta. One day he would arrive on my North London doorstep, fall madly in love with me and ask me to marry him. Then he would convert to Islam and become a devoted Muslim."

When I read the hilarious excerpt above, I knew that I had to buy the book. After a long search, I finally bought it at Kinokuniya KLCC on New Year's Day. It was my first purchase for 2012!

Though the book's main narration is about the author's journey to finding Mr. Right, there are also vignettes on what it means and how it feels to be a modern Muslim woman.

For example, Muslims are told to look beyond physical attributes and 'chemistry' when assessing potential life partners. We are told to give more emphasis on that person's religious commitment.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said in a famous hadeeth: Women may be married for four things: their wealth, their lineage, their beauty and their faith (religious commitment). Choose the one who is religiously-committed, may your hands be rubbed with dust (i.e. may you prosper).

But of course, knowing something doesn't necessarily mean we practise it. Thus we find people nowadays over-emphasising beauty and wealth while neglecting the most important component of all.

The author also shares her experiences after the September 11 and July 7 tragedies. Her headscarf singled her out from the crowd and inadvertently labeled her a terrorist. She recounted how that date marked "the very first time that [she] felt subhuman in Britain, and the first day [she] felt scared to live in [her] own country".

The headscarf plays a major role in the book. Not only is it featured in the title, it has a whole chapter dedicated to it. The author answers frequently-asked questions about her headscarf (the most popular being: "What's it like under there?") with a healthy dose of humour. Her eloquent answers also reject claims that the headscarf is oppressing Muslim women.

I also love stories about Khadijah, Safura, Aasiya, Maryam and Hagar inserted in intervals throughout the book. We should draw inspiration from their remarkable life-stories on how to be strong, brave and independent.

The book ends with the author finally finding 'the one'. After many misadventures and disappointments, the right guy finally shows up. And he was worth the wait, she professes. She counsels those still looking to be patient and to find Allah first, to love Allah and to trust Him.

"Perhaps he wasn't ready for us yet and still needed life to polish him up. Or maybe it was us that life needed to polish before we were ready for the one".

Twins of Faith Malaysia 2011

2011-12-28T17:22:00.000+11:00

What are the twins of Faith? If you look at the above logo carefully, they are 'ilm and 'amal (knowledge & action). Interestingly, to further underscore their strong correlation to one another, both words are formed from the same 3 letters; lam, 'ain and mim. Throughout the whole 2-day conference, the importance of both was reiterated, again and again. You simply cannot act without knowledge and what is the use of knowledge if we don't put it into practice?

Though the concept is simple enough, not many of us do seek knowledge, do we? I mean, we were born Muslims so we think we have all religious rituals down pat. We probably do but that's exactly the problem; we view them as rituals - elements so intertwined with our culture that we think they are what Islam is all about: praying, fasting, Eid and the Hadj. We don't go out of our way to learn more about our beautiful religion. Islam has become a set of rituals instead of a way of life.

Alhamdulillah, I was very fortunate to be able to attend the Twins of Faith Family Festival in Putrajaya last weekend (Dec 24 & 25, 2011). The event was packed with talks, workshops and performances from 10am until 10pm on both days.

Below are some of the input that made an impact on me:

1) Sheikh Alaa Elsayed quoted a line from Lion King when he reminded us to "remember who [we] are". We are the best of nations as mentioned in the Quran:

You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'ruf and forbid Al-Munkar, and you believe in Allah (Surah Al-'Imran, Verse 110).

Another speaker, Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury, expounded on this point when he chastised Muslims who think so lowly of themselves:
"Why the defeatist attitude?" he had asked.
"How dare you think so small"
"How dare you think that Allah will not help you".

2) In the women-empowerment workshop by Dr. Harlina Halizah Siraj, maternal health care was discussed. It was sad to learn that countries like Afghanistan, Niger, Yemen, Mali and Sudan (which are predominantly Muslim countries) are considered the worst places to be a mother. Why is this so? Well, according to Save The Children report it all boils down to poverty and the (lack of) quality of life:

"...in Afghanistan, a typical woman has fewer than five years of education and will not live to be 45. Less than 16 percent of women are using modern contraception, and 1 child in 5 dies before reaching age 5. At this rate, every mother in Afghanistan is likely to suffer the loss of a child."

Referring to the "You are the best of peoples..." verse above, how can this be happening? Obviously we haven't been enjoining Al-Ma'ruf and forbidding Al-Munkar, and we've turned our backs to Allah. It is often said that the beauty of Islam is being covered by ugly Muslims and I think the report is a clear example of that.

3) One of the speakers shared a very interesting finding from a research: apparently, we are the amalgamation of the 5 people whom we are closest to. We commonly hear that our friends are our mirrors. This finding seems to corroborate that. It made me think of the 5 people closest to me and in what ways are they influencing my life?

We should all take stock of the company we are keeping and make necessary adjustments for we wouldn't want to be influenced negatively. One of the criteria of a good friend is: when you see them, you will think of Allah (SWT). So let's surround ourselves with such friends (and become one ourselves).

4) The session that left the biggest impact on me has got to be the fund-raising. Mercy Mission Malaysia is raising funds to build a KL Madinah. In the sirah, the Muhajirin (people who were persecuted in Makkah) sought refuge in Madinah. The people of Madinah, called the Ansar, willingly took in the Muhajirin and treated them compassionately.

Similarly, KL Madinah aims to provide shelter to those most in need such as new Muslims who may have had to leave their families, homes and possessions when they embraced Islam. A question was posed by such a revert in a video: "Where are our Ansars? Who will help us?"

It was head-spinning to witness people pledging RM100K, 50K, 25K, 10K and 5K without hesitation. Subhanallah, these are the people who are not attached to their wealth; who (figuratively) have the world their in hands but Allah in their hearts.

(It was announced that approximately RM1.9 million was raised in total! Allahu Akbar!)

5) The entertainment slots were equally thought-provoking as the talks. In fact, they were called 'Halal edutainment' to convey their intention to educate as well as entertain. My favourite performer was Boonaa Mohammed, followed closely by Muslim Belal. Both of them are spoken-word artists and their slam-poetry lyrics provide much food for thought.

Overall, it was a very well-organised event. There was a minor problem with crowd-control on the first day, but it was sorted out and the second day went much smoother. PICC was the perfect venue: the plenary hall was spacious and beautiful, the washrooms clean, and the view is just unparalleled. I liked the fact that the opening and closing ceremonies were kept short. No interminable VIP speeches that are synonymous with events in Malaysia. Most of all, I love the atmosphere exuded. It truly was a family festival. It was heartwarming to see whole families coming together to seek knowledge and to see the youth forming the majority of the crowd.

I'm thankful to Allah that I was able to attend the festival with beloved friends. Friends who came all the way from other states to gain something beneficial. In the end I believe all of us gained so much more than what we had set out to do.

Can't wait for Twins of Faith 2012! :)

Activists

2011-12-09T14:00:00.001+11:00

I saw 2 documentaries recently which woke me up from my slactivism stupor.

The Cove

The Cove tells of an elite group of filmmakers, freedivers and activists that went on a secret mission to expose the dolphin slaughter in Taijin, Japan.

In the documentary, an interviewee from Greenpeace said (quoting from Margaret Mead); "Never depend on institutions or government to solve any problem. All social movements are founded by, guided by, motivated by and seen through by the passion of individuals."

However, it must be stressed that, passion should always be followed by actions. Ric O'Barry, the central figure in The Cove, drove the point home when he said; "You're either an activist or an inactivist, and I wanted to be active."

Gaza We Are Coming

Prior to the infamous Gaza Freedom Flotilla mission in 2010 (in which 9 Turkish activists were killed on board Mavi Marmara), there was an earlier attempt to break the Israeli naval siege on Gaza. 44 human-rights activists from 17 countries all over the world boarded 2 boats and successfully reached the Gaza shore on 23 August 2008.

Like the team from The Cove, these disparate individuals, united by a common cause, came together to successfully pull-off a highly-dangerous mission.

Watching these 2 documentaries was akin to watching espionage films. Indeed, one reviewer described The Cove as "The Bourne Identity meets Flipper". These amazing individuals overcame great odds and obstacles to achieve their objectives.

What made them stick out their necks like that?

According to one activist, it was because; "Every time I shave in the mirror, I look at myself and think I have done very little. I haven't done anything and that's the truth. And I think we should all do more."

I think that while it is good that we sign online petitions, 'like' certain pages, update our statuses and share articles to spread the awareness on various issues, it's high time we go beyond these measures and start to put in concrete actions.

Start small and see how it goes from there :)

May Allah give us the strength to make meaningful contributions...

The Search For Happiness

2011-12-07T10:38:00.001+11:00

I recently read this adorable book, 'Hector and the Search for Happiness'. It tells of a psychiatrist (Hector), who became dissatisfied and developed doubts of his own after treating too many patients with no real disorders and no apparent misfortune. Why are these people unhappy then?

According to studies, you chances of being happy are greatly increased if: "you compared yourself to others and didn't find yourself wanting, if you had no money or health problems, if you had friends, a close-knit family, a job you liked, if you were religious and practised your religion, if you felt useful, if you went for a little stroll from time to time, and all of this in a country that was run by not very bad people".

Hector's patients are better-off than most people in this world. They are well-educated, came from good families, have well-paying jobs and live in a prosperous country. By right, they should be very happy. So why aren't they?

Hector, is his travels, learned that "Happiness is a certain way of seeing things". Some people are just better at being happy, just as some people are prone to wallowing in sadness.

All these made me think about how we as Muslims cope with sadness. Nobody is immune from troubles, big or small. And everybody is sad from time to time. So how does Islam teach us how to cope? What can we do to soothe our hearts and stay sane during calamities?

I think there are countless verses from the Quran, hadiths, and du'a which help (the Quran is after all described as "a healing and a mercy").

When Hector discovered that, "Happiness is a certain way of seeing things", I recalled this particular hadith: "Wondrous are the believer's affairs. For him there is good in all his affairs, and this is so only for the believer. When something pleasing happens to him, he is grateful, and that is good for him; and when something displeasing happens to him, he is patient, and that is good for him." (Reported by Muslim)

This Sabar (being patient) and Syukur (being grateful) are potent prescriptions indeed.

Another thing worth pointing out is the word 'happiness' itself. For me, happiness connotes something that is fleeting; something pleasurable that isn't meant to last. That is why I think Muslims are conditioned to pursue CONTENTMENT and PEACE instead.

I remember a phrase from the book 'The Translator', in which the protagonist described "feeling something deeper than happiness" when she was praying in her university mosque.

So, let's share our favourite Quranic verses/hadith/du'a that we regularly refer to to tide us over a bad patch (I know a friend whose favourite verses are these). May they be of benefit to others...

Flying Fox at Berjaya Hills

2011-11-27T01:33:00.001+11:00

My sister and I came to try the canopy walk after reading the advertisement below.

But we ended up trying the 900-metre flying fox instead (touted to be the longest in South East Asia). It was such an exhilarating ride! I don't consider myself an adrenaline junkie; riding roller-coasters or other extreme rides are just not my thing. But surprisingly, I enjoyed every minute of this activity. The scariest part was alighting from the platform and feel yourself dangling precariously on the cable... but once you started gliding amidst the rainforest, it was so much fun!

Half of the adventure was getting to the points of departure. First, we had to put on the necessary gears (full body harness, carabiners, pulley, etc) before climbing the stairs of this tall structure. We had to go one by one as the structure cannot hold many people at one go. When I reached the top, a strong wind blew and I could feel the building swaying. I thought to myself, "What have I gotten myself into?"

After the short canopy walk, we did a little bit of hiking to reach the tree which will be our first point of departure. The hiking trek was a bit slippery, so wearing my Crocs flats wasn't such a good idea after all. Climbing the tree was most challenging as the holds were quite far apart. I felt a huge sense of achievement when I reached the top.

The 900-metre glide took only around 40 seconds or thereabouts. When I reached the other end, the guide asked, "Seronok tak?". I was grinning from ear to ear and replied in the affirmative. I was so eager for the next glide. A short canopy walk away, we had to climb a swaying ladder to reach the second point of departure. The guide told us the ladder was BUILT to sway. An apparatus for character building exercise, I suppose.

Ascending the ladder was not as scary as it looked. It just required a lot of patience as we need to hook and unhook our two carabiners all the way to the top. The view from the platform is amazing. This time round, my sister and I were let off simultaneously as there are 2 parallel cables, spanning 400 metres. We ended up at the Adventure Park Centre, where we had started our journey.

The whole thing took 1 hour to complete and was worth every penny :)

Sadly, we didn't take any pictures as carrying the DSLR when hiking and gliding would have been too cumbersome. A compact camera would have done the trick but we didn't bring ours.

Afterwards, we ate a really good pizza at La Flamme and roamed the Colmar Tropicale Square to take some pictures.

It was a very enjoyable day trip. Since it's only 1 hour from KL, I wouldn't mind going again.

Parit Penghulu Homestay Programme

2011-11-06T02:01:00.000+11:00

When the programme was first promoted to the students, a colleague of mine overheard someone remark; "Home stay?? Lebih baik aku stay at home" (!)

But passing up the opportunity was his/her lost as the programme turned out to be immensely enjoyable. Twenty-eight Form 3 students of SMK Taman Melawati took part in the 2D1N programme held at the Parit Penghulu Homestay (also known as Kem Modal Insan) from 2 Nov to 3 Nov 2011.

Homestay usually denotes staying at the home of a foster family, but our group opted to stay in dormitories so that we can easily assemble for the planned activities.

In chronological order, we visited a Gula Melaka factory, painted Batik, played traditional games, roamed the paddy fields, rode a pick-up truck, went on the Melaka River Cruise, participated in Explorace, and stopped by the Hang Tuah Well.

All the activities were enjoyable but my favourites had to be roaming the paddy fields and cruising down the Melaka River. I never knew that gazing at the lush fields can be so therapeutic...

The students enjoyed themselves too. I overheard one of them say; "Rugi (insert name here) tak pergi". Her friends nodded in agreement. They all seemed reluctant to leave the place.

We felt deeply indebted to our host, Pak Man and his family. They were the embodiment of warm hospitality. We were comfortable and felt welcomed throughout our stay there.

For someone who was born and bred in KL, the village-life stint was utterly refreshing and memorable :)

Pictures from the programme can be viewed here and here.

Singapore Trip

2011-11-02T05:12:00.000+11:00

What do you make of a vacation that's beset by one misadventure after another?

On 27-10-2011, we reached LCCT at 6.45am when our flight was due for take off at 7.25am. Once Papa dropped us off, it was a mad scramble to get to the boarding area before the gate closes. We had (mobile) checked-in earlier but hadn't factored in the time it would take to clear security check. We did manage to get on the flight but it was a very close shave!

Then, it rained heavily for 2 consecutive days when we were in Singapore.

Further, Irfan was not feeling well so he cut a forlorn figure on our first day there even though we were visiting his favourite place; the zoo!

Lastly, our flight back to KL was delayed for 1 hour 45 minutes. We touched down at 12.30am and reached home, completely exhausted at 2am.

Despite all these, the trip was highly enjoyable as it was spent with family members. It's cliched but true: It's the company that matters!

Singapore Zoo

The award-winning park was our first destination. The zoo truly deserves all the accolades heaped on it as it is very well-maintained and offers a myriad of attractions. Besides the animals in well-designed enclosures, other attractions include tram & boat rides, animal shows and feeding sessions.

I was also impressed with the services offered; parents with small kids can rent strollers or wagons while wheelchairs and scooters are available for those who are not up to covering the huge park on foot.

The customer service is also top-notch. We were on the boat ride when it rained. A staff was already waiting with umbrellas at the jetty to make sure we didn't get drenched before reaching the nearest shelter.

Universal Studios Singapore (USS)

We drove to Vivo City and then took the cable car to Sentosa Island. This is not the most economical way as a single trip will cost you SGD24! But we disregarded the steep price to experience the ride because it looked oh-so-inviting from below.

I don't think it was worth it though as our very own Genting Highlands cable cars provide a more enjoyable and scenic journey.

However, I have to admit that witnessing the world's busiest port from above - with its thousands of containers and hundreds of cranes - was awe-inspiring.

When we alighted at Imbiah Station, we had to walk further to reach USS (taking the Sentosa Express Tram would have been more convenient). Along the way, we passed by a few of Sentosa Island's many other attractions. According to the island's map, Sentosa has 31 attractions in all! USS seems to be the most popular but there are many other interesting offerings such as: Skyline Luge, The Merlion, Butterfly Park, Sky Tower and Underwater World.

Wow. This island is a veritable cash cow!

Finally, we reached USS at 11.30am. My 3 favourite rides were: Shrek 4-D Adventure, Enchanted Airways and Revenge of the Mummy. I was too scared to try the Battlestar Galactica roller coasters, USS's most extreme rides.

Even though we went on a Friday, the place was brimming with people. This translated into long queues that could take up to 50 minutes! I didn't have the patience nor the stamina to wait that long so I forwent a few of the attractions. Some visitors circumvented the problem by purchasing the Universal Express Pass which enables them to have priority access to all the rides.

So do avoid the weekends and public holidays for a more enjoyable visit. Another tip would be to download the Resort World Sentosa app which will keep you updated with the waiting times of all the attractions so that you can plan your route optimally.

Day 3

We explored the city using the MRT on our last day there. We took a train from Woodlands to Marina Bay. The Marina Bay Sands looks spectacular. So do the ArtScience Museum, Singapore Flyer and The Helix Bridge.

On our way back, on the MRT, I noticed how clean and green the city is. How well-planned and systematic. It's also refreshing to see signboards and trees unsullied by illegal advertisements. Moreover, the roads are pot-hole free, a far cry from KL roads' crater-like surface.

Confronted with our neighbour's modernity, affluence and efficiency, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. Why are we not more like them?

Coincidentally, I read this in The Star when I got back home: AirAsia X Slams Malaysia Airports.

AirAsia X's CEO Azran Osman-Rani lambasted Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) for the delayed construction of KLIA2 and the subsequent public funds cost overruns.

He said, had the Government allowed AirAsia/Sime Darby to build the new low-cost carrier terminal at Labu, it would have been ready by now and no public funds would have been used.

His tweeted; "We keep taking two steps forward, and get dragged two steps backward. Macam mana nak maju?"

Macam mana indeed...

Kids & Exams

2011-10-22T19:20:00.000+11:00

My friend Wanee, posted this as her status: "neglecting the answer scripts that r shouting to be marked... no no... not hearing them! lalala (looks the other way...)"

Although, like Wanee, I generally detest marking, I do derive some pleasure when I come across scripts such as these (they provide the much needed comic relief):

Angsa? It baffles me when a 16-year-old cannot spell Ansar correctly. *sigh*

Where the streets had a name

2011-10-18T03:59:00.000+11:00

I was browsing the general fiction section at the Big Bad Wolf Sale when I saw the book. I gave a small gasp. What a serendipitous find!

I've read the 2 earlier books by Randa Abdel-Fattah (Does My Head Look Big In This? & Ten Things I Hate About Me) and have been looking for this one.

Though her books are targeted to young adults, I enjoyed reading them nonetheless. Her stories are always funny and enjoyable to read. Yet, at the same time, they deal with serious issues such as coming to grips with your identity and being a proud Muslim in a discouraging/hostile environment.

Her latest book attempts to tackle an even bigger issue: the plight of the Palestinians.

I love the novel! Hayaat, the 13-year-old heroine is a spunky character that you'll come to love and admire.

When her beloved grandmother, Sitti Zeynab, collapsed and was taken away in an ambulance, Hayaat knew that she had to do something. So, she came up with the idea to bring back a handful of soil from her grandmother's ancestral home in Jerusalem.

Hayaat enlisted the help of her best friend, Samy, to help her negotiate the various obstacles she needed to overcome to enter Jerusalem (the separation wall, the checkpoints, the curfews, the permit system, etc).

Even though their journey is only a few kilometres long and should not have taken more than 20 minutes by car, due to the obstacles mentioned above, it took hours and was fraught with danger.

Besides having a strong protagonist, the novel also offers memorable supporting characters. Samy, who "infuriates adults even without saying a word", is a standout. The others; Sitti Zeynab, Mama, Baba and Jihan (Hayaat's older sister) also contribute significantly to the novel.

I like how Randa Abdel-Fattah interspersed the profound message of her novel with funny dialogues such as this between Hayaat and Samy:

"What if we die?"
"Eh?"
"What if we get shot?"
"I probably won't. I have my cross for protection. I can lend you one if you like. But you're a Muslim, so it might not work".

They are cute, aren't they? Do read the book if you can.

TAXI

2011-10-04T20:36:00.000+11:00

Taken from the blurb:
TAXI brings together 58 fictional dialogues with Cairo cabbies recreated from the author's own experience of traversing the city. It takes the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions as bumpy and noisy as the city's potholed and chaotic streets.
Described as an urban sociology, an ethnography, a classic oral history - and a work of poetry in motion - TAXI tells Herculean tales of the struggle for survival and dignity among Cairo's 80,000 cab drivers. It is a wing-mirror that reflects both on modern Egypt and the human condition, plucking from the rush-hour sandstorm a feast of memories, lies, loves, hates and dreams.
TAXI was an instant bestseller in Arabic markets and has been credited with reviving an interest in reading in Egypt. This unique work explores the poignant self-reflections of members of a caste who have little in common apart from their trade.

It took me a while to really be engaged in Taxi. The 58 stories span only 245 pages. So, on average, one story is only 4 pages long. I feel that that's too short because by the time you're invested in the story, the chapter ends. You ended up feeling/wondering "That's it?!". Further, there were also some jokes, expressions and references peculiar to Egypt that I didn't get.

But I became engrossed when reading about the various misfortunes plaguing Egypt. Ordinary Egpytians struggle on a daily basis due to the rising cost of food and other commodities. Milk is considered a luxury, consumed only by the rich. A horrifying statistic disclosed that 10% of the children in Southern Egypt are mentally-retarded from malnutrition.

The hopelessness of the situation is underlined when a taxi driver lamented, "...it's impossible for anyone in Egypt to make do with his salary. Because how much are salaries? From 300 to 600 pounds and no more than that. And that's not enough. So what's the answer? Either we steal or take bribes or work all day.".

Besides stagnant wages and rising cost of living, Egyptians also grapple with:
-~~an ineffective~~ a broken bureaucracy
-widespread corruption and bribery
-manufactured news broadcasted by state-owned medias
-the dismal state of education in public schools
-the mistreatment of minorities in the society
-polluted air in the city

Reading the stories from these taxi drivers will make you understand why Egyptians revolted against their government and how the Arab Spring came to be.

Their frustration is palpable when you read remarks like this: "Frankly, the government does everything it can to turn us into beggars or criminals. You feel they're making a big effort to ruin us and our families..."

Though we Malaysians are much better off, we shouldn't feel too smug. Yes, we should be grateful that our situation is not that dire but we shouldn't feel too complacent. The list of problems stated above sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Do grab the book (published by ZI Publications) and read it as "a man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world" (George Santayana).

'Twas a good day

2011-09-30T23:52:00.001+10:00

PMR is 4 days away and since it was the last time I would enter 3N, I gave them some last-minute pointers and wished them all the best.

The pep talk somehow got a bit sentimental and as I was leaving the class, Dasshany said loudly, "I feel like crying". The unexpected outburst made the whole class laugh and I was spared from the embarrassment of shedding a few tears myself.

X X X

Then I entered 3Q. Again, I hammered home the points that I want them to remember when writing their essays. When I wanted to leave, the girls swarmed me to kiss my hand.

Nadiah asked me earnestly, " Cikgu doakan kami satu kelas tau"

I nodded my acquiescence.

Nadiah looking uncertain, double-checked, "Semuaorang tau"

"Ok"

"Semuaorang dapat 9A", Nadiah reiterated, wanting to make sure I got my supplication right.

To please her, I said loudly, " Saya doakan kesemua 27 orang kelas awak dapat 9A"

The other girls' faces lit up but Nadiah still wasn't satisfied. She corrected me, "kesemua 27 orang kelas 3 Qudus..."

I repeated my supplication to include the word 3 Qudus and at last she was happy. I felt like a groom pressured by the crowd to get the wording of the solemnization oath right (!).

X X X

Later, as I was doing some work in the staff room, Munir, Muzzammil and Aiman from 3S came to see me. These 3 boys were always trying my patience in class.

They sheepishly said, "Cikgu, kami datang nak minta maaf"

"Kenapa?"

"Sebab kitaorang banyak buat salah dengan cikgu"

I tried to repress the smirk that was forming on my face. I feigned ignorance to prolong the drama.

"Awak buat salah apa?"

They then looked guiltily at one another, signalling for the others to start.

At length, Munir started the ball rolling by saying, "Saya selalu makan gula2 dalam kelas cikgu"

I looked unimpressed. "Makan gula2 je? Lagi?"

Muzzammil added on, "Kitaorang selalu lari2 dalam kelas cikgu"

I nodded in agreement (now, we're talking!). "Anymore?"

"Kitaorang selalu tak buat kerja cikgu"
(and this one's my favourite:) "Kitaorang tak concentrate masa cikgu mengajar"

That last confession made me laugh out loud. They looked surprised and were relieved by my laughter. This proved that they do have a conscience after all! It may be partially obscured at times but still intact nonetheless :)

X X X

I had 3K for my last period. I came to class early but nobody was there. I proceeded to write the sample essay on the whiteboard first.

But even after the whole essay was finished, nobody entered the class. I ended up staying for more than 40 minutes until the final bell rang.

A few minutes later, the students came in to take their bags. Their previous lesson ran over time and nobody thought of notifying me.

They looked guiltily at the whiteboard and I overheard someone said, "Kesian Teacher"

Ram gestured to the board as if to say 'do we need to copy it?'

I shook my head and let them off. Then every single one of them came forward and kissed my hand before leaving the class.

*lump in throat* (this is 3K after all)

X X X

It is days like this which make teaching such a rewarding and meaningful job...

Consider yourselves warned

2011-09-30T20:05:00.000+10:00

The door was broken and lay injured on the floor. On it, the culprit wrote an ominous warning/confession:

Awas bahaya
Zaman sekarang budak2 jahat

(Caution, danger; Today's kids are evil)

To would be teachers, consider yourselves warned ;)

A Close Call

2011-09-26T02:49:00.002+10:00

My fate is etched out by Allah Almighty, if and who I will marry, what I eat, the work I find, my health, the day I will die are as He alone wants them to be. To think otherwise was to slip down, the feel the world narrowing, dreary and tight.
-The Translator (written by Leila Aboulela)-

I finally got the chance to visit F over the weekend. She was involved in a serious car accident that left her with 40 stitches. I learnt about it from facebook but the severity of the situation only hit home when I saw her just now.

It was a miracle she survived. In fact, she was literally thinking "That's it. I'm going to die" as the vehicle she was in plunged into a ravine and she was thrown out. The 4-wheel drive landed on top of her but luckily, it didn't squash her. When people arrived at the scene, she was found lying right in-between the tyres.

F said the whole ordeal was a life-changing experience. She was grateful to be alive. She cried every time people came to visit her as she had thought she would never get to see them again.

The accident also served as a wake-up call. She realised that she had had her priorities mixed up. She was too preoccupied with work that she had neglected some of the more important things in life.

F and I are both planners. We are overly reliant on our organisers and our To-Do lists but talking about the accident made us both realise that nothing is within our control.

"They plotted and planned, but We too planned, even while they perceived it not." (An-Naml, Verse 50)

Coming back to the extract at the beginning of the entry: "My fate is etched out by Allah Almighty", there are 2 more instances in the novel which deal with the same issue.

Sammar, the novel's protagonist, had found it strange that Rae's daughter had sent him a card which reads 'Get Well Soon, Dad'.

"...it was an order, and she wondered if the child was taught to believe that her father's health was in his hands, under his command"

In contrast, in Arabic, when wishing someone well, one would insert the word 'I pray'.

Another instance is when Sammar said in English 'I'm leaving on Friday' to her colleagues.

To Sammar's ears, the sentence had sounded "incomplete, untruthful without insha' Allah".

I guess this entry is to remind myself and others that Allah has complete authority over us and He is the disposer of all our affairs, lest we should forget Him in the busyness of our lives or worse, erroneously think that we are self-sufficient.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

2011-09-16T02:59:00.000+10:00

Malcolm X once said that, "People don't realize how a man's whole life can be changed by one book".

I wouldn't go so far as saying this book has changed my life, but it certainly has affected me greatly. Long after I had finished the book, I kept on reviewing the story in my head. Malcolm X's life story was so riveting. He was so riveting.

He truly was an exceptional orator. He had the knack of giving memorable, colourful, witty and controversial comments. And the media just lapped it up.

Once a journalist jokingly requested, "Say something startling for my column"

He duly obliged and didn't disappoint. My copy of the book is now littered with underlined sentences and highlighted passages that contain his memorable quotes.

Aside from his superior speaking skills and charismatic persona, the book made an impact on me because it is so honest and tragic.

Malcolm X told us about his difficult childhood and crime-filled youth. Before he became a Muslim, he used to be a drug addict, peddle dope and women, and commit armed robberies.

Yet, this ex-convict (who was so evil, the other convicts and the prison guards called him 'Satan') managed to turn his life around and dedicated the rest of his life to a cause that he believed in. He fought so tirelessly for his race that according to his biographer Alex Haley, he rarely put in less than an 18-hour workday.

The story of his transformation is truly extraordinary.

I was so engrossed with the book that I found myself telling anybody who would listen interesting excerpts that I had just come across. If someone so much as asked, "What's that book you're holding?", I would automatically launched into a long-winded story-telling session. Haha

But seriously, this is an amazing book. It just toppled --- to become my favourite book of all time.

X X X

The book is entitled 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' written with the assistance of Alex Haley, not to be confused with the recently published 'Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention' written by Manning Marable.

Ramadan 1432 Reflection

2011-09-07T01:39:00.002+10:00

I felt so blessed during Ramadan. I particularly loved breaking fast with my family and for some unknown reasons, I generally felt more at peace. You know when you occasional suffer from bouts of sadness and anxiety? Well, those feelings were noticeably absent during Ramadan. It's just one of the many Ramadan blessings that Allah showers on His servants.

Sometimes, I used to dread going to school and assumed the demeanour of someone whose cat had just died. We're 3/4 into the academic year and enthusiasm was running low. But during Ramadan, I noticed that I smiled more and had more spring in my step :)

The month also nudged us into a reflective and introspective mode. When we had so much food on the table during iftar and our refrigerators were stuffed with leftover food, our thoughts inevitably turned to our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Somalia, Libya and Syria. We coasted through Ramadan while they had to face famine, civil war and violent government crackdowns.

At the end of the day, (to quote my friend Najib) Ramadan was an intensive training session. Now it's time to put the effect of the training into practice.

Oh, before I sign off, I would like to share this email from ProductiveMuslim. They sent daily emails to subscribers urging people to be productive during Ramadan. Here's one of my favourites:

Today, I want you to think of the ONE good deed that you promise yourself to continue doing after Ramadan.
Which one will it be?
Will it be praying tahajjud every night from now on?
Will it be fasting every Monday and Thursday or at least 3 days of the month each month?
Will it be praying in the mosque for every single salah?
Will it be reading one juz’ of Quran each day?
Will it be continually giving charity at least once a week?
What will it be for you?
Remember, “the most beloved of actions to Allah are the most consistent ones even if they are few” [Bukhari]
These good deeds should be a part and parcel of your life well after Ramadan – so pick one and write it down and after Ramadan, check yourself to ensure you consistently perform this good deed.

X X X

By the end of Ramadan, it felt as if you had undergone a gastric-bypass surgery. The volume of your stomach seems reduced and you have an altered physiological and physical response to food.

At the beginning of Ramadan, you tended to stuff yourself during iftar but as the days passed by, you tended to eat less and less. You realised that, actually, our bodies need very little food to subsist and all those gorging we used to indulge in was due to greed rather than hunger.

Hopefully, whatever benefits we gained after 1 month of fasting will not be offset/undone by 1 month of over-indulging.

Further, I hope that by the end of Ramadan, our nafs (insatiable desires) also went through a similar reduction in volume.

IDC2011 Dinner

2011-07-26T01:33:00.009+10:00

While I was tucking in at the IDC 2011 (Inter-School Debating Championship) Grand Dinner, I spotted a familiar face. There was this waiter who looked exactly like my student. I only caught a glimpse of him but I brushed it off as coincidence. Pelanduk dua serupa kot...

Not long after that, I saw two other waiters who looked like students of mine too. Then, it dawned on me, they are all my students working part-time with the catering company.

The 2 boys said 'Hi' and confirmed that I did saw S earlier. Two more students showed up, smiled shyly, all 5 offering to replenish the dishes on my table ("Teacher nak tambah apa2 lagi?").

I don't know why but I felt a bit sad. I'm not implying that waitressing is demeaning or anything like that. In fact, it's probably good that they're learning the value of hardwork and how hard it is to earn a living in the real world.

Maybe I was too pampered when I was growing up and thus it saddens me that some kids have to work at the ages of 15/16 to earn some extra pocket money or to help with their family's financial situation.

In an ideal world, kids shouldn't have to worry about money. It's their parents' job to provide for them.

Further, ideally, kids should be shielded from as much unpleasantness for as long as possible.

The encounter made me realise that I had no idea about the lives that my kids are leading and what they go through on a daily basis.

The 5 boys that I saw often test my patience in class, each in their own unique way.

Seeing them that night made me see them in a different light:

No wonder they are not interested in learning.

No wonder I had such trouble getting them to do any work in class ---> They just have too many things on their plate that education is no longer a priority.

I think teachers should realise that our kids come from various backgrounds, and most of the time, those backgrounds are vastly different from our own upbringing.

As the saying goes, "You'll never understand a person until you walk a mile in their shoes"

What does fasting mean to you?

2011-07-14T17:56:00.005+10:00

We all know the many benefits of fasting (it is good for our health, it teaches us to be more compassionate to the poor, etc) but does it hold a special significance to us? Or is it just an annual religious ritual that we perform?

If you type "fasting is..." in a Google search box, a number of phrases will be displayed (courtesy of the search-as-you-type feature):

fasting is good

...is bad

...is good for your health

...is bad for you

...is hard

...is dangerous

...is stupid

This whole debate on whether fasting is good or bad is perplexing to me (and to all Muslims too, I reckon). We Muslims know that it is good for us. This deep conviction stems from years of experiencing it first-hand.

We love and look forward to Ramadan, not fear and dread it.

Coming back to the question 'What does fasting mean to you?', this is my answer:

I read somewhere that we now live in the Age of Instant Gratification. Our society has become more materialistic and hedonistic. People just want to indulge in their every desire at every chance they get. We shop impulsively, backbite unthinkingly, react inappropriately, eat, sleep and entertain ourselves excessively.

For me, fasting teaches us to push the "PAUSE" button. We abstain from eating and drinking from the break of dawn to sunset despite the acute feelings of hunger and thirst. We also have to watch over our words and actions.

“Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it and offensive speech and behaviour, Allah has no need of his giving up his food and drink" (Reported by Bukhari)

All these train us to delay or abstain from instant gratifications. We learn to exercise self-control in the face of temptations. Instead of obeying each and every desire that we have, we take the high road and choose the better alternatives.

It is when we stop obeying our desires that we can start obeying Allah and submit to His Design.

Read this excellent article by Khalid Baig (which is the inspiration behind this entry) and this Ramadan blog post by Faisal Abdul Latif to get you into the right Ramadan-frame-of-mind.

Happy reading! :)

KID BP 2011 Diaries

2011-07-02T01:37:00.006+10:00

It normally takes me 20-25 minutes to get to Damansara (by car). But last Monday, it took me 3 hours!

My students and I boarded the LRT at 7.30am to avoid the office-bound crowd. The coach we boarded was crowded but it wasn't filled to the brim - so that part of our plan worked out.

Everything fell apart when we arrived at the Kelana Jaya Terminal. It had been raining all morning so the typical Monday jam was exacerbated. Taxis were scarce and after 40 minutes of waiting, we decided to give up and wait for the crowd to subside.

But even after 10am, certain taxis refused to take us to our destination (which is less than 3 km away) because the road leading to that place was still choked.

Finally, we arrived at KDU University College (Damansara Jaya Campus) at 10.20am - hours after we left Gombak.

The whole misadventure made me appreciate my trusty Kelisa in a way that I never did before. I made a mental note to give my car a great big hug once I got home and I vowed to have it cleaned more regularly from now on.

X X X

I went to KDU from June 24-27 for the KDU Inter-School British Parliamentary Debate 2011. I drove the students for the first 2 days but we took the LRT on Sunday and Monday.

A traumatic thing happened which made me swear off driving for a while.

My car brake became unresponsive (even when I jammed both feet on the brake pedal) and I nearly rammed into the car in front of me. My students in the backseat lurched forward and I panicked.

An accident was averted but I was too traumatised to keep on driving. I felt like I had endangered the lives of the students in my care and that thought just paralysed me. I stopped at the nearest petrol station and asked them to call their parents to come and pick them up.

While waiting for the men in our lives to come and rescue us, we bought RM40 worth of snacks from the Mesra Shop.

I felt much better and calmer after performing Maghrib prayer. I was just so thankful that none of us got hurt.

Once my dad and brother finally arrived, they peeked under the hood but couldn't find anything wrong. They tested the car and the brake was working fine.

I was bewildered. How is that possible? Do mechanical things become faulty selectively? Do they have something against women drivers?!

I drove home in my Kelisa while my dad and brother drove the sexist car.

I drove slowly, not willing to take any risk. Even on DUKE Highway, I was only averaging 60km/h.

When I finally got home, I texted my students: "Guys, tomorrow, we're taking the LRT".

X X X

The KID BP 2011 ran for 4 days. 4 tiring, debate-packed days. At first, I was excited to skip school on Friday but in the end, I ended up working longer hours instead.

Throughout the tournament, I think I was averaging 12 hours a day. I was so tired and I missed Kak Safrina.

Kak Safrina & I usually go to these things together and whenever we are bored, we will go off and drink teh tarik, or eat out at nearby restaurants, or just chat with each other.

But since Kak Safrina was away, attending a course, I was left to stave off boredom all by myself.

Thank God for the Nescafe vending machine. It dispenses a cup of hot, aromatic coffee for only 90 cents. A cup managed to keep me awake for at least one more round of debates.

When I caught myself thinking about how I could have spent the weekend, I reminded myself of this saying: "Deeds without sincerity are like a traveller who carries dirt in his water-jug. The carrying of it burdens him and it brings no benefits" (Ibn Al-Qayyim).

The beautiful parable clearly illustrates that complaining derives no benefits. On the contrary, it erodes the good deeds we're accumulating.

This is something that I have to constantly remind myself as my sister complains that I complain too much (^_^')

X X X

Despite all the drama encountered, I quite enjoyed my KID BP experience.

When you invest time, money, attention in your students, you can clearly see the payoff (the teacher-student bond is strengthen and consolidated). The ROI is quite immediate.

Further, my students' speaking skills improved significantly. The shy student adjudicators whom I brought along became very talkative by the end of the 4-day event.

All that debating also enhanced their critical thinking skills. Every remark that was less than accurate became points of contention.

For example, when Aina refused to eat her lunch because the chicken wasn't cooked properly, she complained, "Teacher, it's raw!"

Afif jumped right in and corrected her, "It's not raw. It's medium rare".

And when we were discussing when and where to meet up, they would digress and argue about the correct prepositions of time to use instead.

"Should we be on time, in time or by certain time?"

I think I need to reopen my Grammar book in order to solve this one...

Guangzhou & Shenzhen Trip

2011-06-09T03:35:00.006+10:00

Chinese Tea is said to have cleansing properties. You take it without sugar and as you gulp it down, you can almost feel the herbs working its magic on your digestive system.

Kak Yom & I drank so much Chinese Tea during our trip that we boldly declared that we'd only drink Chinese Tea from now onward.

But being a true-blue Malaysian, I started craving for Teh Tarik as soon as I got back from the trip. Papa & I had Nasi Lemak Sotong for breakfast the next morning and I looked longingly at the Teh Tarik he ordered.

Thus, my affair with Chinese Tea ended and my love for Teh Tarik rekindled.

X X X

The 4D3N trip was one of the activities organised by my school's Kelab Guru. We signed up with Everyone's Dream Holiday and they charged us only RM1650 per pax for the whole trip. The price included return airfare, 3 nights' accommodation & food.

We had Ms. Chong as our tour guide. She's unfailingly polite but I had trouble understanding her explanations because her English is heavily-accented.

X X X

China is fascinating. Its economy is developing rapidly and as soon as you exit the airport, you can see just how frantic the pace of development is.

A bus took us from Shenzhen Airport to Guangzhou and along the 2.5-hour journey, I spotted countless transporters carrying brand-new, shiny cars and trailers carrying various construction materials.

Further, the roads in Guangzhou & Shenzhen merge and diverge seamlessly in a manner that I find both impressive and confusing.

Cars choked the roads. At times, they resemble our very own LDP during peak hours. Thankfully, we were always on the smooth side of traffic.

The modern China also boasts awe-inspiring architecture. The Canton Tower is just an example. Together, these new buildings create an impressive skyline of the city.

X X X

However, despite these modern creations, you can still get glimpses of old China.

You can see roadside peddlers in front of restaurants and shops, selling roasted chestnuts or fruits on their wooden wheelbarrows.

Further, cycling is still prevalent here despite the quite extensive public transportation network.

X X X

China formally joined WTO and opened its economy to the world in 2001 but I sensed that in many ways, it is still an insular country.

The bookshops that I went to carry only Chinese titles. There wasn't even one English-language magazine on sale!

And the majority does not speak English at all. So, communication was fractured. When buying stuff, tourists and retailers had to pass the calculator back and forth as a means of negotiating.

X X X

I love these passages written by Tony Wheeler (taken from the book 'Best Travel Writing 2007):

"We travel to try to understand, a country, a people, perhaps ourselves. We may fail to find what we're searching for, but we're many miles ahead of the stay-at-homes who've not embarked on that search, and way ahead of the stay-at-homes who believe they understand the world, even though they've not even ventured out the front door."

"It's by traveling that we meet people and come face to face with how they see the world or, even better, start to see how the world looks from their viewpoint and begin to understand why they think they way they do. We're much less likely to discover that alternative perspective by sitting at home and watching the news on TV"

I used to be a staunch stay-at-home but the trip has reformed me.

Though I would have liked to do more sight-seeing and less shopping, and though we were brought to suspect establishments by our tour guide, I still enjoyed the trip tremendously.

Christopher Elliot wrote in the previous edition of Newsweek that "there is no such thing as a bad trip. Even when getting from point A to B seems like an unqualified catastrophe, the experience often makes you a seasoned, smarter, and more interesting traveler."

We are lucky to live in an age of low-cost carriers. Let's take full advantage of the bargain basements prices and acquire awesome life experiences! :)

It'll Be All Right

2011-05-15T03:01:00.007+10:00

Celebrating Teachers' Day has always been something that I look forward to. But not this year. On May 9, 2011, -exactly a week before this year's Teachers' Day- I experienced one of the worst teaching days of my career.

Granted, my "career" is only 2 years old, but out of roughly 500 days of teaching, last Monday was one of the worst ever.

Frank McCourt wrote in Teacher Man that "In every class there's a pest put on earth to test you". Well, in my case, there are SEVERAL pests in this particular class that I teach. Let's just call it Class 3P.

I've always had trouble with 3P. I call it my "kelas yang menguji keimanan" because that's precisely what it does. The class tests my patience on every single occasion I enter the class, without fail.

The several said ~~pests~~ problematic students would play truant or come late to class with absolute impunity. When asked to explain their tardiness, they would lie through their teeth (which made me even madder than if they had simply confessed and told me the truth). They refused to do any work, citing missing books/misreading the timetable and other improbable and unacceptable reasons as an excuse. Giving them demerits points has done nothing to deter their misbehaviours. They were a disruptive force in class. My voice would get hoarse by the end of each lesson from making myself heard over the class din.

Last Monday, they did all of the above but on a greater degree. I completely lost it. Have you felt so angry that your whole body shook uncontrollably?

I cried in an empty classroom after that. For the first time ever, I thought of doing something else other than teaching. These are not impressionable 15-year-olds that can be moulded, they are like monsters -a pack of wolves in sheep's clothing.

The next day, in a cruel twist of fate, I had to relieve 3P for a period! My heart sank when I heard the news. My exact reaction was; "Ya Allah, whatever I did to deserve this, please forgive me".

It was a classic example of Pavlov's theory: If Pavlov's dogs started to salivate in response to the bell, I start to break out in a cold sweat at the mere mention of 3P. The thought just drains every good feeling that I have.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus Lupin describes Dementors as creatures that "drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them... Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself...soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life."

Was J.K. Rowling a high-school teacher before she started writing? I mean high-school students could easily have been the inspiration behind Dementors. Hahaha

Coincidentally, my friend Nisa posted this as her facebook status recently: SCHOOL TEACHER: A disillusioned person who used to think that she/he liked children.

That aptly described what I felt and when I conveyed this to her and half-jokingly suggested that we find another job, she replied; "Are you sure Syada? What could we be other than awesome teachers?"

She was right of course: I can't imagine being anything else other than a teacher. But how am I supposed to recover from that soul-destroying day?

Rereading the following story was like applying balm my wounds. The story was condensed from LouAnne Johnson's book 'The Girls in the Back of the Class' and was featured in Reader's Digest November 1995 edition.

X X X

"It'll Be All Right"

Until I taught secondary school, I had never experienced the genuine pain and fatigue that comes with trying to help these youngsters cope with the overwhelming problems in their lives. After more than four years of using my ability and expending an enormous amount of worry on my kids, I finally hit empty.

One day, I went home after school exhausted and slept through an entire weekend. When classes resumed on Monday, I still could barely drag myself out of bed. I lay there for an hour after the alarm rang, trying to motivate myself to move. When it was too late to call a substitute, I threw on some clothes and drove to school. Toshomba Grant, who arrived well ahead of the crowd, was waiting outside my classroom as usual.

"What's up, Miss J?" Toshomba took my briefcase and waited while I unlocked the door. He turned around and watched me for a moment. He must have seen something in my face, because the next thing he asked was, "Are you sick?"

"Yes, I think I am, Toshomba," I said.

"Did you go to the doctor?" he asked.

"The doctor can't fix what's wrong with me," I told him. I tried to speak lightly, but he frowned and chewed his lower lip.

When the other kids started to arrive, Toshomba hushed them and told them to sit down and be quiet. He succeeded in shutting up everybody. Everyone but Rico Perez.

"What's the matter, Miss J?" Rico demanded when the class was seated and waiting for me to take roll.

"Nothing's the matter," I told Rico. "I'm just a little tired. Why don't you guys write in your journals today, and then take a break for the rest of the period."

"That ain't fair, if you got a problem and you say nothing's wrong," Rico objected. "When we got a problem, we always gotta tell you."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't mean to be nosy. I just want to help you guys whenever I can."

"And that's why you gotta tell us," Rico said. "So we can help you."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll be all right."

Toshomba sighed loudly and shook his head. He shrugged at Rico - I told you so.

Then Tyeisha Love stood up and walked to my desk. Without saying a word, she put her arms around me and held me for a minute, then patted me on the back and whispered, "It'll be all right." My mother used to hold me and say those same words to me when the world was too much too bear; so when Tyeisha said them, I started to cry.

"Aw, man," Cornelius muttered. He tried to sound mad, but he looked like he might cry himself any minute. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my runny nose.

"Thanks, Tyeisha," I said. "I think that's what was wrong. I just needed a hug."

"It's okay, Miss J," Tyeisha said. "You gave me lots of hugs before."

"I guess everybody needs one sometimes," I said. As I looked at my class, I saw tears in many of their eyes. Then I added, "If anybody else needs a hug, stand up."

Every single student student in the room stood up, including Cornelius Baker. I walked up and down the rows and hugged each of my students. Some of them grabbed me hard and held on like they were afraid of drowning; others gave me a quick, safe squeeze. When I reached Cornelius, he was still standing. Touched that he would risk such a grand gesture in front of the other students, I wrapped my arms as far as they would reach around his broad back and pressed my cheek to his chest for a second.

The students stayed on their feet until I hugged everybody. Then they sat down and wrote in their journals, as though nothing unusual had happened, as though they hadn't just breathed life back into me.

X X X

I rarely get to see my friends anymore since we are posted all over Malaysia. But I want them to know that I wished I could hug them for real whenever they needed some cheering up.

And if they experience a meltdown similar to mine, I want them to know that, it'll be all right.

So, Happy Teachers' Day to all the awesome teachers out there. You guys deserve a big Thank You.

Just Us Girls

2011-04-24T02:04:00.005+10:00

April is the busiest month of the year I think.

There are all sorts of competitions held in this month.

Firstly, there are the co-academic competitions such as debates, drama, public-speaking, poetry recital, pantun and nasheed.

Secondly, there are the district- and state-level sports tournaments like basketball, football, badminton, track & field, sepak takraw, tennis, handball, volleyball, netball, softball and hockey.

Lastly, there are also kawad kaki competitions for all the uniformed units.

So, all month long, the school has been busier and more "happening" than usual. All the activities reminded me of this riddle I heard some time ago:

"Sekolah mana yang tiada murid?"

The answer is...

...............

..............

.............

............

...........

..........

.........

........

.......

......

.....

....

...

Cuti Sekolah

Yes, it's a rather silly riddle but it conveys how essential students are to schools. Blocks of buildings/classrooms alone do not make a school but the students do. They are the ones who embody the spirit of the school.

That's why I always find it creepy to work during the year-end holidays when the school is deserted.

It's just positively eerie. You feel like you're in an alternate universe because the place feels so unfamiliar even though you work there day in and day out from Jan to Nov.

But I'm digressing here. What I meant to talk about is NETBALL!

I took the girls to the 2011 MSSD Gombak Netball Tournament last week and our Under-15 team got 4th place while the Under-18 team got into the octofinals (which is not bad considering there were 40 schools in all).

I had a great time with the girls. We had weekly practice from the beginning of the year and started our 2-week intensive, almost-daily training from Apr 4.

Training students on the field is totally different from teaching them in the classroom and I think I enjoy the former more.

I could see how the students directly benefit from participating in the training and the tournament.

Of course, they developed their hand-eye coordination, stamina, leg muscles and what-not.

But the far more valuable benefits that they've derived include the honing of their leadership skills and teamwork.

Research has shown that girls in a single-sex school are freer to be themselves. They do not need to play nor conform to the notion that girls have to be submissive. They have no reason to act coy and they are not overshadowed by male students when it comes to assuming leadership roles.

My netballers exhibit the same characteristics. They are not afraid to be themselves. They like to act all goofy and silly. And we had so much fun during practice.

I also discovered that girls make great leaders. Oftentimes, in our culture, we reserve the top posts for the male students. Thus, girls are not given the chance to shine. They do not want to make any initiatives because they are not in the position to do so or they are afraid of being labeled power-hungry or other equally unflattering labels.

But in a club that's exclusively female, you do not have that problem. I have a very reliable and dedicated captain in Mimi. She, Elia (the vice-captain) and the other committee members run the club so effectively:

They designed and ordered the jerseys to be worn during the MSSD tournament, they drew up game plans complete with diagrams to illustrate the plays, they organised a friendly with a nearby school and they trained their juniors whole-heartedly.

Besides that, the girls also have this camaraderie amongst themselves as a result of spending long hours together.

During the tournament, the U-18 team cheered from the sidelines when the U-15 team was playing and vice versa (if cheering was not producing the desired result, they turned to yelling).

They even went to the extent of spoon feeding their exhausted teammates! How's that for ukhuwwah? ;)

Although I was very tired playing the multiple roles of coach, manager, motivator, strategist, chauffeur, water girl and dietician,

and although I received many "Teacher, you look very tanned (read: dark)" comments after the netball season, I wouldn't mind doing it all over again next year because I know that the sacrifices will pay off.

Going Camping

2011-04-16T02:11:00.006+10:00

Last weekend (Apr 8-10, 2011), I had to join my school's Kem Kepimpinan Pengawas. Below is what I had written when I was there.

X X X

9 April 2011

6.00 pm

The mood is light. Everyone seem relaxed. A group of boys are singing songs with one person strumming the guitar.

They were crooning popular songs like the evergreen 'Belaian Jiwa' and 'Kau Ilhamku', as well as more contemporary songs like 'I'm Yours' and 'Grenade'.

A bigger group of boys are playing rugby with the facilitators. They have a coconut husk for a ball. Earlier, I saw them playing 'baling selipar'.

Maghrib is roughly 1 hour away and for the first time since I came here, I'm enjoying myself.

Yesterday was a stressful and tiring day in which I was caught in the middle of an ugly dispute between an untrustworthy man and a hot-tempered one. Later that same day, I had to deal with a very irate parent.

The multiple crises made me want to pack up my things and leave the camp site immediately. I just hate confrontations and being in the thick of all the unpleasantness made me sad and angry.

Why oh why can't I spend my precious weekends in peace?

But being an adult means that I can't really call my mum/dad to come and fetch me, can I? (Although it's very tempting to do so)

I need to put up a brave and cheerful front to the kids and so that's what I did.

The kids are marvelous by the way. At first, I thought they were not the camping type.

When they got off the buses, I saw some students carrying strange items - things that aren't normally associated with camping like: a guitar, a stuff animal, a poncho and even a Louis Vuitton luggage!

Some people just have way too much money if you asked me...

But they proved me wrong. The kids rose to the occasion pretty well. They behaved themselves even though they were bored during some of the talks.

Further, when food ran out, they waited patiently (for roughly half an hour) for it to be replenished.

And at noon today, they scoured the length and breadth of the camping site for the fluorescent stickers the facilitators had hidden earlier. I could see that they were tired but they still performed the task energetically.

And later, when asked to get the facilitators' signatures, they sang, recited Rukun Negara, performed silat, dance, etc with much enthusiasm.

Nobody complained incessantly nor behaved like a spoilt brat throughout the camp. At least not that I noticed.

I didn't like the camp. Once I get home this Sunday, I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief and celebrate my return to civilisation.

Nevertheless, I'm glad that I came and stayed.

I got to know the students that I teach a little bit better and meet the acquaintances of those that I don't.

We got to pray, talk, laugh and go jungle-trekking together as well as share food and mosquito-repellent patches.

The kids impressed me by staying positive even when the situation is less than ideal.

This is one of the instances when you learn more from your students than they do from you.

X X X

Pictures from the camping trip (courtesy of Wee Na):

Beza Guru dan Murid

2011-03-23T02:39:00.004+11:00

Last Monday, while waiting for the previous teacher to exit my class, I wandered into an empty classroom. I perused the class' bulletin board and stumbled upon this poem. The title immediately caught my attention.

Beza Guru dan Murid

Kalau cikgu sembang,
Cikgu bertukar fikiran,
Kalau kami bersembang,
Kami mengata yang bukan-bukan.

Kalau cikgu berbual-bual,
Cikgu bual isu semasa,
Kalau kami berbual,
Kami bual Akademi Fantasia.

Kalau cikgu bergaya,
Cikgu jadi lebih berkeyakinan,
Apabila kami bergaya,
Kami nak 'contact' kawan idaman.

Kalau cikgu senyum,
Cikgu seorang yang mesra,
Kalau kami senyum,
Senyum kami ada makna.

Apabila cikgu menulis,
Cikgu tulis laporan pelajaran,
Apabila kami menulis,
Kami lukis gambar syaitan.

Apabila cikgu pejam mata,
Cikgu fikir silapnya di mana,
Kalau kami pejam mata,
Kami tidurlah tu jawabnya.

Kalau cikgu ke tandas,
Cikgu melepaskan hajat di hati,
Kalau kami ke tandas,
Itu, dah memang hobi kami.

X X X

I thought stanza 5 was particularly hilarious. "lukis gambar syaitan"?!?

I guess the moral of the poem is to give your students the benefit of the doubt; To not jump into conclusions. In other words, kena khusnudzon.

I mean, you've got to admit that we are rarely occupied with "[menulis] laporan pelajaran" kan?

Not According to Plan

2011-03-07T22:11:00.009+11:00

Last week, I was unexpectedly called up for MSSD duty. I was assigned to be one of the track officials for a 5-day Track & Field District-Level Championship.

Now, some time away from school after 4 weeks of relentless work is God-sent.

But since it came out of the blue, I was a bit flustered. It's like what The Joker said in The Dark Knight:

"You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go 'according to plan'. Even if the plan is horrifying!"

And I - someone who's utterly dependently on to-do lists - couldn't agree more.

The timing just wasn't right. The students have just completed their February Test and I was planning to review the test with them this week. The call up had effectively derailed my plan.

Besides, I was also on a "rectification" mission. I recently experienced 2 light-bulb moments which made me realise how much of an ineffective teacher I had been.

The first moment was provided by Cikgu S. We had a talk last week and she told me about her (disastrous) experience learning Arabic. Cg. S attended an SMA (Sekolah Menengah Agama) which made Arabic a compulsory subject for all of its students. From Form 1 until 3, she had 2 teachers who would teach Arabic without using any Malay. The entire lesson would be completely in Arabic which was an alien language to her. Needless to say, she was left clueless and scraped a Pass in her SRP (the PMR-equivalent in those days) by memorising essays. She said that she didn't even know what the questions were but she just regurgitated what she had memorised.

She said, "Sampai ke sudah, saya tak tahu 'Fiil Mudhari' tu apa".
I have a sinking feeling that my students feel the same way when I keep on harping about verbs/past simple/past participle/other grammar items.

She said the whole experience has made her a better language teacher because she can empathise with students who are struggling to master a foreign language.

When I listened to her story, I realised that I lack that empathy. Oftentimes, I would automatically look dejected when students couldn't answer a simple question. That look must have crushed their already fragile self-esteem. Thus my rectification mission #1 was borne:

I promise to be a more patient teacher who doesn't mind explaining the most basic and simple questions even when the questions have been asked before.

The second light-bulb moment happened last Saturday (Mar 5, 2011) when the English teachers had LADAP (Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan). The course was held to familiarise teachers with the literature component's new texts. The speaker, Puan Suhaila, is a Guru Cemerlang from a school in Shah Alam.

Courses are rarely fun, even less so during a Saturday. But I really enjoyed the course conducted by Cg. Suhaila. I particularly liked the part when she taught us how to teach Drama. We had great fun doing the vocal, facial and whole body warmups.

For poetry, she had slides with lots of visuals which would definitely help students in comprehending the difficult prose.

I was just amazed and inspired by the effort put in by the teacher. My excuse had always been: I have no time to plan really good lessons anymore due to the punishing workload. But if others could do it why not me?

So mission #2: Plan more fun and enjoyable lessons (with educational value of course!).

These missions have been put on hold due to the MSSD duty. Hopefully toiling under the hot sun for 5 days (and getting significantly darker because of it) will not completely melt away my new resolutions.

A Fine Balance

2011-02-12T21:23:00.007+11:00

Classroom management has always been my Achilles Heel. Some students do as they please in my class because I can never intimidate the more rebellious ones into obedience.

Ive somewhat resigned myself to this fact and I'm happy just to teach those who want to learn. I've already got my hands full attending to their needs. I really don't need the extra drama that comes with scolding/begging/reprimanding those who don't want to learn.

I'm forced to reexamine my 'you-can-lead-a-horse-to-water-but-you-can't-make-it-drink' teaching philosophy when I met a former student of mine last month. She was in Form 5 when I taught her in 2009.

I loved teaching her class because though the students were weak academically, they were not disrespectful (during exams, most of them would only answer the MCQ section, leaving the rest [structured and essay questions] unanswered).

The teacher-student boundary grew blurry as we became close and they started to confide in me stuff about their family and personal lives.

But when I saw this student of mine last Jan, it wasn't a joyous reunion. Yes, I was happy to see her but I was taken aback with the noticeable change in her appearance.

Remember 'The Necklace' by Guy de Maupassant? Mathilde used to be a beautiful, youthful and charming girl but after the whole necklace ordeal, she became a "strong and hard and rough" woman.

My surprise mirrored Madame Forestier's. What had happened in the 2 years since she left school?

She's working now and when I asked; "Kenapa tak sambung belajar?", her reply made my heart ache:

"Kalau result macam saya, macam mana nak sambung belajar?"

I didn't know how to respond to that and felt guilty about not preparing my students for the challenges of the real world (but would they have listened?).

I wished I could make my current students see that the real world out there is nothing like school, which they've become so familiar and comfortable with.

In schools, they can afford to - come late into class, play truant when they feel like it, neglect their homework & break myriads of other school rules - with little consequences.

But they can't do so in real life. Who would want to employ a tardy+lazy+unreliable employee? And what sort of job can they procure with minimal qualifications?

The encounter made me resolve to be a different kind of teacher. By hook or by crook, I will MAKE my students do my work and LEARN!

It took some time but my long-dormant sinister side is awaken at last. For each lesson, I mentally assumed the Cruella de Vil persona - my glare became more venomous and remarks more scathing - to make my students more compliant.

The tactic seemed to work for I noticed an increase in the volume of work submitted (though I still couldn't get 100% submission).

I was happy with the result but teaching suddenly became unenjoyable and depressing. It's tiring to frown and look angry all the time. I felt like I was walking with a huge chip on my shoulder, ready to pounce on the slightest hint of misbehaviour.

That's when I realised; "OMG, I've become THAT kind of teacher!" *horror*

So, it's back to the drawing board. I cannot keep on teaching like a Dementor - sucking out all the happiness out of people - yet I cannot go back to being so laid-back either. I need to strike a balance because though more students are handing in their work, I know that their compliance is only superficial. They do it because they fear my reprisal, not because they're engaged with my lessons. Thus, no meaningful learning has taken place.

It's still a work in progress but now I know that I need to achieve that fine balance.

I may not get it right all the time but I hope my students know that whether I'm mean or buddy-buddy, I always have their best interest at heart.

Life in a Boarding School

2011-01-20T21:29:00.009+11:00

The Form 4 students in my school have started getting offers to enter boarding schools. Their excitement made me remember my own experience attending a boarding school when I was at their age (16).

I had always wanted to study in one. The desire probably stemmed from reading Enid Blyton's Malory Towers and St. Clare's series one too many times. I was fascinated by the idea of a school picturesquely perched on a cliff, surrounded by the sea, where the students wear spiffy uniforms, pay lacrosse, have midnight feasts, enjoy horse-back riding and put up plays at the end of the year. I mean Mallory Towers was the coolest school ever before Hogwarts came along.

So, I was over the moon when I received the offer to study at MRSM Jasin (renamed MRSM Tun Ghafar Baba in 2006). And though it's nothing like what I had (unrealistically) imagined, the 2 years (2001-2002) I had spent there was one of the best times of my life.

I didn't fit in right away. The school has a rigorous academic programme in place. And I, far from being the studious type, struggled. I couldn't cope with the overwhelming amount of homework assigned. Other students seemed so driven while I was more laid back. I remember calling home using a payphone (mobile phones were prohibited) a week after registering, crying uncontrollably, begging for my parents to come and fetch me home. I just hated the place!

Things gradually got better. I made friends and fell into the school routine. In a boarding school, you hardly have any time for leisure. Your whole day is structured from the moment you wake up until 'lights out' at 11pm. Back then, we didn't even have access to TV or the internet except during IT lessons. But some students did squeeze in some TV time in the evenings, watching popular Latin American soap operas at the canteen (I remember Rosalinda & Yo Soy Betty La Fea being all the rage back then).

There were many other things that took time to get used to. Communal bathroom was one. Living in a boarding school does make you appreciate the comforts and luxuries of home that you previously took for granted.

Further, you learn to stand on your own 2 feet. You wash your own clothes by hand, do your own shopping on outings, participate in the weekly gotong-royong, fend for yourself when you're sick, etc.

Your roommates and classmates will become more than friends. They are like family. My best friend in Jasin was Hasnoor. She sat next to me in class and we got into all sorts of scrapes together. When we were in Form 5, we were often late for the daily roll call. As a result, we were sentenced to jalan itik, ketuk ketampi and other medieval punishments that are now outlawed. Hahaha. I learned that if you're going to get into trouble, it's best to have an accomplice. That way, you can face the repercussions together. So thanks Hasnoor for being the perfect partner-in-crime :)

And since we were always late for breakfast, Hasnoor and I often tapau-ed the food from the canteen and ate them in the classroom. We always took a big portion so that we could share the food with our classmates. During lessons, the food container would be passed discreetly around the class for all to enjoy.

There were no midnight feasts, but we had durian feasts when the fruit was in season. And for Biology class, we had to catch our own frogs for dissection. Fortunately, the boys in our class gallantly took charge of this operation.

Boarding schools also provide a more conducive learning environment. The smaller class size allows teachers to give each student a more personalized attention. My class consisted of only 26 students but some public schools have up to 50 students per class! 50!!

I love the 2 years I had spent there. But times have changed. Boarding school may not be the best choice for everyone in this time and age. Life there can be quite insulated. You hardly get in touch with what's happening in the outside world.

I guess boarding schools and public schools afford different sets of experiences; but neither one is more superior than the other.

Would I recommend my students to go to a boarding school? I would say, YES but they would need to toughen up a bit. Some students can adjust to the lifestyle straightaway while others will require more time but in the end, everyone will love their school and have fond memories of their stay there.

The Song of Sparrows

2011-01-09T18:27:00.013+11:00

Karim works at an ostrich farm outside of Tehran, Iran. He leads a simple and contented life with his family in his small house, until one day when one of the ostriches runs away. Karim is blamed for the loss and is fired from the farm. Soon after, he travels to the city in order to repair his elder daughter’s hearing aid but finds himself mistaken for a motorcycle taxi driver. Thus begins his new profession: ferrying people and goods through heavy traffic. But the people and material goods that he deals with daily starts to transform Karim’s generous and honest nature, much to the distress of his wife and children. It is up to those closest to him to restore the values that he had once cherished...(synopsis taken from here)

Karim's family leads a simple but happy life together. Their tender, funny and precious family moments are beautifully captured by the director, Majid Majidi. I just love scenes like the children jostling one another to clean Karim's bike and draw on his leg cast. The children are so adorable especially Hussein.

The movie shows that you really don't need to have a lot of material possessions in order to be happy.

Though it was Reza Naji who won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Karim (in the 2008 Berlin Film Festival), I was more taken with Hamid Aghazi's Hussein. He provides most of the movie's comic moments when he stubbornly insists on cleaning up an abandoned water-storage area. This results in him being chased all over the place by his father.

Barring this one act of disobedience, Hussein and his two sisters are the most wonderful kids you'll ever come across.

Haniyeh pretends that her hearing aid is working fine so that her father need not buy her a costly new one. Hussein works hard (until his palms become calloused) to earn some money and gives the whole of his salary to his mom. And later he bought an orange juice for his father while they were waiting in the hot afternoon sun.

The above incidents and several more made Karim realise his mistakes. Mistakes that most of us fall prey to when we imagine that money can buy happiness.

In 'The World Book of Happiness' (ISBN: 978-981-275-243-7), there's a chapter which deals with this particular issue.

Ercih Kirchler, a professor of psychology at the University of Vienna, wrote that; "money has little capacity to make us happy, and that happiness gained through material wealth fades quickly".

He also said that, "happiness originates from satisfying, loving relationships and reliable and trustworthy friends; from the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life; and from a meaningful and socially relevant job".

We've been told from young that money cannot buy happiness but few of us really do believe it. I mean who doesn't want a bigger paycheck, right?

Humans are such that "if people had enough gold to fill two deep valleys, they would wish to have a third (valley)" (Hadith reported by Muslim, Bukhari).

But watching this movie will make you realise that we already have everything we need in order to be happy :)

[photos taken from: rottentomatoes.com]

The Song of Sparrows is now showing in GSC Cinemas (International Screens)

Teach for Malaysia

2011-01-02T01:49:00.002+11:00

While I was browsing HuffingtonPost this morning, this headline caught my eyes: Depression at Work: 10 Careers with High Rates of Depression. My immediate thought was; teaching has got to be one of them! And sure enough, teachers appeared at number 6 with this description:

The demands on teachers seem to be constantly growing. Many work after school and then take work home.
In many areas, they learn to do a lot with a little.
"There are pressures from many different audiences -- the kids, their parents, and the schools trying to meet standards, all (of which) have different demands," Willard says. "This can make it difficult for teachers to do their thing and remember the reason they got started in the field.”

Hardly the stuff you want to read with only a day left before school reopens...

Later that day however, my sister told me about the Teach For Malaysia programme. I looked it up on the internet as soon as I reached home.

In a nutshell, the programme aims to enlist university graduates to teach in high-need areas in Malaysia for 2 years.

Teach For Malaysia is part of the Teach For All network which has chapters in 16 countries all over the world.

My mood was lifted after perusing the sites. They made me remember why I had chosen to teach in the first place. Like all potential Teach-For-Malaysia recruits, I had the same lofty ideas about making a positive difference in the world. But as explained by the Depression-at-Work article, the idealism fades when one is consumed by work, its pressures, frustrations and the accompanying stress.

This entry is not meant to pour cold water on the initiative. Rather, I really hope that the programme will be a smashing success. Educating the future generation is a big responsibility and we need all the help that we can get.

I do need to warn interested applicants though. The classrooms that you'll be teaching in will not be so ideal as portrayed in the video.

I mean, you're unlikely to get a classroom full of well-behaved, angelic-looking, eager-to-learn kids.

Maybe it's because I teach in a secondary school but the students that I normally encounter are prone to be disruptive and they don't look quite as eager.

In fact, to quote Frank McCourt in Teacher Man; "In every class there's a pest put on earth to test you". Haha.

But it's okay. They'll grow on you and you'll grow on them :)

And despite of all the occupational hazards associated with it, you'll learn to love teaching as well.

Oh, and another thing, you won't look as smart and immaculate as the teachers in the video look. More often than not, you'll look tired, overworked and harassed. Haha.

Again, that comes with the job ;)

Seriously, do apply to Teach For Malaysia despite my fear mongering. Why? Because... (to quote Albert Schweitzer)

"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve"

PMR

2010-12-23T17:35:00.005+11:00

School will reopen in 12 days. *sigh*

Just when you thought that you can get used to having a relaxing and mundane life, the real world comes knocking back.

Yesterday (22-12-10), SMKTM teachers had their 1st meeting for the 2011 school session. This 1st meeting is also the most important because we will get to know what responsibilities we'll be assigned to next year and which classes we'll be teaching.

Most of what I am put in-charge-of aren't so bad except for BSMM (the Red Cross Society). I mean, what do I know about providing medical aid except for perhaps how to apply a band-aid?

Though the tasks given were fair (everyone got an equal share), I still feel a bit scared. Can I do the jobs well? Will I survive another year of teaching? Belum apa2 lagi dah kecut perut...

Anyway, yesterday's anxiety was somewhat subdued by today's excitement; The PMR results were announced this morning (23-12-2010)!

The PMR slips arrived at around 11am. The class teachers took around 30 minutes to sort them out. The slips needed to be clipped together with the candidates' PEKA certs and a handout detailing the Form 4 elective subjects.

By the time we, the class teachers, went to the hall, it was already packed. The students sat on the floor while their parents were anxiously waiting at the sides. Tables for the class teachers were arranged at both sides of the hall.

Before the students can collect their slips, our Penolong Kanan announced the school's result. Our overall pass percentage increased but the number of straight-A students took a dip. The pass percentage for most subjects (including English) also increased! :)

The students clapped wildly at the good news. Then, our principal gave out the slips to the 67 straight-A students. Loud applause and cheers accompanied each name but you could see some faces grew more and more anxious with each passing name.

After the ceremony was over, the class teachers started to hand out the rest of the slips. A few of my students cried upon seeing theirs. And no, they weren't tears of happiness. I was at a lost of what to do. Tried to comfort them but what could I have said?

After the slips were handed out, I finally got to mingle with my students. Absence does make the heart grow fonder and after weeks of not seeing them, I was surprised at how much I had missed those brats :p

They thanked me and gave me a hug/shook my hand. Chatted with them a bit. I asked them what they plan to do next year; whether they want to move to SBP/MRSM/Teknik or stay put at Melawati. The students also have to seriously start thinking about the electives that they want to take next year and whether or not they are eligible for the stream that they've opted for.

I felt bad about a few students who would've gotten straight As if it weren't for English. N told me that it wasn't my fault; "Memang saya yang tak buat kerja Teacher". But I felt bad nonetheless like I had failed them somehow...

X X X

Congrats to all who did well. We are all very proud of you. But those who didn't, do not be so devastated. You still have a long journey ahead of you. Learn from this experience so that SPM will be a different story altogether.

I like this article published in The Star 3 years ago.

A small stop in the journey

Comment by SOO EWE JIN

The Star Online

Friday December 28, 2007

The results for the PMR are out today. Sometimes we forget that the Form 3 students come from the length and breadth of the country.

Not every student will have the privilege of being ferried to the school in a nice car, accompanied by an equally anxious parent, to see how many As will show up on that slip of paper. Not every student will have the privilege of being featured in the newspapers or TV station jumping for joy. Or being interviewed about their study techniques or the rewards that await them.

The majority of the PMR students, if you put things in their proper perspective, will quietly collect their results and prepare for Form 4. Some may not even be able to collect their results because of the floods, but life still goes on.

The obsession with As is primarily an urban phenomenon. It used to be crucial only at the pre-university stage, but over the years has crept downwards so that even 12-year-old children sitting for the UPSR are subjected to unnecessary tension.

I am reminded today by what my Form 3 teacher advised all of us in her message in our class magazine.

She wrote:

Put in total dedication in your studies,

Pursue learning with real interest

It is such spirit which will carry you

Far deep into fields of knowledge

Be humble in your achievements

The truly great man is never puffed up

Rather he stands in awe

In realisation that there's still so much

To know which is beyond him

Never be discouraged by failure

Not all are born great

But many achieve greatness

Through sheer industry, determination and perseverance

School time is also the time to build up

Precious, meaningful, lasting relationships

Be interested in the world around you

Be intelligently informed

Don't develop into scientific recluses

Remember sports, music, literature and the arts

Have much to offer to help build you up into well-balanced individuals

Able to understand, know, enjoy, better

The world you are living in

This teacher has touched many lives. She has helped produce her fair share of multiple-A students but she also knew that the ordinary students without the As can go on to lead meaningful, rich lives, if they are well-rounded caring individuals who recognise that results are not the be-all and end-all of the school journey.

To all students taking the PMR results today, by all means rejoice in your distinctions, but do not despair over your credits and passes.

Life is a journey, and the PMR is just a little stop along the way for you to pause and reflect, and to move on.

X X X

F1 Technology Challenge

2010-11-16T18:34:00.019+11:00

After spending 3 days and 2 nights at Brisdale Hotel, KL, I am finally back home.

Was there as the team advisor for Avanzanto-R, who qualified for The F1 Technology Challenge, Petronas National Finals 2010.

When my colleagues found out that I had to be away for the challenge, they all seemed bewildered.

"But why?", they would ask.

Cikgu Hisyam is normally in-charge of anything F1-related. And even if he's unavailable, there are other more suitable teachers who know a thing or two about aerodynamics, drag coefficiency and what-not.

I mean, what do I (as an English teacher) know about such things except for perhaps how to spell them?

But since I've always had a hard time saying 'NO', Liau, Samuel, Hakim & Diana managed to get me to agree to be their team advisor.

So that was how I found myself in Brisdale Hotel last Friday. The competition spanned 3 days (Nov 14-16, 2010) but the bulk of the work began weeks ago.

In a nutshell, the challenge requires the students to: 1) design, 2) analyse, 3) make, 4) test and 5) race miniature F1 cars. A more detailed description of the challenge can be found here.

But manufacturing the cars is only part of the challenge. The students are also tasked to find sponsors to fund their various expenses. They need custom-made tyres, axles, bearings, lubricants, lacquer and paint for the cars. Further, they also need banners, buntings and various merchandise for their display booth. And not forgetting the all-important crew uniform.

Thus, the students have to find companies willing to either sponsor the said items or donate some cold, hard cash.

Besides the cars and booth, the students also have to produce a portfolio and give an oral presentation on their project.

To mount this multi-disciplinary challenge, each team member is given a specific role. The roles are: Manufacturing Engineer, Design Engineer, Graphic Designer and Resource Manager. The 4-member team also has to choose a Team Leader from among their ranks.

The F1-in-Schools Challenge is conducted in over 30 countries. The various national champions will then battle it out at the World Finals/Championship. In the 2006 World Finals, the team Aerobreaker from our school won the Fastest Car title. We have never scaled those heights again since...

DAY 1 (NOV 15)

We had an inauspicious start. You see, our cars didn't look sleek and smooth like our competitors' cars. We ran into all sorts of problem while manufacturing our cars. It was a last minute job. We sent the cars for airbrushing on Friday night with just one day to spare before the competition day!

The painting job was horrible (through no fault of the airbrushing company). Since we didn't have time to sand-paper the cars adequately + apply wood filler + sand-paper the cars again + apply lacquer, the end product looked really pitiful.

During the oral presentation, one judge even laughed when he saw our display car (ouch!). He asked whether we had sand-papered the car. When the students replied in the affirmative, he asked again; "Are you sure?" (double ouch!)

But the students took it all in their stride. They were a bit down but not completely demoralised. We were still hopeful that the car would perform well. Who knows? Maybe what the car lacked in aesthetics, it made up for in speed.

DAY 2 (NOV 15)

Today's the race day! All the cars were lined up beside the 20-metre race track. You can easily spot ours - the roughest looking ones of the batch. Haha.

Before the racing started, the students were given exactly 1 hour to set up their booth.

There were 2 types of race: The Time Trial one and the Reaction Race (I'm not sure what's the difference though).

We were up against the team 'Flash Infinity' from Malay College Kuala Kangsar. We won one race but were later knocked-out. Our car clocked 1.17sec which was quite respectable. We felt sort of vindicated; Our car may not look like a racing car but it sure performed like one! :)

That night, we went to Pavilion. The students belanja-ed me Old Town because it was my birthday. Hazelnut White Coffee and Kaya+Butter Toast had never tasted so good :)

DAY 3 (NOV 16)

The final day of the competition. VIPs came to see the final race, inspect the booths and give away the prizes.

There were many categories -some of which have really funny names- but we didn't win any of them. I wished my team had won something. Didn't even care if it were one of the funnier-sounding ones!

But we didn't. Samuel put in all in perspective: "Takpe Teacher, we may not win any prizes, but we've won many friends".

"And many hearts", Hakim quipped. I wasn't sure whether he meant the judges' hearts or some female ones...

Here's the list of winners:

Overall Champion: Team Velospeed F1 (SM Sains Hulu Selangor)

The team also won these subsidiary titles:
-Best Newcomer Award
-Best Team Portfolio Award
-Petronas Knock-Out Champion

1st Runner-Up: Team Adroit (SMK Aminuddin Baki)

Adroit also won Best Verbal Presentation Award.

2nd Runner-Up: Team Celeritas F1 (SM Datuk Abdul Razak)

Celeritas also took the coveted Best Engineered Car Award.

Team Excel Vision from SMK Batu Lintang was also a big winner, grabbing 3 titles which are:
-Innovative Thinking Award
-Fastest Car Award
-Best Team Sponsorship & Marketing Award

To round it off, Team Extreme Flash (from SMK Kuala Kubu Bharu) took home the 1Malaysia Best Team Collaboration Award while Team Shockwave (from Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid) won the Perseverance in the Face of Adversity Award.

CONCLUSION

Though we lost, I think the students have learnt a lot from the challenge. They've learnt to be more resourceful, creative, patient, persuasive and cooperative (at least that's what they had written in their feedback forms!).

I really think that this challenge yields many benefits. The students learn things they wouldn't have experienced in a normal classroom - things that would serve them well in the real world.

So, any form 3 students who are interested to join the challenge next year, do your preparations early! You can consult your seniors for any assistance. They'll be m0re than happy to help because on our way back to school the team vowed; "Kita mesti bersihkan balik nama baik sekolah kita".

It's a gruelling challenge, but you'll enjoy it, I promise. Just find yourselves a more qualified team advisor, not some clueless English teacher.

Oh, and I'd like to thank Avanzanto-R's sponsors for their generosity:

Thank you KPS for your cash contribution, Proseeska for our crew uniform, Wang Display Solution for the banner and buntings, THT Mould Engineering for our nylon tyres and Advanco for the 50% off printing. We would never have made it to the Finals without your support!

The Essential 55

2010-11-01T19:13:00.005+11:00

Have you ever seen the movie The Ron Clark Story/The Triumph? It was one of those inspiring teacher movies. In the movie, Ron Clark transformed his "difficult" students into high-achievers by introducing a set rules.

Creating rules in order to manage students' discipline might not be a particularly novel and groundbreaking idea. But as a teacher, I know that creating rules and successfully implementing them are two completely different things.

In his book, The Essential 55, Mr. Clark shares with readers his tried-and-tested rules and how they work in his classroom.

For me, the rules themselves are not the main attraction of the book. But the stories behind them are. My favourite chapter is Rule 11: "Surprise others by performing random acts of kindness. Go out of your way to do something surprisingly kind and generous for someone at least once a month". Coincidentally, it is the longest chapter in the book. The chapter details one of the most amazing projects Mr. Clark's students were involved in and how going out of your way to do something wonderful for others is oh-so worth it.

As evident with Rule 11, the set of rules does not only concern classroom dos and don'ts (e.g. Rule 19: "When homework is assigned, do not moan or complain"). They also encompass eating etiquette, good manners, kind acts and living you life to the fullest.

It always annoys me when my students litter, forget to say 'Thank you', cheat during exams, curse, etc. But I haven't really done anything about it other than verbally reprimanding them.

Sometimes, I even choose to ignore the acts. I mean, if I had to reprimand each and every misbehaviour, I would never get to classes on time. I would have to stop every 2 metres or so to ask students to tuck in their shirts/use the boys' staircase/ pick up the trash/etc. I figured that I need to choose my battles, no?

My lack of action maintains the status quo or may have even exacerbated it.

Therefore, I was really impressed with what Mr. Clark has achieved. I concur with him that "kids need and like structure" but I guess, sometimes I'm just not strong-willed and steadfast enough to implement one.

Oftentimes, when I grew frustrated, I just complained; "Don't their parents teach them these things at home?"

Now I realise that though parents are ultimately responsible for instilling good values in their children, teachers should do their bit too.

Another major thing that I got from reading the book is how dedicated a teacher should be. Ron Clark is an award-winning teacher and it's not hard to see why. He typically spends hundreds of dollars a month on books/contest prizes/other items for his students, take them on 25-30 small trips a year, bake them cookies, learned to double-Dutch, etc.

Wow. My effort seems meagre when compared to his and yet I often complain about burnout and tiredness.

Lastly, I was struck by his teaching philosophy. When he was about to take over his first class, the teacher before him said; "As long as you can affect the life of one child, you've been a success".

He disagreed with that stand. "[He approaches] each year with the knowledge that [he has] only one year to make a life's worth of difference in each child in that classroom, and [he gives] it everything [he's] got".

Feeling inspired already? Then, do get hold of the book and read it! :)

Mighty Minds National Finals 2010

2010-10-24T00:49:00.013+11:00

Last weekend (Oct 15-17), Kak Saf & I accompanied our students, Aiman, Kaif and Ghavinaash to the RHB-The Star Mighty Minds 2010 National Finals. We entered the state level competition last August and won first place! Besides pocketing a cool RM3k prize money, the students also won the rights to represent Selangor at the National Finals.

The Finals were held at the Swiss Garden Hotel, Jalan Pudu. Prior to the competition, the students met daily after they had completed their SPM Trial to prepare for it. The competition tested the students on their maths, science & general knowledge. Since Kak Saf & I are both English teachers, we couldn't help the students much in the first 2 areas. We just quizzed the students on some general knowledge stuff and oversaw their mock-oral presentation. Oftentimes, it was us who got stumped when the students presented us with questions/puzzles such as this one called the Einstein Puzzle (try it, it's really fun!).

At the state challenge, the win came as a surprise. I wasn't really expecting it. But this one's different. I really thought that they stood a good chance of being crowned the champions. Not only did they work well as a team with each person having their own specialised set of abilities, they were also quite well-prepared for the competition.

The Finals comprised of 5 challenges:
1) The Hand-on Challenge
2) The Minds-on Challenge
3) The MCQ Challenge (multiple-choice questions)
4) The Oral Presentation
5) The Buzzer Round

The first challenge required the students to create a more practical clothes stand. The boys came up with a great model that put them in first place!

But after the second and third challenge, we dropped to number 3. Nevertheless, we were ecstatic that we had made the cut (only the top 5 teams out of the 14 states would proceed to the next round)!

Being in the top 5 was already an achievement but we were all aiming for the first spot. That night, the students stayed up late to prepare for the oral presentation. They prepared their scripts, the PowerPoint slides, practised their lines and timed their presentation until they got really tired and cranky. Haha.

The next day, the boys looked really smart in their blazers, all ready to do the oral presentation. The lower-secondary finalists went on stage first. Each team was only given 3 minutes. Then, it was the upper-secondary students' turn.

Aiman, Kaif & Ghavinaash did really well. Their confident performance may have put them as the front runner coming into the last round: the buzzer quiz.

It was a nail-biting final. The KL and Sarawak teams monopolised that round. KL was in a particularly devastating form. They positively blitzed through that round.

Kak Saf, Kak JC and I made a quick calculation. It's going to be either us, KL or Sarawak who were going to be champs.

When the result was announced, we got third place, Sarawak second and KL first. We lost to KL by a mere 0.45 marks!

Takpelah, they still walked way with RM2k and got their picture plastered in the news. They gave it their best shot. And I was so proud of them :)

I've really enjoyed the whole experience not just because I got to stay in a nice hotel and eat sumptuous hotel food (though these were good enough reasons ;))

I've learnt a lot from my students which reminds me of the book I'm currently reading, The Essential 55, by Ron Clark. The book was dedicated to his parents and students. He wrote, "To my students, thank you for teaching me more about life than I could ever teach you".

And later in the acknowledgements, he wrote, "...to all of my former students, every day I spent with you was magic. I learned, I laughed, and I had the time of my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you."

Actually, I was planning to write a whole other entry on The Essential 55 book, but what I'm getting at now is, teaching can be so much fun. Once in while you do come across that magical teaching moment/experience. And you realise that sometimes your students teach you more about life's lessons than you can ever teach them about the English Grammar or what not.

I've learned from these students about working hard to achieve your goals. It's humbling to see the hard work that these students put in (even though they are already really, really smart).

They are also very independent, proactive and resourceful. Kak Saf and I needn't do much. They really do deserve the bulk the credit.

So thanks RHB and The Star for organising a great competition. The competition really does challenge the students' creativity and mental prowess in a way that's different from the typical pen-and-paper tests.

X X X

Btw, catch them on NTV7 on Nov 3, at 7.00pm!

QNAIB

2010-10-06T02:31:00.010+11:00

Yesterday (Oct4) was spent getting the Block C Hall ready for PMR. 160 candidates are to sit for their lower-secondary examination in that hall. So, a good 3 hours was spent arranging the tables and chairs, sweeping the floors, taking down the curtains and things pasted on the bulletin boards, scrubbing the graffiti off the tables, emptying their drawers, pasting the exam slips on each table and lastly, hanging a big clock in front of the hall.

After all that hard work, the students were allowed to go home. As was tradition, many chose to look for their teachers instead to ask for forgiveness and blessings. So the staff room was packed with students surrounding their teachers. Some students were more dramatic than others. Haha. Some giggled when they confessed to their wrongdoings ("Saya tahu saya tak buat kerja Teacher"), some even shed a few tears.

Looking back on 2010, I couldn't believe I had survived another year of teaching. Though schools will officially end on Nov 19, my core job is basically finished. After 9 months of teaching 185 15-year-olds, I can finally let out a sigh of relief.

I've had my fair share of ups and downs. Here are my 2010 memories according to the classes that I teach:

3 QUDUS

My favourite class. I know I'm not supposed to play favourites, but I'm human after all. I taught 3 Qudus for a semester in 2009, so we were already familiar with each other. I could implement any sort of lesson in this class and they would participate in the tasks enthusiastically. That reciprocity spurred me on.

We sang songs, did presentations, acted a play, watched a movie and even held a lesson outdoors (though this one turned out to be bad idea because we were bitten mercilessly by mosquitoes).

The students offered me footballing updates without my asking. And regularly named characters in their essays after Arsenal footballers/manager. They probably thought that they'd get extra marks for that. They didn't.

3 NEKAD

The class that took the longest time to warm up to me. Most of them are already proficient in English, so they didn't take the subject seriously. But they loved playing Hangman, target puzzles and other language games. Thus, each time I entered the class, the students would collectively shout, "GAMES!". They made me feel like a game show host. Haha.

My most unforgettable memory with them was when I was observed by by another teacher. The class was very quiet. They were on their best behaviour. When the teacher left, the class erupted in a rapturous applause. They were congratulating themselves for their impeccable "performance". I hadn't told/bribe them to act nice. They did so of their own accord.

3 AMANAH

The most quiet class I have ever taught. Seriously. You could hear a pin drop. But all that undivided attention and obedience lasted for... 2 months?

Then a transformation began. And it proved to be irreversible, mirroring the novel we were studying for literature, "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". From good, well-behaved students, they turned into something completely different. I still wonder how on earth did I squander my absolute authority over that class.

But despite their misbehaviour, I still love them. Teachers are like that. We forgive easily. But students have to remember that saying sorry is not an excuse to commit more mistakes.

3 INTELEK

Besides teaching them English, I'm also their class teacher. They're okay I guess. They don't have major disciplinary problems so I'm grateful for that. They're just noisy. And malas (<---that was a bit harsh but it's really hard getting them to do any work).

I often received complaints from other subject teachers about them but what could I do? I'm a lousy disciplinarian. The only teacher that they don't dare mess with is their Ustaz. I happened to pass by the class one day when Ustaz was teaching. And I was amazed by what I saw: The students were all seated in their seats; Everybody was quiet and paying attention; All eyes were on Ustaz while he was delivering his lesson.

Wow. It was like witnessing a miracle.

3 BAKTI

My weakest class in terms of proficiency. Half of the boys have chronic avoidance of work. They often came late to class after the assembly. They took a detour to the toilet for their ciggy break but they claimed that they were stopped by the discipline teacher instead (or any other excuses that they had concocted and perfected).

Once, when I pointed out that they smelled of cigarettes, Hadi replied with mock-innocence, "Macam ni ke bau rokok? Saya tak tahu cikgu sebab saya tak pernah hisap rokok".

The whole class burst into laughter and I just gritted my teeth. Had to admit that that was a funny answer. Despite all the disciplinary problems that the class posed, I still enjoyed teaching them. They are a handful to manage but they are not disrespectful. Most of them are just craving for attention.

X X X

I like teaching 15-year-olds. They are at that stage where they're not so childish anymore yet they are still malleable compared to the fourth and fifth-formers.

I don't know whether I'll be teaching them again next year but for the record, I had a great 2010.

Sirah Muzikal

2010-09-26T14:02:00.009+10:00

The idea of an Islamic musical theatre is not a new one. Erma Fatima presented her "Sirah Junjungan" back in 2008. It was well-received which prompted a 2nd season a year later.

It wasn't that long ago but I've forgotten how the theatre ended. Was it during Fathul Makkah (the conquest of Makkah), Haji Wida' (the Farewell Pilgrimage) or the passing way of the Prophet Muhammad SAW?

It was a tall order to summarise the eventful life of our beloved Prophet SAW in a 3-hour theatre. So, understandably a lot of important events had to be cut out.

PEMBINA's latest effort is far more ambitious. Instead of chronicling the life of Prophet Muhammad SAW, it aims to chart the rise and fall of the Islamic Civilisation. Right from the first revealed verse of the Quran, to the glory of the Umayyad and Abbasid Empire, to the demise of the caliphate system in 1924.

It's impossible to condense hundreds of years of history in just a few hours, but the show, Sirah Muzikal, is really worth watching because:

1) We all need to learn/be reminded of our history. I watched 7 Wonders of the Muslim World on Discovery Channel the other day. And one of the commentators, Ziauddin Sardar, said something about the Blue Mosque that really struck me:

"When I think of mosques, the mosque that comes to mind is the Blue Mosque because I think it symbolises the zenith of the Muslim Civilisation. To me, it speaks volumes about the Muslim thoughts and learning, sophistication, the architecture that we developed... and I see it as a symbol of HOPE. Perhaps what we achieve in the past, we can also achieve in the future.

So, the Blue Mosque for me is not just a beautiful, sublime building -an awe-inspiring building- it is also a structure of hope, a structure with a very deep past and hopefully also a very vibrant future"

Maybe this theatre will do the same? May we be inspired by the great things Muslims have achieved in the past and be spurred on to emulate their acts in the present and in the future.

2)History can teach us many things. Okay, this second point is very similar to the first but I just cannot stress it enough! ;)

Henry Steele Commager, a historian once remarked;

" For a people to be without History, or to be ignorant of its history, is as for a man to be without memory-condemned forever to make the same discoveries that have been made in the past, invent the same techniques, wrestle with the same problems, commit the same errors; and condemned, too, to forfeit the rich pleasures of recollections."

1924 seems like aeons ago but it's not. It's just 86 years ago. We can learn lot from what made the once-mighty Islamic Empire fall.

3) It's hard to find good and halal (Islamically-permissible) entertainment nowadays. And those who strive to provide us with one, should be given our support.

4) It's for a good cause. The proceeds from the ticket sales will be channeled to Sekolah Tahfiz Bayu Syahadah in Kampung Bitoon, Ranau, Sabah, which is chaired by Nazrey Johani (formerly of Raihan). So let's 'berhibur sambil beramal!' :)

5) There are many other prominent nasheed performers around. Besides Nazrey Johari, there will also be Far East, Muadz and Now See Heart.

Coincidentally, one of Now See Heart's members, went to my school the other day to give a talk on Ramadan. Kids can be rude and inattentive at times but they loved the talk! They were very attentive and involved (which was very uncharacteristic of them! Haha). I couldn't remember the name of the speaker though...

So, get your tickets now and I'll see you there?

Syawal 1431

2010-09-13T23:20:00.010+10:00

My Eid celebration was kind of muted this year. I guess Raya becomes gradually less fun as you grow older. Especially in the year you stopped receiving the green packets (!).

This year's muted celebration was due to 2 reasons: I didn't get to join the Eid prayer and the absence of Abewan & family.

When they finally returned to KL on the 3rd day of Raya, and when we were playing bunga api at Pak Yan's, did I feel the Raya spirit.

Irfan came back with a bandaged left hand. He twisted his wrist when he was up to some mischief. He was given the VIP treatment when he arrived. Everyone was concerned and asked, "Irfan sakit ke?". He quickly learned to take advantage of the situation and milked it for all it's worth. When we went to Pak Yan's, he wore his bandage proudly like a wounded soldier.

Now that life is slowly returning to normal (people have started to work, cars are clogging the roads once more, mamak stalls are full, etc), I'm amazed at how easy it is to fall back into my pre-Ramadan routines. I have started to eat, sleep and watch TV excessively again.

Hadith of the Day posted this status on the eve of Eid:

"In a matter of hours or days (The Devil) will be released from Hell with his evil army with their guns blazing & their evil intentions. Let's all pray Allah protects us from the evils of Iblis and that we continue our good deeds outside of Ramadan. May Allah allow us to increase our Imaan, even if it's just a little every single day."

How sad is it that our behaviour hasn't improved significantly after undergoing Madrasah Ramadan? That Shaytan came out and were utterly unimpressed with the quality of (some of) this year's graduates?

For me, it's hard to keep the Ramadan momentum going. Just take food for example. It's hard not to overeat when you have free food in abundance and when your grandma and aunties cannot stop from feeding you ("tambah lagi Syada, tambah lagi").

When I read this hadith I feel so guilty because obviously I did not adhere to the one-third rule:

“No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for breath.” (Ahmad & At-Tirmidhi)

Aside from eating less, we can also strive to make the spirit of Ramadan last throughout year by following these 40 tips (taken from emel, a Muslim lifestyle magazine). The tips are broken into 8 categories which are: Ibadat, Intentions, Connections, Discipline, Patient Perseverance, Developing Focus, Health, and Want Less.

Remember that “the deeds most loved by God are those done regularly, even if they are small” (Bukhari and Muslim).

My favourite tip is #31:

God’s delays are not necessarily His denials. Maybe you have to learn something before the adversity will be removed. List what lessons you are learning from the current adversity and how it is benefiting your character.

May we all become full-time Muslims, and not seasonal ones. Ameen...

Blessings

2010-09-04T03:57:00.003+10:00

Today was the last day of school before the mid-sem 2 break. It was an incredibly challenging day. I was so thirsty. More so than usual. My throat was completely parched. How I wished I could sip a drop of ice-cold water!

Today was the 24th day of Ramadan and you would have thought that I had the fasting routine down pat. My body has adjusted to it but certain days are just more challenging than others.

Somehow I survived. That's the amazing thing about Ramadan: You achieve things that you never thought possible. It reminds you of the fact that Allah is your Sustainer.

We Malaysians only fast for 13.5 hours. That's easy peasy compared to our brothers and sisters in the UK and US who have to fast for 17-19 hours (!). I really couldn't imagine how they could fast from 2 am until 9 pm for 30 continuous days in the heat of summer! MashaAllah! Could we do so if we were in their shoes?

I've been reading accounts of 14 Muslims from all over the globe (Pakistan, Brazil, France, USA, UAE, UK, Palestine & Kenya). They share what Ramadan means to them. The accounts are very fascinating. Do have a read of them yourselves.

Though we celebrate Ramadan in different parts of the world, there are certain things that are common to every culture.

Below are my favourite excerpts from the accounts and the things that I can relate to:

-"[Ramadan] demonstrates the capacity of each person to surpass normal limits". -Rachid Nekkaz, Paris, France-

We all can relate to this. Like I had mentioned before, despite the adversities, we all survived somehow. It's amazing. We realise how we are far stronger than we thought, both physically and mentally. And at the end of the day, our Iman is greatly strengthen by the whole exercise (inshaAllah).

-"As clichéd as it may sound, Ramadan to me is a time to spend with family. It’s the only month in the year where my parents, siblings and I eat together (we have different work schedules during the rest of the year which makes it difficult to share meals). So during Ramadan I cherish these moments and I have been feeling more strongly about this the older I get." -Hind Mezaina, Dubai, UAE-

I love breaking fast with all the members of my family! We don't get to this often because of everyone's work commitments. But last weekend when we did managed to have all 8 people sitting on the same table, it was really nice. We felt really blessed.

-"[Ramadan brings forth] many fruits; the poor are fed and the orphans clothed, worshippers flood the mosques and the whole town blossoms with goodness." -Mohamed Azhar, Ayub Mombasa, Kenya-

We automatically become the best version of ourselves during Ramadan. We are more conscientious about our prayers, we give to charity more, we are kinder to people, etc. Ramadan truly is the Month of Blessings!

-"We are always a little nostalgic when [Ramadan]'s over." -Mariame Tighanimine, Paris, France-

-"Ramadan, I feel, proves to us that if we sincerely wish it, we can bring the change to our lives that we as Muslims desire – the ability to balance worship with work, carrying on with our everyday activities but altering them in a way to fulfil our spiritual duties in a deeper manner. Despite the difficulties it poses, we long for the month of Ramadan to return and bless our lives." -Mohamed Azhar, Ayub Mombasa, Kenya-

*sigh* 6 days of Ramadan left and you start to feel that tinge of sadness. You reflect on your unfulfilled Ramadan Resolutions and regret not having utilised the month optimally. You fervently hope you will experience Ramadan again next year.

Festive Air

2010-09-03T02:43:00.002+10:00

You know Raya is coming because...

-The students' attendance has been gradually declining.

- You've grown accustomed to the sounds of fireworks. (Although today, there was one which was particularly loud. The students rushed out of their classes to locate the source and to sibuk. Haha. One student remarked to me, "Seriously Teacher, that one was like a nuclear bomb!")

-The desks in the staff room are littered with Raya cookies, kerepek, rempeyek, baju raya, tudung raya, etc. It resembles a mini-Jalan TAR :p

-These lines are oft-repeated: "Raya ni, balik mana?" and "Boleh kami Raya rumah Teacher?"

-People are generally happier :)

How is your Raya atmosphere? Is it similar to mine?

Neonatricide

2010-08-20T03:19:00.007+10:00

In yesterday's front page: "So far this year, 66 babies, including 25 girls and 15 foetuses, were dumped."

Another headline reads: "Total of 472 babies discarded since 2005"

What is happening to the world? :(

How could a mother dump her baby so cruelly? A baby that she has carried within her for 9 months?

Have you read Mitch Albom's For One More Day?

I haven't (!). But I've seen the movie. It tells of how a mother's love can heal a person.

And I guess everyone can relate to that. Though we may not be suicidal like the book's protagonist, all of us have experienced our mother's unconditional love.

Below are quotations from the book which sum it up nicely:

-"[My mother] wasn't easy on me, don't get me wrong. She smacked me. She scolded me. She punished me. But she loved. She really did. She loved me falling off a swing set. She loved me stepping on her floors with muddy shoes. She loved me through vomit and snot and bloody knees. She loved me coming and going, at my worst and my best. She had a bottomless well of love for me."

-“I saw in her expression that old, unshakable mountain of concern. And I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know.”

So how could a mother (who's supposed to have this boundless love for her baby) discard her newborn like it's worth nothing?

Instead of loving, cherishing and protecting their babies, a growing number of teenage mothers inhumanely dump them instead.

How can we solve this problem?

Is meting out the death sentence the answer?

On one hand you want to punish the perpetrators for taking away a precious life.

On the other, the punishment seems too harsh for girls of incredibly young age who made very poor judgements out of sheer desperation.

A book by Amy Efaw entitled 'After' explores this very issue (read the review here).

The book deals with these matters:

-"How can one tiny event, one mistake, spin a life out of control..."
-"What drives a young mother to carry out such a drastic, terrifying act?"
-"...the extent of consequences, and how in life, there are never any easy ways out"

Personally, I feel that today's teenagers are bombarded with sexually-explicit content from the media that they consume (TV, movies, music, magazines, the internet). The images and innuendos are everywhere.

But while they are overexposed to the images, they are woefully ignorant of the consequences of engaging in the risque behaviours.

How do we make them see the whole point behind the command: La takrabu zina?

Hebatnya Ramadan

2010-08-16T01:22:00.003+10:00

I can't stress this enough: I LOVE RAMADAN! :)

Ramadan is amazing, isn't it? I read this article and its opening paragraph really struck me:

"Berbicara tentang Ramadan, kebiasaannya itulah detik-detik terbaik seorang muslim dalam setahun. Selama hampir 30 hari ia akan habiskan sebahagian masanya untuk beribadah kepada Allah SWT. Rela atau terpaksa. Musim is mengingati Tuhannya, Penciptanya, Pemberi rezeki dan nyawanya. Sedangkan ia seringkali lalai mengingatinya di bulan-bulan lain. Hebatnya Ramadan."

I kept rereading the paragraph while nodding, "YES!"

I am deliriously happy for reasons I couldn't quite put my finger on. You know when sometimes you get stressed, anxious, sad and out of sorts? Well, I don't anymore since the start of Ramadan. Maybe it has to do with the combination of the following things:

-I love waking up early for sahur. And since I started the day early, I reached school earlier than usual too. Thus, I don't get stuck in a traffic jam which usually leaves me ruffled by the end of it.

-When I step out of the car, I needn't rush to sign in and have my breakfast. I can take my own sweet time to breathe in the fresh air and take in the beautiful morning sight.

-My students seem nicer during the fasting month. Perhaps they are too tired to get into any major mischief during the day? Haha

-I love breaking fast with my family. I've yet to go to any Pasar Ramadan this year. Why would I? Mum's cooking is the best!

-Oh, and the feeling of anticipation when it's nearly time to break fast! After setting the table, I cannot help but salivate over all the good food and glance at the clock every few minutes.

-I love the simple dua: "KeranaMu aku berpuasa, dengan rezekiMu aku berbuka". It puts everything into perspective. You're not fasting because of culture or tradition. You're doing this for Allah SWT. And all the good food on your table is from Him. His reward for your perseverance. It reminds people that "for every hardship, there is relief".

-And when in other months you struggle/are content with the absolute minimal (the 5 daily prayers), Ramadan makes you realise you're capable of so much more. After Isyak, you can now do 8 or even 20 extra rakaats! Isn't that amazing?

Ramadan really is the month of barakah. You can feel it, can't you?

So tell me, what do you love about Ramadan?

The Home Stretch

2010-08-14T03:39:00.004+10:00

My students are still playful and taking it easy even though their PMR is just 52 days away. I tried to mobilise them into action by illustrating how Oct 5 is fast approaching.

-They have just completed their Ala PMR 1 exam (Aug 2-6).
-Their PMR Trial is next (Aug 16-20).
-Followed by Ala PMR 2 (Sept 20-24)

In between the Trial and Ala PMR 2, they'll have a 2-week holiday for their mid-sem and Eid-ul-Fitr break.

PMR will commence on Oct 5.

But the tactic only worked on some students. For most of them, the reality and sense of urgency still haven't sunk in yet.

Since I teach five Form 3 classes, these past (and following) weeks have been (and will be) very hectic. For each exam I have to mark 186 exam scripts which always drive me to the edge of insanity... haha. I would groan/moan; "Weren't they listening to what I had been teaching in class?!" and other soliloquies teachers usually indulge in.

Is having a lot of exams a boon for students? In an exam-oriented system like ours, the answer is a resounding YES. But as a teacher, I disagree. Students cheat all the time. Not just those from the weak classes but those from the front classes as well. I guess they share the same goal: "I have to do well at any cost".

And some tried to cheat AFTER the exam as well. They doctored their exam papers and claimed that teachers had overlooked their "correct" answers.

When such things happened, I just couldn't help but support the decision to abolish PMR. What's the use of producing straight 'A' students if no meaningful learning has taken place or when their integrity has been compromised?

Plus, scheduling exams so close to one another made it hard for teachers to provide good feedback and for the students to learn from their mistakes. Are we having exams just for the sake of having exams?

I don't aim for all 186 students of mine to achieve A in PMR. What's more important is that they become highly-competent English-language users in the future. I mean if they can use the language with ease, then the 'A's will come automatically. So I try not to teach to the test.

I also hope that my students will stop cheating. Yes, very few got caught. But "it is impossible for us to break the law. We can only break ourselves against the law". Your good result would mean very little if you had gained it dishonestly.

I guess the point of this whole entry is to nag at my students because I don't do it very well in real life... haha

Thank you Astro!

2010-07-29T19:48:00.004+10:00

2 days ago, my school received the Kampus Astro set. The set comprises a flat-screen TV and an ASTRO decoder with PVR (personal video recording) features. There are about a dozen channels to choose from, notably The Discovery Channel, Discovery Science, Animal Planet, National Geographic, History & Disney.

I was so psyched to try it out! I hardly do any listening activity in class. It's such a hassle to bring your own radio from home. I think I only did it once this year and even then the listening activity couldn't be carried out because the power socket in the particular classroom was faulty. If I downloaded something from the internet, then I had to carry my laptop, speakers and extension wire as well. I didn't mind it so much before, but after 2 sets of speakers were damaged from all the carrying to and fro, I do mind... hahaha

So, having neglected listening activities for a long time, I was really excited to utilise Kampus Astro. A teacher has recorded the show, "Don't Tell My Mother That I am in Iran". A few of us teachers watched it yesterday and enjoyed it. I decided to show it to my students later so I drafted some questions while I was viewing the programme.

The show runs for an hour. But since you can fast forward the ad breaks, you can watch the whole show in around 45 minutes. So (theoretically), in a double-period lesson, you can watch the whole show and still have time for other tasks. You can get your students to copy the questions first, provide them with some background info on the show, hold discussions after viewing, or elicit their feedback on the lesson.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to do any of the tasks. My double-period was spilt into 2 with recess time in the middle. So 10 minutes was wasted waiting for them to arrive at the Multimedia Room and another 10 wasted waiting for them to come back from recess.

I guess the lesson could only work if the show was interesting enough and this one is. The host managed to showcase fascinating things about the country which challenge the commonly-held view of many. You really have to see it for yourself! The show features a mullah and his rapper son, an American basketball player who plays in the local league, women taxi drivers, a Tilawah competition, Iranian Jews, and paintings by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock.

The show also got the students to ask about the Islamic Revolution in Iran, why Iran is in conflict with Israel, what are mullahs and synagogues, etc.

When time is up, the students requested to see more.

That's nice, isn't it? Hopefully, that's an indication that they had enjoyed the lesson :)

So I'll end this post with my heartfelt thanks to ASTRO.

Errr, is it possible for us to have another set?

22 Days to Ramadan

2010-07-20T00:22:00.005+10:00

Ramadan is fast approaching. So, why am I not feeling the "vibe"?

I haven't fasted for a while and thought today would be a good day for a "warm-up" fast. A trial run before the actual fasting period.

As always, when you haven't done something for some time, the first step is always the most difficult. I kept thinking, "Does it have to be today?" "Will I survive the whole day?" "You know, teaching can be exhausting, am I sure about this?"

Nobody has ever died of fasting, so I wasn't sure what I was worried about. hahaha

Alhamdulillah, I made it to the end but the day was full of temptations. Time seemed to be passing sooo slowly. I kept referring to my watch, thinking "When will this class end?!"

Then, Wee Na offered her Tat Nenas. My favourite Raya cookies! I declined with a heavy heart. Then Kak Paridah offered her Kuih Sepit. They looked delicious too... (Why do they have to bring the Raya cookies today??!!)

Right about then, my stomach started to growl. The funniest thing was I was seriously contemplating whether or not to break fast. It was a puasa sunat after all. But common sense prevailed. I stuck to it and completed my first fast in this month of Sya'ban.

The whole ordeal reminded me of a tazkirah I heard a few years back. The topic was "Ramadan Warriors". The speaker talked about how people get over-ambitious in Ramadan. There's nothing with that of course. Without a doubt, we SHOULD strive to make the best out of the holy month. We should set targets with regards to Terawikh prayers, Quran recitation, Sedeqah, Iktikaf, etc.

But what's wrong with these "Ramadan Warriors" is that they want to completely change their habit/practice overnight. This is of course impossible. An example was given: High-performance athletes will spend around 30 minutes doing warm-ups alone before they delve into their actual training.

Likewise, if we want to make the most out of Ramadan, we should start way before the 1st day of the month. That way, we can get used to waking up early for sahur, fighting the lethargy while working, reciting at least 1 juzu' a day, waking up for qiamullail, etc.

If we don't start now, then we'll waste precious time getting adjusted in Ramadan itself (which is such a waste).

It's also good to keep a Ramadan journal like this one which I found in school. I have no idea who it belongs to. A bunch of them were lying around in the office last year.

The journal is meant for school-going children but I really like it because it's so cute and practical. There's a page for each day of the month. There's a checklist of 13 items that should be completed daily:

1) I am fasting
2) I prayed Fajr
3) I prayed Zohor
4) I finished my schoolwork
5) I read the Quran
6) I prayed Tarawikh
7) I gave charity
8) I prayed Asar
9) I did not gossip
10) I prayed Maghrib
11) I smiled
12) I helped someone
13) I prayed Isya'

There's also a section where you can reflect on the good and bad things you have done on that day:

"Alhamdulillah, I had good day because ____________________. But I shouldn't have ____________________. O Allah, forgive me.

And each day, there's a reminder at the bottom of the page in the form of a Quranic verse or a hadith.

I'm not sure who the publisher is but this address was printed at the back: Muslim Professionals Forum.

I guess it's time to set our Ramadan resolutions for this year and start planning how we are going to achieve those lofty targets!

"Whoever fast during Ramadan with purity of belief and with expectation of a reward (from Allah SWT) will have his previous sins forgiven" [Bukhari, Hadith 37]

Creative Group Writing

2010-07-05T19:31:00.012+10:00

My students seem to be allergic to writing. Whenever I set a writing task, very few would actually hand in their work. I tried to encourage them to write by writing a sample essay on the board. But, in the end, most would only copy the sample essay without even attempting to write their own piece.

I tried this activity (from TeachingEnglish) recently and was surprised by how well it worked. I managed to get EVERYONE to write something and that feat alone is amazing. Admittedly, this activity will work better with higher-proficiency students. But weaker students can be coaxed into writing something as well. They will be reluctant at first but once they start, they will enjoy it :)

Basically, these are the steps:
1) Give a blank A4 paper to each student.
2) Get them to fold the paper into 6 sections.
3) They should write their name on the top right corner of the paper.
4) Explain that they are going to write a story entitled: An Alien Encounter/My Unforgettable Holiday/Meeting Someone Famous.
5) In the first section, they should write a story based on the question given (Q1: When did you see the alien and where were you?).
6) Write a sample answer. Remind them not to write a one-liner (i.e. I saw an alien at my backyard yesterday). Rather, they should bear in mind that they are writing a story. So, they should make the opening paragraph as interesting as possible (i.e. I slept early last night even though I had a lot of homework to do. I set my alarm to 3am hoping that I would wake up feeling refreshed in order to complete all the work piled on my desk. Around 2.30am, I heard a strange buzzing sound like the vuvuzela...)
7) After the students have written the first paragraph, get them to fold the paper and pass it to the person sitting next to them. That person will continue the story based on Question #2 (Who were you with?), without reading what was previously written.
8) This step will be repeated until all 6 paragraphs are completed. The last person will return the paper to its original owner (the one whose name is written in the top right corner of the paper).
9) The students read how their story had turned out.

You can measure the activity's success by how excited the students are when the stories are completed. They will be sharing the stories eagerly with their friends. They will be like, "Hey, read mine, it's funny!" or "Have you read Farah's? It's really nice".

So, in the end, you will have conducted writing AND reading activities.

Below is one of the stories written by my students.

--------------------

One fateful night, the clouds covering the snow-white moon, distant howls from the horizon piercing the silent night, I was busy finishing E.T. The Movie. I thought to myself, how wonderful it would be if Earth isn't the only planet inhabited by creatures. With my imagination running wild, I stared at the black starless night, when suddenly I saw a glimmer of light shining from the dark clouds, like a star breaking into a million pieces...

I decided to step outside to see what had landed in my backyard. My first thought was that; if it was a high school prank, I WANTED TO SUE! Anyhow, as I stepped onto the soft green grass, I saw a little pink figure standing in front of me. It had large blue fangs. It wore sweat pants and a tank top. This alien really did not have a sense of fashion... just like my neighbour.

The alien told me to get something to eat for him. It didn't speak in English, but I could understand him. So then I got him some cereal with milk, but he didn't want any. So I went back in the house and got him some ham. He ate it like he never ate anything before. It was such a shocking and at the same time cool moment!

I was shocked with the things that he asked me to do, but anyhow I did it with an honest heart. In a way, I pretty much thought I was dreaming talking to an alien.

His spaceship looked like a Frisbee with stickers full of werewolf logos, symbols and so on. And "love Bella" stickers. What a weird-in-love guy or a shirtless werewolf guy.

I looked for something hard to grab and assault the alien. I grabbed a nearby plank of wood and ran towards the alien. It took one of its guns and shot me, knocking me out cold. When I woke up, I looked around and found out I was on the alien's planet, locked up in a cage.

--------------------

The word count for the above essay is 340 (which is quite commendable). Weaker students will of course write less but that's okay. I'm satisfied if I managed to get them to write anything at all.

Afterwards, you can set a "real" writing task for them. And you will find them more receptive to the idea. More students will hand in their work and they'll write more too! One student even wrote a 1000-word essay!

Just give them a fun task and you'll be surprised with their creative and imaginative stories.

The task that I gave them:

End your story with:

"And that's how I ended up sitting on top of a tree in my backyard at 1 o'clock in the morning, singing Happy Birthday to You"

Practicum Reflection

2010-06-28T21:08:00.013+10:00

I found my Practicum Reflection when rummaging through my undergraduate assignment papers.

The assignment asked us to: "Write a reflective report based on an issue/experience that [we] have encountered during practicum".

We were told to be honest in our report. There's no need write "academically" (i.e. an essay littered with citations). We were just expected to share our most meaningful experience.

I chose to write about 2 Cekal.

Reading the report reminded me of all the trials and tribulations of a practicum teacher.

It also reminded me of why I want to be a teacher in the first place.

--------------------

Teaching was not a last-resort choice for me. I really thought that I would make a good teacher; I love working with children/adolescents, and I love the idea of making a positive impact on someone else's life. I was inspired to be a teacher by my former English Language teacher: Ms. Suhaila Hani. She made English lessons so interesting and enjoyable. Further, she was also approachable and likable. I guess my teaching style is greatly influenced by her.

Having had this natural enthusiasm for teaching, I thought practicum would be a breeze. There were reports that the school we were going to is "tough". Pn. N, a teacher from the school, even told us to "prepare for the worst". I was a bit alarmed by the news but my optimism was still undiminished. Surely, I would be able to win the students over.

On my first day, I only met 2 Amal. They were not a difficult crowd to handle. They were willing participants and made me feel welcome. My fears were assuaged. But my first meeting with 2 Cekal was another story altogether. The class was extremely chaotic. I failed to control the class; the students would not keep still in their seat and were extremely noisy. I had trouble making myself heard and the lesson was basically a disaster. Further, the students could not understand what I was saying. One student remarked after some time had passed: "Cikgu cakap apa? Kami tak faham la". So, besides disciplinary problems, I also had to contend with teaching low-proficiency students.

Pn. M, my cooperating teacher, told me to be very strict with 2 Cekal ("jangan bagi muka pun"). She said that I had to look fierce when entering the class. I wanted to heed Pn. M's advice but it was hard to change one's personality completely. I am not naturally a terrifying person and to have to project that image was quite impossible.

Not everyone in the class was problematic. The majority were rather cooperative. But due to the misbehaviours of a few, the whole learning process was disrupted. The troublemakers were the boys sitting at the back. These boys often exhibited disruptive and off-task behaviours in class. They talked loudly, tossed objects, exchanged verbal insults, dawdled, walked around the classroom, defaced the school's desks, were tardy to class, displayed overt disinterest in learning, and demonstrated chronic avoidance of work. Each lesson was like a battlefield that left me feeling spent by the end of the lesson.

My failure to control the class made me feel that I am not cut out to be a teacher. My supervisor told me that I was patient and that this was a good quality for a beginning teacher. However, I feel that my temperament is not suited for this profession. Since I could not control the class, little learning could take place. I feel that I have let my students down. I read a journal where researchers interviewed several teachers to find out what they think about their role in inculcating values. One teacher said that he did not think himself as a "proper" teacher. When asked why he thought so, he replied, "I don't know, but I can remember when I first started teaching at school, there were solemn rebukes that did the job. Nobody is frightened of me. I feel that you have got to have a few missiles to carry around to be a proper teacher and I haven't got any". That reply pretty much sums up what I am feeling myself.

Besides feelings of inadequacies, I also suffered from stress and demotivation. Preparing good lesson plans and their worksheets on a daily basis was extremely stressful. There were so many factors to consider: whether the topic is interesting, the level is right, and whether or not it is achievable in the given time. When you put in so much effort, you could not help but feel demotivated when students did not reciprocate. Their indifference/resistance to learning made me just want to throw in the towel. I caught myself thinking "why bother?" a few times when I was in the midst of preparing lessons. I knew that they would not appreciate it - that a few students would not even care to attempt the exercises that I had prepared.

Talking to my fellow practicum-mates really helped me persevere. We often shared our problems and helped each other with suggestions and encouragements. Since I could not be severe and as authoritative as the situation demanded, I had implemented other strategies to tackle the problems with 2 Cekal.

I tried not to be judgemental. Being judgemental only propagates the vicious cycle: When teachers EXPECT difficult behaviour from problematic students, the students will likely to respond as such.

My strategies worked to a certain extent. I managed to reach out to some students. One student in particular, used to do other homework during my lesson. She would quickly hide her books when I came to check on her. But she later, she turned into one of my most hardworking students. She would complete all the exercises I gave and often asked for clarifications. Most of the girls showed similar improvement.

The boys' improvement was not so significant. Those seated in front were quite conscientious in doing their work. Not so for the boys seated at the back. They still created disruptions though they grew more respectful of me. They became more compliant when I asked them to keep quiet. When my supervisor observed me with 2 Cekal for the first time, they were relatively quiet. They sat still in their seat and did their work. But when I checked each group, turned out most of them did not understand my instructions. They were just pretending to do the work! I was touched by their actions. They were giving me their "cooperation" without me asking.

Towards the end of practicum, I still struggled to teach 2 Cekal. Some students still caused me a lot of grief. Hz, in particular, liked to talk back to me. But I could now handle such misbehaviours better. The other boys were still as playful as ever. They still dawdled and tried to avoid doing any work, but they were not disrespectful to me. The students' behaviour could be best described as being inconsistent. Just when I thought I had gotten through to them, they relapsed to their former selves. Aq, for example, began to show improvement by doing and submitting his work. But that did not last long. He was too easily influenced and distracted by his immediate friends. The class was relatively quiet during my supervisor's first visit. But during the second time round, the students showed their true colours and this shocked my supervisor. My supervisor told me afterwards that she had to restraint herself from coming to the front and give the class a proper "shelling". Then, during my final observation, they gave their cooperation by being relatively quiet once again. Their inconsistencies mystified me but some improvements (albeit temporary) are better than none I suppose.

2 Cekal has taught me a lot about teaching. I no longer have the romantic notion of the profession. That does not mean that I no longer love teaching - I do - but I am no longer naive about it. The five years of academic training have not prepared me for the realities of teaching. I realise that I have to be firmer and more authoritative (something that I am still working on). I also realise that I need to possess a certain degree of emotional detachment. I should not let students' rudeness or misbehaviours affect me greatly - I need to show more composure. I also think that the teacher training programme should do more to prepare students to deal with problematic students. I feel that the bulk of my training has been geared towards teaching the highly-motivated, intelligent, "ideal" students and not the "real" students one finds in actual classrooms.

--------------------

All the best to my cohort 4 juniors who are undergoing their practicum now. The next 12 weeks are going to be very very emotionally & physically draining. But it will all be worth it in the end.

:)

Universal Plan of Allah

2010-06-07T05:16:00.003+10:00

Ever been in a difficult situation? a confused state? Ever been anxious about something and suddenly when you read the Quran- bang! The answer hit you right in the eye?

I'm sure many of you have experienced it. My latest of such moments came a few days ago. I read Surah Al-Qasas the night of the Mavi Marmara attack. Feeling utterly incensed about the whole thing, I read the Quran to calm myself down. The Surah tells of how Musa's mother was inspired to cast him into the river and how he came to be adopted by Pharaoh.

[Verse 9] The wife of Pharaoh said: "(Here is) a joy of the eye, for me and for thee. Slay him not. It may be that he will be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son." And they perceived not (what they were doing)!

The footnote (Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation) which accompanied this verse explains: In all life Providence so orders things that Evil is defeated by its own weapon. Not only is it defeated, but it actually, though unwittingly, advances the cause of Good! In non-religious language this is called the work of Ironic Fates... or as we should prefer to call it, the working Universal Plan of Allah.

I doubt then that any good could come out of this tragic event. But the verse gave me hope nonetheless.

Then, tonight, I read a recount of the Malaysian LL4G activists' experience. Certain excerpts from the recount reminded me of the verse above and strengthen my faith in Allah's Universal Plan:

1) [During Q&A session] Soalan 3: Setelah gagalnya misi kita kali ini, apakah ada misi akan datang akan berjaya? Atau hanya akan menerima nasib yang sebegini? Atau mungkin akan ubah taktik penghantaran?

Pada Encik Muhammad Nizam, misi LL4G tidak pernah gagal. Mungkin dari segi misi hendak memberikan bantuan barangan mungkin belum tercapai. Tetapi bantuan ke Gaza akan sampai juga dalam bentuk-bentuk yang lain. Hakikatnya, mereka telah mendapat kejayaan yang besar, kerana daripada persitiwa inilah dunia telah tersentak dengan hebatnya. Hakikatnya, kesyahidan itu adalah bayaran untuk kesedaran dunia.

2) Berkenaan soalan jika perkara ini berlaku di perairan Gaza pula, Ustaz Jamaluddin menyatakan bahawa, rancangan asal mereka adalah mereka akan berhenti di sempadan. Kalau tak dibenarkan, mereka akan duduk di sempadan perairan Gaza selama mana bekalan makanan bertahan. Sekiranya habis makanan, bantuan makanan akan diatur untuk datang agar mereka boleh terus menunjukkan protes. Mereka hakikatnya tidak tahu berapa bulan hendak berada di atas laut. Tetapi penyusunan Allah itu sangat baik dan cantik. Allah susun mereka diserang, dan ia nampaknya lebih membuka mata dunia dari rancangan asal. Hakikatnya, mereka tidak akan merentasi sempadan Gaza tanpa kebenaran agar tidak ada konsikuensi yang buruk.

3) Sempat Dr Syed Muhammad Halim menceritakan keadaan apabila konvoi diserang oleh tentera Israel. Hakikatnya, Mavi Marmara adalah yang terakhir ditawan. Jika benar Israel hendak bertindak, maka sepatutnya amaran diberikan terlebih dahulu. Atau sekadar menarik Kapal Mavi Marmara untuk diberikan hukuman. Tetapi mereka nampaknya telah tergesa-gesa dengan melakukan tindakan menyerang. Itulah susunan Allah yang cantik. Akhirnya kecaman diberikan oleh seluruh dunia. Syahid, dibayar oleh Allah dalam keadaan yang cantik sekali.

----------

Cantik sungguh percaturan Allah...

Do read the the full account and pay extra attention to the Conclusion!

Flotilla

2010-06-01T03:02:00.005+10:00

Can't sleep after following the news about the flotilla.

Feeling outrage about the whole thing. Thing is, though the whole world is condemning the attack, I have a sickening feeling that Israel will get away with it. They managed to do so with the 08/09 war on Gaza (and other atrocities), didn't they?

As put forward by an Al-Jazeera blogger, will the international community actually do something now instead of the usual "empty indignation and paralysed condemnations"?

The following responses are compiled from Twitter. They mirrored what I feel but couldn't quite express:

-Its not about being Jewish, Christian or Muslim! It's about humanity! Protest Israel!

-Why is the United States so quiet today? Where is Mr. Nobel peace prize winner?

-I'm sorry, but if you rappel onto someone's ship from a helicopter, nothing you subsequently do can be called "self defense"

-Killing aid workers in 'self defense'? Really Israel? Today the world sees you for what you really are.

-"your blood reached the shores of Gaza before your aid"

-If this is what Israel does while the world is watching, what have they done while our backs were turned?

-The world awaits Obama's response to Israel's provocation. Hello?

-If you let someone get away with murder every time, you can't act surprised when it kills again.

-What Would Happen If Iran Attacked an Aid Flotilla, Like Israel?

The last tweet was spot on. This was what came out from the White House and the EU:

"The President expressed deep regret at the loss of life in today's incident, and concern for the wounded, many of whom are being treated in Israeli hospitals. The President also expressed the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances around this morning's tragic events as soon as possible."

"The EU strongly condemns any acts of violence and deplores any excessive use of force. In this regard, on behalf of the EU, the High Representative is requesting a full immediate enquiry by the Israeli authorities."

Such hypocrisy!

----------

After reading all the outpourings of rage, I was soothed by these words by Ismail Haniyya: "We say to those heroes that the essence of your honourable blood has reached us before the aids you are carrying to us. We salute everyone on board the Freedom ships."

Let us pray for the safety of all the flotilla activists...

Anak Murid Idaman Cikgu

2010-05-17T21:10:00.008+10:00

Last Monday was the second time I celebrated Teachers' Day.

While World Teachers' Day falls on Oct 5 every year, Malaysia's Hari Guru falls on May 16. According to Wikipedia, May 16 was chosen as the Penyata Razak was endorsed on that day in the year 1956. As we all know, the Razak Report "became the basis of education in Malaysia ever since".

Teachers' Day always makes me feel glad to be a teacher. It's not just about the presents (though I like receiving them... hehe). It's the little, little things that make you feel appreciated.

For examples:

1) J surprised me with a bouquet of white roses very early on in the morning. He asked to make sure, "Saya orang pertama yg bagi hadiah kat Teacher ke?"

2) Students wishing you "Happy Teachers' Day" with their bright smiles and gave you hugs and kisses.

3) The students put up wonderful performances for their teachers. My favourite performance had to be the Dikir Barat. The slightly mad "Enjit-enjit Semut" was a close second. I knew the students put in a lot of effort practising for the performances. That made us teachers feel celebrated and special :)

4) Dakshan & Paul played me a song with their ukulele. Sgt comel.

5) Received a very personalized gift from R. A lot of thought went into it so I love it a lot!

6) I also received Happy Mothers' Day wishes. The sweetest SMS came from Atiqah:

"Teacher,atiqah's here,i just want to say happy mothers day to u!i know sounds strange right?but u're like our real mther..the way u teach us!mmg mcm our mther,even though,u x kawen lg,hahah!thanks for everythng!sorry because im not a good studnt in your clss!!i love u!"

One student even combined the two celebrations together and wished me: Selamat Hari GuruIbu!"

7) Four days after the celebration, D said, "Teacher tak pakai pun lagi tudung yang saya bagi" *Err...*

8) Another teacher told me this: A student of hers came to see her to wish Happy Teachers' Day. He said something like, "Saya doakan Cikgu diberkati Allah selalu. Cikgu tolong doakan kejayaan saya. Terima kasih atas segala pengorbanan Cikgu"

His heartfelt wish made her cry along with 2 other teachers who were in the staff room, listening. Her story made me teary-eyed as well.

I remembered H asking me a few days before Teachers' Day, "Cikgu cakap je nak APA, nak BERAPA?"

I replied, "I don't mind. Surprise me".

Now (and though this sounds cheesy) I would have replied, "Your prayers would have sufficed".

This year's celebration also reminded me of the following poem. It's written by my beloved former principal, Dr. Fatanah Mohamed. She read out the poem during the 2001 Teachers' Day celebration (if I'm not mistaken) at MRSM Jasin. I was a fourth-former then. The poem was later published the the school's mag.

Being a teacher has made me appreciate the poem's content better. Hopefully, my students would aspire to be such an Anak Murid.

Anak Murid Idaman Cikgu

(Aspek Minda)
Mindanya positif tidak bercelaru
cerdas otaknya, tidak mudah ditipu,
bersinar matanya mendengar kuliah guru
tidak hanyut atau layu
baik dan buruk dia tahu
membaca bahan bernilai ilmu,
menuntut ilmu tiada jemu
mempunyai wawasan
memikirkan masa depan
mindanya aktif, luas fikiran.

(Aspek Jasmani/Fizikal)
Anak didik idaman cikgu menjaga kesihatan diri
sihat jasmaninya bersarapan pagi
membuat senaman setiap hari -
berjalan, berjogging serta berlari,
memilih makanan dan minuman
rokok, air bergas dijauhkan,
atau apa saja yang menjejaskan kesihatan
asrama dan kelas dijaga kebersihan
tidak membuang sampah merata-rata
menjaga kebersihan alam sekitar kita

(Aspek Rohani)
Hidup bersemangat, percaya, reda pada Allah
berjiwa besar, tidak mudah mengaku kalah
bertanggungjawab, kerja sungguh-sungguh
segalanya beres tak pernah bertangguh
jujur dan sentiasa benar pada kata-kata
sentiasa mempamerkan akhlak mulia
tidak haloba tiada buruk sangka

(Aspek Emosi)
Jiwanya besar, berbudi bahasa
berasa dirinya berharga,
kebolehan diri dia percaya
potensi dirinya tidak dipersia,
yakin diri, berpaksikan agama,
tenang, sabar, tidak putus asa
dia berusaha dan terus mencuba.
Mematuhi perintah, tabah, berfikiran terbuka,
barlapang dada, suka bekerjasama
sentiasa berazam memperbaiki diri
stabil emosi, unggul peribadi,
tidak bersedih dengan kekurangan sendiri.

(Aspek Sosial)
Hati yang lain tidak disakiti
benar ucapan dan memenuhi janji
bersopan santun, tidak mengutuk, tidak memaki
tidak menghasut, tidak membenci
manis wajahnya riang berseri
tiada hasad tiada dengki,
mengasihi dan murkai kerana Ilahi
ibu bapa, guru, dan rakan dihormati dan disayangi,
menjaga maruah dan harga diri.
Pemaaf, bertimbang rasa, luhur hati dan budi.
memberi pertolongan dan berbesar hati.
Tidak membiar rakan hidup susah dan sepi
mendahulukan orang lain daripada kepentingan sendiri,
tanpa menjejaskan kesejahteraan diri.

----------

HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY TO ALL THE AMAZING EDUCATIONAL ARTISTS OUT THERE!! :)

Oral C

2010-05-16T00:36:00.007+10:00

I did this lesson in class and had so much fun!

1) Ask the students to bring a self-care product to class (toothbrush/toothpaste/deoderant/lip balm/talcum powder/hair gel/facial wash/etc).

2) Get the students to be in groups of 4-6.

3) Get them to be advertising executives for the day. They have to come up with a print advertisement and a TV commercial their self-care product.

4) The print ad is to be done on an A4-size paper while the TV ad is to be acted in front of the whole class.

The students came up with hilarious commercials. I never laughed so hard in a class before. The funniest bits had to be when they whipped out their products energetically. "Try this!" they would say, while flashing their megawatt smiles...

The students presented 7 products. They were:
-Joey Orange's sunscreen
-Dona' deoderant
-Parfum's perfume
-Oral C toothbrush
-The Intense Mascara
-Safi's deoderant
-Slim Mood Slimming Solution

The funniest ad had to be Oral C's. The group (Fahmi, Adam, Hazwan & Azfar) did a parody of the Colgate's commercials.

Like the original commercials, a representative of the company stopped a random person from the street and asked, "Do you know that bacteria is building up in your mouth?"

Though the respondent was doubtful of the said build-up, he agreed to have his mouth scanned.

In the Colgate's ads, the respondents would be shocked by the scanned images. "But I brushed my teeth this morning", they would say.

But in Oral C's version, the interviewer was the one shocked. Adam exaggerated his horror at having seen the "bacteria" in his respondent's mouth.

"OMG sir, how often do you brush your teeth?!"

After further admonitions, he suggested Fahmi use Oral C. Adam continued to explain the toothbrush's qualities. He then stated the most important thing:

"Sir, this toothbrush is HALAL"

Right on cue, Azfar & Hazwan came into the class with songkoks, looking very important.

"We're from JAKIM", they introduced themselves and proceeded to inspect the toothbrush.

They nodded their heads and made approving sounds while examining the product.

"This is a very good product", Hazwan put his stamp of approval on it.

"Yes, this is HALAL. HALAL!!", Azfar concurs.

-----THE END-----

I had so much fun during that lesson. Such teaching moments do not come often but when they do; they are priceless!!

I also observed that not all students are game enough to do presentations. Of course, there will be shy students in your class but, they too, can participate in such group works if the class is "nice".

If the class provides a safe learning environment, then students do not have to worry about expressing themselves, taking risks, being goofy, etc.

But if the class is not so accommodating, students will be reluctant to do any of these things for the fear of being laughed at.

So, I guess the key to having successful lessons is to create a safe learning environment first (both physically & psychologically).

faithful companion

2010-05-08T19:57:00.006+10:00

My brother is away for 2 weeks. So, I've been using his car for the time being.

I'm not sure how old the car is but its steering wheel handle is peeling, the speed gauge is erratic, the driver's window will not close properly and the sensor is faulty.

All these concerns have been relayed to my brother but he just brushed them off. He has learnt to accept/embrace his car's eccentricities it seems.

When told of the speed gauge, he just gave it a whack and said, "Dia kena ketuk sikit", and sure enough, the then idle needle started to move.

He bypassed the window problem by having a Smart Tag (though he is still having problems when he has to collect/produce parking tickets).

And he just laughed off the sensor's constant beeping (it'll always beep when the car is in reverse gear even though there's no object obstructing the car).

We were always puzzled by Abafan's reluctance to buy a new car. He can afford it but he just doesn't want to.

The situation reminds me of Mma Ramotswe's attachment to her van. The passages below are taken from the book 'In The Company of Cheerful Ladies' by Alexander McCall Smith.

In Mma Ramotswe's case, her attachment to the tiny white van was more emotional than financial in origin. She had bought the tiny white van when she first came to live in Gaborone and it had served her loyally since that day. It was not a fast vehicle, nor a particularly comfortable one...And the engine had a tendency to go out of tune very shortly after Mr J. L. B. Matekoni had attended to it, which meant that the tiny white van would splutter and jerk from time to time. In Mma Ramotswe's view, though, these were small matters: as long as the tiny white van was capable of getting her around, and as long as it did not break down too often, she proposed holding on to it. She thought it as her friend, a staunch ally in this world, an ally to whom she owed a strong debt of loyalty.

After the van broke down in the middle of the night, when Mma Ramotswe was in the middle of nowhere, her husband subtly suggested to her to replace the van with a new one. She pondered on the suggestion and replied:

"I have had that van for a long time...I am very fond of it. They do not make vans like that anymore"

Mr J. L. B. Matekoni looked at her, and was suddenly filled with a great sense of pride. There were women who would be only too eager to get hold of a new van or car and who would willingly scrap a faithful vehicle for the sake of something flashier and smarter. It made him feel proud to know that Mma Ramotswe was not like that. Such a woman would never want to trade in an old and useless husband for a newer, smarter man. That was very reassuring.

I just love Alexander McCall Smith's novels because of passages like these. They are simple yet deceptively profound aren't they?

I agree with Craig Brown's review that "His novels are also extremely funny: I find it impossible to think about them without smiling"

Flea, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers even said that, "There are some great books that this guy called Alexander McCall Smith put out that take place in Botswana. They are really fun to read and make you feel like human beings can really have worthwhile lives. The first one is called 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'. I highly recommend them if you like to be happy"

The conclusions?:
1) Read the books!
2) Be on the lookout for someone who's loyal to their automobile!

APRIL

2010-05-02T17:41:00.006+10:00

Ainur used to send me "TGIF" SMSes every week. She stopped doing that some time ago. I asked her why and she replied:

"Wslm. Haha. Syada, u noticed. I stopped my TGIF msges sbb sy dh bnyk kali trtpu. U can't say tgif whn u hv 2 come 2 school on strdays. dh 5 cnsecutive sabtu dh kne pg skolah. dpressed sy. Rs mcm x de life. Syada, awk free x strdays? is ur school suckng the life out of u too? "

oh YES!!
Until this Labour-Day weekend, I haven't had a "proper" weekend since the mid-semester1 break in March. April has been a punishing month. I've had to bring students to three competitions which are held consecutively. They are:
1) The 9th Interschool Debating Championship (Apr16-21)
2) Kejohanan Tenis MSSD Gombak (Apr19-23)
3) Tan Sri Datuk Paduka Hajjah Saleha Debate Cup (Apr23 & 24)

Though I got to skip school for 6 days, I didn't get to goyang kaki since attending these competitions meant my working hours were extended. So, to friends who sensed my incommitment, or felt that I was becoming more distant, I'm truly sorry. I was just in a very bad place :(

(Tasha, I knew exactly what you feel)

My school did quite well in the IDC (the team was made up of Aiman, Dakshan, Amal & Komal). We qualified for the Double-Octo Finals and was ranked number 21 out of the 80 participating schools. On the first day of competition, we won 1 and lost 1. But on the second day, we won all 3 rounds!! It was unbelievable. After the last debate for the day, Pn. Safrina & I had wanted to drive the students back to their accommodation, but they wanted to join us for dinner.

Faris, their senior who went to give them moral support, also guilted us into bringing him along by saying, "Takpe, saya boleh makan maggi je kat rumah..."

Seriously, these people are emotional-extortionists!

So, the 7 of us went out to eat at Taman Melati. The students were so deliriously happy with their wins that they were acting very hyper. Kak Saf jokingly distanced herself from the crowd and declared, "I don't know these people". They retaliated by greeting her loudly, "HAI CIKGU SAFRINA!!".

That night, Man. City was up against Man. Utd at home. So, the eatery was crowded by supporters by both sides. Whenever the supporters groaned/cheered/clapped, the students would make similar noises though none of us was watching the game. It was a very fun albeit crazy outing with the students.

After the IDC high, we went crashing down in the HELP Debate. All 4 students that we sent were new to debating and we haven't had the time to train them/oversee their preparation.

They lost 3 out of the 4 preliminary rounds. I felt so bad about neglecting them and apologised for "throwing them into the deep end of the ocean". Chua corrected me, "Teacher, it's not just any ocean, it's the Pacific!".

After each loss, Pn. Safrina and I had a long talk, dissecting our mistakes and thinking of how we could've won. We came to the conclusion of the necessity of hiring a trainer. Tapi nak cari di mana ye??

The students were demoralized after the first day. There were even talks of forfeiting the remaining rounds. But they persevered and did a much better job on the second day. We won our last round and I'm just proud of them for not quitting even though that was an easy way out.

After all the competitions were over, it's time to enter the classrooms again.

My students somehow seemed a lot nicer. Was I imagining it?

For instance, when I wanted to go to my next class or to the staff room my 3A boys would offer to help me carry my things. If I happen to hold 3 things, then 3 students will "escort" me to my destination, each carrying an item. Tak berat pun but they insisted on carrying them for me. I felt like being waited on hand and foot.

But that's the nature of students: they gave you joy and heartache in turns.

Since returning, I've also heard many complaints about my 3I students. The other teachers complained that they didn't do their work, didn't bring their textbooks, the boys and the girls mix too freely, etc.

I don't doubt that these claims are true but what am I to do? This is one of the parts of teaching I haven't got the hang of; to instill good values in students, to nahi mungkar and to nag dgn berhikmah.

So about the only thing that I can do when other teachers complain is to look grieved and say, "Diaorg tu memang macam tu..." (in a regretful tone and while shaking my head).

Being a class teacher makes you feel like a mum of 40 (unmanageable) teenagers *sigh*

Why Do You Teach?

2010-04-11T02:28:00.005+10:00

I first read the article last year. It was included in the Form 5 July Test. I put it away somewhere to reread it and only came across it again recently.

It's written by Peter G. Beidler and my favourite paragraph is this:
"Certainly I don't teach because teaching is easy for me.Teaching is the most difficult among the various ways I have attempted to earn my living... For me, teaching is a red-eye, sweaty-palm, sinking-stomach profession. Red-eye, because I never feel ready to teach, no matter how late I stay up preparing the night before. Sweaty-palm, because I am always nervous before I walk into that classroom, sure that I will be found out for the fool that I am. Sinking-stomach, because I walk out of the classroom an hour later convinced that I was even more boring than usual."

True isn't it?
When a lesson goes well, you feel on top of the world. But when it doesn't, it's thoroughly soul destroying. You then ask yourself: Why do you choose to become a teacher? You are horrible at it!

Why am I still a teacher then?? (Apart from being bound by contract) the rest of the article seems to partially answer that question for me.

Hectic

2010-04-10T23:28:00.006+10:00

This past week has been very hectic. On top of marking the students' March Test papers, I had to settle 2 major things: registering my students for the district-level tennis competition and the upcoming HELP debate.

The former was particularly time-consuming. There are so many forms to fill in; MO1, MO2, Borang Pendaftaran Mengikut Kategori, Nota Minta, parents' consent forms, etc. The huge paperwork made me feel like buying a shredding machine and turning all those forms into confetti.

I have so many things to settle that my desk is littered with post-it notes. So much so that the teacher next to me jokingly asked, "Dah habis tampal dah tu?"

It's true what Dayah has said; When you're burdened with too many tasks, the quality of your work deteriorates. You end up doing things in a touch-and-go manner. Which aptly describes the quality of my work nowadays :(

I thought I had reached breaking point last Friday, when I reached home at 6pm. I had to endure a 1-hour traffic jam in a journey which normally takes around 15 minutes. It was raining heavily and, feeling wet and utterly miserable, I felt like quitting my job and becoming something, anything else.

But alhamdulillah, after having a home-cooked dinner prepared lovingly by Mom, after eating chocolate-flavoured ice cream straight from the tub with my sister, and after getting sufficient sleep, I woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning :)

Though I had to work on a Saturday from 8am to 6pm, I was in a good mood (those who think that teaching is a half-day job are gravely mistaken). Seeing my students benefiting from the debating workshop we attended made it all worthwhile.

I was reminded of 2 quotes:
1) "Orang yang hidup untuk dirinya sendiri akan hidup seperti orang yang kerdil dan mati sebagai seorang yang kerdil. Tetapi orang yang hidup bagi orang lain akan hidup sebagai orang yang 'besar' dan mati sebagai orang yang besar juga" -Syed Qutb-

2) "Apabila kamu merasa letih kerana berbuat kebaikan maka sesungguhnya keletihan itu akan hilang dan kebaikan itu akan kekal. Dan sekiranya kamu berseronok dengan dosa maka sesungguhnya keseronokan itu akan hilang dan dosa itu akan kekal" -Saidina Ali bin Abi Talib-

Maybe I should write down these quotes and add them to my post-it notes collection...

Hands of Honour

2010-04-02T01:55:00.006+11:00

'Hands of Honour' is one the the activities we did during the English Camp. I thought I would try it out with my 3Q students as a pre-writing task.

They were supposed to write 'What I Am Passionate About'. What I really want was for them to write about what they absolutely love. I do not want them to merely write about their hobbies.

The 'Hands of Honour' works like this: Students trace their palms on a piece of A4 paper. They then write down 5 things that are synonymous with them.

I gave them a simple exercise on synonyms first (casual=informal, incorrect=wrong, etc) before asking them to write the 5 most significant things about themselves.

To further clarify the task, I gave a few examples:

"Contohnya, bila saya tengok Arif je, saya teringat silat; kalau Azfar, rubix cube; kalau Fahmi pulak, tenis."

(Yes, I codeswitch in class!)

Pretty soon the rest of the class wanted me to do/"read" them/their friends.
"Kalau saya pulak Cikgu?"
"Teacher, buat Adam pulak"...

Eventually, they settled down and began writing. Then, they had to swap their paper with a friend's and proceed to write 5 things about that friend.

Only after that do they start writing the actual essay. Yes, the pre-writing task was too long and it seemed to go on forever but I need to get my students excited about the topic first as they are chronically allergic to writing essays.

At the end of the lesson, the students handed in their essay and their "palms". I had fun reading the 5 things they had written about themselves and their friends.

These are among the ones that made me laugh out loud:

1) "If fight learning, lots man have falls". Confused? Fret not, a Malay translation was provided next to it: "Kalau lawan belajar, ramai yang kalah".

2) "Look kind, his heart still in investigation" = Nampak je baik, hati tu tak tau lagi"

And this one made me raise my eyebrows in serious doubt:

"Never misses 'Indahnya Iman' on Astro Oasis"

Then, I came across this:
Somebody had done the 5 things for me. I asked 3Q the next day and the mystery author turned out to be Mas Dayana.

So, thanks Mas, you had made my day! :)

'English Is Just Awesome' Camp

2010-04-02T01:08:00.006+11:00

The Form 3 and Form 5 students of SMA Rembau were forced to attend the above mentioned camp (co-hosted by the school and KRIM Negeri Sembilan). So naturally, most of them had negative preconceptions about it.

But on the last day, after speaking English for 3 days; after doing all the fun language-based & non-language-based activities; after bonding with the facilitators, good feedback was received from the participants... Alhamdulillah...

I thank Allah for the opportunity to be a part of this programme. Credits to my juniors in IPBA who formed the backbone of the organising committee. They had to do all the required planning, preparations and arrangements in the midst of their assignments. May Allah ease their tasks for them...

What made this experience special was the people that I was surrounded with. I love my fellow facilitators (Fariena, Izyan, Saqinah, Abby, Thuaibah & Safura) who were very fun and enjoyable to work (and drink teh tarik) with. I admire their enthusiasm, creativity, confidence, humour and their overall nice-ness.

And the participants were wonderful. They were eager learners, punctual,courteous and oh-so lovable.

So different from the students I'm used to having... :p

It was heartening to observe students who were initially reluctant and hesitant to speak English gradually shed their self-consciousness as the camp progressed. We even caught participants speaking English to the canteen operator and on the telephone to Mum and Dad! :)

All praise is due to Allah for the camp's success. A teacher there even suggested that the camp be held annually from now on.

Hopefully, the camp's positive impact will last for a long time instead of being a short-term thing. And may all our sacrifices, difficulties and hard work be counted as good deeds in the sight of Allah SWT... amin...

Read other accounts of the event here and here.

Lest We Forget

2010-03-18T03:04:00.007+11:00

You know the feeling when you've read/seen something so significant that you just want to make it known to others?

That feeling was constantly on my mind when I was watching UK's Channel 4's 'Dispatches' programme: 'Children in Gaza'.

The Israeli attacks on Gaza was over a year ago. We all remembered it. The intense media coverage engaged everyone. People were enraged by the whole thing. Feeling helpless, people did everything within their power to help; donations poured in, prayers were offered, certain products were boycotted, rallies & talks were held, etc.

Sadly, people moved on. We rarely think about sufferings for a long time especially when those sufferings are not ours. So, Gaza was somewhat forgotten.

I'm guilty of the same disengagement. Though I do sort of keep up with what's happening (the site http://gaza.tumblr.com provides an excellent coverage of Gaza), the level of concern and anxiety has been less acute.

Thus, when Ibraheem said, "Whilst they are playing, we are sad", guilt and shame came over me as I felt that he could very well have been referring to me.

The documentary reminds me of the tragedy and why it is important for us to never forget it. Through the eyes of Ibraheem, Amal, Mahmood and Omsyatte, we could comprehend just how destructive the attacks had been to their country, their family, their home and their physical, mental & emotional well being.

These children are articulate, honest and brave. Their stories moved me and I felt that their honest remarks cut through the issue like no other "analysis" written by any journalist could.

I strongly urge you to see the documentary for yourselves at this link. I couldn't find the code to embed the video in this entry... sorry for that.

(Pictures taken from: channel4.com)

Dato' C Q Teo - KDU Debate Challenge 2010

2010-03-15T15:13:00.006+11:00

I accompanied my students for the above-mentioned debate last Fri-Sun (March 12-14).

Our school sent two teams; SMKTM A (Aiman, Dakshan & Yusintha) and SMKTM B (Nabihah, Amal & Sable). And three Form 3 students came to observe to gain some exposure (Dev, Shyam & Alya).

Both teams lost their first round. They were a bit down and demotivated by that. Pn. Paridah tried to cheer them up by saying, "Takpe, there are 4 more rounds coming up!". But to this, Aiman replied, "Teacher, that's not a relief!" Haha

For many in the teams, it was their first time entering an unscripted debate competition, so they were quite nervous. But after the initial nervousness had died down, they showed a vastly improved performance in the next round. Both teams won Round 2. *applause*

The event ended around 6.30 to 6.45pm. But the traffic was so bad (it was Friday night after all) that the journey which normally takes around 25 minutes took a whole hour instead.

A funny thing happened on our way back though. Dev commented, "You drive very well Teacher".

"I do?"

I was surprised by the comment and was feeling very pleased with myself when he added, "Yeah, for a girl" (!)

I was laughing so hard that I did not anticipate the car in front of me wanting to turn right. Instead of slowing down and stopping like a courteous driver would, I overtook the car from the left on a rather narrow road.

I was expecting Dev to say something along the lines of, "I spoke too soon" or "I take that back" but instead he said, "See what I mean? No lady driver would dare do that!"

Errmm...

I think Dev has 'recklessness' and 'skillfulness' confused but since it was working in my favour I let that comment passed :-p

Day 2

The remaining preliminary rounds were conducted today (Rounds 3, 4 and 5). Round 5 was a silent round meaning that the adjudicator would not reveal the winner nor provide any feedback like the other rounds. SMKTM A won Round 3 but lost Round 4 while SMKTM B lost both rounds.

By the end of Day 2, everyone was just so exhausted by the day-long, back-to-back debates. And things were further complicated by whether or not we should come tomorrow. Team A still had a mathematical chance of making it to the final 16 but not all team members were optimistic.

Day 3

Dakshan, Aiman, Amal & Yusintha came with me on the 3rd day. Unfortunately, we didn't break through. But most of us stayed on to see the last 16 and the quarterfinal matches. The teams that we saw were awesome. No wonder they managed to chalk up 5 wins and high speaker scores in the preliminary rounds.

At 1.30pm, we decided to call it a day. We didn't stay on for the semis and the final.

Overall, we had a great time. Kudos to the organisers for a well-executed event. I think that the students benefited a lot from the competition. They not only got to debate, but they also received invaluable constructive feedback from the adjudicators, they got to socialise and meet new people who share the same interest, they gained more exposure, improved their language abilities and discussed "intellectual" stuff that they don't normally talk about (world politics, human rights, the law, etc).

Hopefully the experience will make the students love debating more. With a strong commitment and with proper, regular training, inshaAllah, we'll do better at subsequents competitions :-)

School holidays (again)!!! Woohoo!!!

2010-03-12T03:33:00.004+11:00

After an interval of 3 weeks, it's time for a break again! *grin*

I remembered a friend's remark after she glanced at my yearly planner, "Banyaknya cuti!" I thought I detected disbelief coupled with envy in her tone... hahaha.

The thing is, I feel this year, we have fewer holidays. 4 public holidays fell on a Saturday (Thaipusam, Wesak, Labour Day & Agong)! FOUR!! Where's the fairness in that??

And to make it worse, the Raya Puasa holidays coincide with the mid-semester 2 break (!).

At the beginning of the year, while mapping out my 2010 planner, life appears bleak indeed :-p

Only after that remark did I realise how lucky I am. So, no more complaints about having fewer holidays!

Having a break to destress yourself is important but I've never been able to make full use of the school holidays (not when I was a student, and not now, as a teacher). Of course, you start off with all the best intentions: to mark your students' books, to enhance your subject's content knowledge, to declutter your workstation, to read for leisure, to spend quality time with your family (shouldn't this be first?), to get done the things you've been putting off, etc, etc, etc.

But rarely did these intentions materialised. Maybe about 20% did. But the rest are what we call "angan-angan yang terkubur".

Despite my embarrassing track record, I couldn't help myself from setting ambitious targets for this coming school holidays as well. There are 2 weddings and 1 engagement feasts to go to (congratulations to my lovely friends Faizah, Mass and Nada!!) and the rest are same old, same old (read: things mentioned in the previous paragraph).

I just hope that I won't oversleep, overeat and surf the internet excessively.

Fa is coming home from Marudu so I'm counting on her and Nada to engage me in fruitful activities :-p

As for my beloved students, here's something that you can join:

May you come back to school with a rejuvenated body, revitalised energy and a rekindled iman.

Oh, and a refreshed mind too so that more grammar items can be stuffed inside there :-)

For more info, visit http://krimgombak.wordpress.com/

ICAS 2010

2010-03-10T20:14:00.005+11:00

ICAS stands for International Competitions And Assessments For Schools. It is conducted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) annually. Our school (SMK Tmn Melawati) is one of the participating schools. The subjects assessed are:

1) English

2) Writing

3) Mathematics

4) Science

5) Computer Skills

ICAS is an international competition which is also conducted in Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, South Africa, Vanuatu and the USA. So, participating in the competition will earn you the highest extra-curricular marks for participation, regardless of whether you pass or fail the test.

(Remember your extra-curricular marks come from Attendance, Participation, Designation and Achievements)

To participate, contact the teachers-in-charge for the respective subjects.

For English, it would be Pn. Norfidzah but the Form 3 students may give their names to me. Register your names by this Friday and the fees will be collected after the school holidays.

Yes, the fees...

The entry fee is RM25 per subject. Except for writing which costs RM55.

The dates for the exams are as follows:

Tuesday, April 13th 2010

Computer Skills

Tuesday, April 27th 2010

Science

Tuesday, August 3rd 2010

Mathematics

Wednesday, 30th June 2010

Writing

Tuesday, July 20th 2010

English

I strongly encourage you to enter this, as it will really test your language abilities.

For more info, visit the website: www.eats.com.my

P.S. The closing dates (for the 5 subjects) differ, so do check with the teachers-in-charge so you won't miss out!

Ladies' Night

2010-03-08T03:13:00.006+11:00

Naiiemah did an awesome job with the poster design. Loved it! And it translated well in the forms of bunting and banner too!

The main objective of the event is to strengthen the ukkhuwwah between Beliawanis KL members. Hopefully, that objective is achieved to some degree.

Ukkhuwwah is such a common phrase. It's a common tazkirah topic as well which may get some people to think "not again?!" or "heard that before". I used to think so too.

But since entering the working world, being apart from close friends from college made me value ukkhuwwah that much more. Though you get along with your colleagues; it's vastly different isn't it?

After that last day in IPBA, after the teary goodbyes and promises to "keep in touch", after surviving 1 year as a teacher alone, who do we still keep in touch with? I mean really keep in touch (not just random responses to their facebook's posts). Friends who we still (occasionally) meet up with, talk to over the phone, SMS, remember their birthdays, fret over their well being, take an interest in their affairs, etc...

I've just realised that my circle of friends from college has shrunk. But of course, we do meet new people and make new friends. Hopefully we can practise everything that we've learnt from all the ukkhuwwah tazkirah that we've heard with our old and new friends :-)

"None of you truly believes (in Allah and in His religion) until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself" (reported by Bukhari & Muslim)

facebook groups

2010-02-21T15:27:00.006+11:00

Today's the last day of my 9-day CNY break *sigh*

I wish the break can be extended but maybe work is good for me; as it means less hibernation and more productivity :-) Besides, the following week is a non-teaching week. The students will sit for their February Test *yeay!*

Though I feel sorry for the students, I just can't express how much I love exams --just as long as I'm not the one setting the paper and I only have to mark MCQ answer sheets :-)

To my students who might be reading this; Life is unfair, I know... :-p

So to brighten up their day, I'm listing the groups related to teaching/teachers I've come across on facebook.

They are meant to elicit a few laughs, but as a teacher, they sort of remind/caution me of what not to do.

Most probably, you've already become a fan of the following groups:

1- I love when teachers tell the class stories that make the class waste time.
2- Teachers trying really hard to tell a joke... it's sad to watch. [*ouch!*]
3- I love it when teachers come into the class and say: Please do your own work.
4- "It's so easy!" "Of course you say it's easy!!! You're a teacher!!!"
5- We pay for an education, not a lecture on how we look.
6- Sitting in class thinking WHEN AM I GOING TO USE THIS IN MY LIFE!!

I haven't come across many groups that teachers create and join but I think Guna's status post can be converted into one. He wrote, "So you think you can teach? My class can be a new reality show".

Another good one is, "I'm a teacher, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" which is the title of a book by Francis Gilbert and Tasha's blog entry.
It's easy to see the love/hate relationship between teachers and students, no?

CNY Holidays

2010-02-16T02:37:00.008+11:00

Alhamdulillah, the holidays are finally here. Toward the end of week 6, I was getting chronically disoriented, totally frazzled and a bit insane.

I have serious time-management issues. Though I stay back after school and continue to do some work at home, I still couldn't keep my in-tray manageable.

Many times, I didn't come into class with a well-thought of lesson plan and the unmarked books kept on piling on my desk mercilessly. These unfinished tasks just made me feel like the most incompetent teacher ever.

So I kept praying for the holidays to come since Feb 1.

X X X

Talking about time management, I read a very interesting interview in The Star the other day.

The person being interviewed was Steve Leung, a "trendsetting Hong Kong architect" who was named "World's Best Interior Designer".

He was asked, "When and where did you receive your training in design? What was the most valuable lesson you have ever learnt?"

His reply was: "...The most valuable lesson was in time management. I wasn't the most "hard-working" of students, only one-third of my time was used for study. I like sports a lot (all sorts of sports, such ball games, swimming, track and field, etc.). I was an athlete in several sports and I was the sports captain. Therefore, one-third of my time was for sports, training and leading my team. Another one-third of my time was for personal interests, including learning French and doing design-related freelance jobs. I wore several hats but needed plenty of rest at the same time, therefore, I realised the importance of good time management in order to succeed in all my roles."

I thought the answer encapsulates what educational institutions are all about. We learn so many subjects in school (Biology, Chemistry, Add. Maths, Grammar, etc.) that we may or may not use in real life.

But what will certainly be put to use are the values and skills subconsciously taught through all those subjects and through our involvement in extra-curricular activities and through other experiences that schools have to offer.

Values and skills like time management, public speaking, cooperation, learning how to learn, punctuality, discipline, problem solving, decision making, etc.

I've touched on this issue before but this is to illustrate again why our exam-oriented culture is detrimental to students in the long run.

X X X

Anyway, the past three days have been great (i.e. stress-free); no lesson plans, no school-related work, no register, no students... Aaah *sigh of contentment*

As much as I love my students, some do cause me high blood pressure. So, a loooong absence is needed for the heart to grow fonder again.

I've been to 2 places so far: The National Zoo and the TIMES Warehouse Sale.

The former was for my nieces and nephew's sake but I had a great time as well.

The latter was very therapeutic. Book browsing has that effect on me. What makes it even more pleasant is that there weren't many people around. So, there was no need for jostling and I took my own sweet time checking the books aisle by aisle.

I wasn't planning to buy cheap books by the truckload since I still have many unread books on my shelves. But I found so many tempting titles which I KIV-ed. I only bought one so far which is Ali Smith's The Whole Story and Other Stories. What made me buy the book was its very engaging (and cute) opening passage:

"There was a man dwelt by a churchyard.
Well, no, okay, it wasn't always a man; in this particular case it was a woman. There was a woman dwelt by a churchyard.
Though, to be honest, nobody really uses that word nowadays. Everybody says cemetery. And nobody says dwelt anymore. In other words:
There was once a woman who lived by a cemetery"

So do come to Sunway Giza if you like book sales like I do :-)

Happy Chinese New Year!
Enjoy the holidays!

(Oh, btw, driving in KL is so pleasurable these past few days. The roads are deserted!)

Tennis and Debating

2010-02-08T18:29:00.003+11:00

The Tennis Club and the English Debating Team are two of my responsibilities this year. I'm kind of excited by both. I've played tennis before in school so I'll not be completely clueless when taking charge of the club like I did last year with Pandu Puteri. I knew nothing about marching, panji-panji and whatnot. The only contributions that I could offer them were my chauffeuring and chaperoning service.

I have very enthusiastic players in my tennis club. So, managing the team is a breeze. We hit a major stumbling block trying to find a suitable place to practise. But once that was settled, we had a great first training session and hopefully, subsequent sessions will be as well-attended and enjoyable.

During the training though, I realised just how great the divide is between the haves and the have-nots in my school. The majority of the tennis players come from a well-to-do family. When they gave me their mobile phones for safekeeping, they handed over Blackberries and other expensive-looking phones. In contrast, I know of a student who has a hard time paying the 50 cents per week class fund.

Then, there are students whom English is their communication language and there are those who think that the verb 'rise' is nasi.

When I was first posted here, I wondered why I was given this school. Maybe the school is a microcosm of our society -- it reflects all the social injustices, imbalances; and other stuff that I have yet to discover.

As teachers, we are also privy to our students' lives. You wouldn't believe how complicated their family problems are. When you got to know of their background, you sort of understand why certain students came to be problematic individuals in schools -- they just don't have that stable family life or strong parental figures to guide them.

I'm totally digressing from my main story here...
So yeah, tennis is great so far! hahaha
Hopefully, we'll get to win a lot of medals in the coming MSSD competition :-)

My second responsibility is the English Debating team. I never thought that I would be in this position. I was a lousy public speaker in school. Wait, I think I still am. I'm not really the talky-type but last year, I got the chance to see UIA's annual debating competition. And I am hooked on debating ever since.

I think these student-debaters are just amazing. Where do they get the confidence, the charm, the excellent speaking skills? I was just so impressed that I wanted to see more debates in the future. I guess my wish came true.

So, last week I met the aspiring debaters. The number of students who showed up exceeded my expectation I gave them motions to prepare over the weekend and the first mock-debate was successfully conducted today (Feb 8).

The motion was: "Public Schools Are Better at Educating Students Than Private Schools".

Some of the students were visibly nervous and were not well-prepared. But they could certainly do better with the benefit of training, exposure, practice and more preparation time. Two of them really impressed me though. They have the potential to do very, very well.

There will be 3 other mock-debates and the motions are:
1) Exes Should Remain Friends
2) A Jack-Of-All-Trades Is Better Than A Master of One
3) Men Make Better Bosses

After the debate, I told them that the main purpose of joining the team is not to win trophies or collect extra-curricular marks. They should take the opportunity to develop their public-speaking, critical thinking and effective communication skills which will serve them well later in life. Even if they do not get selected, they should still come for the mock-debates and competitions to get exposure and tips to polish their skills. They can always try again next year. So they shouldn't give up or think that they are not good enough!

See how bersemangat I am about this? haha

Too much

2010-01-27T00:40:00.003+11:00

"Prudie thought that she could just do the rest of it--watch them for signs of suicide or weapons or pregnancy or drug addiction or sexual abuse--but asking her to teach them French at the same time was really too much."

I'm nursing a cold right now and when I think of all the things that I'm supposed to do, I recalled the above excerpt from Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club.

I may not deal with suicidal or pregnant students or all the other extreme cases, but I do feel overwhelmed by the various (unrelated to teaching) tasks that I'm supposed to do.

Yes, I can deal with the SMM data entry, the minutes, the documentations, the class register, the school fee collection, etc but how am I to teach English at the same time?

When would I have the time to plan lessons, to mark books, to do the oral tests, to use ICT in the classroom, etc?

I promised myself not to complain but being sick makes me susceptible to self-pity :-(

Gombak By-Election

2010-01-24T03:27:00.008+11:00

The given scenario was: "The parliamentary seat of Gombak is recently vacated. Your party decides to run in the by-election. Create an election poster to woo voters"

Though I was disappointed in the initial products, the subsequent presentations were much better.

The votes have been cast. But here are my chosen winners:

1) Best Name: The Redeem Party

The name has significant meaning and a cool connotation.

Other strong contenders: The Freedom Party & The Go Green Party.

Names which fell outside of the semantic field: The Halloween Party & The Birthday Party (!)

2) Best Slogan: "Gombak for Gombak People"

The memorable "Asia Untuk Orang Asia" slogan received a new twist. The Gombak version is very catchy!

Runner-up: "Justice will be served *Grr*"

The *Grr* provides a comic relief that appeals to voters.

3) Best Logo

The Cik Mun Party gave a wonderful rationale for their logo:- The figure lying comfortably inside the hibiscus symbolises the peace and security that each citizen of this country would feel under the Cik Mun's rule. This sentiment is reinforced in their slogan: Peaceful, secure & developed.

4) Best Content

Many groups chose the environment as a cause to fight for but The Freedom Party stood out because of the buzz words (hybrid cars, carbon emissions) that they mentioned. The use of these words shows that the group members are engaged with the current issues.

The other groups mostly talked about: stopping deforestation, promoting recycling & limiting the use of plastic bags.

5) Most Aesthetically-Pleasing

This was created by a group from 3B. 3B is the least-proficient class out of the five classes that I'm teaching. Though I provided most of the wording, this group certainly got A+ for their effort.

Another good effort from 3B:

X X X

What I learned from the whole exercise:
-Students should be constantly-trained to think critically and creatively. You would be surprised with the ideas they can come up with.
-Classroom activities which resemble real-life scenarios lend relevance to the lessons and motivate students.
-Students needed to be pushed to talk in English. Develop their public-speaking skills. Practice makes perfect! These skills will serve them well later in life.

Mock-Election

2010-01-19T21:22:00.007+11:00

It's funny how a so-so lesson plan could be a hit in the classroom while an elaborately-thought one could tank.

Today, I had planned a special lesson for 3Q. Yesterday, we did a reading comprehension exercise on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. So, as an enrichment activity, I asked the students to ponder on this question: "If you were the leaders of this country, what changes would you implement to make things better?"

In groups, the students were to form their own political party. They had to:
-give their party a name
-create the party's logo
-coin a slogan, and
-state their party's manifestos

The students seemed to enjoy the group work but it was difficult to get them to talk in English. I was also disappointed by their finished products. Their manifestos lacked maturity and it made me wonder whether the task was too hard or whether my expectations were too high. Perhaps I should have structured the lesson differently; provide them with more input, examples and scaffolding...

There wasn't enough time for presentation, so the "campaigning" will commence next week followed by the casting of votes. The votes will then be tallied to ascertain the winner of the mock-election.

Though their manifestos needed more work, the names they have come up with were pretty creative.

One group named themselves The CHA Party. It is a party for chapatti enthusiasts.

The group next to them was inspired, so they named themselves MER Party, with a pigeon as their party's logo.

Yet another group named themselves SIM Party which I assumed to mean that they sympathise with the people's needs and sufferings.

X X X

The ongoing discussions made the class very noisy. We were using the Science Lab, so I looked around for a microphone. The lab assistants were out but a teacher there found a wireless mike for me to use. He tested it and it seemed to work just fine.

But when I returned to the lab, the mike would not work. I got Naim to test it out. And Naim, being Naim, tested it with: "Yo man, what's up bro?" followed by "If you can hear me, say 'yeah!'".

I had to stop him, so I grabbed the mike. It was still not working.

Suddenly, a few students (from another class) rushed into the room. They seemed taken aback when they saw me holding the mike. One of them then asked incredulously, "Kenapa Cikgu main mikrofon?"

Turned out, the wireless mike was connected to the room adjacent to ours. The mike had picked up and amplified every sound that Naim had made. The other class heard everything loud and clear.

It was rather embarrassing. Later, I apologised to the teacher next-door for unintentionally sabotaging her lesson.

Next time you want to test a mike, I suggest you stick to the "Cubaan 1, 2, 3..."

An Imaginative Student

2010-01-14T22:02:00.005+11:00

The given topic was: "The Person I Admire the Most". In 120 words, the students were required to describe their chosen person's appearance, personality and interests.

After some pre-writing activities that were aimed at generating vocabs for writing the description, the students had to write the essay on their own.

I was writing a sample essay on Roger Federer on the board when a student came up to me and asked:

"Saya tak tahu nak tulis pasal siapa Cikgu. Kalau saya tulis pasal Cikgu boleh?"

"Oh, ok. Boleh je."

"Apa yang saya tak tahu pasal Cikgu, saya reka je lah ye?"

"Ok"

At the end of the lesson, the student submitted his piece of fiction.

This is what he wrote:

"A person I admire very much is my teacher. She teach me English subject. She name is Rosyada. She live near at my school it is Taman Melawati. Miss Rosyada is twenty years old but she look young than she age. She is strong and healthy. She has a kind and has nice smile. She hobbie is reading book. She has very good personality. She always wear tudung and baju kurung. She is humble person and got many achievement like accounting and many more. She have one husband and two child. She a spend a lot of time with their husband and their children."

It was hard forcing myself not to laugh when marking his work. I didn't want him to get offended.

All I can say is that he's very imaginative!

'Who Am I?' Questionnaire

2010-01-13T22:39:00.004+11:00

I often do this activity when I first enter a class:

Students copy the questionnaire and fill in the blanks (questions taken from the Cutting Edge workbook).

-I absolutely love __________
-and I really enjoy __________
-I'm quite good _________
-but not very good ________
-I'm not really interested __________
-I spend a lot of time __________
-and I know quite a lot __________
-I spend too much time __________
-and I don't have enough time _________
-I don't know anything about __________
-and I really hate __________

After everyone has written their answers, I will collect their books and begin to read randomly from the pile. The whole class will have to guess the identity of the person whose book I'm reading.

The exercise is really fun when your students give creative and unique answers that reveal their personality instead of run-of-the-mill answers like "I don't have enough time to study"

Anyway, last week, a student from 3A, gave a very good answer for "I'm quite good __________". Most students write the subject(s) they excel in or the skills they are good at in the blank (e.g. I'm quite good at basketball).

But this student wrote: "I'm quite good-looking" (!)

That gave me a good laugh.

The student scored some brownie points for his wittiness. But since he played truant today, those points are all but diminished...

Heiran

2010-01-12T01:07:00.007+11:00

After reading Heiran's review on The Star Weekender, I decided to watch it last Sunday (sorry, but I couldn't locate the review to link it with this post).

I have a particular penchant for Iranian films for I think that they have a great storyline which does not have to rely on fancy special effects and fight sequences to entice audiences. But I haven't really watched that many Iranian films to be able to make such generalizations...

There were only 6 people in the whole theatre. The first 10 minutes was wasted on annoying ads which reminded me why I hate going to the cinemas.

The movie's premise is simple enough: Girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks (in this case, an Afghan immigrant) - They fall in love despite the girl's parents' objections - They found ways to be together - Things go horribly wrong after marriage.

There must have been dozens of films with a similar storyline, right? But still, I was strongly affected by this movie... especially towards the end.

At the beginning, I was just plain exasperated. I really wished the protagonist, Mahi, had more sense in her head and would stop hurting her father's, mother's and grandfather's feelings.

I just hate it when people hurt those who love them the most - and abandon them - for someone whom they barely know.

But as Mahi's grandfather noted, "Nobody who's in love has ever had an ear for reason. Why should [Mahi]?"

But as the story progresses, we see how Mahi & Heiran both come to terms with LIFE - how harsh it could be and how naive they were.

What makes the film beautiful is how it portrays LOVE in its different forms:
-A father's love for his child
-A grandfather's love for his grandchildren
-A husband's love for his wife and vice versa

Tender moments like when Abbas (Mahi's father) fastens the blanket around a sleeping Mahi while sadly contemplating her future are heartbreaking.

And when Heiran learns of Mahi's pregnancy, he pulls her away from the bus station. "Where are we going?", Mahi asks. "Aren't we waiting for the bus?"

Heiran replies, "Today, my wife is taking a fancy cab"

Alahai, comel tak?

The ending is heart-wrenching, so make sure you have a packet of tissues ready.

Pictures from the movies (taken from: http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/heiran):

Mahi's grandfather is forced to play chaperon

It's a bit hard saying 'No' to such an earnest suitor

Both learn that love cannot conquer all

W1, 2010

2010-01-08T22:01:00.005+11:00

Surprisingly, going back to school has been great so far. Toward the end of my 5-week holidays, I had been dreading it. Just coming across back-to-school sales was enough to get me depressed.

But I'm enjoying myself so far. I'm teaching five Form 3 classes this year and I get to teach only English. I'm no longer teaching Moral nor on canteen duty (yeay!).

The only downside to this arrangement is the marking part. Form 3 students have the most number of tests/exams. In addition to the tests in Feb, March, July and the mid-year exam, they also have the PMR Trials and Ala PMR 1 & 2. Marking nearly 200 PMR essays for each test and exam is not going to be fun...

I was also relieved to find out that I won't be teaching my Form 3 students from last year. Though I have nothing against them, I wanted to start the year off fresh from the mistakes I had made last year as a beginning teacher.

This year, I knew that I have to set clear boundaries from the start, be stricter, more competent, and employ more tough love measures. I've learnt that some degree of arm-twisting is required when dealing with adolescent learners. Otherwise, they won't be doing their work or any learning at all. Relying on the students to develop their own intrinsic motivation is just wishful thinking.

The classes that I teach range from the "good" to the "weak". Each class has their own personality, and though I generally get on well with all of them, certain classes do provide more "chemistry" than others.

I love 3Q because I used to teach them for 1 semester last year (before I moved to the morning session) and they are just the nicest bunch of kids you could ever come across. They cheered when I entered their class and said, "Kami rindu Cikgu", which made me walked on air for kilometres.

Lessons with them are always lots of fun. Just yesterday, we acted out Chapter 1 from the novel 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'. Naim's group gave a great performance which brought the class down. Fahmi, Muiz, and Fikri were excellent as Mr. Hyde, Mr. Enfield and Edie's father respectively, but Naim stole the show with his portrayal of Edie. His "screams of terror" were genuinely funny. I wished I had a video camera with me that day...

The other classes are enjoyable too. On my first day at 3A, the students got to ask me questions. I gave them 4 possible answers to each question and they had to figure out which answer was the correct one.

At first, they threw me predictable questions: "How old are you?", "Where are your from?", "Where did you study?", etc

Then came the absurd ones: "Are you married?", "Will you marry me?", "Do you have a daughter?" (apekah?) and "How old is your daughter?" (again, apekah???)

Having a laugh with the students is one of the joys of teaching, as are seeing them flash you their bright smiles, receiving their cheerful greetings, and waving them back from afar... :-)

But teaching does come with its hazards. A teacher had her car scratched (this happened last year) and when she went to get it repainted, the first question the mechanic asked her was, "Cikgu ke?"

I thought that was hilarious. He must have had a lot of teachers for customers.

His second question was equally funny: "Guru Disiplin ke?" (!)

X X X

The first few days were relatively free from classroom management problems. The majority of students seemed well-behaved and eager to learn. But it took 3B just four days to show their natural streaks.

The boys at the back chose to collectively go out to the washroom and the bookshop during my lesson. They didn't bring their textbook and when told to borrow from the other classes, they went out of the class in droves - leaving the class down to half.

This prompted my first lecture of the year. Contrary to popular belief, teachers do not like to nag. Nagging is so taxing on the emotion and vocal chords that I often avoid it. But, in keeping with my new set-the-boundaries-early strategy, I gave 3B a lecture before I let them off for the day.

When I'll see them next week, I'll tell you whether it worked or not and whether I had managed to exude the don't-mess-with-me vibes... haha

Till then,
have a great weekend people!

A Common Faith - Steve McCurry's Travels through the Muslim World

2010-01-07T22:25:00.006+11:00

Today, I didn't stay back at school after 1.30pm. I raced back home to change and went out again to catch Steve McCurry's Public Lecture at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia.

I'm not a photographer, and truthfully, I didn't even know who Steve McCurry was before the lecture. I only knew that he took the iconic "Afghan girl" picture . But I was interested to listen to his lecture because I love hearing about how people go about doing their fascinating work.

I arrived at 3.05pm. The talk started about 10 minutes later. It was very interesting. He showed us pictures that he took and briefly commented on each of them. Through his comments, I got an insight into how a photographer captures a good shot.

Below are snippets from the talk:

-Photography requires a great deal of patience. It's not advisable to be so intent and anxious to get a good shot. You need to be more laid-back and immerse yourself in your surroundings. Only then, will the good moments come/reveal themselves to you.

-An example of patience is when he stood at the same spot for two hours, taking photos of people coming in and out of an alley. He probably took hundreds of photos from that spot but he selected one of a boy from the whole pile, which later became the cover of one of his books.

-You must have an eye for interesting details and be quick enough to capture them. There's this one photo where a boy, his mother and grandmother were huddled together, each with a hand to their face, in a similar gesture. If you're not quick enough, the moment might be gone.

-You have to be a daring. Floods, dust storm and burning oil fields were a few things that he has had to brave through. Once, he even leaned out from a moving train's window to capture a shot (with his assistant holding on to his legs).

-He makes full use of the day's limited "shooting hours", when the light's perfect.

-I also love the story of how he tracked down the Afghan girl years after the original photo was taken.

The Q & A session was also interesting. While a few questions were on technical matters, the rest were more general. I like his answer to this particular question: How does his various experiences change him?

He said that he had discovered that beneath all our thick veneers, people are all the same. We all want to be loved and respected, we want the best for our family, we want good health care and education, etc. This realisation has made him more tolerant and accepting of others.

After the talk ended, we were allowed into the exhibition for free (yeay!)

I especially love his portraits; his subjects are beautiful, intense, and have arresting features.

It was nice to look at the pictures but it was nicer hearing him talk about them - you get an intimate detail of how the picture was taken, what attracted him to capture it, the whole process...

The exhibition will run until Apr 8, 2010, so do check it out.
You can also go to these sites:
-www.iamm.org.my (the picture above was taken from this site)
-www.stevemccurry.com
-stevemccurry.wordpress.com
-www.epson.com.my

Kem Lepasan SPM 2009

2009-12-29T00:16:00.009+11:00

Last weekend (Dec25-27), I attended PEMBINA's Kem Lepasan SPM. The camp aims to enlighten school leavers on the various pathways they may want to embark on after SPM.

A dear friend asked me to help out as a facilitator. I have never done this before, so I was a bit apprehensive about joining. Will I be of any help?

But they needed someone to explain about how one may enter into the teaching profession, so I agreed.

Alhamdulillah, that decision turned out to be the right one. Though, I went there to "enlighten" the participants, I ended up being the one enlightened.

The camp had more male participants than female ones. There were around 40 male students while the females numbered at 14. Funny thing is, the number of female facilitators and committee members is 14 too, so the ratio of participant and facilitator is 1:1.

That configuration made bonding so much easier and faster. Everyone got to know everyone else. That first night, the ice was not only broken; it was thawed completely.

We, the facilitators, and our group members slept in the same area. The dormitories contained bunk beds. I had to sleep on the top bed and the whole structure creaked and shook with the slightest move. I had never slept as still as I slept that night. Even an involuntary twitch caused me alarm. I was afraid that the bed might collapse totally and crush the poor girl sleeping underneath. The second night was much better. I overcame my paranoia (partially) and slept more comfortably.

On Saturday, the 'Siri Penerangan Kursus' was held. People from various industries (Engineering, Health Sciences, Accounting, Applied Science, Education & Syariah) talked about their respective field. This session was aimed to give the students accurate and useful input so that they will make well-informed decisions about their future. I took the floor for the slot on education. I think I did okay but in retrospect, I think I should have elaborated more on the work scope of a teacher (the various unrelated-to-teaching tasks), its joys and tribulations - so as to give the participants a clearer and truer picture. Photographs would have helped as well. Maybe I needn't focus so much on the structure of the programme and other technical aspects. What's more important is not 'how to apply for the programme' (because that's easy to find out), but 'whether teaching is the right career for them'. Plus, my voice was a bit high-pitched during the presentation - as it tends to be when I'm nervous and excited.

After Zohor, we trekked the jungle nearby. I thought they were a bit crazy scheduling an outdoor activity at the height of the stifling afternoon heat. But amazingly, once we stepped into the jungle, the air was cool and refreshing. The trek was quite challenging. I wore my trusty sport shoes but I still nearly fell a few times on the slippery slopes. But I loved the experience nonetheless. Living in the city makes you appreciate pristine nature so much more.

That evening, we had a team-building exercise. There were 3 tasks that we had to complete - all of which demanded critical-thinking skills as well as great teamwork. We had to:
1) build a gadget that can protect an egg from extreme demolition measures (courtesy of the juries),
2) build the most solid building, and
3) design and create a uniform for a chef, a soldier and a silat instructor.
We had to accomplish all these using only the limited materials supplied. Progress was a bit slow since many were tired from the trekking but everyone was lively again when the juries started to throw and smash the gadgets with all their might in an attempt to break the egg.

That night, we had our 'Malam Kebudayaan'. The theme given was: 'Remaja dan Gejala Sosial'. There wasn't enough time for practice but the participants did a very good job. I was impressed by their confidence, talent, and creativity. They managed to give entertaining performances and convey meaningful messages all at the same time.

On our last day (Dec 27), the participants were coached on how to excel in interviews for scholarships. They were told the Do's and Don'ts and several people shared their interview experiences. Unfortunately, due to time constraint, a mock interview couldn't be carried out.

The closing ceremony followed afterwards. Prizes were given to the groups as well as the best and most sporting participant. After a group photo, the Zohor prayer and lunch, people started to head home...

X X X

What made the camp so special to me was the great people I met there. I knew a few of them, but the rest were strangers to me. But in just 3 days and 2 nights, we really bonded with each other. I'm grateful and honoured to meet these amazing individuals. I've learnt a lot from them. Their enthusiasm was just infectious. They reminded me of this quote from Hassan Al-Banna:

"We need spirited, energetic and strong young people whose hearts are filled with life, enthusiasm, zeal and dynamism; whose souls are full of ambition, aspiration and vigor and have great goals, rising and aspiring to reach them until they eventually arrive at their destination."

May Allah strengthen and bless this ukhuwwah (bond).

X X X

-It has been a truly great experience. I've learned a lot so I strongly recommend you to get your younger brother/sister/cousin to join the same programme next year.

-More pictures and videos will be uploaded later, inshaAllah.

-Pictures taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46056694@N08/

The Road to Mecca

2009-12-13T21:33:00.009+11:00

Last night, I attended a screening of the documentary 'The Road to Mecca'. The title is derived from a very famous book written by the late Muhammad Asad.

Asad, born Leopold Weiss, converted to Islam in 1926, when he was 26 years old. He studied the Quran and the Sunnah passionately and later produced invaluable written works for the Muslim world. Besides 'The Road to Mecca', which basically tells of his "discovery of Islam and of his integration within the Muslim community", he also wrote:

-This Law of Ours And Other Essays (a compilation of his essays which aim to clarify the confusions prevailing in the Muslim Ummah)

-Sahih Al-Bukhari: The Early Years of Islam (an English translation of the most important compilation of the Prophet's Traditions)

-The Message of the Quran (widely regarded as one of the best English translations and commentaries of the Quran. It took Asad 17 years to complete it)

-Islam at the Crossroads (which was written as a plea to the Muslims to avoid a blind imitation of Western social forms and values)

-The Unromantic Orient (a travelogue that tracks the author from Jerusalem to Cairo, Amman, parts of the TransJordan, Palestine, Damascus, and Istanbul, before his conversion)

-The Principles of State and Government in Islam (which is self-explanatory :-p)

Anyway, the said documentary was beautiful, engaging, and at times, funny. It ran for one and a half hours, but I was deeply-engaged throughout.

I like that it tries to convey so many things to the audience: Asad's thoughts, views, character, and life journey and relate them to today's tough issues such as extremism, the general backwardness of the Muslims, religious (in)tolerance, the notion of jihad, and the difference of opinions even amongst the Muslims.

The documentary traces Asad's journey from Austria (where he was born) to Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Pakistan and Spain.

-Asad remains a major figure in Pakistan-

It also features interviews with people who have known Asad personally and those whose lives he has touched through his writings. These people include his stepbrother, his son (Prof. Talal Asad), his Jewish friends, journalists, Palestine pilgrims, and the Arab Bedouins.

-An Arab Bedouin engrossed in reading 'The Road to Mecca'. He later asked, "Is this the only copy you've got?"-

I love that all these people speak in different languages and come from different cultures, yet their lives were decidedly influenced/affected by this one man.

It really illustrates how "the ink of a scholar is more sacred than the blood of a martyr".

The documentary is packed with really good quotes.

One that really struck me was when a journalist said:

"If Muhammad Asad was alive today, he would still have fallen in love with Islam. But he would distrust the Muslims. Muslims today do not deserve this beautiful religion"

Another one was by Asad himself:

"We are the stupidest community. We have the greatest guidance in the Quran. And we have the greatest teacher/model in Muhammad (peace be upon him), yet we are now the lowest of the low".

[Sorry, these quotations might not be verbatim since I'm only relying on my poor memory. But they contain the essence that I'd grasped]

Both the quotations were a big wake-up call for me.

I was just so affected by the documentary that I wish I could buy the DVD and get other people to see it too. Thankfully, the Islamic Book Trust (IBT) is given the distribution rights to the documentary. It is slated for release in March 2010.

Till then, enjoy the trailer:

Credits:
-All the pictures are taken from: Mischief Film (the production house of the documentary)
-More information on the books can be obtained from the Islamic Book Trust site. You can also purchase the books online.

Tips for beginning teachers

2009-11-28T18:16:00.005+11:00

I'm hardly the most competent of new teachers but I would like to share what I've learned throughout my first-year of teaching with my cohort 3 juniors.

1) Teaching is not at all like practicum

We all loved our practicum days. Sure, we were sleep-deprived and we tortured our brains to come up with interesting lesson plans+teaching aids.

But in the end, we loved the experience. We were loved by the students and we made learning FUN! What an achievement that is.

It would be great if you could maintain that standard but truth be told, you won't have the luxury to do so.

Instead of teaching only 2 classes, you will now teach 5.
Instead of 10 periods a week, you will now handle 25 (or more).
To top it all off, you will be assigned various duties that require mountains of paperwork.

The teaching & learning process will sadly be relegated to the near-bottom of your priorities :-(

But, try to maintain that standard nonetheless. Keep all your lesson plans and teaching aids from your practicum days. They will be extremely useful!

Maybe you won't be able to conduct fun lessons every day, but try to do so once a week or once a fortnightly.

2) Brush up on your classroom management

This has been my Achilles heel. Your personality will dictate your teaching style. And try as I might, I cannot seem to be garang or make my voice louder. These shortcomings proved to be disastrous. I cannot seem to get the class under control and hence not much learning can take place, regardless of how well the lesson is planned.

So, moral of the story: toughen yourself up to face these teenagers. They have claws.

3) Get organised

In Selangor, you are supposed to go through an orientation period. For 2 to 3 weeks, your school is supposed to acclimatise you to the school's culture, acquaint you with the "important" people in the organisation, and detail your job specifications, etc.

But rarely do schools have time to do this. So you need to do all these things on your own. Seek out a friendly face and ask that person for any assistance/guidance.

You need to know what you are expected to do:

-Besides teaching, you need to administer oral tests twice a year and fill in the related forms.

-You have to set exam questions. Find out when's your turn to do this.

-For extra-curricular activities, your have to clock-in the required contact hours before the students are busy with their academic pursuit in the second half of the year.

-You have to hand in the students' books for inspection periodically. So identify students who actually do their work because chances are there are not many of them!

-Keep track of all the work that your students have submitted. Usually, for the mid-year and the end-of-year exam, there is a 10% allocation for homework.

-And do work out the logistics early on. You will need to finish the syllabus by October. So distribute the contents of the syllabus evenly throughout the academic calender.

4) You will hear this often: "New broom sweeps clean"

Some will use that as an excuse to pile more work on your plate. Most of the times, you will feel victimised by the unfairness of it all.

But take heart. Do the work to the best of your abilities. Persevere, though you feel as if you might just buckle under the pressure or be buried under all those paperwork. Look up to those teachers who do more work than you, not less. Emulate the dedicated ones.

And it's absolutely essential to learn to say 'No' (something that I, myself, am still learning to do)

5) Stop complaining

It's so easy and tempting to complain incessantly about how you are overwork and underpaid but complaining never made anyone attractive.

Remember that the grass is NOT greener on the other side.

You may have problematic students but you have great colleagues (or the other way around).
Your school may have excellent infrastructure and facilities but the canteen food is horrible.
The location may be convenient but you don't really like the administrators.

So, just be thankful with what you have.

"...it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good" (4:19)

6) Have a support system

Keep in touch with your IPBA buddies. They will be there for you when you are feeling down. They can empathise with the problems that your are facing and will offer you invaluable words of support. It's amazing how simple words like "hang in there k" or a virtual hug can brighten up your day :-)

Blog about your experience, share your joys and challenges of teaching. Know that you are not alone.

7) Have a distraction

Teaching can be an all-consuming job. You will realise that you talk very little else outside the realm of school.

So, take up a hobby if you haven't already got one. You NEED the distractions!

8) Play all your roles effectively

Remember that a teacher's job is not just to teach. To quote Frank McCourt in Teacher Man:

"I was more than a teacher. And less. In the high school classroom you are the drill sergeant, a rabbi [an ustazah in this case... haha], a shoulder to cry on, a disciplinarian, a singer, a low-level scholar, a clerk, a referee, a clown, a counselor, a dress-code enforcer, a conductor, an apologist, a philosopher, a collaborator, a tap dancer, a politician, a therapist, a fool, a traffic cop, a priest, a mother-father-brother-sister-uncle-aunt, a bookkeeper, a critic, a psychologist..."

Oh, he forgot the janitor!

The tap dancing role may be called upon once in a lifetime but the 3 roles (besides teaching) that you have to take seriously are: enforcing discipline, building rapport with the students and inculcating good moral values in them.

9) Create a positive workplace culture

Respect your colleagues, the administrators, the clerks, the bookshop attendant, the guards, the lab assistants, the cleaners, the gardeners, etc.

Treat them well. A good turn deserves another.

10) Manage your finances well

Receiving your very first payslip is a wonderful feeling. The thin piece of paper symbolises financial independence and adulthood. It also gives you an immense sense of achievement.

But after setting aside money for your parents, the car, charity, savings and other obligations, your disposable income does not amount to much. So do not splurge as soon as you get your wage. Fulfill your obligations first and if you happen to have some thing extra at the end of the month, spend it (guilt-free) then.

11) Fly under the radar

It's tough to dodge/refuse the many sales in the staff room (Kuih Raya, tupperware, kain baju kurung, insurance policy, etc). So the best strategy is to avoid sales pitches altogether.

Also beware of (well-meaning) insistent match makers. If you don't have "someone" already, invent one!

12) Maintain your idealism

I don't mean to point out all the bad things about being a teacher. This is just meant to prepare you for the realities of teaching. Yes, it is easy to get disillusioned, frustrated, and burn-out from your job, but remind yourself daily why you are a teacher. Constantly review your niat (intentions).

13) "Verily, with every difficulty, there is relief"

It is inevitable that you struggle+sink+lose weight & voice at first.

But it'll get better in time.

To quote the article from The Star by P.K. Toh:

"The student-teacher bond can be fraught with heartache, but for those who persevere to the end, the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices"

Just remember: At the end of these crazy/gruelling academic sessions is a 5-week holiday that few jobs could rival :-)

X X X

Cohort 2 friends, do add in your own advice based on your experience...

Aini has written hers.

I hope that our experience will be of use to others.

off with a bang

2009-11-22T13:53:00.011+11:00

that was it!
Last Friday (20th Nov) was the last school day of 2009.

It was a bit chaotic with teachers running around, rushing to complete the many, many things that had to be handed in:
-Rekod Kerja
-Register
-Pelan Taktikal 2010
-Library books
-Fail Meja
-etc

Some teachers managed to clean a year's worth of clutter (handouts, exam questions, students' workbooks, and what-not) on their desk, while others decided to let the clutter accumulate for yet another year.

There were not many students that day; only a handful of Fourth-Formers and those who take the EST (English for Science and Technology) paper for SPM. The Form Three students were already off on their end-of-year break, which started a week earlier.

My last day was special because a teacher at my school was retiring. Knowing that that day's attendance would be dismal, his retirement ceremony was held last week. But his sending-off was held that day.

And what a sending-off it was!

Originally, the plan was that he'd be sent-off on a big motorcycle.

But that morning, rumours had it that he'd be off on a helicopter!

It was supposed to be a surprise but by mid-morning, the staff room was already abuzz with the news. Teachers never can keep secrets... haha

At around 12pm, everyone gathered at the field for the helicopter landing. Dr. John signed-out at the office for the last time and proceeded to walk to the helicopter.

Students lined-up from the office to the field to shake his hands and say good-bye.

He was stopped for a while by the boys from 4S who serenaded him with their cover version of 'Don't worry, Be Happy', accompanied by a ukulele. It was a very nice gesture/performance.

Finally, it was time for Dr. John to board the helicopter and fly off.

The helicopter circled the school a few times before finally heading to Subang.

Then, the clock struck 12.30pm.

School's over for the year.

I survived my first year of teaching!!!

And what an event to end it with :-)

X X X

This note below was pasted on the teachers' bulletin board the day before SPM. Coming from a reputably "difficult" class, it was rather sweet :-)

Another sweet thing that a student did was give me a wrapped chocolate for my birthday. Thing is, she forgot to take off the price tag!

X X X

Fellow teachers, have a great break. For those invigilating SPM, hang in there. It'll be over soon enough!

A Better Muslim

2009-11-14T17:44:00.007+11:00

I'm currently reading 'Three Cups of Tea' by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

The book chronicles the challenges that Greg Mortensen faced when he tried to build a school in Korphe, an isolated and impoverished village in Pakistan. Below is the blurb on the back of the book:

"In 1933 a mountaineer named Greg Mortenson drifted into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram mountains after a failed attempt to climb K2. Moved by the inhabitants' kindness, he promised to return and build a school. Tree Cups of Tea is the story of that promise and its extraordinary outcome. Over the next decade Mortenson build not just one but fifty-five schools - especially for girls - in the forbidding terrain that gave birth to the Taliban. His story is at once a riveting adventure and a testament to the power of the humanitarian spirit."

At first, I nearly put the book aside after plowing through the first chapter. The prose just didn't manage to engage my interest. But I'm glad I persevered because the book does get better.

I just read a particularly touching chapter which I felt compelled to share.

While building the school one day, the villagers were startled by the intrusion of Haji Mehdi and his henchmen. Haji Mehdi is the nurmadhar (village head) of Askole (a bigger, neighbouring village).

[Excerpts from the book are in italics]

"I have heard that an infidel has come to poison Muslim children, boys as well as girls, with his teachings," Haji Mehdi barked. "Allah forbids the education of girls. And I forbid the construction of this school."

"We will finish our school," Haji Ali [Korphe's nurmadhar] said evenly. "Whether you forbid it or not."

Enraged by this answer, Haji Mehdi replied:

"Do you worship Allah? Or this kafir?"

To this, Haji Ali remarked:

"No one else has ever come here to help my people. I've paid you money every year but you have done nothing for my village. This man is a better Muslim than you. He deserves my devotion more than you do."

Haji Mehdi then gave an ultimatum: if they insisted on having the school, they would need to pay him 12 of their largest rams.

Haji Ali complied with this outrageous demand.

Mortenson who witnessed the whole proceeding noted:

"Haji Ali had just handed over half of the wealth of the village to that crook, but he was smiling like he'd just won a lottery."

He later addressed his people:

"Don't be sad. Long after all those rams are dead and eaten this school will still stand. Haji Mehdi has food today. Now our children have education forever."

That night, Haji Ali confided in Mortenson:

"Do you see how beautiful this Koran is?" Haji Ali asked.

"Yes."

"I can't read it," he said. "I can't read anything. This is the greatest sadness in my life. I'll do anything so the children of my village never have to know this feeling. I'll pay any price so they have the education that they deserve."

X X X

This story reminds me of Laskar Pelangi. How we take literacy and education for granted.

I wish I could drum this very important lesson to each and every one of my reluctant student.

And it's good to ponder on Haji Ali's remark: "This man is a better Muslim than you."

What makes one a good Muslim? This question reminded me of what Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi wrote in his book: Let Us Be Muslims:

"Can a person be a Muslim by virtue of his birth? Is a person a Muslim simply because he is the son or grandson of a Muslim?

Your answer to these questions will surely be: No. A Muslim does not become truly a Muslim simply because he is born a Muslim. A Muslim is not a Muslim because he belongs to any particular race; he is a Muslim because he follows Islam. If he renounces Islam, he ceases to be a Muslim."

Being a Muslim is not by mere verbal profession; you need to acquire knowledge and display it through your actions.

cutest response

2009-11-11T19:25:00.004+11:00

Form 1 English Paper 2
Section C

Q:The following are the short stories studied in the literature component in English Language:

1. Of Bunga Telur and Bally Shoes by Che Husna Azhari
2. The Pencil by Ali Majod
3. How Dalat Got Its Name by Heidi Munan

Choose any one of the short stories that you have enjoyed reading. Write why you would recommend this short story to a friend.

A: I would recommend Of Bunga Telur and Bally Shoes from Che Husna Azhari to my friend because he loves love story to read. he loves love story because when he grow up he want to love someone. He also loves love stories because he likes happy people and he loves love stories sure he will love this book because it is about a love story.

X X X

Isn't that the cutest response you've ever read? :-)

No Way Through

2009-11-04T22:13:00.003+11:00

I was deeply affected by the following video.

It tells of the severe mobility restrictions in the West Bank.

X X X

Around Jerusalem the average ambulance journey time for a Palestinian is now almost 2 hours, compared to 10 minutes in 2001.

In the West Bank alone there are more than 600 internal military checkpoints and road blocks.

At these checkpoints, Palestinians in need of immediate medical attention are:
-routinely refused passage
-denied medical help
-forced to give birth
-injured and even shot dead

X X X

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Film Competition Winner: No Way Through from Ctrl.Alt.Shift on Vimeo.