The Essential 55

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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