Too much

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.