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..."