Dear students,
It has been years since i first wrote my straying thoughts in this blog.My sole objective together after getting a nod from my fellow teacher is to see our revolutionary thought in print that we may at will benefit a thing or two from the entry. What a loss if our beautiful thoughts never see a light of the day as coined by a prolific writer Awang Goneng in his recent article.Then, we were agreed to put our thoughts into words from which we can do self reflection and self examine our modes and approaches in teaching. As usual, i address dear students in each entry as i try to think that i am talking to you all though i know social networking site has long taken over blog sphere.
Tomorrow is the last day of fasting month. And of course we keep exchanging wishes and greetings to each other either half heartedly or whole heartedly. However, as enshrined in our Islamic teachings ,contrary to Mafia's philosophy of never forgive and never forget, we are strongly encouraged to forgive and forget. Mafia's never forget's philosophy is still laudable as they at all cost would not take for granted every single help they ever got. But not to forgive those betraying them so long they live is against our Islamic teachings since Allah is ever-forgiving no matter how grave our sins are. A bit digress as i am a fan of mafia stories which laced with passion, patience , compassion and determination.Read Mario Puzo books and i am pretty sure you will look up to some mafias. Hah..again Mafia. forget mafia!
What i am trying to say is this month is the noblest of months in Islamic calendars. What a waste if we could not benefit most from it. I want to take this opportunity to seek forgiveness for things committed not to the liking of the receiving ends as i am after all is a mere mortal. To err is me human and to forgive is divine. Let us head for the highest divine experience possible. There lies a pure contentment that words can hardly explain. Again..salam aidil fitri maaf zahir batin.
Sir
Monday, August 29, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
THE TRUE SCHOOL TERM IS COMING TO AN END
Dearest,
Shy a few days before we muslims the world over celebrate eidul fitri,momentous days for children and adults alike. Then, everyone will finish their crash course on how to live life moderately and be pious before The Almighty.But not those unfortunate enough like Somalians struggling to get anything their bare hands can lay on to spare their life for another day or even another hour.
If our dinner table laden with foods,but for Somalians all they need is just a few drops of water not to quench their thirst but to spare their life. Some parents even were traumatic for days or even months having to abandon their children dying on the scorching desert as they had no food left to spare for the remaining children whom according to them were their priority.When asked for doing such a most difficult decision, they said God at first created them and God also would take care of them as they had no choice left but to leave their children under a tree on the barren desert in their exodus to flee drought-stricken country.But we, struggling to beat the rest getting the best martabak our nearest Ramadan bazaar could offer.And Ramadan to most of us is more aptly put as feasting month not fasting month since what seemingly matters us most are the best meal for a breaking of fast and preparation for come festive days.Rarely, we put much thought on our deeds prior and during Ramadhan which of utmost priority. This to me is like more on self reflection as i do think not on both which is worse in fact. Only this month i have tried my best to finish reading Qur'an 30 juz and observe Tarawikh prayers.
However, this holy month is actually like a crash course to let us muslims keep things especially our deeds in check. By so doing, we can carry on doing such good practices in the following months, not confined to Ramadan only. More often than not, after Ramadan our Qur'an neatly arranged on the shelf would probably start collecting the dust again for another Ramadan which we were never sure of our chance to meet it.
This Ramadan is like action learning as we learn while practicing and doing self reflection. The best value we could learn during this month is discipline especially while performing tarawikh prayers. Imagine great Imam, Imam Sudais in Mecca, could discipline thousands of congregations getting into rows by merely uttering saff..before prayers. We practice patience, focus and determination while finishing 8 or even 20 rakaat for Tarawikh prayers.
What a remarkable change if we manage to maintain Ramadan modes into our daily life as the purpose of Ramadan itself is to educate one's self to be a better muslim. We are spared a few days for self reflection so that we can start anew our life the following months with the true spirit of Ramadan. We have paid handsomely to complete our Ramadan and to grab priceless gifts it could offer. But, we must first and foremost bear in mind that Ramadan is like a crash course in which to train ourself to be disciplined ,someone with a vision apart of cleansing our soul.
Sir
Shy a few days before we muslims the world over celebrate eidul fitri,momentous days for children and adults alike. Then, everyone will finish their crash course on how to live life moderately and be pious before The Almighty.But not those unfortunate enough like Somalians struggling to get anything their bare hands can lay on to spare their life for another day or even another hour.
If our dinner table laden with foods,but for Somalians all they need is just a few drops of water not to quench their thirst but to spare their life. Some parents even were traumatic for days or even months having to abandon their children dying on the scorching desert as they had no food left to spare for the remaining children whom according to them were their priority.When asked for doing such a most difficult decision, they said God at first created them and God also would take care of them as they had no choice left but to leave their children under a tree on the barren desert in their exodus to flee drought-stricken country.But we, struggling to beat the rest getting the best martabak our nearest Ramadan bazaar could offer.And Ramadan to most of us is more aptly put as feasting month not fasting month since what seemingly matters us most are the best meal for a breaking of fast and preparation for come festive days.Rarely, we put much thought on our deeds prior and during Ramadhan which of utmost priority. This to me is like more on self reflection as i do think not on both which is worse in fact. Only this month i have tried my best to finish reading Qur'an 30 juz and observe Tarawikh prayers.
However, this holy month is actually like a crash course to let us muslims keep things especially our deeds in check. By so doing, we can carry on doing such good practices in the following months, not confined to Ramadan only. More often than not, after Ramadan our Qur'an neatly arranged on the shelf would probably start collecting the dust again for another Ramadan which we were never sure of our chance to meet it.
This Ramadan is like action learning as we learn while practicing and doing self reflection. The best value we could learn during this month is discipline especially while performing tarawikh prayers. Imagine great Imam, Imam Sudais in Mecca, could discipline thousands of congregations getting into rows by merely uttering saff..before prayers. We practice patience, focus and determination while finishing 8 or even 20 rakaat for Tarawikh prayers.
What a remarkable change if we manage to maintain Ramadan modes into our daily life as the purpose of Ramadan itself is to educate one's self to be a better muslim. We are spared a few days for self reflection so that we can start anew our life the following months with the true spirit of Ramadan. We have paid handsomely to complete our Ramadan and to grab priceless gifts it could offer. But, we must first and foremost bear in mind that Ramadan is like a crash course in which to train ourself to be disciplined ,someone with a vision apart of cleansing our soul.
Sir
Saturday, August 20, 2011
OUR TRUE CHALLENGE LYING AHEAD
Dear students,
An x student of SMAS who bagged the most number of As in PMR last year came over to her alma mater just recently for some undisclosed business or maybe just to pay a visit. As I happened to be his teacher once for two years in a row. She at first poked her head through a thick glass door to have a check whether or not i was inside. 'Hah..Dayah'..i exclaimed upon seeing her sheepishly approaching my so called small 'cubicle'.She was the same Dayah whom i once knew of. She is an embodiment of a true fighter who kept on fighting till the end. Though she always came close to be the best amongst her batch during her stay at SMAS,only being edged by her stongest rivals as well as best friends the likes of Ainur, Iman, Aina and the geng. She could never materialize her dream. In the end,she did show her true mettle in the final league and tasted even sweeter as they said save the best for the last.I remember once, when she was always the first to get the tasks assigned done as most probably to her speed also really matters. That speed might have helped her to get what she has got.
In retrospect, during twilight meetings, when asked to translate phrases or clauses into either English or Malay, she was always the first to submit that made me think of other tasks not to let her sit still while waiting for dozens of her other colleagues struggling to finish the task.Of course, the easiest way to me but beneficial to her maybe was i scribbled a few words on a piece of paper and asked her to do freewriting. Her writing was never short of errors, but the more she wrote , the lesser my red ink spilled on her paper. In short, she was a gift to any teacher who happened to have ever taught her. To copy Adele's lyrics 'i wish nothing but the best for you', as a teacher, i wish nothing but the best for her and all her colleagues. There, upon seeing our pupil standing tall becoming an individual with a purpose and determination, the joy of teaching lies and all hard work paid off.And this undescribable feeling is of course the one that money cannot buy.
This year is a real challenge for me for two obvious reasons. First and foremost i have now without someone whose assistance is beyond compare. And during her two-year stint here, she did a tremendous job and made the school rock.I did not mean the result as it might not reflect the true story,what i meant is the awareness and belief that have spilled to the following generations after the so called mild revolution. English is no longer regarded as killer subject, instead some students look so earnest to get the best grade possible. Another reason, we have no key players like we once had, the guardians who mutually supported each other.Now, students really depend on teachers at the cost of depriving them of their creativity and critical thinking. Twilight meetings just lasted a few sessions with different group of students. It was a bit difficult for us teacher to gauge their performace as they entertained more their emotions or modes instead of thoughts.Our preparation at times were in vain as we teachers could not discuss the previous lessons for poor attendance from previous group. This forced me to contemplete to sort it out. One of the ways is i made it compulsory to attend the class especially 3A. Yet, still a few looked reluctant to come. I have ever crouched on the saggy sofa thinking of my modes of teaching which might have been obsolete already.
I think if all failed the only success i could have reaped so far is, some students started to read through 'Reading Makes A Man's program. I made it a must each student especially 3A to read at least 7 articles no matter how short it was on a daily basis. Apart from that, they need also to find seven new words or phrases that are new to them. This will be of a great help for them in the long run as once the reading habit is formed, no one can tell us when its effect comes to an end. The wise man once said beautifully as follow:
Watch your thought, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become you actions,
watch your actions, they become your habits,
watch your habits, they become you character,
and watch you character, it becomes your destiny.
And, it seems, the task to educate is far more critical as our teenagers in no time might turn out to be unruly creating mayhems like what happened in London recently .What roles so far have i played to help address the alarming issues remain unanswered.The challenge to tackle to ever declining of English standard to me is nothing if the demise of character is like a ticking bomb.This to me is more urgent as it might become endemic.
Sir
An x student of SMAS who bagged the most number of As in PMR last year came over to her alma mater just recently for some undisclosed business or maybe just to pay a visit. As I happened to be his teacher once for two years in a row. She at first poked her head through a thick glass door to have a check whether or not i was inside. 'Hah..Dayah'..i exclaimed upon seeing her sheepishly approaching my so called small 'cubicle'.She was the same Dayah whom i once knew of. She is an embodiment of a true fighter who kept on fighting till the end. Though she always came close to be the best amongst her batch during her stay at SMAS,only being edged by her stongest rivals as well as best friends the likes of Ainur, Iman, Aina and the geng. She could never materialize her dream. In the end,she did show her true mettle in the final league and tasted even sweeter as they said save the best for the last.I remember once, when she was always the first to get the tasks assigned done as most probably to her speed also really matters. That speed might have helped her to get what she has got.
In retrospect, during twilight meetings, when asked to translate phrases or clauses into either English or Malay, she was always the first to submit that made me think of other tasks not to let her sit still while waiting for dozens of her other colleagues struggling to finish the task.Of course, the easiest way to me but beneficial to her maybe was i scribbled a few words on a piece of paper and asked her to do freewriting. Her writing was never short of errors, but the more she wrote , the lesser my red ink spilled on her paper. In short, she was a gift to any teacher who happened to have ever taught her. To copy Adele's lyrics 'i wish nothing but the best for you', as a teacher, i wish nothing but the best for her and all her colleagues. There, upon seeing our pupil standing tall becoming an individual with a purpose and determination, the joy of teaching lies and all hard work paid off.And this undescribable feeling is of course the one that money cannot buy.
This year is a real challenge for me for two obvious reasons. First and foremost i have now without someone whose assistance is beyond compare. And during her two-year stint here, she did a tremendous job and made the school rock.I did not mean the result as it might not reflect the true story,what i meant is the awareness and belief that have spilled to the following generations after the so called mild revolution. English is no longer regarded as killer subject, instead some students look so earnest to get the best grade possible. Another reason, we have no key players like we once had, the guardians who mutually supported each other.Now, students really depend on teachers at the cost of depriving them of their creativity and critical thinking. Twilight meetings just lasted a few sessions with different group of students. It was a bit difficult for us teacher to gauge their performace as they entertained more their emotions or modes instead of thoughts.Our preparation at times were in vain as we teachers could not discuss the previous lessons for poor attendance from previous group. This forced me to contemplete to sort it out. One of the ways is i made it compulsory to attend the class especially 3A. Yet, still a few looked reluctant to come. I have ever crouched on the saggy sofa thinking of my modes of teaching which might have been obsolete already.
I think if all failed the only success i could have reaped so far is, some students started to read through 'Reading Makes A Man's program. I made it a must each student especially 3A to read at least 7 articles no matter how short it was on a daily basis. Apart from that, they need also to find seven new words or phrases that are new to them. This will be of a great help for them in the long run as once the reading habit is formed, no one can tell us when its effect comes to an end. The wise man once said beautifully as follow:
Watch your thought, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become you actions,
watch your actions, they become your habits,
watch your habits, they become you character,
and watch you character, it becomes your destiny.
And, it seems, the task to educate is far more critical as our teenagers in no time might turn out to be unruly creating mayhems like what happened in London recently .What roles so far have i played to help address the alarming issues remain unanswered.The challenge to tackle to ever declining of English standard to me is nothing if the demise of character is like a ticking bomb.This to me is more urgent as it might become endemic.
Sir
Saturday, August 13, 2011
THANK YOU FOR THE SCRIPT
Dear students,
Couldn’t thank her more for the answer script given that day. I did ask my students to copy the sample answer script that I took from SMKLB, by courtesy of my fellow teacher there last a couple of days. It really matters us both teachers and students as we could have a close look at and even dissect sort of writing grouped in band A. So far, I simply asked them to copy and nothing more. However, they all looked delighted and passionate enough copying the sample A essay which I deleted the owner’s name for no apparent reason. The least they could learn out of the dull activity is studying a true format of report writing or even new words such as succulent and scenic which I myself rarely use them.
I might ask them to copy that same essay a few more times to give them feel as once they have ‘ feel ’ for writing good essay they tend to produce the same. Skinner’s theory of repetition might apply in this case. I still remember when I once asked my students to copy seven times each essay of seven different formats which altogether equal to 49 essays. My philosophy behind those questionable exercise is to expose them to different formats of writing and to improve their spelling as quite a number of them back then and even now as a matter of fact could not spell even simple words correctly. The sole underlying reason is they seldom write and use the words in their writing. They may in many occasions hear or speak those words but rarely put them in written. That exercise would indirectly help them improve their spelling as well even a bit tiring yet time-consuming.
Another thing I might benefit from the article is I can lift certain key words and ask student to fill in the blanks using the lifted words. Aside from having a clear picture of report writing format, they can learn new sentence structures and new-found-vocabularies as well.And on top of that reading activity takes place. I might ask them to commit to memory a few phrases that are useful and stylish for writing. For Part C , the novels, most students simply spilled over what they have memorized as the question asked was about events. They, almost all of them, didn’t really try to understand the requirement of the question before answering. Their answer did not reflect their understanding of the question as they simply wrote what they have memorized right from the start. That is truly a backwash effect of simply asking students to memorize as they never took pain to think of other answers or make a slight adaptation to the one they have memorized. It seems I need to let them truly understand the whole story and just memorize excerpts instead of the whole answer scripts. Yet another tall order is in waiting.
Yesterday, I read an article in nst from a reader. It really captured my attention . The writer, a former school principle stressed that today’s debate on the decline on English which usually revolves around teachers’ weak grasp of the language itself and failed curriculum does not really touch the issue to its core as we have a lot of sophisticated learning tools in the wake of computer and internet era which can be of a great help to both teachers and students. Those things, according to the writer is no uncommon when debating the fallacy of English language. Instead, he emphasized that students need to have what the axiom still holds true till now : no pain no gain. If students are passionate enough to mastering the language, be it English or other languages, they need to have passion, perseverance and tenacity. Without having all those things, they cannot fare better in any language or discipline they are going through. He said that back then in 1960s he had to finish 13 work books of an average 30 pages each during form three and submit a few essays weekly. Apart from reading , he also learned grammar. However, lately, students are very dependent on teachers and could not be burdened with extra work as we teachers might get complaints from parents or even other teachers, let alone students themselves who always favor a short cut like preferring KFC to home-cooked meals. Students would not be as strong and sturdy as an oak but as weak and vulnerable as mushroom. In short, students are now spoon-fed thus deprive of discipline and creativity.
And what roles we teachers have to play in order to revitalize the learning of English to bring back the glory days of 60’s batches. I think students need to get involved in the language. They need to say words aloud, recite phrases or poems and most importantly enjoy the language. This is a proven fact as the likes of Aidil, Aina, Ainur, Yo and Mat Yie all have participated actively in English activities held in school. They enjoyed the learning the subject and of course to master anything first and foremost ones need to enjoy it , the rest will follow suit. It is no different with us teachers, need to fall with teaching first before all other skills come in. Do I enjoy teaching? Or I just enjoy the challenge it poses. Or I make myself enjoy for I have no other option. If they say, writing is therapeutic , the same applies to teaching so long we throw our heart into it. Only the challenge of teaching is our subject is ever-mobile.
It feels thousand of things stuffing my head and butterflies inside my hollow stomach this fasting month keep wildly fluttering that cause me to feel disoriented not knowing where and what to start. And to make matter worse, I invariably felt indecisive of whether or not the thing I do is the right thing to do or the thing that I simply feel at ease doing it regardless of its impact on students. I rarely took ample time to think and foresee skills students need to acquire before each class. The easier way out, I simply photocopy a few sample questions or exercises that I can fill 40 to 60 minute slots. That is never enough as students coming from different levels of English acquisition demand special attention that may cater their needs and problems. Unfortunately, more often than not, all I do now is one - fits – all lesson plan. This in fact does not do justice to them and it denies my students their right to learn the best lesson they deserve using the best laid lesson plans available. This part, I should hate myself most I don’t not give my all yet expecting different result. My biggest mistake is as far I am concerned is I feel all I need to just follow the steps I have ever applied to my last two previous batches. I should not be like that as different breed demands different modes of learning as their backgrounds are if not totally but different.
Again, this is the time when all that is necessary is to look deeper down inside to unearth formulas which might be of great use for students whose level of confidence as low as 62 marks for their highest score. Though we may have passed 80th minute seemingly trailing 0 – 2 , I do believe in 90 minute game as thing ain’t over till it is over. The last score may still be regarded a score no matter whoever heads or legs or even hidden hands that slot in the goals.
We have almost passed the second half of Ramadan. May Allah bestow upon us His maghfirah and rahmah without Whose rahmat we are no different to dust spewing elsewhere in the humid air. Here is a quote worthy to have a contemplation.
‘Make your now wow, your minutes miracles, and your days pay. Your life will have been magnificently lived and invested, and when you die you will have made a difference’
Mark Victor Hansen
Sir
Couldn’t thank her more for the answer script given that day. I did ask my students to copy the sample answer script that I took from SMKLB, by courtesy of my fellow teacher there last a couple of days. It really matters us both teachers and students as we could have a close look at and even dissect sort of writing grouped in band A. So far, I simply asked them to copy and nothing more. However, they all looked delighted and passionate enough copying the sample A essay which I deleted the owner’s name for no apparent reason. The least they could learn out of the dull activity is studying a true format of report writing or even new words such as succulent and scenic which I myself rarely use them.
I might ask them to copy that same essay a few more times to give them feel as once they have ‘ feel ’ for writing good essay they tend to produce the same. Skinner’s theory of repetition might apply in this case. I still remember when I once asked my students to copy seven times each essay of seven different formats which altogether equal to 49 essays. My philosophy behind those questionable exercise is to expose them to different formats of writing and to improve their spelling as quite a number of them back then and even now as a matter of fact could not spell even simple words correctly. The sole underlying reason is they seldom write and use the words in their writing. They may in many occasions hear or speak those words but rarely put them in written. That exercise would indirectly help them improve their spelling as well even a bit tiring yet time-consuming.
Another thing I might benefit from the article is I can lift certain key words and ask student to fill in the blanks using the lifted words. Aside from having a clear picture of report writing format, they can learn new sentence structures and new-found-vocabularies as well.And on top of that reading activity takes place. I might ask them to commit to memory a few phrases that are useful and stylish for writing. For Part C , the novels, most students simply spilled over what they have memorized as the question asked was about events. They, almost all of them, didn’t really try to understand the requirement of the question before answering. Their answer did not reflect their understanding of the question as they simply wrote what they have memorized right from the start. That is truly a backwash effect of simply asking students to memorize as they never took pain to think of other answers or make a slight adaptation to the one they have memorized. It seems I need to let them truly understand the whole story and just memorize excerpts instead of the whole answer scripts. Yet another tall order is in waiting.
Yesterday, I read an article in nst from a reader. It really captured my attention . The writer, a former school principle stressed that today’s debate on the decline on English which usually revolves around teachers’ weak grasp of the language itself and failed curriculum does not really touch the issue to its core as we have a lot of sophisticated learning tools in the wake of computer and internet era which can be of a great help to both teachers and students. Those things, according to the writer is no uncommon when debating the fallacy of English language. Instead, he emphasized that students need to have what the axiom still holds true till now : no pain no gain. If students are passionate enough to mastering the language, be it English or other languages, they need to have passion, perseverance and tenacity. Without having all those things, they cannot fare better in any language or discipline they are going through. He said that back then in 1960s he had to finish 13 work books of an average 30 pages each during form three and submit a few essays weekly. Apart from reading , he also learned grammar. However, lately, students are very dependent on teachers and could not be burdened with extra work as we teachers might get complaints from parents or even other teachers, let alone students themselves who always favor a short cut like preferring KFC to home-cooked meals. Students would not be as strong and sturdy as an oak but as weak and vulnerable as mushroom. In short, students are now spoon-fed thus deprive of discipline and creativity.
And what roles we teachers have to play in order to revitalize the learning of English to bring back the glory days of 60’s batches. I think students need to get involved in the language. They need to say words aloud, recite phrases or poems and most importantly enjoy the language. This is a proven fact as the likes of Aidil, Aina, Ainur, Yo and Mat Yie all have participated actively in English activities held in school. They enjoyed the learning the subject and of course to master anything first and foremost ones need to enjoy it , the rest will follow suit. It is no different with us teachers, need to fall with teaching first before all other skills come in. Do I enjoy teaching? Or I just enjoy the challenge it poses. Or I make myself enjoy for I have no other option. If they say, writing is therapeutic , the same applies to teaching so long we throw our heart into it. Only the challenge of teaching is our subject is ever-mobile.
It feels thousand of things stuffing my head and butterflies inside my hollow stomach this fasting month keep wildly fluttering that cause me to feel disoriented not knowing where and what to start. And to make matter worse, I invariably felt indecisive of whether or not the thing I do is the right thing to do or the thing that I simply feel at ease doing it regardless of its impact on students. I rarely took ample time to think and foresee skills students need to acquire before each class. The easier way out, I simply photocopy a few sample questions or exercises that I can fill 40 to 60 minute slots. That is never enough as students coming from different levels of English acquisition demand special attention that may cater their needs and problems. Unfortunately, more often than not, all I do now is one - fits – all lesson plan. This in fact does not do justice to them and it denies my students their right to learn the best lesson they deserve using the best laid lesson plans available. This part, I should hate myself most I don’t not give my all yet expecting different result. My biggest mistake is as far I am concerned is I feel all I need to just follow the steps I have ever applied to my last two previous batches. I should not be like that as different breed demands different modes of learning as their backgrounds are if not totally but different.
Again, this is the time when all that is necessary is to look deeper down inside to unearth formulas which might be of great use for students whose level of confidence as low as 62 marks for their highest score. Though we may have passed 80th minute seemingly trailing 0 – 2 , I do believe in 90 minute game as thing ain’t over till it is over. The last score may still be regarded a score no matter whoever heads or legs or even hidden hands that slot in the goals.
We have almost passed the second half of Ramadan. May Allah bestow upon us His maghfirah and rahmah without Whose rahmat we are no different to dust spewing elsewhere in the humid air. Here is a quote worthy to have a contemplation.
‘Make your now wow, your minutes miracles, and your days pay. Your life will have been magnificently lived and invested, and when you die you will have made a difference’
Mark Victor Hansen
Sir
Saturday, August 6, 2011
1001 WORDS AFTER TRIAL : A REFLECTION OF SORT
Dear students,
As i was passing the school in which i am now teaching heading for my hometown, the butterflies inside my stomach seemed so restless that forced me to crack my brains to figure out ways to face the current scenario. Of course, the thing that i fear most is the outcome though the significance of the outcome is questionable and it does not necessarily reflect student's true performance as many hidden hands played their parts as well. Still, it coerced me to think as this time around, compared to previous two years, i have no idea on how and what to respond with the result at hand to meet a standard benchmark in getting targeted A grade.
Last year, for trial alone, we have almost a dozen of students getting 30 and above for paper 1 and the highest if my memory permits got 39/40. The likes of Iman, Ainur, Yo registered 35 and 36 respectively. The trial result alone was a real booster for both students and teachers before the real exam. Nevertheless, this time around, the highest score for paper 1 is 30 by two of them, Hanif and Izzah, followed closely by Zahira and Omar who scored 29 and 27 respectively. Given the present result, extraordinary plans and efforts are to be worked out, executed and exerted if they really dream their dream of getting A. The big question mark is do they have what it takes to materialise that dream. The passion , the burning desire like their seniors'. So far, I hardly find any of them showing tenacity and determination as shown by their seniors. Attendance is still considered as the best testimonial to measure one’s level of commitment. And as a teacher, i am still in search of formula to find the lost symbol or whatever object they may say to address the problem. Possibly without me realizing it, my approaches of instruction were obsolete and do not appeal to them anymore that they might have absorbed little or nothing. That is still the thing worthy to ponder if I dream of different outcome. Lest, the same or almost same result will be out at the end of December 2011.
They say, necessity is a mother of invention. The present situation now, at least to me is a dire-need situation and requires a strong task force to save it from being crumbled beyond repair. Two months to go can be both decisive and lethal. Should we fail to plan and properly execute it, it is tantamount to plan to fail. However, if things that we have been doing all this while proved nothing but just showed our laborious sort of person, doing the same things over and over again yet expect different result, this would be disastrous and leading us nowhere. Many people look busy doing things but never at all are in the know of what and why they are really doing. Possibly, I am one of the breeds. Then, productivity will be deprived of them for losing their focus and creativity.
The big question mark is why should i put in some efforts to think about this as my own students might not think of it at all. Of course, I must think as they are my in charge. Who else left for them to count on other than this very teacher. But do I have what it takes to help them better their performance. Unlike last two years, I had a partner with passion, intelligence and most importantly same sort of weltanschauung. We think almost alike in some approaches to execute as both of us then were novel. Everything then was a new discovery and we did discover and unearth a few gems lying deep down on the sea floor in the deep blue sea. But, things change and the only things , as philosophers claim, that don’t experience change is change itself. Change keeps changing and that is what makes it unchanged in a state of constant changing. Wallowing for things beyond our control bears no fruits at all. I should rather start and implement something rather revolutionary if hope is still within my lexicography. This is like an uphill battle and though I am not the who would sit the paper, but, as far as the result is concerned, I could feel how stressed some students were when facing questions they could hardly answer, much more to the questions that they don’t comprehend at all. Maybe , they are the ones who rather take the blame as they really enjoy themselves all year long as if to them the exam holds no bearing in their school life. They instead enjoyed texting, face booking or watching favorite Astro channels. When asked to do extra works they seldom handed in the works in time, let alone to do it earnestly. All they wanted to do is playing and enjoying the present moment without thinking the prize they have to pay in order to succeed. They heed not at all the maxim, popular among studious person ‘study first, enjoy later’. Though sounds subjective it may, the message is plainly clear. Students must know their priority which is to study and gain as much knowledge and experience as possible.
Considering the present situation, there are a few steps that I might possibly need to take into account unless I am already at peace with the present outcomes. The biggest hurdle is to leave comfort zones. Over time, we like water will freeze to death if put in a refrigerator. Those getting 25 and above need to join a camp specially designed to fast equip their memory with new vocab and formula deem crucial for both paper 1 and paper 2 and most importantly the process of getting answers for the questions. This 25 students must be made known to students as this will spur themselves to further improve their performance. In order to get 33 and above for section A, they at least need to answer 1000 questions. Only then, they would be familiar with questions. For paper 2, writing everyday on daily basis should be made a must. Most systematic modes of marking student’s work need to be applied as this will lessen teacher’s workload . Grammar is like a heart to the language without which students will find themselves in great difficulty even to string a very basic sentence of SV, SVO.
To quote what Winston Churchill once said ‘ Never give in..never give in..’ they say it is so easy to cry and die but to fight when hope is out of sight. His another quote worthy to ponder is ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give’.
Sir
As i was passing the school in which i am now teaching heading for my hometown, the butterflies inside my stomach seemed so restless that forced me to crack my brains to figure out ways to face the current scenario. Of course, the thing that i fear most is the outcome though the significance of the outcome is questionable and it does not necessarily reflect student's true performance as many hidden hands played their parts as well. Still, it coerced me to think as this time around, compared to previous two years, i have no idea on how and what to respond with the result at hand to meet a standard benchmark in getting targeted A grade.
Last year, for trial alone, we have almost a dozen of students getting 30 and above for paper 1 and the highest if my memory permits got 39/40. The likes of Iman, Ainur, Yo registered 35 and 36 respectively. The trial result alone was a real booster for both students and teachers before the real exam. Nevertheless, this time around, the highest score for paper 1 is 30 by two of them, Hanif and Izzah, followed closely by Zahira and Omar who scored 29 and 27 respectively. Given the present result, extraordinary plans and efforts are to be worked out, executed and exerted if they really dream their dream of getting A. The big question mark is do they have what it takes to materialise that dream. The passion , the burning desire like their seniors'. So far, I hardly find any of them showing tenacity and determination as shown by their seniors. Attendance is still considered as the best testimonial to measure one’s level of commitment. And as a teacher, i am still in search of formula to find the lost symbol or whatever object they may say to address the problem. Possibly without me realizing it, my approaches of instruction were obsolete and do not appeal to them anymore that they might have absorbed little or nothing. That is still the thing worthy to ponder if I dream of different outcome. Lest, the same or almost same result will be out at the end of December 2011.
They say, necessity is a mother of invention. The present situation now, at least to me is a dire-need situation and requires a strong task force to save it from being crumbled beyond repair. Two months to go can be both decisive and lethal. Should we fail to plan and properly execute it, it is tantamount to plan to fail. However, if things that we have been doing all this while proved nothing but just showed our laborious sort of person, doing the same things over and over again yet expect different result, this would be disastrous and leading us nowhere. Many people look busy doing things but never at all are in the know of what and why they are really doing. Possibly, I am one of the breeds. Then, productivity will be deprived of them for losing their focus and creativity.
The big question mark is why should i put in some efforts to think about this as my own students might not think of it at all. Of course, I must think as they are my in charge. Who else left for them to count on other than this very teacher. But do I have what it takes to help them better their performance. Unlike last two years, I had a partner with passion, intelligence and most importantly same sort of weltanschauung. We think almost alike in some approaches to execute as both of us then were novel. Everything then was a new discovery and we did discover and unearth a few gems lying deep down on the sea floor in the deep blue sea. But, things change and the only things , as philosophers claim, that don’t experience change is change itself. Change keeps changing and that is what makes it unchanged in a state of constant changing. Wallowing for things beyond our control bears no fruits at all. I should rather start and implement something rather revolutionary if hope is still within my lexicography. This is like an uphill battle and though I am not the who would sit the paper, but, as far as the result is concerned, I could feel how stressed some students were when facing questions they could hardly answer, much more to the questions that they don’t comprehend at all. Maybe , they are the ones who rather take the blame as they really enjoy themselves all year long as if to them the exam holds no bearing in their school life. They instead enjoyed texting, face booking or watching favorite Astro channels. When asked to do extra works they seldom handed in the works in time, let alone to do it earnestly. All they wanted to do is playing and enjoying the present moment without thinking the prize they have to pay in order to succeed. They heed not at all the maxim, popular among studious person ‘study first, enjoy later’. Though sounds subjective it may, the message is plainly clear. Students must know their priority which is to study and gain as much knowledge and experience as possible.
Considering the present situation, there are a few steps that I might possibly need to take into account unless I am already at peace with the present outcomes. The biggest hurdle is to leave comfort zones. Over time, we like water will freeze to death if put in a refrigerator. Those getting 25 and above need to join a camp specially designed to fast equip their memory with new vocab and formula deem crucial for both paper 1 and paper 2 and most importantly the process of getting answers for the questions. This 25 students must be made known to students as this will spur themselves to further improve their performance. In order to get 33 and above for section A, they at least need to answer 1000 questions. Only then, they would be familiar with questions. For paper 2, writing everyday on daily basis should be made a must. Most systematic modes of marking student’s work need to be applied as this will lessen teacher’s workload . Grammar is like a heart to the language without which students will find themselves in great difficulty even to string a very basic sentence of SV, SVO.
To quote what Winston Churchill once said ‘ Never give in..never give in..’ they say it is so easy to cry and die but to fight when hope is out of sight. His another quote worthy to ponder is ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give’.
Sir
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