Dear students,
Today is Saturday, a week from now will be another Saturday. Three days later will the D day when everybody is trying to prove their worth.
If someone asks me who and how many will get A for English PMR this year. I could not give them the answer as until now i cannot name even one student who have got A for English paper. But as they say, but if those students treat each second worth like a hundred meter sprinter. Impossible is nothing, let alone A. I am pretty sure A will be within your grasp should you prepare to pay its price.
If these students Hanis , Zahira , Izzah , Alia , Nazihah , Omar , Ummi , Nabilla , Farah Ziana , Farahanni , Mariam , Jamilah , Azli G and the list goes on, are willing to sacrifice by cutting their sleeping hours short, attending all classes as scheduled regardless of their moods and paying much attention to details such as rudiments in grammar, getting A is without doubt not a tall order.
Aside from that, as many say practice makes perfect. From now on, they need to double their efforts especially in honing writing skills and getting familiar with both novel and literature texts .I may come up with a t0-do-list, but it is not me who will be out on the field battle. I may oversee from afar and offer prayers.
Do your best dear students as you will be in the know that impossible is nothing if with enthusiasm and passion we are willing to pay its cost.
Sir
Friday, September 23, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
THIS MOMENT,YOU OWN IT
Regret, it is not about not getting what you want, it is in letting go of the opportunity that stands before you. It can be hurtful the most when you are given the right to choose, but it turns out that it is a wrong choice.
But who we are to be free from mistakes? We keep erring from time to time, feeling regretful over the stupid mistakes we've made but most of us choose not to give in, and to learn from those mistakes because there is always a second chance...
Like they say, every day is an opportunity to make a difference in own life. I really hope that my dear students realise that to be young is a gift that everyone should make full use of so that day one day you won't cry over what you've done today.
Just because I really hate that feeling of regret....
Saturday, September 3, 2011
NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT
Dear students,
The purpose of writing itself is to reveal nothing but truth. This rule applies nowhere except on term paper in semester years for undergraduate students. Writing, unlike research whose core objective in the first place is to identify problems , ironically in most cases the researchers crack their problems to invent problems and put much hype into them so that the problems deem real and research would of course be of a real significance. Then, the select panels will debate and sort them out. However, writing is unique so long we care less of what others think about us. What is the purpose of writing then if all that we want is to write . As we sometimes cringe after being harshly criticized despite everyone is subject to his or her own opinion , the same might apply when we ourselves give others the so called honest opinions or comments as people can hardly accept their weaknesses. A real stumbling block in becoming of a real being. The more prepared we are to face very unexpected ones the closer we are to achieving what have long aspired. However, as nature dictates, we tend to keep on listening to the last person’s advice instead of to our own inner voice. Therefore, as a rule of thumbs, we end up doing nothing of great importance but stay mediocre and being mere reactive.
US Open is in action now starting from 29 August, In Harian Metro today, in its feature writing section there was a brief account of Nadal’s My Story. Unlike Adre Agassi’s Open full of lucid details of his involvement in drugs, women and so on. Nadal’s My Story is more on his passion in the game and his rise to be once a world number one. He chronicled in great details of each moment in his epic battle in 2008 when he won over Federer in the greatest game ever in tennis history. Nadal deserved to win then as he was disciplined enough that he forced himself to observe some ‘rituals’ before great matches especially every time playing against Roger. Rituals here meant his step-by-step preparation prior to the championship. He would always take a very cold shower to reenergize his body and to have a feeling like a newborn with full of energy and enthusiasm. He did a quick warming-up as scheduled before carefully donning his trade mark scarf. He did that for nothing but gain and maintain his focus for championship. He tried his best to shut out other voices that could cost him championship medals by listening to music while forcing his way out through the tunnel to the battle ground amidst the crazy crowds in a packed stadium. He created a wall so that he won’t heed to outside voices but his own inner instincts and the presence of his family seemingly cemented the imaginary wall. And never he gave a smile to his families during any match, let alone to his fans. The tougher the battle the more focus it demands. He grunted and fretted on court and cared less of what others perceived of his antics. He managed to stick to his war philosophy, taught by his uncle Tony ‘being cruel to be good’, thus set him apart from his rivals. He claimed that his strength is he is superior to others in facing difficulties and . He is a strong advocate of being persevered and hardworking. He attributed his success to his coach who always spurred him to fight the best he could offer. His important message imparted to us mere mortals is no sacrifice is too great should we want something badly enough.
He was quoted as saying so : "I look back at that teenage Rafael and I am proud of him. He set a benchmark of endurance that has served me as an example and as a reminder ... if you want something badly enough, no sacrifice is too great."
From the story of Nadal what I am trying to highlight is his sportsmanship spirit. Despite being humiliated twice in Wimbeldon finals by Roger. He was insistent and stubborn enough that he has since improved on many aspects of this skills and physique ranging from his service, forehand and backhand winners and even his drop shots . After all , his most successful approach is when he managed to overcome fear. Fear conquers him more than anything else.
So, we also without a doubt have fear. The battle of the so called major exams are fast approaching. We cannot crush fear it is no something physical. Its existence is everywhere and nowhere. It all starts from within our mind. Once we truly reign our own soul , mind or reasoning faculty. It will exude confidence and confidence is contagious and has its ripple effects.
To quote what Muhammad Ali once said ‘ Champions are not made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have inside them - a desire , a dream and a vision’
And what the hell do we have to be champions? Of course we are too small to be humble.
Sir
The purpose of writing itself is to reveal nothing but truth. This rule applies nowhere except on term paper in semester years for undergraduate students. Writing, unlike research whose core objective in the first place is to identify problems , ironically in most cases the researchers crack their problems to invent problems and put much hype into them so that the problems deem real and research would of course be of a real significance. Then, the select panels will debate and sort them out. However, writing is unique so long we care less of what others think about us. What is the purpose of writing then if all that we want is to write . As we sometimes cringe after being harshly criticized despite everyone is subject to his or her own opinion , the same might apply when we ourselves give others the so called honest opinions or comments as people can hardly accept their weaknesses. A real stumbling block in becoming of a real being. The more prepared we are to face very unexpected ones the closer we are to achieving what have long aspired. However, as nature dictates, we tend to keep on listening to the last person’s advice instead of to our own inner voice. Therefore, as a rule of thumbs, we end up doing nothing of great importance but stay mediocre and being mere reactive.
US Open is in action now starting from 29 August, In Harian Metro today, in its feature writing section there was a brief account of Nadal’s My Story. Unlike Adre Agassi’s Open full of lucid details of his involvement in drugs, women and so on. Nadal’s My Story is more on his passion in the game and his rise to be once a world number one. He chronicled in great details of each moment in his epic battle in 2008 when he won over Federer in the greatest game ever in tennis history. Nadal deserved to win then as he was disciplined enough that he forced himself to observe some ‘rituals’ before great matches especially every time playing against Roger. Rituals here meant his step-by-step preparation prior to the championship. He would always take a very cold shower to reenergize his body and to have a feeling like a newborn with full of energy and enthusiasm. He did a quick warming-up as scheduled before carefully donning his trade mark scarf. He did that for nothing but gain and maintain his focus for championship. He tried his best to shut out other voices that could cost him championship medals by listening to music while forcing his way out through the tunnel to the battle ground amidst the crazy crowds in a packed stadium. He created a wall so that he won’t heed to outside voices but his own inner instincts and the presence of his family seemingly cemented the imaginary wall. And never he gave a smile to his families during any match, let alone to his fans. The tougher the battle the more focus it demands. He grunted and fretted on court and cared less of what others perceived of his antics. He managed to stick to his war philosophy, taught by his uncle Tony ‘being cruel to be good’, thus set him apart from his rivals. He claimed that his strength is he is superior to others in facing difficulties and . He is a strong advocate of being persevered and hardworking. He attributed his success to his coach who always spurred him to fight the best he could offer. His important message imparted to us mere mortals is no sacrifice is too great should we want something badly enough.
He was quoted as saying so : "I look back at that teenage Rafael and I am proud of him. He set a benchmark of endurance that has served me as an example and as a reminder ... if you want something badly enough, no sacrifice is too great."
From the story of Nadal what I am trying to highlight is his sportsmanship spirit. Despite being humiliated twice in Wimbeldon finals by Roger. He was insistent and stubborn enough that he has since improved on many aspects of this skills and physique ranging from his service, forehand and backhand winners and even his drop shots . After all , his most successful approach is when he managed to overcome fear. Fear conquers him more than anything else.
So, we also without a doubt have fear. The battle of the so called major exams are fast approaching. We cannot crush fear it is no something physical. Its existence is everywhere and nowhere. It all starts from within our mind. Once we truly reign our own soul , mind or reasoning faculty. It will exude confidence and confidence is contagious and has its ripple effects.
To quote what Muhammad Ali once said ‘ Champions are not made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have inside them - a desire , a dream and a vision’
And what the hell do we have to be champions? Of course we are too small to be humble.
Sir
Thursday, September 1, 2011
A DOSE OF RUMI
Something by Rumi which I feel like sharing. Eid Mubarak everyone!
You are that blessed soul who
belongs to the garden of paradise
is it fair to let yourself
fall apart in a shattered house?
-Jalaluddin Rumi
belongs to the garden of paradise
is it fair to let yourself
fall apart in a shattered house?
-Jalaluddin Rumi
Monday, August 29, 2011
FORGIVE AND FORGET
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
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
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
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