CBN - Week 3

Dear all,

Phew...it has been a very hectic week indeed. After my last post, Woon and I were asked to help dress the CBN performers in OCM. Just for your information, Mama Kok won an award. So, congratulate her the next time you see her in college. The GPK Koko of CBN, Ms Petrina Low was the main award winner last year for her contribution towards rhythmic gymnastics.

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Well, Woon and I were not told that we were also invited for the dinner, so the both of us were casually dressed (while the other guests were dressed to the nines as the Queen was supposed to be there). Anyway, as though the both of us were not 'obvious' enough, we kept going in and out of the hall because we were supposed to help with the girls' costume. Hahaha...

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I didn't know that teachers had so much to do. Many people think that it is just a 7a.m. to 1p.m. job, but the extra-curricular activities, and the planning and marking and and what-nots take up a lot of time. Brian has already complained a bit that we hardly spend time together anymore since I started teaching. In other words, I have no life. It's from home to school and from school to home. If I did go out, it was for school activities (except for the time I went to a concert and a musical - blog about it later). I mean, not all the teachers are involved in so many things - you have to be selected to help out in these occasions. I am very grateful of course for the GPK Koko, Ms. Low to try to involve Woon and I in the school activities. I mean, I saw more things and I know I can learn a lot from this Super Teacher (she refused to accept the award when it was offered to her). It's just that, doing just a fraction of what a super teacher does when we are not up to par yet is very tiring.

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After their performance in OCM, they were invited to perform in Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Phew...the hotel is GRAND. I mean, it's REALLY grand. And the best part of us helping out was that we get to get free food and goody bags. Hahaha...the Fried Rice in the hotel's cafe was horrible though. The buffet looks good and the Hainanese Chicken Rice looks quite nice too. But I must mention the cakes. Oooohhh.....heavenly. MM--Hmmmmmmmmmm....*kiss fingers*

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Oh, I'm hungry already...and I haven't done any Maths lesson plan at all since I started teaching practice. HELPPPPPP!!!! Better start doing or I'd fail the semester. Hahaha...next post - Emil Chau concert and The King and I musical. Stay tuned!

Week 2 of teaching practice

Arrrggghhh...why is it so hard to teach Year 1 kids? *sigh* Yup, I'm teaching Year One Mathematics. Easy? Well, I'll give you RM 50 if you can make them just sit down quietly, listen to you for one hour and do their work without making the mistakes that you have just tried to clarify! RM 50 not enough? Imagine, I'm doing it for less than RM 20 a day!

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I don't know if it's just me or it happens with every Year 1 class, but kids sure do love to cry. No, they don't cry because of me. They just cry because they feel wronged or they were hit by their friends whom they just hit in the first place. I have been in the class 4 days now and I am still struggling to get them to understand how to find the difference between two numbers. The first day, everyone was quiet and listened to me but their homework was atrocious. The second day, they were listening but every now and then one or two kids will come to me to ask if they may drink water or go to the toilet. The third day, 3 kids were crying in the class because of abovementioned reasons while at least 8 of them came to ask me individually how to do a sum that I had just taught them and the others were busy asking for permission to drink water, colour their work, go to washroom etc.

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I finally lost my temper with them today when they still do not know how to find 2 numbers with a difference of 1. Even while I was scolding them, kids were still coming up to me to tell me that they haven't bought a magic book, they have a toothache/ sore throat/ stomachache, they have finished their work, they got a 'Good' written in their book (which I wrote, of course) etc. Kids? How can anyone remain sane with all these nonsense happening in class every day.

I was just telling my partner, Woon this morning that I wish I can be a student again and cry and beg my mother to allow me to stay home. School's no fun, especially when you are in Year 1 (whether you are the pupil or the teacher, trust me).

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Fortunately, my Year 4 English class is easier to handle. There are a few pupils who look arrogant enough that you just feel like kicking them out of your class, but most of them I think are glad that English is no longer a case of 'take out your books and copy these down' or 'open to page xx and do until page xxx'. But that doesn't mean that they would still do your work. I gave them a piece of my mind too this morning because some girls did not complete the simple task that I asked them to do.

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Yup, you can say that my blood pressure today must have gone up by a hundred points at least. Girls' school does not have discipline problem? I think where there are kids, there will be Trouble with a capital T. Ex-teachers of mine whom I bullied/ looked down upon, you have my respect now. So, please stop praying that I reap what I sowed! I believe in Karma already! Bless you!! ;)

CBN (1)

Hi people,
Yay! It's Friday finally. CBN (1) is not that bad at all. In fact, there are many normal teachers there. Haha...only a few there like Joanne (yup, our senior from MPIK), Ms Low, Ms Noor and a few others are Super Teachers. It is undeniable that most kinds from CBN are quite talented and are a bit ahead of their peers in other schools. Other than that, it is just like any other school. Some times you can hear the teachers screaming at the top of their lungs because the class is so noisy, at other times you can hear the teachers droning away at some facts in the lesson.

I suppose the first thing that you notice about the school teachers here is that most of the teachers here are very responsible. They go into their classes whenever they should and they are always marking books or doing something. The one week that we've been there, we hardly see any teachers sitting in the staff room chatting away while selling their direct selling products. We don't see the teachers sitting at the canteen yakking away for hours too. In short, the general attitude of government servants are not being practised here (you know what I mean).

Good thing also is that the teachers here are rather friendly. Unlike being bullied like Melwin in her school, the teachers here are almost all very friendly. Not to mention, Joanne takes care of us too by trying to involve us in the activities in school such as choral speaking and movement songs trainings.

Well, I suppose everyone is enjoying their teaching practise. I enjoy it too but I am also very glad that the weekend is here so that I can sleep in a bit later. Waking up at 530 a.m. everyday is not kind to my eyebags. Haha...more in the next post. Cheerios.

Convent Bukit Nanas...yup, that's the name of the school that I got for my teaching practice. What is my opinion of the school? Well, the teachers and the school look all right...the pupils? Well, let's just say that I wasn't hoping to get a well-known school for my teaching practice. Like a lecturer said, you shine brighter and easier in an average or below average school. It's not as though I want to shine and show off, it's just that I am very intimidated by the pupils. Yup, the PUPILS.

I guess I have to believe in karma. I used to bully teachers, now I'm going to be a teacher who is most probably going to be bullied by these pupils. SIGH...scareeeeee.....

Guess there won't be many updates for the first week of school. Do wish me luck and pray for my mental health. Hahaha....

Updates on Australia will be delayed. Sorry ya!!