full week

Salam.

hi. i think this is my 4th week in the school-kinda. wow, a month already. 

but this isnt practicum that i could cross the first month and wait to cross another 2 months in the calendar.

this is a real business. i might be teaching in here for years... 

so i stop counting as i dont know where to stop at.

Early morning. Student were just arrived. and the moon still could be seen.

Form 4 and i dont know how to treat these boys and girls.

So there it goes, nearly a month in the school. things are still so-so for me. except the fact that my classroom control for this one class has been blurghh. Form 4 students, second last class. very-very weak in english that even listening to me saying english words, they would sigh. Discipline problems as well. and some are rude. and THAT - rude, i could NOT except. I would rather  teach slow learners but know how to respect others rather than those who are 'low manners'.

I just dont know what kind of teacher should i be. authoritative? authoritarian? - not working.  They would just behave with this one particular teacher who taught them Perdagangan. The teacher is very strict and the students really scared to get low marks for the subject that they resorted to cheating. Sometimes, i felt powerless. I want to punish them but i could not slap or cane them. Not that i want to, but it seems like they only fear respect teacher who uses physical punishment. Slow talk? psychology? i think i have tried that. it works, but only for a few minutes. and now, i felt like not knowing what to do with them. how to touch their hearts when they dont even want to listen?

PIBG's meeting and there were lots of moms(where're the daddies?)

Last week, i started to feel like a career woman. lots of  meetings - PIBG, Kelab Guru, English Panel and PIBG again. argh. tiring. School starts at 730am and finishes at 240pm but when there's a meeting, it will probably end at 5pm. How about not eating rice from morning till 5? It is not that i am restricting myself from eating or whatsoever but i just dont feel like eating/lunch when i am at school except for breakfast. no appetite..huhu :(.  and yep, my school also had its first PIBG's meeting for 2011 last week. I was happy that the hall was packed with parents and i think only quarter of it were teachers. and it was good to see that lots of parents actually came to the meeting and participated in the discussion. eventhough most of them worked as farmers, labourers, etc, they actually came and care for their kids' education. Plus, they appreciate, respect and thank the teachers- those who educate their sons and daughters.

I could not help to compare the same situation with some urban schools (i said 'some'). Would the parents who are very busy with their careers, spend their time for a 3-hours meeting? would they support the teachers and thank them? would they allow the teachers to cane or pinch their children when they misbehaved? some would and of course, some would not. urban school parents could afford tuition classes for their kids but for my students, their parents depend on school to do extra classes and everything. they need the teachers but do the students appreciate both parents and teachers' efforts? and that, i am not so sure.

Boys' dorms. urgghh

last monday, 28th Feb, i helped the other wardens to run a spotcheck to male students. So during prep time, while i was actually marking papers and watching Gemilang, I went down and then up to their dorms. kinda an exciting thing to do lah. like a treasure hunt. you search for things that they hid. a handphone in the cushion, poker cards and even Mekah eyeliner. and that was the first time i saw one- a silver bottle of Mekah eyeliner in a boy's locker. and 4 dorms, 4 different unpleasant smell. only 1 dorm was quite clean and the rest were like wekkk..huhu. actually i expected to find some love letters or something fascinating but nah... they were pretty good at hiding them i guess. 

  Bags, pails and shoes should not be put inside the dorm. So they need to pay 50cents for each item.

this is the dorm leader's locker..hadoiii...

It was dark and the car swirled to the left

Last Thurday, 3rd MArch, my  roomate received a phone call from the head warden. It was around 9 to 10 pm. We were shocked to hear that one of our roomated, kak H, was involved in a car accident. So we went to the scene and tried to console her. 

She was on her way to send some students (the school handball team) to the hostels (they just got back from a handball tournament). So it was dark (mind you, the road was narrow, no lights, and bendang at left and right), they were so exhausted (from morning till night- playing) and my friend, she rarely drove at night. Long story short, at this one particular area, there was flood. but who would expect that right? no 'danger' sign or what so ever. and pufff.... her not even one year old saga car was swirled to the left and sank in the water (air bendang). Alhamdulillah, she and the students were all save but her car, err... i am not quite sure. Many said that syukur that she didnt swirl to the right coz if she did, they dont think they would be so lucky. the right side of the road was the tali air. very deep like a river or was it a river? i dont know.. and the next day, an issue was raised about students' safety. Teachers wanted the school to rent a school bus as to bring the students out and not the teachers. and i dont think that would happen anytime soon. Melayu mudah lupa kannn...  

This was captured using phone camera (hence the quality). 

So if you could see it, you would realise that the car was in a pool of water.. :(

Sport officer

yes. next week, from Tuesday till Thursday, from am to pm, i would be away to SK Titi Gantong, Bota to be the sport officer for high jump. and i was kinda like whhaatt? motipppp?? i dont even know the sport and i dont even have a transport to go there. but as a new teacher, of course I cannot say "ala, itamlah saya nanti bawah panas tak diva lah uolss". so pergi jelah nanti. This monday, after school hours, there'll be a briefing to all sport officers. and Tuesday, there'll be a gathering for all the admins, wardens and hostel students at Teluk Intan for dinner... i was invited though i am not a warden yet. But with the sport thingy happening, i dont think i could make it :(.... baru ingat nak g Teluk Intan. tak pernah lagi ok pergi sana since kecik2 dulu. 

p/s: I really need some tips on how to handle these form 4 students of mine. Sometimes i felt half-hearted to teach a few of them coz they were rude but i know, i am the teacher so i need to do something. but how?