Choose! Would you go through the Subaru RX challenge and stick to your hand to a car for more than 60 hours to get out of the bond? Vote now! [5 votes total]
YES!! Anything to get out of the bond! (3) 60%
No! Are you nuts? (1) 20%
Hmm, I'm not sure but I'm tempted...... (1) 20%
Die... we actually have 3 pple who are willing to stick their hand on a car for >60 hours to get out of the bond, and one who is tempted by the idea. Moe seriously needs to look into their bonding and staff retention policies. :p
For those who missed the voting, try again by clicking on this link.
Friday, November 03, 2006
End of Exams... Start of Headaches
The exams have ended for the kids, and everyone is pretty hysterical and diffident to anything that resembles work anymore. X( So in a nutshell, all the kids are having the times of their lives in school, but we are faced with the job of keeping them occupied and entertained.
Personally, I'm in favour of just releasing all of them from school one week early and letting them romp around at home instead. Especially the primary 6ers, who finished their PSLE ages ago, and are just in school for... I don't know what purpose. Why keep them around when they are utterly disinterested in work anyway? And for their sakes, let them enjoy what days of carefree leisure they have before they have to face secondary, JC and even work.
And give us some kind of break from keeping them occupied too. :p
At least it's easier to occupy lower primary students. Give them a word search, a complicated maze, or bring tons of scissors and glue and get them doing some kind of models, or drawing, and they're occupied and happy. Try the same thing on upper primary students and you get the "duh" look.
Oh well... 2 weeks more and counting... :p Remember to start applying for leave, everyone!
Personally, I'm in favour of just releasing all of them from school one week early and letting them romp around at home instead. Especially the primary 6ers, who finished their PSLE ages ago, and are just in school for... I don't know what purpose. Why keep them around when they are utterly disinterested in work anyway? And for their sakes, let them enjoy what days of carefree leisure they have before they have to face secondary, JC and even work.
And give us some kind of break from keeping them occupied too. :p
At least it's easier to occupy lower primary students. Give them a word search, a complicated maze, or bring tons of scissors and glue and get them doing some kind of models, or drawing, and they're occupied and happy. Try the same thing on upper primary students and you get the "duh" look.
Oh well... 2 weeks more and counting... :p Remember to start applying for leave, everyone!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
3 Days or 3 Years?
Speaking with a fellow BT one day, we discuss cars and bonds.
Think about the maths for a while. A typical 3 year bond comes with a roughly $30,000-$40,000 penalty, depending on how long you spent in NIE. [We are working on a one year PGDE bond here, to make things simple.]
If you entered the Mediacorp Subaru RX challenge and you keep your hand on the car for more than 64 hours, [approx 2odd to 3 days] you would have won yourself a new car, which, if you sold off, would almost be enough to pay off for your bond.
All you would have to do is to get over the starvation, dehydration, fatigue and sleep deprivation that comes as a result. But hey, since we face this in the job everyday, we should be quite trained for it, no? :p
What is your choice? 3 days or 3 years?
In other news, the PSLE marking period is now over, and it's back to school for everyone. While the prospect of facing my students doesn't exactly fill me with unadulterated joy, at least it somewhat beats the menial task of a recorder during the marking period...
Although I might change my mind the minute I step into class tomorrow and face the kids, who would have probably forgotten all the classroom conditioning and the holiday assignments over the 4 years. *faint*
Think about the maths for a while. A typical 3 year bond comes with a roughly $30,000-$40,000 penalty, depending on how long you spent in NIE. [We are working on a one year PGDE bond here, to make things simple.]
If you entered the Mediacorp Subaru RX challenge and you keep your hand on the car for more than 64 hours, [approx 2odd to 3 days] you would have won yourself a new car, which, if you sold off, would almost be enough to pay off for your bond.
All you would have to do is to get over the starvation, dehydration, fatigue and sleep deprivation that comes as a result. But hey, since we face this in the job everyday, we should be quite trained for it, no? :p
What is your choice? 3 days or 3 years?
In other news, the PSLE marking period is now over, and it's back to school for everyone. While the prospect of facing my students doesn't exactly fill me with unadulterated joy, at least it somewhat beats the menial task of a recorder during the marking period...
Although I might change my mind the minute I step into class tomorrow and face the kids, who would have probably forgotten all the classroom conditioning and the holiday assignments over the 4 years. *faint*
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Happy Children's Day!
I know I'm going to take a good break somewhere..... hope the same goes for the rest of you too. :D
Should Teachers Blog?
Who saw the article in the digital section of the Sunday Times? [Go flip through your newspaper pile if you haven't] Not a new issue of course, if I remember, this has been talked about before, though I can't remember the exact occasion.
Frankly, I don't know why people even think teachers should not blog at all. Please, just add blogging to the long list of human activities that teachers are not supposed to engage in already, including having a life outside of school that does not involve education or children in some way.
I thought being in the education line would've taught people one thing by now: that the more you stop the kids from doing something, the more they want to do it. I should know. The more I try to stop my kids from jumping on the tables and chairs, the more they do it somehow, despite obvious danger to life and limb. [sigh]
So why should we teachers not blog? I think there's nothing wrong with blogging, if you know where the lines of slander are drawn. [hee] If you're going to write about what a pretentious prick your principal is, for example, [not that mine is one!!!] obviously you're going to get into trouble, the same way you would if you were to troop into his office and call him a dumbass to his face.
What's missing is an atmosphere of open maturity. You gotta accept that from time to time, people do have grudges about their job. Even if we're in a vocation, where the standards are higher, you cannot except people to be 100% happy all of the time. If the blog does not slander, does not use foul language, what the heck is wrong with it? Besides, don't forget the sheer number of students who blog these days. If you're not familiar with it, risk losing touch with a large number of your students.
I never believed banning ever solved anything. Teach people to use things responsibly, instead of just taking it away from them.
And anyway, with more blogging going on, won't it help to raise the standards of English that Big Moe is so concerned about? ;)
Frankly, I don't know why people even think teachers should not blog at all. Please, just add blogging to the long list of human activities that teachers are not supposed to engage in already, including having a life outside of school that does not involve education or children in some way.
I thought being in the education line would've taught people one thing by now: that the more you stop the kids from doing something, the more they want to do it. I should know. The more I try to stop my kids from jumping on the tables and chairs, the more they do it somehow, despite obvious danger to life and limb. [sigh]
So why should we teachers not blog? I think there's nothing wrong with blogging, if you know where the lines of slander are drawn. [hee] If you're going to write about what a pretentious prick your principal is, for example, [not that mine is one!!!] obviously you're going to get into trouble, the same way you would if you were to troop into his office and call him a dumbass to his face.
What's missing is an atmosphere of open maturity. You gotta accept that from time to time, people do have grudges about their job. Even if we're in a vocation, where the standards are higher, you cannot except people to be 100% happy all of the time. If the blog does not slander, does not use foul language, what the heck is wrong with it? Besides, don't forget the sheer number of students who blog these days. If you're not familiar with it, risk losing touch with a large number of your students.
I never believed banning ever solved anything. Teach people to use things responsibly, instead of just taking it away from them.
And anyway, with more blogging going on, won't it help to raise the standards of English that Big Moe is so concerned about? ;)
Friday, September 15, 2006
Here is me doing cheap promotion for my own poll. Please vote on the latest GROW plan and what you think of it at the online poll at the right of the blog. Current results indicate that, er,
2 people think it's ok
2 people think it makes no difference to their careers
3 people still feel like quitting anyway
and no one feels more motivated to continue working.
Hahaha... I'm tempted to think this is the true viewpoint of those on the ground, but I have to reluctantly state that the sample size is too small to conclude anything. [damn that stats module I took!] So please vote if you haven't already, and also leave a comment on why you feel that way!
2 people think it's ok
2 people think it makes no difference to their careers
3 people still feel like quitting anyway
and no one feels more motivated to continue working.
Hahaha... I'm tempted to think this is the true viewpoint of those on the ground, but I have to reluctantly state that the sample size is too small to conclude anything. [damn that stats module I took!] So please vote if you haven't already, and also leave a comment on why you feel that way!
Teachers are going crazy!
The good things about being in school on a PSLE day are that the school is quiet, the children are not around, and there are no lessons to plan :)
The bad thing is that you [or rather I] get more tired easily, because of no exercise, you stare at your computer screen too much trying to finish planning lessons before the weekend, doing research for upcoming exam papers, and other assorted admin work. X(
Now I realise how unsuitable a desk job is for me.
Anyway, there is a current thread going on at Moe's forum about whether teachers are going crazy. According to either unfounded rumours or hidden facts, [whichever you choose to perceive it as] there is a significant number of teachers who end up at IMH for......... you can go ahead and guess for whatever reason. :)
I tried reading the threads, but I almost went crazy doing so [haha, cheap pun] so here are the main points as supplied by my friend:
1. Prioritise your time.
Work is work, leisure is leisure and never the twain should meet. I only realised how important leisure time was when I started the real work. True enough it does take up time that could be used planning lessons or looking for resources, and the worst thing is that I end up procrastinating a lot and doing a lot of last minute work. :p
The upside is, I get my recess time, and something about being forced to meet a deadline no matter what has resulted in some of my better lesson ideas. Mwahaha. At least my creativity and quick-thinking skills are improving.
Put it this way: You won't want your kids to sit through lessons the whole day without recess in between would you? So why subject yourself to the same torture?
2. If you can't, you can't
Everyone has their limits, and a wise man knows his. If you know you can't do it, why force yourself to do it, and then convince yourself you can? It's true enough that nobody knows their real limits, and that if you never grow, you will never know. But you know when you can't do it. That's when you start dreaming of nightmare scenarios involving you, your students and your HODs and endless piles of unmarked papers. Or you sweat uncontrollably at the sight of a red pen.
Face it, if you think you need learning support, don't force yourself to join the A stars.
3. Eat bananas
So you don't go bananas. No really, according to someone on the forum, bananas contain anti-depressants, so maybe there is some truth to the statement after all.
And my very own point at the end of it all... when all else fails....
4. Just Don't Bother
Fergeddabudit. Throw the red pens into the bin, switch off the laptop, ignore the pile of unmarked books, and just go do something fun. Tell yourself you owe yourself that much.
IF you don't agree with any of the 4 points here, I sincerely hope you don't land in IMH one day.
The bad thing is that you [or rather I] get more tired easily, because of no exercise, you stare at your computer screen too much trying to finish planning lessons before the weekend, doing research for upcoming exam papers, and other assorted admin work. X(
Now I realise how unsuitable a desk job is for me.
Anyway, there is a current thread going on at Moe's forum about whether teachers are going crazy. According to either unfounded rumours or hidden facts, [whichever you choose to perceive it as] there is a significant number of teachers who end up at IMH for......... you can go ahead and guess for whatever reason. :)
I tried reading the threads, but I almost went crazy doing so [haha, cheap pun] so here are the main points as supplied by my friend:
1. Prioritise your time.
Work is work, leisure is leisure and never the twain should meet. I only realised how important leisure time was when I started the real work. True enough it does take up time that could be used planning lessons or looking for resources, and the worst thing is that I end up procrastinating a lot and doing a lot of last minute work. :p
The upside is, I get my recess time, and something about being forced to meet a deadline no matter what has resulted in some of my better lesson ideas. Mwahaha. At least my creativity and quick-thinking skills are improving.
Put it this way: You won't want your kids to sit through lessons the whole day without recess in between would you? So why subject yourself to the same torture?
2. If you can't, you can't
Everyone has their limits, and a wise man knows his. If you know you can't do it, why force yourself to do it, and then convince yourself you can? It's true enough that nobody knows their real limits, and that if you never grow, you will never know. But you know when you can't do it. That's when you start dreaming of nightmare scenarios involving you, your students and your HODs and endless piles of unmarked papers. Or you sweat uncontrollably at the sight of a red pen.
Face it, if you think you need learning support, don't force yourself to join the A stars.
3. Eat bananas
So you don't go bananas. No really, according to someone on the forum, bananas contain anti-depressants, so maybe there is some truth to the statement after all.
And my very own point at the end of it all... when all else fails....
4. Just Don't Bother
Fergeddabudit. Throw the red pens into the bin, switch off the laptop, ignore the pile of unmarked books, and just go do something fun. Tell yourself you owe yourself that much.
IF you don't agree with any of the 4 points here, I sincerely hope you don't land in IMH one day.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
We Are Not Happy. Why?
It's telling how, simply by glancing through the Tomorrow.sg website, one can come up with the number of grudges, grunts, and overall noises of dissatisfaction against the System.
Why I Hate Teaching
D&T above all else
And wow, even a petition for a principal to please, quit already.
Ironically, I remember when I went for the mandatory Reflective Practice course, the trainer was trying to tell us that we had the power to change our situation. If we could just take our own positive affirmative action, then we could drastically change our teaching outlook and approach, and generally, at least life would look a little better for us.
I think I can only half agree with her.
Firstly, there are just too much crap going on outside of the actual teaching that is causing dissatisfaction within the teaching profession. In my very-short career, talking to other contract teachers and senior teachers and reading other blogs has yielded one result: that it is NOT the children that is causing the dissatisfaction, but all other things like the leadership, the administration, the non-curriculuar activities.
Above all, it is the expectations. It is telling in the trainer's presentation that the reason why WE suffer is because of US and that WE can take action to solve that, while having faith that the system is doing its best behind the scenes to help us.
There is a lot expected of teachers isn't it? Is it because we are working in a vocation [as opposed to an occupation] that people think it's only right that we suffer all these with a whisper of complaint? I feel as if we are expected everyday to do more and more and more for the children, but only for that few extra peanuts. [and not gold-plated ones, to boot]
But on the flipside, I have seen situations where the teacher in question could have avoided extra work with a few simple actions. For example, one BT in school was looking particularly strained because 3 different HODs had suddenly called in her children's workbooks for checking. And suddenly she had to examine and sort out piles of English, Math and Social studies workbooks and files to be handed in the next day
I told her to tell the HODs that she was swamped, and to ask for an extension. After all, it was the eve of the holidays! Why can't she just hand in the books either during the week, or even in Term 4?
She didn't. Maybe she was nervous, after all, a BT telling a HOD that she can't do it, would she look bad? Would the HOD just demand it of her anyway? Maybe she was afraid that it would give her a bad, or unprofessional image to the HOD, but still! Isn't this a pretty impossible uphill task, even for a senior teacher???
Why not at least make the effort to ask, in a professional way, and explain the situation to the HOD? If you asked, at least you get the chance of a reprieve, rather than suffering in silence all the while.
[anyway I learned my lesson from her situation. From next week, I'm hounding my students for all workbooks, worksheets and files, and I'm making sure they stay in school, unless it's exam period. That way anytime someone wants to see my books, they're prepared.]
I hope our suffering is not caused by our own silence. There is only so much that we can all take to a certain point. Why allow others to put you past that point? If you think people are shitting on you, then raise a stink and make sure they know of it!
I hope I never reach the point where I suffer things blindly.
Why I Hate Teaching
D&T above all else
And wow, even a petition for a principal to please, quit already.
Ironically, I remember when I went for the mandatory Reflective Practice course, the trainer was trying to tell us that we had the power to change our situation. If we could just take our own positive affirmative action, then we could drastically change our teaching outlook and approach, and generally, at least life would look a little better for us.
I think I can only half agree with her.
Firstly, there are just too much crap going on outside of the actual teaching that is causing dissatisfaction within the teaching profession. In my very-short career, talking to other contract teachers and senior teachers and reading other blogs has yielded one result: that it is NOT the children that is causing the dissatisfaction, but all other things like the leadership, the administration, the non-curriculuar activities.
Above all, it is the expectations. It is telling in the trainer's presentation that the reason why WE suffer is because of US and that WE can take action to solve that, while having faith that the system is doing its best behind the scenes to help us.
There is a lot expected of teachers isn't it? Is it because we are working in a vocation [as opposed to an occupation] that people think it's only right that we suffer all these with a whisper of complaint? I feel as if we are expected everyday to do more and more and more for the children, but only for that few extra peanuts. [and not gold-plated ones, to boot]
But on the flipside, I have seen situations where the teacher in question could have avoided extra work with a few simple actions. For example, one BT in school was looking particularly strained because 3 different HODs had suddenly called in her children's workbooks for checking. And suddenly she had to examine and sort out piles of English, Math and Social studies workbooks and files to be handed in the next day
I told her to tell the HODs that she was swamped, and to ask for an extension. After all, it was the eve of the holidays! Why can't she just hand in the books either during the week, or even in Term 4?
She didn't. Maybe she was nervous, after all, a BT telling a HOD that she can't do it, would she look bad? Would the HOD just demand it of her anyway? Maybe she was afraid that it would give her a bad, or unprofessional image to the HOD, but still! Isn't this a pretty impossible uphill task, even for a senior teacher???
Why not at least make the effort to ask, in a professional way, and explain the situation to the HOD? If you asked, at least you get the chance of a reprieve, rather than suffering in silence all the while.
[anyway I learned my lesson from her situation. From next week, I'm hounding my students for all workbooks, worksheets and files, and I'm making sure they stay in school, unless it's exam period. That way anytime someone wants to see my books, they're prepared.]
I hope our suffering is not caused by our own silence. There is only so much that we can all take to a certain point. Why allow others to put you past that point? If you think people are shitting on you, then raise a stink and make sure they know of it!
I hope I never reach the point where I suffer things blindly.
Monday, September 04, 2006
$250m
The new measures to make teaching more attractive and retentive are out, announced during the Mass Lecture at the Singapore Expo yesterday. [incidentally how many of you were there? And how many of you left after the speech/informal break/lecture? ;p]
Among the measures: [as stated by Straits Times]
- Increase in gratuity bonus
- Higher starting salaries for graduates with pass/pass with merit and dip. holders [I joined one year too late!!!]
- Salary review for mid-career grads
- More opportunities for promotion
- Full-pay sabbaticals for teachers with at least 12 years of experience [I'm so out!]
- Learning-related expenses of $400-$700 to be made claimable [the most flexible, it will be available to everyone]
- More emphasis on staff development [whether this gets translated to the ground level, remains to be seen]
Unfortunately our salaries are already found to be quite competitive with the private sector, so no changes in that direction. Shoot :p
At first glance though, most of the goodies seem to be more for the long-term employees rather than the newbie BTs. Is anyone interested in whether we'll stay beyond our 3/4/5/6 year bonds? And most of the goodies don't focus on the purely material but instead seem directed towards making our life and career development as smooth and varied as possible. Which means you'll only feel the full benefit if you stay for as long as possible.
Hm. What do you guys think?
Among the measures: [as stated by Straits Times]
- Increase in gratuity bonus
- Higher starting salaries for graduates with pass/pass with merit and dip. holders [I joined one year too late!!!]
- Salary review for mid-career grads
- More opportunities for promotion
- Full-pay sabbaticals for teachers with at least 12 years of experience [I'm so out!]
- Learning-related expenses of $400-$700 to be made claimable [the most flexible, it will be available to everyone]
- More emphasis on staff development [whether this gets translated to the ground level, remains to be seen]
Unfortunately our salaries are already found to be quite competitive with the private sector, so no changes in that direction. Shoot :p
At first glance though, most of the goodies seem to be more for the long-term employees rather than the newbie BTs. Is anyone interested in whether we'll stay beyond our 3/4/5/6 year bonds? And most of the goodies don't focus on the purely material but instead seem directed towards making our life and career development as smooth and varied as possible. Which means you'll only feel the full benefit if you stay for as long as possible.
Hm. What do you guys think?
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Happy Teacher's Day
It seems highly ironic to me that the day that is supposed to be for the teachers, ended up being more tiring for me, the teacher, than any other normal school day.
2 of the troublemakers decided to get into repeated fights with each other, just a few pathetic minutes before I was supposed to get them all gathered up to go to the hall for the Teacher's Day concert. In the ruckus, they push over a much smaller girl, who starts crying on the spot.
Honestly, it's days like these that make me wonder why I joined this line.
We finally arrived late for the concert. I had the two boys stand outside the hall giving them one solid scolding while the rest of the students were settled in the hall waiting for the performance to start. Once I had finally cooled down enough, I dragged one of the major troublemakers to me for a calmer talking-to.
I told him something like there was no point in fighting, because even if the other kid started it first, he was equally in the wrong for continuing the fight. [and for hitting back more savagely, may I add] And in the end, only innocent bystanders like the smaller girl would get hurt in the end, and would he only be satisfied after he had killed all his classmates, or pushed his other friends down the stairs or something?
I told him to please think in the future if someone hit him. If it was accidental, then ignore it. If it was on purpose, then tell a teacher, instead of hitting back. At the end of it, I asked him to repeat what I said.
His reply: "If someone hits me, hit him back a million times." *grin*.
Teachers are the imparters of values, the principal read out from the Teacher's Day letter to schools. But what if the students are not willing to accept those values?
*Haiz* Anyway, for a lighter note, please scroll down to read the entry on Things Teachers Wish They Could Tell Their Students.
Happy Teacher's Day, all.
2 of the troublemakers decided to get into repeated fights with each other, just a few pathetic minutes before I was supposed to get them all gathered up to go to the hall for the Teacher's Day concert. In the ruckus, they push over a much smaller girl, who starts crying on the spot.
Honestly, it's days like these that make me wonder why I joined this line.
We finally arrived late for the concert. I had the two boys stand outside the hall giving them one solid scolding while the rest of the students were settled in the hall waiting for the performance to start. Once I had finally cooled down enough, I dragged one of the major troublemakers to me for a calmer talking-to.
I told him something like there was no point in fighting, because even if the other kid started it first, he was equally in the wrong for continuing the fight. [and for hitting back more savagely, may I add] And in the end, only innocent bystanders like the smaller girl would get hurt in the end, and would he only be satisfied after he had killed all his classmates, or pushed his other friends down the stairs or something?
I told him to please think in the future if someone hit him. If it was accidental, then ignore it. If it was on purpose, then tell a teacher, instead of hitting back. At the end of it, I asked him to repeat what I said.
His reply: "If someone hits me, hit him back a million times." *grin*.
Teachers are the imparters of values, the principal read out from the Teacher's Day letter to schools. But what if the students are not willing to accept those values?
*Haiz* Anyway, for a lighter note, please scroll down to read the entry on Things Teachers Wish They Could Tell Their Students.
Happy Teacher's Day, all.
Things Teachers Wish They Could Tell Their Students...
But obviously, they can't.
Courtesy of Talkingcock.com
personally, I like no. 6 and 7.
1. Actually, you’ll never need to know most of what I’m asked to teach you.
2. I wish they didn’t make you come to school either.
3. Wait till you see what I’ve written about YOU on MY blog – www.siginnah.com
4. Don’t take this the wrong way, but where your father and mother brother and sister?
5. I really wish you were as smart as you think you are.
6. You know, it’s true. You really don’t have to go to study hard and go to university. I did, and look at the crappy job I got.
7. Please don’t breed. Please!
8. Jack Neo was wrong: you damn stupid (and you damn stupid too!)
Courtesy of Talkingcock.com
personally, I like no. 6 and 7.
1. Actually, you’ll never need to know most of what I’m asked to teach you.
2. I wish they didn’t make you come to school either.
3. Wait till you see what I’ve written about YOU on MY blog – www.siginnah.com
4. Don’t take this the wrong way, but where your father and mother brother and sister?
5. I really wish you were as smart as you think you are.
6. You know, it’s true. You really don’t have to go to study hard and go to university. I did, and look at the crappy job I got.
7. Please don’t breed. Please!
8. Jack Neo was wrong: you damn stupid (and you damn stupid too!)
Thursday, August 17, 2006
PSLE Oral
These 2 days of PSLE Oral exams have been like a lull of peaceful waters after heavy 10-foot-wave storms. With a heart half of relief ["I get rid of them for 2 extra days!"] and anxiety ["Will they actually study for the CAs over the weekend? Or play and fail consequently??"] I let my bunch of ragamuffins go off on Wed, though I had to come back to school for duties on Thurs and Fri.
Now on Fri, while waiting my turn for duty, I have one observation about oral exams: They are a BORE. Unless you're an examiner, or a Big One on top who has to constantly monitor the situation and make sure nothing screws up, there is not much for the average teacher to do except take care of the kids who are waiting their turn for the examiner.
Examples:
- Walking around a 2m radius around the kid
- Leaning on the balcony railings staring at cloud formations
- Talking/Scolding to the kids waiting their turns
- Doodling frantically on any scraps of paper at hand
BUT, as boring as it all was, I am still grateful for the lull. At least in the meantime, I managed to get my LPs for the next week all done. :p Weekend here I come.
Now on Fri, while waiting my turn for duty, I have one observation about oral exams: They are a BORE. Unless you're an examiner, or a Big One on top who has to constantly monitor the situation and make sure nothing screws up, there is not much for the average teacher to do except take care of the kids who are waiting their turn for the examiner.
Examples:
- Walking around a 2m radius around the kid
- Leaning on the balcony railings staring at cloud formations
- Talking/Scolding to the kids waiting their turns
- Doodling frantically on any scraps of paper at hand
BUT, as boring as it all was, I am still grateful for the lull. At least in the meantime, I managed to get my LPs for the next week all done. :p Weekend here I come.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Email Feedback
I haven't posted in a while, but this email made me feel like doing it:
"u r a disgrace to the teaching
profession....displaying such a negative attitude.when
there r people dying to teach n cant! go kill urself"
Times like this........... I really wonder at some people............ here he is commenting on my negative attitude and at the same time telling me to kill myself.... [??] That's not a very positive attitude on his part now is it?
Of course, it does make me think a bit.
1. Is this guy a teacher in Singapore as well? And does he have a 100%, 24/7 positively sunny attitude towards his job everyday?
2. Is it wrong to display negative feelings? If so, then is it better that we should all never talk or do anything about our problems, and just carry a forced smile to work each day?
3. Is keeping this blog such a disgrace to the teaching profession? If so, I think you can shut down most of the teacher blogs out there.
I'm not keeping this blog to purposely throw a bad light on teaching. Neither am I out to discourage people from teaching. There are people who have emailed me about teaching in Singapore and I've tried to give them as objective a view as possible, concerning job scope, prospects and others.
But what I think this blog is about, is to give people a view of the teaching profession, from my eyes. Granted I'm not utterly happy all the time at my job, but who is anyway?
The truth is there are many people out there who are just as dissatisfied with their teaching jobs, and I'm just one of those who actually blog about it, rather than just keep silent about it.
And for all those who are dying to teach and can't? At least they don't carry any illusions in their head about what the job really entails.
Some people make me feel just.... *Phwargh!*
"u r a disgrace to the teaching
profession....displaying such a negative attitude.when
there r people dying to teach n cant! go kill urself"
Times like this........... I really wonder at some people............ here he is commenting on my negative attitude and at the same time telling me to kill myself.... [??] That's not a very positive attitude on his part now is it?
Of course, it does make me think a bit.
1. Is this guy a teacher in Singapore as well? And does he have a 100%, 24/7 positively sunny attitude towards his job everyday?
2. Is it wrong to display negative feelings? If so, then is it better that we should all never talk or do anything about our problems, and just carry a forced smile to work each day?
3. Is keeping this blog such a disgrace to the teaching profession? If so, I think you can shut down most of the teacher blogs out there.
I'm not keeping this blog to purposely throw a bad light on teaching. Neither am I out to discourage people from teaching. There are people who have emailed me about teaching in Singapore and I've tried to give them as objective a view as possible, concerning job scope, prospects and others.
But what I think this blog is about, is to give people a view of the teaching profession, from my eyes. Granted I'm not utterly happy all the time at my job, but who is anyway?
The truth is there are many people out there who are just as dissatisfied with their teaching jobs, and I'm just one of those who actually blog about it, rather than just keep silent about it.
And for all those who are dying to teach and can't? At least they don't carry any illusions in their head about what the job really entails.
Some people make me feel just.... *Phwargh!*
Friday, June 30, 2006
Into the deep blue sea without a float
Update: Induction is over. Holidays are over. School has started. With me in it.
*long shriek*
Yes, I've finally ended my much-too-short children's education... er, education and I've been thrown into the deep blue sea without a float. Why without a float? Because that's exactly how I feel. You can just imagine me walking off the plank, two miserable floaties around my arms, screaming, "I'm not ready! I'm not ready!"
*Sigh* Like anyone ever cared? Like time and tide ever waited for anyone?
Anywayz, because of the probability that this blog may be read by some colleague, *seriously crossing my fingers here* I obviously have to go on a strict Vow of Unwilling Confidentiality. Sorry guys, but so do NOT want to be the first teacher-blogger to be sued by an wrathful principal.
So just a few details. I've been posted to one of the many inconspicuous government schools around the island. [so you can immediately cross out the famous ones] The school is ok, but... I still think my previous School Experience and Practicuum schools were run better. :p The kids are ok, except for one or two cases that makes me just want to........ I think the experienced teachs would know what kinda kid I'm talking about :S
And so much to absorb!!!! It's not quite about the amount of work, it's the sheer number they pile upon you on your first week in school! I've gotten a form class, I've had to run around after several people for my resources, [after which I gave up and bought a couple of non-core texts, like the SS and the health ed books] I've had to run after other office staff for keys, codes, laptop, [still yet to arrive] and I've even run into and met a few parents already!
And this is just my first week? *faint* Only about 155 more to go............
Ok, I'm guessing there are a lot more horror stories out there about first days, [do share in the comments!] but hey, since it's my blog, gimme some time to angst about it, eh? :p
*long shriek*
Yes, I've finally ended my much-too-short children's education... er, education and I've been thrown into the deep blue sea without a float. Why without a float? Because that's exactly how I feel. You can just imagine me walking off the plank, two miserable floaties around my arms, screaming, "I'm not ready! I'm not ready!"
*Sigh* Like anyone ever cared? Like time and tide ever waited for anyone?
Anywayz, because of the probability that this blog may be read by some colleague, *seriously crossing my fingers here* I obviously have to go on a strict Vow of Unwilling Confidentiality. Sorry guys, but so do NOT want to be the first teacher-blogger to be sued by an wrathful principal.
So just a few details. I've been posted to one of the many inconspicuous government schools around the island. [so you can immediately cross out the famous ones] The school is ok, but... I still think my previous School Experience and Practicuum schools were run better. :p The kids are ok, except for one or two cases that makes me just want to........ I think the experienced teachs would know what kinda kid I'm talking about :S
And so much to absorb!!!! It's not quite about the amount of work, it's the sheer number they pile upon you on your first week in school! I've gotten a form class, I've had to run around after several people for my resources, [after which I gave up and bought a couple of non-core texts, like the SS and the health ed books] I've had to run after other office staff for keys, codes, laptop, [still yet to arrive] and I've even run into and met a few parents already!
And this is just my first week? *faint* Only about 155 more to go............
Ok, I'm guessing there are a lot more horror stories out there about first days, [do share in the comments!] but hey, since it's my blog, gimme some time to angst about it, eh? :p
Into the deep blue sea without a float
Update: Induction is over. Holidays are over. School has started. With me in it.
*long shriek*
Yes, I've finally ended my much-too-short children's education... er, education and I've been thrown into the deep blue sea without a float. Why without a float? Because that's exactly how I feel. You can just imagine me walking off the plank, two miserable floaties around my arms, screaming, "I'm not ready! I'm not ready!"
*Sigh* Like anyone ever cared? Like time and tide ever waited for anyone?
Anywayz, because of the probability that this blog may be read by some colleague, *seriously crossing my fingers here* I obviously have to go on a strict Vow of Unwilling Confidentiality. Sorry guys, but so do NOT want to be the first teacher-blogger to be sued by an wrathful principal.
So just a few details. I've been posted to one of the many inconspicuous government schools around the island. [so you can immediately cross out the famous ones] The school is ok, but... I still think my previous School Experience and Practicuum schools were run better. :p The kids are ok, except for one or two cases that makes me just want to........ I think the experienced teachs would know what kinda kid I'm talking about :S
And so much to absorb!!!! It's not quite about the amount of work, it's the sheer number they pile upon you on your first week in school! I've gotten a form class, I've had to run around after several people for my resources, [after which I gave up and bought a couple of non-core texts, like the SS and the health ed books] I've had to run after other office staff for keys, codes, laptop, [still yet to arrive] and I've even run into and met a few parents already!
And this is just my first week? *faint* Only about 155 more to go............
Ok, I'm guessing there are a lot more horror stories out there about first days, [do share in the comments!] but hey, since it's my blog, gimme some time to angst about it, eh? :p
*long shriek*
Yes, I've finally ended my much-too-short children's education... er, education and I've been thrown into the deep blue sea without a float. Why without a float? Because that's exactly how I feel. You can just imagine me walking off the plank, two miserable floaties around my arms, screaming, "I'm not ready! I'm not ready!"
*Sigh* Like anyone ever cared? Like time and tide ever waited for anyone?
Anywayz, because of the probability that this blog may be read by some colleague, *seriously crossing my fingers here* I obviously have to go on a strict Vow of Unwilling Confidentiality. Sorry guys, but so do NOT want to be the first teacher-blogger to be sued by an wrathful principal.
So just a few details. I've been posted to one of the many inconspicuous government schools around the island. [so you can immediately cross out the famous ones] The school is ok, but... I still think my previous School Experience and Practicuum schools were run better. :p The kids are ok, except for one or two cases that makes me just want to........ I think the experienced teachs would know what kinda kid I'm talking about :S
And so much to absorb!!!! It's not quite about the amount of work, it's the sheer number they pile upon you on your first week in school! I've gotten a form class, I've had to run around after several people for my resources, [after which I gave up and bought a couple of non-core texts, like the SS and the health ed books] I've had to run after other office staff for keys, codes, laptop, [still yet to arrive] and I've even run into and met a few parents already!
And this is just my first week? *faint* Only about 155 more to go............
Ok, I'm guessing there are a lot more horror stories out there about first days, [do share in the comments!] but hey, since it's my blog, gimme some time to angst about it, eh? :p
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Do you feel enriched?
After the talk I just attended today, I managed to organize my thoughts on what about the induction programme irritated me so much.
No Value Whatsoever
What did I learn from the talks? What did I take away? NOTHING. The content of the talks, on speaking good English [duh], importance of Health Education and especially NE were all things that I knew before, and worse, in the case of NE, drummed into me so many times that I became utterly sick of the whole idea of it. [Talk about a case of overload]
But whatever the 'learning objectives' of the talk were, I do not know whether you can consider them fulfilled. Because I was so bored for the talks that I went to, that I became turned off the rest of the talks. Why would I attend something that adds no value to my knowledge, and that is so boring?
Some may give the reason that "Well, that's just you. Maybe there are others who are interested". Well, firstly, I don't see that my boredom affected their interest so much. Secondly, judging by the number of people who left the auditoriums to go to the toilets, the number of people who totally skipped the talks and the number of people who were reading magazines or using their laptops during the talks, I don't think there were that many people who were interested.
And by the way, most of us are university grads? I think we know the importance of speaking good English? *duh*
Lack of Organization
This was in more than one area. Firstly, the programmes themselves. Aside from one feedback session [arguably the most interesting part of the induction], one visit to an SAF camp, and another visit to ITE, the rest of the programmes were talks. What effort is there in organizing a talk? You decide on the topic, get one or two peoplew willing to do up a powerpoint presentation for you, and talk on the topic, book venue, submit approval, and TA-DAH! Done! Maybe that's why there are so many 'talks'.
Another very bad example of lack of organization is the attendance taking after the talks. Hordes of people crowding around tables, no queues, no signs to tell you what was on that table. I left the auditorium and what I saw were 2 crowds gathering outside, one presumably for primary school teachers, the other for secondary.
Here's the big question: Which table is which? There was no sign to indicate whether that table was for primary school teachers' attendances, or secondary school teachers, or maybe just drinks. You could only find out either by squeezing through the crowd, to look at the papers on the table, or you asked people who had already been there.
Worse, once you squeezed your way to the table, you had to look through the papers for your name, because the name lists were just dumped on the table. In other words, you still had to get up close, look and guess which paper had names starting with the same letter as yours, and if you had the wrong one, you had to squeeze past another group of people who were also trying to find their names.
And through all this, the staff in charge were just placidly standing behind the tables, watching us squeeze, groan, and flare our way through.
What kind of organization is this??? Is it such an incredible, original idea, to put up signs indicating where to go to sign your name? Is it too much effort on those poor, overworked, underpaid, admin staff to print out a few sheets of paper, and even put up some barricades or chairs so people knew where to queue and where to stand, and so that traffic would go smoothly? Apparently it was, because NONE of these simple, commonsensical ideas were done.
Through the squeezing, I did hear people remark wryly that this was like the Great Singapore Sale. I disagree. I've seen Robinsons Sales that were better organized.
So after going through all this, I'm expected to still be keen and eager and listening during the talk? Some people better start talking to the pedagogy people, because it seems they lack a few lessons in 'classroom management'.
No Value Whatsoever
What did I learn from the talks? What did I take away? NOTHING. The content of the talks, on speaking good English [duh], importance of Health Education and especially NE were all things that I knew before, and worse, in the case of NE, drummed into me so many times that I became utterly sick of the whole idea of it. [Talk about a case of overload]
But whatever the 'learning objectives' of the talk were, I do not know whether you can consider them fulfilled. Because I was so bored for the talks that I went to, that I became turned off the rest of the talks. Why would I attend something that adds no value to my knowledge, and that is so boring?
Some may give the reason that "Well, that's just you. Maybe there are others who are interested". Well, firstly, I don't see that my boredom affected their interest so much. Secondly, judging by the number of people who left the auditoriums to go to the toilets, the number of people who totally skipped the talks and the number of people who were reading magazines or using their laptops during the talks, I don't think there were that many people who were interested.
And by the way, most of us are university grads? I think we know the importance of speaking good English? *duh*
Lack of Organization
This was in more than one area. Firstly, the programmes themselves. Aside from one feedback session [arguably the most interesting part of the induction], one visit to an SAF camp, and another visit to ITE, the rest of the programmes were talks. What effort is there in organizing a talk? You decide on the topic, get one or two peoplew willing to do up a powerpoint presentation for you, and talk on the topic, book venue, submit approval, and TA-DAH! Done! Maybe that's why there are so many 'talks'.
Another very bad example of lack of organization is the attendance taking after the talks. Hordes of people crowding around tables, no queues, no signs to tell you what was on that table. I left the auditorium and what I saw were 2 crowds gathering outside, one presumably for primary school teachers, the other for secondary.
Here's the big question: Which table is which? There was no sign to indicate whether that table was for primary school teachers' attendances, or secondary school teachers, or maybe just drinks. You could only find out either by squeezing through the crowd, to look at the papers on the table, or you asked people who had already been there.
Worse, once you squeezed your way to the table, you had to look through the papers for your name, because the name lists were just dumped on the table. In other words, you still had to get up close, look and guess which paper had names starting with the same letter as yours, and if you had the wrong one, you had to squeeze past another group of people who were also trying to find their names.
And through all this, the staff in charge were just placidly standing behind the tables, watching us squeeze, groan, and flare our way through.
What kind of organization is this??? Is it such an incredible, original idea, to put up signs indicating where to go to sign your name? Is it too much effort on those poor, overworked, underpaid, admin staff to print out a few sheets of paper, and even put up some barricades or chairs so people knew where to queue and where to stand, and so that traffic would go smoothly? Apparently it was, because NONE of these simple, commonsensical ideas were done.
Through the squeezing, I did hear people remark wryly that this was like the Great Singapore Sale. I disagree. I've seen Robinsons Sales that were better organized.
So after going through all this, I'm expected to still be keen and eager and listening during the talk? Some people better start talking to the pedagogy people, because it seems they lack a few lessons in 'classroom management'.
Induction
Now that the practicuum is over, it's the last 2 weeks for NIe to stuff whatever they want left into us before we leave. Well basically it's the induction period. No lessons or stuff, just attending talk after talk after talk.
Granted this is a GREAT improvement from either lessons or practicuum. After all, all we have to do is sit there and listen. The only thing is that I wish that the talks were a wee bit more interesting to listen to?
The first one, for instance, was a forum on Speak Good English. Basic lessons from talk: Teachers should Speak Good English in order to show a good example to their students. :s OMG. Is that something they thought we didn't know??? Why are they spending 2 hours preaching to the already-converted-for-very-long?
The other interesting thing was the ITE visit. ITE at EXPO of all places....... :S If we thought the location of NIE was bad, this was almost worse. The upshot though was that the campus was very sleek looking and very up to date. Definitely did not look like a stereotypical 'dumping ground'. We were brought around a couple of the facilities by the students, and definitely, the equipment and facilities looked just as good as any poly or uni.
The irony was, halfway through the tour, while we were still rather impressed with the place, we were brought past a toilet, with an unmistakeable nicotine-ish odour wafting from the inside that left no doubt about wat the people inside were doing. :s Oops........ Hey, the beauty therapy school looked great though. :D
Haiz, well at least as I said, there isn't much need for work or brainpower on our part. Just show up, keep quiet, and then that's it.
Granted this is a GREAT improvement from either lessons or practicuum. After all, all we have to do is sit there and listen. The only thing is that I wish that the talks were a wee bit more interesting to listen to?
The first one, for instance, was a forum on Speak Good English. Basic lessons from talk: Teachers should Speak Good English in order to show a good example to their students. :s OMG. Is that something they thought we didn't know??? Why are they spending 2 hours preaching to the already-converted-for-very-long?
The other interesting thing was the ITE visit. ITE at EXPO of all places....... :S If we thought the location of NIE was bad, this was almost worse. The upshot though was that the campus was very sleek looking and very up to date. Definitely did not look like a stereotypical 'dumping ground'. We were brought around a couple of the facilities by the students, and definitely, the equipment and facilities looked just as good as any poly or uni.
The irony was, halfway through the tour, while we were still rather impressed with the place, we were brought past a toilet, with an unmistakeable nicotine-ish odour wafting from the inside that left no doubt about wat the people inside were doing. :s Oops........ Hey, the beauty therapy school looked great though. :D
Haiz, well at least as I said, there isn't much need for work or brainpower on our part. Just show up, keep quiet, and then that's it.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
It's Over.... For Now....
The practicuum has ended for quite a while now, thank GOD! :s
The most important thing learnt from the practicuum? CLASSROOM MGT. Forget teaching the syllabus, forget all that creative teaching strategies, the one thing you must have is CLASSROOM MGT.
Is putting it in caps not obvious enough? ;)
I can't name any obvious incidents, because if anyone from that school is reading this, my cover is blown. :) But suffice to say, most of my problems stemmed from precisely that, and my last week in that school went really crazy because of that. :s As in really, chaotic,chaotic crazy. Talk about learning a lesson the hard way. *sigh*
Anyway, that's over. *phew* Next week starts the induction program where we have to go to all sorts of education-relevant places like SAF military camps and Sungei Buloh and ITE.
Why ITE anyway? I have this impression that we're gonna tell the kids, "Hey, it's alright to go to ITE if you want to! It's really cool!"
That's going to go down so well with the parents.
And my posting will be in June. Almost time to face the real world.
All scream now. EEEKKK!!!
As much as I'm totally enjoying the slack time for now, I feel the inevitable ticking of the clock down to the start of the Bond. *deep sigh..........* Then it's 3 Years to Freedom. Why can't the good times keep rolling? :(
Ok, not gonna think about that for now. Back to slack.......
Oh yea, and it turns out someone from one of my classes actually found my blog and is reading it! How small is this world? :D If you're reading this, here's a hey to you!
The most important thing learnt from the practicuum? CLASSROOM MGT. Forget teaching the syllabus, forget all that creative teaching strategies, the one thing you must have is CLASSROOM MGT.
Is putting it in caps not obvious enough? ;)
I can't name any obvious incidents, because if anyone from that school is reading this, my cover is blown. :) But suffice to say, most of my problems stemmed from precisely that, and my last week in that school went really crazy because of that. :s As in really, chaotic,chaotic crazy. Talk about learning a lesson the hard way. *sigh*
Anyway, that's over. *phew* Next week starts the induction program where we have to go to all sorts of education-relevant places like SAF military camps and Sungei Buloh and ITE.
Why ITE anyway? I have this impression that we're gonna tell the kids, "Hey, it's alright to go to ITE if you want to! It's really cool!"
That's going to go down so well with the parents.
And my posting will be in June. Almost time to face the real world.
All scream now. EEEKKK!!!
As much as I'm totally enjoying the slack time for now, I feel the inevitable ticking of the clock down to the start of the Bond. *deep sigh..........* Then it's 3 Years to Freedom. Why can't the good times keep rolling? :(
Ok, not gonna think about that for now. Back to slack.......
Oh yea, and it turns out someone from one of my classes actually found my blog and is reading it! How small is this world? :D If you're reading this, here's a hey to you!
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Perking Up
So the 'down' period is over, n things are finally beginning to look up, thank God.
After a couple more observations, my assessment finally started to reach the 'acceptable' levels. *Phew!* So maybe I won't have to repeat my practicuum just yet. :p
Today's observation was havoc to prepare for though. I had intended to sleep well last nite and wake up early in the morning to finish up the preparations.
Early my foot. I woke up at the ungodly hour of 215am.
I don't even know why. Maybe it was my subconscious brain waking me up to frantically prepare for the lesson, because that was the first thing on my mind when I did wake up. So I decided to just start preparing my materials.
Wah lau. I cut and folded papers till I nearly died. And I still wasn't feeling sleepy.
I went back to bed, tossed and turned, and then woke up later at 6 to finish my lesson plan.
Which nearly made me totally late for school. I ran into the gates with all my barang, praying that assembly hadn't started yet, plonked myself into the staff room computer, glanced at the clock
And realised I was 10 mins early. My watch was 10 mins fast. *faint*
Anyway I managed to print out the LP for my CT and though the lesson could have been better, I saw she had given me all 'acceptables'. So I'm not complaining. :)
So now here I stand: I have 2 more weeks of practicuum left. The other trainees in the school have already left, leaving me all alone here. :( Although my teaching is still not quite 'proficient' enough, at least it's picking up and I'm starting to get into the swing of things. [starting with marking the pile of homework returned to me over the weekend and chasing those who did not hand in homework]
My classroom management is better with the younger class, maybe because they are smaller and easier to intimidate.
I have 2 more CT observations and 1 more sup observation.
I have finished my marking for the day and am listening to music while I blog while I wait for my next class.
Hey, maybe I'll make it after all.
After a couple more observations, my assessment finally started to reach the 'acceptable' levels. *Phew!* So maybe I won't have to repeat my practicuum just yet. :p
Today's observation was havoc to prepare for though. I had intended to sleep well last nite and wake up early in the morning to finish up the preparations.
Early my foot. I woke up at the ungodly hour of 215am.
I don't even know why. Maybe it was my subconscious brain waking me up to frantically prepare for the lesson, because that was the first thing on my mind when I did wake up. So I decided to just start preparing my materials.
Wah lau. I cut and folded papers till I nearly died. And I still wasn't feeling sleepy.
I went back to bed, tossed and turned, and then woke up later at 6 to finish my lesson plan.
Which nearly made me totally late for school. I ran into the gates with all my barang, praying that assembly hadn't started yet, plonked myself into the staff room computer, glanced at the clock
And realised I was 10 mins early. My watch was 10 mins fast. *faint*
Anyway I managed to print out the LP for my CT and though the lesson could have been better, I saw she had given me all 'acceptables'. So I'm not complaining. :)
So now here I stand: I have 2 more weeks of practicuum left. The other trainees in the school have already left, leaving me all alone here. :( Although my teaching is still not quite 'proficient' enough, at least it's picking up and I'm starting to get into the swing of things. [starting with marking the pile of homework returned to me over the weekend and chasing those who did not hand in homework]
My classroom management is better with the younger class, maybe because they are smaller and easier to intimidate.
I have 2 more CT observations and 1 more sup observation.
I have finished my marking for the day and am listening to music while I blog while I wait for my next class.
Hey, maybe I'll make it after all.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Somewhere between Unacceptable and Acceptable
It's been a long time since I updated this blog, and sorry that I have to update it with sucky stuff.
My practicuum had been going ok.... till this week. This previous week, the following happened:
1) I had 3 observations...... Which all tanked. As in, nearly failed. In one, the activity was pretty ok, but my classroom mgt was poor and I couldn't control the class. My CT also thinks that some of the children didn't get it. In another, my CT says I taught some of the content wrongly, (!!!) and it wasn't learner-centric enough, too much chalk-talk.
In the final 3rd one, half the class was looking obviously bored and the other was just going through the motion with me. I knew I had lost them all by that point of time. And in the process, my grade for this observation.
2) One of the parents of my kids complained about me, that I wasn't monitoring his progress in my class, that he still didn't understand the chapter that I had taught, and that I wasn't marking his work!
That complaint actually baffled me quite a bit at first, because I had always kept the workbooks in school, and also marked every single page that I went through with the class. I had also marked every worksheet that had been given to them, and both worksheets and workbooks had always been kept in school, so where did the parent even see the work in the first place....?
As for the monitoring of progress, and lack of understanding, I'm also baffled about that. Because this kid had done most of the work set out correctly, aside from a few mistakes, so why did he say his kid didn't understand the chapter at all? Unless the kid had been copying his work all along without me knowing? Does that still make it my fault?
I'm not sure how to handle this one...... whether to face the parent with my CT during the parent-teacher meeting or not......
3) All the other trainees have finished their practicuums. Except for me. Next week I have no more company. :( :( :(
All in all, this made it a pretty low week for me all around. Suddenly my ability to teach a proper lesson and heck, even catch the kids' attention has been called into question and found lacking. Severely. I'm not sure whether this is just a bad phrase I'm going through or whether I'm truly in the wrong line. I tried to tell myself all the way that this was just a learning curve thing, that it would get better with practice, that I couldn't convince myself that I was a total loser, but...
Well, after hanging out a while over the Friday holiday, I feel slightly better, and even started thinking about what to do for the next ob rather than just wallowing in self-pity and misery 100%. I mean, I still feel pretty sucky, but at least I feel like doing something about it now, rather than just wallow.
Tip for others: Always have something non-teaching related outside of work to go to. It clears the mind lots.
My practicuum had been going ok.... till this week. This previous week, the following happened:
1) I had 3 observations...... Which all tanked. As in, nearly failed. In one, the activity was pretty ok, but my classroom mgt was poor and I couldn't control the class. My CT also thinks that some of the children didn't get it. In another, my CT says I taught some of the content wrongly, (!!!) and it wasn't learner-centric enough, too much chalk-talk.
In the final 3rd one, half the class was looking obviously bored and the other was just going through the motion with me. I knew I had lost them all by that point of time. And in the process, my grade for this observation.
2) One of the parents of my kids complained about me, that I wasn't monitoring his progress in my class, that he still didn't understand the chapter that I had taught, and that I wasn't marking his work!
That complaint actually baffled me quite a bit at first, because I had always kept the workbooks in school, and also marked every single page that I went through with the class. I had also marked every worksheet that had been given to them, and both worksheets and workbooks had always been kept in school, so where did the parent even see the work in the first place....?
As for the monitoring of progress, and lack of understanding, I'm also baffled about that. Because this kid had done most of the work set out correctly, aside from a few mistakes, so why did he say his kid didn't understand the chapter at all? Unless the kid had been copying his work all along without me knowing? Does that still make it my fault?
I'm not sure how to handle this one...... whether to face the parent with my CT during the parent-teacher meeting or not......
3) All the other trainees have finished their practicuums. Except for me. Next week I have no more company. :( :( :(
All in all, this made it a pretty low week for me all around. Suddenly my ability to teach a proper lesson and heck, even catch the kids' attention has been called into question and found lacking. Severely. I'm not sure whether this is just a bad phrase I'm going through or whether I'm truly in the wrong line. I tried to tell myself all the way that this was just a learning curve thing, that it would get better with practice, that I couldn't convince myself that I was a total loser, but...
Well, after hanging out a while over the Friday holiday, I feel slightly better, and even started thinking about what to do for the next ob rather than just wallowing in self-pity and misery 100%. I mean, I still feel pretty sucky, but at least I feel like doing something about it now, rather than just wallow.
Tip for others: Always have something non-teaching related outside of work to go to. It clears the mind lots.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Yeargh!!!!!!!
I'm in the middle of my practicuum now and there doesn't seem to be a better word to describe how I feel than "YEARGH!!!!!"
Classes like my mentor's should be rendered OUT OF BOUNDS to trainee teachers. I swear, the number of discipline problems there......... Let's call it a sort of baptism by bonfire.
Ok, I did not have a good day in class today. The usual students were causing havoc, the ones who were actually interested in learning at the start were now getting dismotivated, and half the class near the window seemed dead to the world. Oh, and plus the few looks of sympathy that I had to suffer their class.
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of classroom management, in comes in my crash-or-die course in discipline.
The first step being the usual method of scream. Screaming once or twice of course will stop them in their tracks a while. But it's shortlived. Once they get used to it, it almost seems as though they just love the sound of your screams, considering the number of times they try to ignite you.
The next step, is punishment. So far, I've tried isolating the noisy/disruptive/plain offensive ones by getting their butts to the front of the class. However, I haven't used this often, because also, I haven't had a good strong discipline system pat down. :p Here's another warning for other newbie trainee teachers...
Another step, which my mentor just talked to me about, is to just talk to them. Talk? Talk to them one on one? Will they listen?
"Yes they would, if they feel that you are not against them, or their enemy. Talk to them. Let them know that you are on their side. Talk to them as soon as they misbehave, so that they know why you are talking to them. But get them on your side."
"What if they don't want to talk?"
"They might not at first. It took me a while before they would respond to me as well, but eventually they did. And they will behave better in class."
I guess it just takes that little bit of trust built up.........
Classes like my mentor's should be rendered OUT OF BOUNDS to trainee teachers. I swear, the number of discipline problems there......... Let's call it a sort of baptism by bonfire.
Ok, I did not have a good day in class today. The usual students were causing havoc, the ones who were actually interested in learning at the start were now getting dismotivated, and half the class near the window seemed dead to the world. Oh, and plus the few looks of sympathy that I had to suffer their class.
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of classroom management, in comes in my crash-or-die course in discipline.
The first step being the usual method of scream. Screaming once or twice of course will stop them in their tracks a while. But it's shortlived. Once they get used to it, it almost seems as though they just love the sound of your screams, considering the number of times they try to ignite you.
The next step, is punishment. So far, I've tried isolating the noisy/disruptive/plain offensive ones by getting their butts to the front of the class. However, I haven't used this often, because also, I haven't had a good strong discipline system pat down. :p Here's another warning for other newbie trainee teachers...
Another step, which my mentor just talked to me about, is to just talk to them. Talk? Talk to them one on one? Will they listen?
"Yes they would, if they feel that you are not against them, or their enemy. Talk to them. Let them know that you are on their side. Talk to them as soon as they misbehave, so that they know why you are talking to them. But get them on your side."
"What if they don't want to talk?"
"They might not at first. It took me a while before they would respond to me as well, but eventually they did. And they will behave better in class."
I guess it just takes that little bit of trust built up.........
Yeargh!!!!!!!
I'm in the middle of my practicuum now and there doesn't seem to be a better word to describe how I feel than "YEARGH!!!!!"
Classes like my mentor's should be rendered OUT OF BOUNDS to trainee teachers. I swear, the number of discipline problems there......... Let's call it a sort of baptism by bonfire.
Ok, I did not have a good day in class today. The usual students were causing havoc, the ones who were actually interested in learning at the start were now getting dismotivated, and half the class near the window seemed dead to the world. Oh, and plus the few looks of sympathy that I had to suffer their class.
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of classroom management, in comes in my crash-or-die course in discipline.
The first step being the usual method of scream. Screaming once or twice of course will stop them in their tracks a while. But it's shortlived. Once they get used to it, it almost seems as though they just love the sound of your screams, considering the number of times they try to ignite you.
The next step, is punishment. So far, I've tried isolating the noisy/disruptive/plain offensive ones by getting their butts to the front of the class. However, I haven't used this often, because also, I haven't had a good strong discipline system pat down. :p Here's another warning for other newbie trainee teachers...
Another step, which my mentor just talked to me about, is to just talk to them. Talk? Talk to them one on one? Will they listen?
"Yes they would, if they feel that you are not against them, or their enemy. Talk to them. Let them know that you are on their side. Talk to them as soon as they misbehave, so that they know why you are talking to them. But get them on your side."
"What if they don't want to talk?"
"They might not at first. It took me a while before they would respond to me as well, but eventually they did. And they will behave better in class."
I guess it just takes that little bit of trust built up.........
Classes like my mentor's should be rendered OUT OF BOUNDS to trainee teachers. I swear, the number of discipline problems there......... Let's call it a sort of baptism by bonfire.
Ok, I did not have a good day in class today. The usual students were causing havoc, the ones who were actually interested in learning at the start were now getting dismotivated, and half the class near the window seemed dead to the world. Oh, and plus the few looks of sympathy that I had to suffer their class.
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of classroom management, in comes in my crash-or-die course in discipline.
The first step being the usual method of scream. Screaming once or twice of course will stop them in their tracks a while. But it's shortlived. Once they get used to it, it almost seems as though they just love the sound of your screams, considering the number of times they try to ignite you.
The next step, is punishment. So far, I've tried isolating the noisy/disruptive/plain offensive ones by getting their butts to the front of the class. However, I haven't used this often, because also, I haven't had a good strong discipline system pat down. :p Here's another warning for other newbie trainee teachers...
Another step, which my mentor just talked to me about, is to just talk to them. Talk? Talk to them one on one? Will they listen?
"Yes they would, if they feel that you are not against them, or their enemy. Talk to them. Let them know that you are on their side. Talk to them as soon as they misbehave, so that they know why you are talking to them. But get them on your side."
"What if they don't want to talk?"
"They might not at first. It took me a while before they would respond to me as well, but eventually they did. And they will behave better in class."
I guess it just takes that little bit of trust built up.........
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Deviant at the Substation
This is an installation that teachers near the city area could check out.... Deviant at the Substation is about the 'deviant' students in schools today. You know, the ones who don't want to listen to your lessons, spend their time doing all sorts of crazy stuff...
And yet one day do fantastically well for themselves.
I dunno whether any of you have ever experienced this kind of student? I felt it was an interesting conundrum for any teacher. If you were to impose your own rules and restrictions on them, you could stifle them for life. Yet, if you don't hold them in check, they could potentially self-combust. And obviously, they're not interested in listening to you anyway.
Hence this installation by Felicia Low, who herself happens to be an art teacher at CHIJ Katong Convent. "This show is all about the students I have witnessed - surfacing in full bloom"
This is the main installation piece:
I like the idea of the helium balloons. They hang around the empty classroom area with illustrations of concerned parents, and they have little tags on them with a quotation from that parent, eg, "Let's ask your teacher why she always picks on you". It reminds me a lot of parents who are such "concerned stakeholders" but they only hang around, [literally] and are never really around in the classroom. It also makes me feel like they were ghosts hanging around the classroom, keeping a high eye on everything you do.
This is the kind of art I like. That makes me think.
I also like the photos on lightboxes, especially this one:
I can bark and bark all I want, but I can't stop them from biting me if I want. Sheesh. Unfair world.
The installation is about slightly larger than a classroom, so take the time to walk around and think about the artist's message, rather than just quickly peeking around and dashing off.
For more information, click here
And yet one day do fantastically well for themselves.
I dunno whether any of you have ever experienced this kind of student? I felt it was an interesting conundrum for any teacher. If you were to impose your own rules and restrictions on them, you could stifle them for life. Yet, if you don't hold them in check, they could potentially self-combust. And obviously, they're not interested in listening to you anyway.
Hence this installation by Felicia Low, who herself happens to be an art teacher at CHIJ Katong Convent. "This show is all about the students I have witnessed - surfacing in full bloom"
This is the main installation piece:
I like the idea of the helium balloons. They hang around the empty classroom area with illustrations of concerned parents, and they have little tags on them with a quotation from that parent, eg, "Let's ask your teacher why she always picks on you". It reminds me a lot of parents who are such "concerned stakeholders" but they only hang around, [literally] and are never really around in the classroom. It also makes me feel like they were ghosts hanging around the classroom, keeping a high eye on everything you do.
This is the kind of art I like. That makes me think.
I also like the photos on lightboxes, especially this one:
I can bark and bark all I want, but I can't stop them from biting me if I want. Sheesh. Unfair world.
The installation is about slightly larger than a classroom, so take the time to walk around and think about the artist's message, rather than just quickly peeking around and dashing off.
For more information, click here
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Spare the Voice... Spoil the Child?
One of the very first pieces of advice I received before my first steps in a classroom was to "show no mercy".
I think many trainees would have received this advice in one form or the other. The idea behind it was to always be more firm, more strict than usual in front of the class, in order to gain their attention, and their [?] respect. The other idea was also to show that you may be a relief teacher/trainee teacher/temporary teacher but you sure as heck was NOT going to let this class get in your way.
Then again, the next question some trainees may ask is, "So just HOW strict?"
Some trainees and I were mulling over this question just the other day. We agreed that we had to be firm and strict, but to some of us, this had to be out of character, because, well, we just weren't really that fierce in real life.
Not only that, but we also felt that we didn't want to create an environment of fear in our classroom, where the students tremble at every sound the teacher made, and lived in fear of stepping out of line.
As a trainee myself, I witnessed 2 kinds of teaching methods in my mentors.
Some mentors were real fierce. The way they screamed and shouted at their students made me shudder inwardly when I sat in their classes for observation. I wondered, naively, whether the students would actually learn this way, and whether such an environment was conducive to learning, let alone to my own voice and blood pressure.
[of course, the thing is that after the lesson, they can quickly switch face and speak to me in a more lenient tone. thank goodness for that]
It was only when I had to teach a rowdy class on my own that I realised why they had to act those characters. Because if you didn't shout, you'd never get heard above the ruckus of the class. If you weren't strict as hell, they sure as hell weren't gonna listen to you.
I've also known other trainees who suffered in front of their class, because they weren't strict enough at first, and then the class just decided not to listen to them anymore.
Then again, this creates other problems. Apparently, if you, the form teacher, are too strict in your class, other subject teachers suffer because when they step in your class when you're not around, the whole class takes your absence as an opportunity to descend into chaos, never mind that another teacher is around.
Then again, I've also seen other teachers who weren't that strict, except when necessary. They spoke nicely to their class, they cracked jokes, and they were still generally popular with the class, and the class was generally well-behaved in front of them.
So one didn't have to be a complete gorgon all the time......
I guess it generally depends on the class. If your school does what most schools do, then students of generally the same standard ability are lumped together in the same class. So all the brightest sparks will be in the A classes, while the...... not as gifted...... would be in the Z classes. [you get the idea]
If you teach an A class, then congrats for you. Your classroom management is that much easier. The children will listen to you, follow your instructions, and sit by quietly waiting for further instructions, because that's what they've been trained to do.
If you teach a Z class......... Prepare the Prozac.
I think many trainees would have received this advice in one form or the other. The idea behind it was to always be more firm, more strict than usual in front of the class, in order to gain their attention, and their [?] respect. The other idea was also to show that you may be a relief teacher/trainee teacher/temporary teacher but you sure as heck was NOT going to let this class get in your way.
Then again, the next question some trainees may ask is, "So just HOW strict?"
Some trainees and I were mulling over this question just the other day. We agreed that we had to be firm and strict, but to some of us, this had to be out of character, because, well, we just weren't really that fierce in real life.
Not only that, but we also felt that we didn't want to create an environment of fear in our classroom, where the students tremble at every sound the teacher made, and lived in fear of stepping out of line.
As a trainee myself, I witnessed 2 kinds of teaching methods in my mentors.
Some mentors were real fierce. The way they screamed and shouted at their students made me shudder inwardly when I sat in their classes for observation. I wondered, naively, whether the students would actually learn this way, and whether such an environment was conducive to learning, let alone to my own voice and blood pressure.
[of course, the thing is that after the lesson, they can quickly switch face and speak to me in a more lenient tone. thank goodness for that]
It was only when I had to teach a rowdy class on my own that I realised why they had to act those characters. Because if you didn't shout, you'd never get heard above the ruckus of the class. If you weren't strict as hell, they sure as hell weren't gonna listen to you.
I've also known other trainees who suffered in front of their class, because they weren't strict enough at first, and then the class just decided not to listen to them anymore.
Then again, this creates other problems. Apparently, if you, the form teacher, are too strict in your class, other subject teachers suffer because when they step in your class when you're not around, the whole class takes your absence as an opportunity to descend into chaos, never mind that another teacher is around.
Then again, I've also seen other teachers who weren't that strict, except when necessary. They spoke nicely to their class, they cracked jokes, and they were still generally popular with the class, and the class was generally well-behaved in front of them.
So one didn't have to be a complete gorgon all the time......
I guess it generally depends on the class. If your school does what most schools do, then students of generally the same standard ability are lumped together in the same class. So all the brightest sparks will be in the A classes, while the...... not as gifted...... would be in the Z classes. [you get the idea]
If you teach an A class, then congrats for you. Your classroom management is that much easier. The children will listen to you, follow your instructions, and sit by quietly waiting for further instructions, because that's what they've been trained to do.
If you teach a Z class......... Prepare the Prozac.
Monday, March 13, 2006
How to Be A Tuition Teacher Part 3 - Your First Lesson
Yes, I know I took really long to do up this series, but at least it's progessing!
Your First lesson
Great. You've done the fieldwork, you've done the calling, and you've landed your first student! *Claps in joy*
Now what the heck do you do with him??
[note: obviously you may get female students but for convenience I'll just use the male pronouns]
There are several things you want to do during the first lesson. One is obvious to get to know the student. Some basic information you can ask include school, what kind of class he is in, etc. [stay away from personal information like friends, hobbies etc... start off professionally]
You may be starting with him in the middle of the school year, so you have to update yourself on several things about him. Ask about his performance in school. For example, you can ask,
1. What has his grades in school been like?
2. What were his grades for his last exam/test/CA/SA?
3. Has he had tuition before?
4. What books does he have? study guides? Assessments? Past year papers?
You can easily talk to the motherfatherguardian on the first day for all this information. Chances are the parents will be more than happy to talk about it. [hey at least you're showing an interest...] Most parents I've met were more than happy to rail off at how bad their children are in school, how lazy they are, how much time they spend on CCAs, etc etc etc...... just try to head them off when u can...
After a while the parent might leave you alone with the kid. And now the two of you are standing/sitting there staring awkwardly at each other. What now?
Usually I like to make them do some kind of test on the first lesson. I do this so I gauge for myself what the kid's abilities are like. While he is doing his math test, you can observe several things, like what kind of questions is he having problems with, what seems to be the problem, is there a particular topic he's having trouble with, etc etc... Catch whatever kind of info u can, because you will be able to use this in future lessons.
Of course, some may make it easy for you, like one sec sch one I had who looked at the very first question and declared, "I don't think I can do the rest of this." Then you know you don't have to narrow it down to one topic any longer.
If the child has no assessment books yet, you can get him to do something from the textbook, while you make a mental note to buy the books. I prefer most Longman books myself, if you need a headstart. Remember to keep receipts and charge parents for any materials you buy. After all, the book belongs to the kid after that.
Ok this should be more than enough info to get anyone started. Have fun earning your first month! :p
Your First lesson
Great. You've done the fieldwork, you've done the calling, and you've landed your first student! *Claps in joy*
Now what the heck do you do with him??
[note: obviously you may get female students but for convenience I'll just use the male pronouns]
There are several things you want to do during the first lesson. One is obvious to get to know the student. Some basic information you can ask include school, what kind of class he is in, etc. [stay away from personal information like friends, hobbies etc... start off professionally]
You may be starting with him in the middle of the school year, so you have to update yourself on several things about him. Ask about his performance in school. For example, you can ask,
1. What has his grades in school been like?
2. What were his grades for his last exam/test/CA/SA?
3. Has he had tuition before?
4. What books does he have? study guides? Assessments? Past year papers?
You can easily talk to the motherfatherguardian on the first day for all this information. Chances are the parents will be more than happy to talk about it. [hey at least you're showing an interest...] Most parents I've met were more than happy to rail off at how bad their children are in school, how lazy they are, how much time they spend on CCAs, etc etc etc...... just try to head them off when u can...
After a while the parent might leave you alone with the kid. And now the two of you are standing/sitting there staring awkwardly at each other. What now?
Usually I like to make them do some kind of test on the first lesson. I do this so I gauge for myself what the kid's abilities are like. While he is doing his math test, you can observe several things, like what kind of questions is he having problems with, what seems to be the problem, is there a particular topic he's having trouble with, etc etc... Catch whatever kind of info u can, because you will be able to use this in future lessons.
Of course, some may make it easy for you, like one sec sch one I had who looked at the very first question and declared, "I don't think I can do the rest of this." Then you know you don't have to narrow it down to one topic any longer.
If the child has no assessment books yet, you can get him to do something from the textbook, while you make a mental note to buy the books. I prefer most Longman books myself, if you need a headstart. Remember to keep receipts and charge parents for any materials you buy. After all, the book belongs to the kid after that.
Ok this should be more than enough info to get anyone started. Have fun earning your first month! :p
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Students do the darnedest things......
Even in the midst of their CAs.....
What happens when you get a bunch of students who finish their 2 1/2 hour CA in half an hour? The following occurred in just ONE particularly restless class:
- A continuous line of students asking for permission to go to the toilet
- Various arts and crafts projects being done. For example, ice cream stick sculptures, drawings, paintings, spaceships constructed out of rough paper and ice cream sticks and heavily decorated with pens,markers and highlighters
- Space fantasies enacted with abovementioned spaceships
- Ping pong balls being bounced
- Chinese books read [during english language exams]
- Correction tape/erasers/pens/pencils being passed around when they thought the teacher wasn't looking
- Students looking at Pokemon magnets
- Students twirling waterbottles
- Students twirling waterbottles at just the right angle to create a mini tornado inside
And the absolute winner:
A boy who attempted to create a modern art-type skyscaper structure with 2 waterbottles and his pencilcase on his table.
MAN! They don't just lie down and sleep any more.
What happens when you get a bunch of students who finish their 2 1/2 hour CA in half an hour? The following occurred in just ONE particularly restless class:
- A continuous line of students asking for permission to go to the toilet
- Various arts and crafts projects being done. For example, ice cream stick sculptures, drawings, paintings, spaceships constructed out of rough paper and ice cream sticks and heavily decorated with pens,markers and highlighters
- Space fantasies enacted with abovementioned spaceships
- Ping pong balls being bounced
- Chinese books read [during english language exams]
- Correction tape/erasers/pens/pencils being passed around when they thought the teacher wasn't looking
- Students looking at Pokemon magnets
- Students twirling waterbottles
- Students twirling waterbottles at just the right angle to create a mini tornado inside
And the absolute winner:
A boy who attempted to create a modern art-type skyscaper structure with 2 waterbottles and his pencilcase on his table.
MAN! They don't just lie down and sleep any more.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
A Telescopic View of it All
Which is basically how I feel about my practicuum right now.
Ok, a little background info. This is the first week in my pract. school, which is a rather good school in my area. I've of course met my mentors and I've decided to give the impression of a total idiot. Well, not totally, but I've just been bombarding them with a million and one questions about the school and how things are run here and how the class is run, and I'll probably continue till they think I'm some crazed spaz.
Well, it's the only way I know to get the info I wanna know anyway. :p
but the one thing that really bothered me was my total lack of experience in handling a class.
I knew my mentor's class tended to be on the rowdy side, especially for the boys, but what I didn't realise was how bad I would be at managing them.
For one, the entire class decided to switch places and sit with their best friends! And I didn't remember their names or faces, let alone their seating arrangements, even though I knew some of them switched. Which is also why one of the first things I requested from my CT was a seating arrangement........ which I'm gonna bring into class every lesson from now on........
Then the usual ruckus. Half the class talking while I was talking. Some walking here and there. No one caring or paying attention.
*GIANT SIGH* thankfully this was just a relief, and not an observation. Bye bye, passing grade even.........
Though when I look back, I can see a few things wrong with what I did. I should've really properly introduced myself and most imptly, MY RULES. I donno why, but I had this nice little speech in mind to scare off the little terrors, and then, when it came to an actual classroom situation, I forgot it all!
Thank god I never went into acting................
I don't even know WHY is it I forgot, it just totally slipped out of my mind when I walked in, and I went straight into the lesson. *Sigh* Thank god my CT wasn't around to witness the debacle.
I only have a few things to prop me up on this. First, I'm making sure that next week, when I take over, I dedicate TIME to drill my rules into them, and let them know that I'm not gonna let u step all over me. [even though u may try, and some of u may be damn successful] Then I gotta scream at them a thousand times till they get it in their heads that I do NOT want those rules flouted.
And hopefully I get them into shape for my observation. *twists fingers*
Then I gotta remember the story of my friend too. I had a friend who actually joined the same time I did, but decided one week into the school experience that he could NOT do this.
One thing was that he had a rowdy class like this, which also made it hard for him to control the class. Finally, he decided that he could not do this for life, and sent in his resignation. MOE told him that he had to give 1 mth's notice, so he spent an extra month in that school contract teaching while I went to NIE.
Funny thing though. He said that the longer he spent in the school and in the class, the more he got the hang of classroom mgt. Even though ironically, he learnt the reins just in time for his contract to expire and now he's in the private sector.
So if he could do it after a while, why not I?
A guy was talking to the teachers during contact time just today. He said that sometimes we had to take a telescopic view of things, and look ahead. If we looked microscopically, then all we would ever see would be the short term failures that we did.
But if we looked far, and treated these as experiences...... maybe we might just see a better ending for ourselves.
Let's hope that applies to my teaching career as well.
Ok, a little background info. This is the first week in my pract. school, which is a rather good school in my area. I've of course met my mentors and I've decided to give the impression of a total idiot. Well, not totally, but I've just been bombarding them with a million and one questions about the school and how things are run here and how the class is run, and I'll probably continue till they think I'm some crazed spaz.
Well, it's the only way I know to get the info I wanna know anyway. :p
but the one thing that really bothered me was my total lack of experience in handling a class.
I knew my mentor's class tended to be on the rowdy side, especially for the boys, but what I didn't realise was how bad I would be at managing them.
For one, the entire class decided to switch places and sit with their best friends! And I didn't remember their names or faces, let alone their seating arrangements, even though I knew some of them switched. Which is also why one of the first things I requested from my CT was a seating arrangement........ which I'm gonna bring into class every lesson from now on........
Then the usual ruckus. Half the class talking while I was talking. Some walking here and there. No one caring or paying attention.
*GIANT SIGH* thankfully this was just a relief, and not an observation. Bye bye, passing grade even.........
Though when I look back, I can see a few things wrong with what I did. I should've really properly introduced myself and most imptly, MY RULES. I donno why, but I had this nice little speech in mind to scare off the little terrors, and then, when it came to an actual classroom situation, I forgot it all!
Thank god I never went into acting................
I don't even know WHY is it I forgot, it just totally slipped out of my mind when I walked in, and I went straight into the lesson. *Sigh* Thank god my CT wasn't around to witness the debacle.
I only have a few things to prop me up on this. First, I'm making sure that next week, when I take over, I dedicate TIME to drill my rules into them, and let them know that I'm not gonna let u step all over me. [even though u may try, and some of u may be damn successful] Then I gotta scream at them a thousand times till they get it in their heads that I do NOT want those rules flouted.
And hopefully I get them into shape for my observation. *twists fingers*
Then I gotta remember the story of my friend too. I had a friend who actually joined the same time I did, but decided one week into the school experience that he could NOT do this.
One thing was that he had a rowdy class like this, which also made it hard for him to control the class. Finally, he decided that he could not do this for life, and sent in his resignation. MOE told him that he had to give 1 mth's notice, so he spent an extra month in that school contract teaching while I went to NIE.
Funny thing though. He said that the longer he spent in the school and in the class, the more he got the hang of classroom mgt. Even though ironically, he learnt the reins just in time for his contract to expire and now he's in the private sector.
So if he could do it after a while, why not I?
A guy was talking to the teachers during contact time just today. He said that sometimes we had to take a telescopic view of things, and look ahead. If we looked microscopically, then all we would ever see would be the short term failures that we did.
But if we looked far, and treated these as experiences...... maybe we might just see a better ending for ourselves.
Let's hope that applies to my teaching career as well.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
All My Bags are Packed...
I'm aready to go.
Well, the bags aren't exactly packed, considering that most of the important stuff from my hostel room has already been taken out and put back home, ie the things I would most likely need for practicuum, so really all that's left in the room are excess stuff [that will only add to the existing useless clutter pile in my bedroom] that I don't need anyway.
And of course a whole host of memories.
It's strange that I could be even a little attached to this room after just barely 8 months of staying here, but after all it's kinda my home away from home now. The place where I can quietly sit, read, go on the Internet, do everything except work, without complaints from parents who think you should be spending your time productively all the time.
The more I live here, the more I think I'm getting a freaky sense of independence, that hey, I can actually live on my own, and not whine for mummy to do something for me. I can do it.
But of course, the hostel room has become more than that for me. It was the place of much afternoon naps, when I would doze off after a particularly boring tutorial, the only sounds being the whirring of the overhead fan and the low sounds of my roommate playing Maplestory. It's the room where we watched TV together and made snide comments at whoever was on TV.
It's the hall where we climbed the stairs, heaving and puffing, to finally reach our room, and stand there breathing heavily till we both caught our breath again. It's the room where we trained our leg muscles to stairclimbing perfection.
It's the hall where we had to walk down the corridor to the bathroom, and key in a 3 number code just to take a pee. It's the hall which served better food than any stall in NIE, or even NTU for that matter.
It's the hall where I would take my laundry down all those flights of stairs, and lounge in the lounge reading while waiting for my laundry to finish. It's where I excused myself from work, saying that I had to do the laundry.
Can you even call these memories? I think what I'll bring with me is the general feeling and impression of the place. The feeling of calm, of rest, and my beckoning bed. The feeling of coming home to rest thy weary bones at last. And all a convenient few minutes away from our classrooms.
And now that practicuum is starting, we won't be here till around May, and even then, we have at most one or two months before we completely vacate the room and return to our original addresses.
I'll miss the place.
Well, the bags aren't exactly packed, considering that most of the important stuff from my hostel room has already been taken out and put back home, ie the things I would most likely need for practicuum, so really all that's left in the room are excess stuff [that will only add to the existing useless clutter pile in my bedroom] that I don't need anyway.
And of course a whole host of memories.
It's strange that I could be even a little attached to this room after just barely 8 months of staying here, but after all it's kinda my home away from home now. The place where I can quietly sit, read, go on the Internet, do everything except work, without complaints from parents who think you should be spending your time productively all the time.
The more I live here, the more I think I'm getting a freaky sense of independence, that hey, I can actually live on my own, and not whine for mummy to do something for me. I can do it.
But of course, the hostel room has become more than that for me. It was the place of much afternoon naps, when I would doze off after a particularly boring tutorial, the only sounds being the whirring of the overhead fan and the low sounds of my roommate playing Maplestory. It's the room where we watched TV together and made snide comments at whoever was on TV.
It's the hall where we climbed the stairs, heaving and puffing, to finally reach our room, and stand there breathing heavily till we both caught our breath again. It's the room where we trained our leg muscles to stairclimbing perfection.
It's the hall where we had to walk down the corridor to the bathroom, and key in a 3 number code just to take a pee. It's the hall which served better food than any stall in NIE, or even NTU for that matter.
It's the hall where I would take my laundry down all those flights of stairs, and lounge in the lounge reading while waiting for my laundry to finish. It's where I excused myself from work, saying that I had to do the laundry.
Can you even call these memories? I think what I'll bring with me is the general feeling and impression of the place. The feeling of calm, of rest, and my beckoning bed. The feeling of coming home to rest thy weary bones at last. And all a convenient few minutes away from our classrooms.
And now that practicuum is starting, we won't be here till around May, and even then, we have at most one or two months before we completely vacate the room and return to our original addresses.
I'll miss the place.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Practicuum Postings are Out....
And you can hear the screams from NIE to all over Singapore.
My friend is currently bemoaning her posting to her old contract school, where she had the most marvellous time of her life being treated as free, underpaid labour under a tyrannical buffoon of a principal. [and NO, I will not reveal the name of the school or the principal]
I'm bemoaning my posting to another school which was NOT the school I went to for my 3 week school experience, a good school which I liked, had nice staff, a good mentor, and was comfortably getting used to, before I had to go back to NIE.
I've been posted to a good school again, the benefits of living in a decent area of Singapore. [note that, all potential teacher-wannabes] BUT I'm still dreading it, because I've heard that that school had a reputation of some of the most kiasu-fied crazy parents around Singapore. *faint* I can see myself with the Valium already.
Other than those, I'm also worried about a few other things.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
OMG!! WHAT THE HELL DO I DO IN SCHOOL?? WHAT IF THE KIDS ARE DEMONS?? WHAT IF THE TEACHERS HATE ME?? WHAT IF THE PRINCIPAL IS A DICTATOR?? WHAT IF THE PARENTS ARE OUT TO SCREW ME?? WHAT IF I HORRIBLY SCREW THIS UP?? WHAT IF I HAVE TO REPEAT MY PRACTICUUM?? WHAT IF I SCRAPE THROUGH IT BARELY ALIVE AND BLEEDING AND I GET STUCK DOING IT ALL OVER AGAIN IN JULY?? WHAT IF I CANNOT MAKE IT THROUGH?? AACCCCKKKKk!!!!!!! ARRRRGGGGHHHHh!!!!!!!!!!!! SCCCRREEECCHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
.
.
*cough*.
.
.
.
Ok now I'm better.
But seriously, I would love to hear about other's practicuum experiences. If nothing, at least it'll give me a good idea of what I'll be going through in about 2 weeks....... send in your comments, please!
My friend is currently bemoaning her posting to her old contract school, where she had the most marvellous time of her life being treated as free, underpaid labour under a tyrannical buffoon of a principal. [and NO, I will not reveal the name of the school or the principal]
I'm bemoaning my posting to another school which was NOT the school I went to for my 3 week school experience, a good school which I liked, had nice staff, a good mentor, and was comfortably getting used to, before I had to go back to NIE.
I've been posted to a good school again, the benefits of living in a decent area of Singapore. [note that, all potential teacher-wannabes] BUT I'm still dreading it, because I've heard that that school had a reputation of some of the most kiasu-fied crazy parents around Singapore. *faint* I can see myself with the Valium already.
Other than those, I'm also worried about a few other things.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
OMG!! WHAT THE HELL DO I DO IN SCHOOL?? WHAT IF THE KIDS ARE DEMONS?? WHAT IF THE TEACHERS HATE ME?? WHAT IF THE PRINCIPAL IS A DICTATOR?? WHAT IF THE PARENTS ARE OUT TO SCREW ME?? WHAT IF I HORRIBLY SCREW THIS UP?? WHAT IF I HAVE TO REPEAT MY PRACTICUUM?? WHAT IF I SCRAPE THROUGH IT BARELY ALIVE AND BLEEDING AND I GET STUCK DOING IT ALL OVER AGAIN IN JULY?? WHAT IF I CANNOT MAKE IT THROUGH?? AACCCCKKKKk!!!!!!! ARRRRGGGGHHHHh!!!!!!!!!!!! SCCCRREEECCHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
.
.
*cough*.
.
.
.
Ok now I'm better.
But seriously, I would love to hear about other's practicuum experiences. If nothing, at least it'll give me a good idea of what I'll be going through in about 2 weeks....... send in your comments, please!
Monday, January 23, 2006
Can You Handle the Truth?
Tune-In Question: How honest can you be in your profession?
It came to me one day how hard and how potentially risky honesty can be.
A friend of mine was doing a feedback form for a community service project our cohort had done over the holidays. And seriously, some of the questions really deserved the most inane answers.
For example,
"What were your contributions to the project?"
Oh yes, my committee was the driving force behind the whole project. In fact, I am certain that without us, the project would not have ended with the resounding success that it did. Never mind that there were other committees in this group, WE DA ONES, you hear??
"What skills did you glean from the implementation of this project?"
Personally? Nothing that I didn't already have. If I had to learn it while the project was going on, you think I'd still have been able to complete the damn thing?
"Give some feedback on your group members. (Positive only)"
What's the point of writing anything then?
And OF COURSE she didn't write any of those answers down. What, you think we're crazy? But it did make me think of how effective all these feedback thingies really are.
For one, does anyone really dare to write their true opinions on these things? When there is that chance our job security may be at sake, or worse, that we may have to sit in our tutor's office for god-noes-how-many hours listening to an impromptu lecture on why the Ministry is right and we, the untrained, uninformed, unworthy trainee teacher is wrong? Nope, most people would rather take the safe, easy route out and simply write down whatever it is that the higher-ups want to hear.
[and btw, they don't want to hear that you are neutral on the whole thing. You're supposed to have an opinion, and you damn well better express one]
This is the same fallacy facing the Psychaitric Unit in NIE. On the official front, the clinic is there for you to vent your stresses, your problems, and receive professional psychiatric advice.
On the unofficial front, do you really want your potential employers to think that you may be unable of handling the work load in school? Or do you want your future school to think that you may have some psychiatric disorder? I wonder if they get much visitors.
So in the end, the problems go unsolved. The people at the bottom are too afraid to voice out the problems they see, and the higher-ups are just to happy to hear about all the things they did right and so they inflict the same crap on the next batch of unknowing trainees.
Of course, the flip side is that who does it hurt in the end? Because when we give the wrong feedback, the higher-ups just make their next policy decisions based on the crap we feed them, and we hurt, and we bleed, and the people on top wonder what the heck is wrong with the whole thing.
There's a whole essay that could be written on the openness of Singapore society, but that would be digression on a major scale......
But then, can we be totally honest? That pretty much depends on how much you think you're going to be hurt by your honesty. As in, how much shit am I gonna be in for this? Cos it's a small comfort to think that you're giving the teachers of the future a better life, when you're jobless, and broke.
So in the end, we build a vicious cycle:
Govt controls our jobs
We scared of govt
Govt tells us things
We say Govt good
Govt thinks it's good
Govt gives us more 'goods'
We die
Go back to "We scared of govt"
*Sigh* More and more I wonder why I didn't just stay giving tuition......
It came to me one day how hard and how potentially risky honesty can be.
A friend of mine was doing a feedback form for a community service project our cohort had done over the holidays. And seriously, some of the questions really deserved the most inane answers.
For example,
"What were your contributions to the project?"
Oh yes, my committee was the driving force behind the whole project. In fact, I am certain that without us, the project would not have ended with the resounding success that it did. Never mind that there were other committees in this group, WE DA ONES, you hear??
"What skills did you glean from the implementation of this project?"
Personally? Nothing that I didn't already have. If I had to learn it while the project was going on, you think I'd still have been able to complete the damn thing?
"Give some feedback on your group members. (Positive only)"
What's the point of writing anything then?
And OF COURSE she didn't write any of those answers down. What, you think we're crazy? But it did make me think of how effective all these feedback thingies really are.
For one, does anyone really dare to write their true opinions on these things? When there is that chance our job security may be at sake, or worse, that we may have to sit in our tutor's office for god-noes-how-many hours listening to an impromptu lecture on why the Ministry is right and we, the untrained, uninformed, unworthy trainee teacher is wrong? Nope, most people would rather take the safe, easy route out and simply write down whatever it is that the higher-ups want to hear.
[and btw, they don't want to hear that you are neutral on the whole thing. You're supposed to have an opinion, and you damn well better express one]
This is the same fallacy facing the Psychaitric Unit in NIE. On the official front, the clinic is there for you to vent your stresses, your problems, and receive professional psychiatric advice.
On the unofficial front, do you really want your potential employers to think that you may be unable of handling the work load in school? Or do you want your future school to think that you may have some psychiatric disorder? I wonder if they get much visitors.
So in the end, the problems go unsolved. The people at the bottom are too afraid to voice out the problems they see, and the higher-ups are just to happy to hear about all the things they did right and so they inflict the same crap on the next batch of unknowing trainees.
Of course, the flip side is that who does it hurt in the end? Because when we give the wrong feedback, the higher-ups just make their next policy decisions based on the crap we feed them, and we hurt, and we bleed, and the people on top wonder what the heck is wrong with the whole thing.
There's a whole essay that could be written on the openness of Singapore society, but that would be digression on a major scale......
But then, can we be totally honest? That pretty much depends on how much you think you're going to be hurt by your honesty. As in, how much shit am I gonna be in for this? Cos it's a small comfort to think that you're giving the teachers of the future a better life, when you're jobless, and broke.
So in the end, we build a vicious cycle:
Govt controls our jobs
We scared of govt
Govt tells us things
We say Govt good
Govt thinks it's good
Govt gives us more 'goods'
We die
Go back to "We scared of govt"
*Sigh* More and more I wonder why I didn't just stay giving tuition......
Monday, January 09, 2006
Back to Life, Reality and School
As with all the little munchkins around Singapore, we too have to trudge reluctantly back to school...... Where did the holidays go???
Well, it appears that more than a few of the staff [including yours truly blogger here] may still be in the holiday mode. I arrived back to find a whole host of scheduling problems in school.
One lecture had to be postponed to a very hateful timing because Monday was a public holiday. [ok, my sympathies to the lecturers as well for that]
For another tutorial, the tutor tried in vain to find a common time slot for all of us to have a make up lesson, because a couple of Tuesdays were public holidays, but we realised that everyone's time table clashed with one another, and we were unable to find that common slot. [he tried, at least]
2 classes for another module were rescheduled because of time tabling mixups in the admin department [neither the fault of the tutor nor us, but we all suffer anyway]
And to make matters worse, I'm suddenly unable to log into Blackboard [the online portal with all the course documents, readings and other important announcements] because they seemed to have changed the whole damn thing.
I've been in school for a week and I already feel as if I'm 2 weeks behind the entire cohort.
Not to mention one of my tutors went through a pretty scathing session on What We Did Wrong During the Last Module, and with a pretty sinking heart, I suspect that I may committed most of the errors she mentioned in the project and the exam, although I don't really remember exactly what I wrote and handed in. Ok, the main reason why I suspect it is because I think I scored one of the lowest grades in the class. -_-!!!
Not an indicator of teaching ability, not an indicator of future teaching ability, not an indicator of future teaching ability
*sigh* caught up in the holiday mood, I forget that school has already started......... now to rush my ass up with the rest of the school...
Well, it appears that more than a few of the staff [including yours truly blogger here] may still be in the holiday mode. I arrived back to find a whole host of scheduling problems in school.
One lecture had to be postponed to a very hateful timing because Monday was a public holiday. [ok, my sympathies to the lecturers as well for that]
For another tutorial, the tutor tried in vain to find a common time slot for all of us to have a make up lesson, because a couple of Tuesdays were public holidays, but we realised that everyone's time table clashed with one another, and we were unable to find that common slot. [he tried, at least]
2 classes for another module were rescheduled because of time tabling mixups in the admin department [neither the fault of the tutor nor us, but we all suffer anyway]
And to make matters worse, I'm suddenly unable to log into Blackboard [the online portal with all the course documents, readings and other important announcements] because they seemed to have changed the whole damn thing.
I've been in school for a week and I already feel as if I'm 2 weeks behind the entire cohort.
Not to mention one of my tutors went through a pretty scathing session on What We Did Wrong During the Last Module, and with a pretty sinking heart, I suspect that I may committed most of the errors she mentioned in the project and the exam, although I don't really remember exactly what I wrote and handed in. Ok, the main reason why I suspect it is because I think I scored one of the lowest grades in the class. -_-!!!
Not an indicator of teaching ability, not an indicator of future teaching ability, not an indicator of future teaching ability
*sigh* caught up in the holiday mood, I forget that school has already started......... now to rush my ass up with the rest of the school...
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