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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Another Hurdle Down!!!!!

Practicum's over....which is the reason tt enabled me to start bloggin again... Initially, i had planned to shout "Yay!!! Practicum's OVERRRRRRR!!!!" the moment i stepped out of the school on my last day...but upon realizing that i probably might never step into the school to teach again, it felt kinda sad... (if i were to come back again, i wld hav to wear a visitor's pass..LOL!) =( guess i've started to miss the school, the students, the teachers, and everything there... Oh wells, all good things have to come to an end... just be thankful that i had a fun and fruitful experience there, which I'll elaborate more later... (which means tis post is gonna be uber uber long....)

Perhaps it's really human nature that we only appreciate things better when we no longer are in accessible access to it. And on my last day home, i had to call a cab, cuz lazy me only started packing up my stuff on my very last day!! And i ended up wif 2 big boxes, 2 big bags, and 1 long umbrella to transport home... the taxi driver probably tot i got retrenched seeing my 2 big boxes..LOL!

But anyway, once i got home, i realised tt i forgot to sign out on the record book in the office, and i forgot to return my toilet pass!!! (as in the pass for students to go toilet...see pic below...haha!)



Toilet Pass!!!



So, just in order to avoid any complications, i went back to school again to sign out and to return my pass... at the same time, i spammed pictures of the school... just to make my trip back more worthwhile..haha! But the school was soooo empty and quiet though.... =(



The fountain tt greets us at the entrance =)


Bonsai! School's unique culture... :)

More bonsai plants!!



Even more bonsai!!! haha! (But sadly speaking, i din learn to appreciate plants more :P .... i still feel rearing plants is nt neccessary unless u hav all the time in the world... :P plus, it eliminates a likely source of dengue fever..haha!)


The ummm...CANTEEN!!!


More of the umm.... canteen!! LOL...


Thanks to tis place, i learnt i new word, that is, QUADRANGLE. Dictionary.com says tt it means a 4-sided area surrounded by buildings on all 4 sides :P makes sense! haha!


More of the quadrangle...haha, at first i tot de name sounds like "quarter triangle"... :P


Rock-climbing wall!!!


Classrooms in the school compound =)


Yup, so that's the school I've been teaching at for the pass 10 weeks. =) In the end, i did not get posted back there... Happy and sad lah... i got posted to a school (my alma mater, in fact) where students need not hand in their HW.... teachers need not mark students' HW.... students hav to be responsible for their own learning... teachers do not need to chase students for their subject files... students keep a file on their own if they wish to.... students hav lectures and small group tutorials as opposed to classroom teaching in a size of 40 odd all the time...teachers do not need to prepare notes for every single lesson... teachers are able to interact with students more freely without being afraid of students climbing over their heads.... (cuz they shd be more mature by den...hopefully! haha!) students might challenge the teacher more academically though...basically, a more laisse faire kind of teaching environment, where students have to be more self-motivated and responsible for their own learning, instead of having the teacher to chase em for stuff... hopefully students are lidat, if not i'll chase em back to sec sch... :P probably u can guess by now de school i've been permanently posted to, rite? (haha, i never mention the names of the schools i'm at since blogging is public...)


Besides the school building itself, the people there also play a part in making it an enjoyable place to be at.

To Ms Chiang & Ms Wong:

Thanks for all your advice and guidance! I will bear them in mind when I teach in future. Thanks for letting me take over ur classes! They have been great!! And thanks Ms Wong for the treat too! =)

To Mrs Wee:

Thanks for your all your help during this period! You've cared alot for us, especially our welfare. =) You're a great senior teacher!!! =)))

To Ling Zhu:

First thing i wanna say to u is,

"Heal the world.

Make it a better place,

For you and for me and the entire human race....." :P


And she'll probably respond to me with JJ lin's

"Xing tiao luan le jie zou,

Meng ye bu zhi you...."


Haha! Just want to thank you especially for always making me LAUGH!! (the word is laugh, not smile, ok!) If u tink tt i'm living excitement, den u're living laughter! LOL!! And it's a compliment to u ya...not tt i'm laughing at u cuz u're funny... haha! Anyway, all the best to you as u continue ur teaching career, and rem to keep in touch! =) Thanks oso for ur unique card wif my chinese name's unique characters! (See pic below)
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My unique chinese name!!! Tink it's called diao zhuan. =)


To Kok Sing (aka Mr Kok):

Thanks for ur jelly beanies!!!!! And congratz on ur re-posting ya... continue to duo duo guan zao my students ok?? and make sure i get to teach em again in a few years' time after they graduate..haha! It's been fun knowing a helpful colleague like u. You truly are someone not plagued wif "jadedness" =) All the best and enjoy life!!

To Peiling:

Thanks for ur chocolates!! It's been great having makan sessions wif u too! =) Hope u're satisfied wif ur posting, and may u continue to touch the lives of the students over there. =) Too bad u cld not join us for the relaxation cum chit-chat shake legs, long lunch sessions on the last week of practicum.. but nvm, we'll make up for it at my place during the week b4 we report for duty. =) All the best!


To Alvin (aka genius, commando, wu shu-er, cross country runner, etc... in short, modern day's wen wu shuang quan):

Wow, u sure hav a long list of achievements, but u noe wat? What impressed and touched me wasnt ur long list of achievements, but ur filial piety which made you reject your offer into Uni of Cambridge to go into NTU instead... All the best to you as u start on uni life, u will make it big one day..haha, but dun forget me once u've made it big ya!! Stay focused on ur goals, and u'll definitely make it one day! =) Live life to the fullest and enjoy life! All the best! =)



To 3E3 & 3E4:


My class of 3E3!!! A little sth frm me to em =)


My 3E4!!! (btw, does 3E4 have a class blog?) Their souvenirs frm me =)


Thanks for being a great audience! I tink that teaching ur classes has been a very gd preparation for me to embark on JC teaching. =) Thanks for spamming me wif questions on chemistry the day juz b4 ur chem exam on msn! LOL! :P It has helped me to understand better the common difficulties u face. :) Continue to work hard, and be more disciplined to take ownership of your own studies. I really hope to see as many of you as possible in a few years' time in the school I'll be goin to. =) All the best and may you work hard towards your goals! =)
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To 2E5:


2E5!!! More souvenirs for my students!!! Looks colourful with everyone's test tube together as a class!!


Some cuties of 2E5!!! With Nicholas the thorn, surrounded by the 7 roses, Jia Min, Jin Xia, Li Min, Miao Si, Shu Juan, Eraine, Jin Yi!! Haha, "snow white & the 7 dwarfs" versus "Nicholas the thorn & the 7 roses"... LOL!)


Haha, a random shot during Sports' Day which had Jeremy & Shawn in it!! Jeremy caught red-handed for scratching head and not standing still!!! And Ms Wong's in the pic too!! Haha!!


2E5, thanks for the noise u've made in class, which ironically, made the lessons more interesting and exciting! I hope that you'll continue to work hard for ur math if you hope to study A math next year... Remember that there's no student who gets an A grade in math that cannot do algebra, so do continue working at it till it becomes your fren and nt ur enemy. =) Plus, thx for your wishes on ur class blog! =) All the best & may you get the subject combi u hope for! =)


Finally,


To Alister (2E5), Chu Kai (3E4), Nelson, Wei Kong, Kai Xiong, Sharifi, Wei Lun (3E3, sorry ar, i haven figured out who exactly the main AVA rep is in 3E3 cuz diff ppl help me each time. Hope i din miss anyone out :P):


Thanks a million for helping me set up the equipment in class, especially when I fumbled with the visualizer. :P You have been a very great help much needed in order for the lesson to proceed smoothly! Thanks for your service to the teachers, your class, and the school! (Btw, why are there no females who are AVA reps????)



Once again, thanks a billion to my dear students for ur gifts & cards! I really appreciate em! It's always the thought and sincerity that counts. No matter how simple or insignificant a gift may seem, it is sth precious as long as it's given in sincerity. =) Thanks for the gifts below, it was really unexpected! =)


Firstly,


and


with the inside of the glass thingy above as shown below,


are stuff which i tot students wld give their bf/gf instead of their teacher...haha! But thanks anyway! it's de thought that counts!!



A water bottle! Looks juvenile, but i'm always young at heart... =) so i'll use it when i go to my new school. :)



More gifts and candies!!! Thanks! Towels for me to wipe sweat when teaching?? haha...



A book of love letters frm my students!!! SOOOO SWEET!!!!



The inside of the love book above. =) Thanks alot! Rather touched by ur words...I enjoy reading ur well-wishes over and over again... some were kinda hilarious though, like telling me to watch an anime called "code glass" (or sth lidat) and also telling me that he is cleverer than another student in class... LOL! Thanks for all ur beautiful words!! =)))



A HUGE GIGANTIC PEN!! A cute gift! =) I'll use it as much as possible, but where do i get the ink refill ar??? :P



This pic is to show the hugeness of the pen, that it's almost the length of my arm! The previous pic isn't huge bcuz i enlarged it on camera... :)



Finally, a lovely bookmark wif a lovely card! Thanks alot!! (Reminds me of the cards i made when i was their age too...haha!)




Thanks again everyone for ur wonderful gifts! I appreciate & treasure em! =)))




Finally, rem in one of my previous posts, I mentioned tt as a teacher i need to learn how to not laugh too heartily in class when i see sth hilarious? To maintain composure as a teacher. I tink that during my 10-week stint, I had quite a number of oppotunities to practise doin that.. LOL!!

Oppotunity #1:
A female student asked me, "Cher, who do u tink the cutest male teacher in our school is?" Such a random qn..haha! Fortunately, during tt time, i was just in my first week there, so i cld reply that, "Ermm...i just came, and haven seen all the male teachers properly to make a fair judgement yet." LOL! (though i now have an idea who her expected answer was..haha!)

Oppotunity #2:
During a class, a male student was trying to be funny and said that he was tired and needed a bed. So, I replied by saying that he can buy a bed, but cannot buy sleep. And then, another MALE student nearby rebutted by saying, "CAN, (meaning he can buy sleep) if he sleeps wif me!" LOL! I was trying so hard to bite my tongue to prevent myself frm laughing when i heard tt... or maybe i turned my face away frm em and started to laugh...LOL!

Oppotunity #3:
During a relief period, students were left to do their work assigned by the teacher who was absent. After awhile, they started to gather in groups. I decided to pick on a group that was the largest to reduce the noise level. So, i approached em and asked, "What are you doin? Finished ur work already?" And one of them replied, "Cher, he trying to anal me." And for a moment, i tot tat he meant "anal" as in the shortform for anal-retentive, meaning to be picky to the minutest detail. But it doesn't make sense, plus, those students only sec 3 leh, english where got so good sia... considering tt i only learnt the word anal-retentive tis year. So i realised which "anal" he was referring to when i saw tt he was sitting on another male student's lap!!!! AIYOH!!! Have to admit tt i was abit stunned and dunno wat to say!!!! So i juz tried n act blur by telling em, "If you want to work in groups, please do so quietly." And guess how that same student responded? He said that, "Anal cannot do in groups one, very tiring, muz do individually..." Wah!! Cannot take it sia...really wanted to laugh at that time...so started biting my tongue profusely while trying to aum chio.... In the past, students are cute and innocent, now, they are ermm...still cute, but not too innocent.. LOL!
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Oppotunity #4:
I saw a student pretending that his badminton racket was a guitar, and started strumming the racket!!! LOL!! I called out his name, and the look he had on his face while quickly putting away his racket made me want to laugh too... LOL!
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Yup, so those were some of the interesting memories i had with em..maybe they're nt tat funny to u..cuz u din view it live! Or maybe i'm juz too easily tickled lah..haha...of course, there were times when i was angry and depressed too... due to the long assemblies that always eat into my first periods especially during the times close to exams when teachers are trying to rush syllabus... the deadlines can be quite pressing at times too...but well, still managed to survive till today! =) So, once again, when you can't explain how u managed to meet all of those pressing deadlines, it muz be through God's grace & strength. :) Even if you could explain how you did it, it's also by God's grace and strength. :) Thank God for giving me wisdom and strength through this challenging 10-week stint, and also for the precious memories and experiences I've gained and learnt! =)

12:22 AM

Lyna