sorry for the lack of updates! i keep forgetting that i have a blog. this will be a quick post about something i just wrote on facebook (first sign of a bad blogger, post on facebook first then only remember to post on blog >.<)

i have so much to talk about, but blogging seems to be so time-consuming. whatever happened to me! i keep wanting to document every little thing but have been very bad at it. anyway, i’m actually pretty sick of teaching-related posts so the next post will be about me! finally! but you’ll have to bear with this one first.

if there’s one phrase i can use to describe teaching, it’ll be “it’s worth every damned thing”. here’s why:

i’m super proud of my 34 kids who have been practising everyday for the past month for the choral speaking competition. on the very first day of our practice, i told our principal that i will make sure we win the district championship if she allowed me to take school time to practise. i went to my kids after that, worried, because i just made a really big (seemingly impossible) promise. we are a kampung school, english is not their first or even second language, 90% of the kids had no experience with choral speaking, AND even I don’t have any experience with it, how are we gonna win the more elite schools??

but we kept working hard anyway. whenever they faltered, i pushed them further, sometimes to the point that i feel was quite evil. i told them that if we don’t do our best, we might as well not join the competition at all. what’s the point of joining for the sake of joining, if we’re only mediocre? i swear i heard them muttering angry words at me with their teeth gritted when i made them repeat the same stanza a million times until they got it nailed.

anyway, guess what? all the hard work paid off cos we won the district championship! to be honest, the competition was meh, but it’s still a huge milestone for all of us! our school has never won anything english-related before, so everyone was beyond ecstatic!

they screamed when we were announced as the champion and immediately hugged me. the conductor (who also won the best conductor award) counted “1,2,3″ and everyone said “thank you teacher!!!” and bowed! wanted to cry then but have to maintain dictator face lol. most memorable moment of my teacher life so far T___T

this is a picture i took of them when they were on stage. i thought they did a pretty bad job (which i berated them for later, i’m so mean). now that we’re going to the state championship, we have been working twice as hard! my motto for them is: we might be village kids, but we can win too! hahaha so lame but they love it!

thought i’ll share this simple anecdote of pure unadulterated joy with all of you. things have been a huge roller-coaster in school, but i’ll take whatever small happiness i can get right now. i know we’ll not win the state championship for sure, but to see my kids speaking a hundred times more english than they have ever spoken in their entire lives, to see them screaming in joy and feeling confident for once, is worth every second, every drop of sweat, and every sigh of fatigue for me.

camwhore teacher.

being a teacher really makes me feel like a celebrity sometimes, cos the kids love to take pictures with and of me! whenever they bring their phones, i’ll sometimes catch them sneakily taking pictures of me (eating, talking, doing work etc). and these are 13 year old girls, not even some hormone-raging prepubescent boys! and they’ll shower me with compliments everyday! “teacher you’re so pretty” “teacher your eyes are shining beautifully” “teacher your hair looks so soft” and even “teacher your nails are so nice!” (in malay of course). this is a very ego-boosting job wtf

anyway, that’s all for now. wish us luck for the state championship!

Wow I haven’t blogged in three weeks! The three weeks have passed by so quickly I didn’t even realize that I haven’t been updating in a while. I will post a longer entry with pictures (LOTS of them) later but before that, I want to tell you guys something!

Remember I said I would create a facebook page to accept donations? I did it a few minutes ago so do check it out! I listed out some of the things I need so see if you have anything you don’t need and would like to donate it to me (especially books).

Here’s the fb page: http://www.facebook.com/events/213953588719579/

Posted this on Facebook a couple days ago, but thought I’d share it here too since I haven’t updated in a while.

(29 March 2012)

Today, I went into my weakest and most challenging class to teach them simple adjectives like sizes, colours, and shapes. Thirty minutes into the class, even with a lot of activities and drawing and colouring, my kids got me very frustrated for not knowing words like big, small, long, short. I mean, what did 6 years of primary school teach them??

So I did something irrational after I realized that it’s been almost four months of school and they still haven’t learned anything! These 25 kids need serious help. So I put them into groups based on where they live, and came up with 6 groups of 4-5 kids each. I told them that from now on, they’ll have extra class with me after school/at night and I’ll make sure they attend, even if it means I’ll have to get them and send them back.

They were shocked and immediately told me that some of them live deep in the jungle and there are ghosts everywhere at night. I’ve been to their houses before, they’re about 30 mins away and the road is actually quite scary even in the day. But I told them sternly that it’s ok, as long as they want to learn, I will make sure they get to learn.

“Teacher, betul ke ni? Banyak hantu tau?? Kat tepi sungai tu ada batu nisan tau??” (Teacher, are you sure? There are a lot of ghosts!! There are lots of tombstones near the river!)

But in my frustration and gungho-ness, not even ghosts can scare me wtf. Plus, I have to show my kids that I will do anything to help them and hopefully they’ll want to help themselves.

When I exited the class, I immediately regretted doing that. Am I out of my mind?? Here I am, struggling with everything as it is, and I have no idea if I am mentally or physically capable of pushing so far. They live pretty far away so I don’t know if I could drive when I’m already exhausted from teaching all day.

But I remember Rakis, my orang asli kid’s face and the conversation I had with him yesterday. He used to be a really happy kid, but the past few months he’s been very sullen and angry all the time. He said it’s cause he can’t understand anything, and I can’t give my attention to him cos everyone else is crying for help/running around beating people. Plus, on that day, he actually crumpled up the worksheet I gave out because he didn’t know how to do anything. Rakis needs help, and I’m at my wits’ end as to how to help him.

So I started with him and a few of my weakest but less misbehaving boys. I got them from their village and it was nice to see them waiting for me by the roadside in the darkness, with their backpacks and jeans and best shirts and eager smiles. We had a very productive night reading peter and jane and reviewing stuff learned in school. This pic is of rakis reading with utmost concentration, and he was SUPER focused the entire time I just wanted to hug him and tell him that he’s doing great. When the other kids were playing around, he continued reading out loud. When I asked them to come up with their own sentences with a verb and noun, they kept asking me for help but Rakis sat there and thought hard for his own sentences.

Rakis

Iqmal, thinking how to read “Here”. Every page has the same few words but he still couldn’t read them, but he never gave up trying.

This was taken by my housemate, Angie, last month when I had the first extra class. We don’t have a table and can’t afford to get one, so we made one with cardbox and a broken cupboard door hahaha. It collapsed and we rebuilt it with tape again and again.

These kids are really really weak, but they are so eager to learn. After this first extra class, one of them asked me EVERYDAY if he could come again. But because things have been crazy for me the past month with assignments (for my diploma in edu) and lesson planning, I kept telling him maybe next week, maybe next week. After a while, he gave up asking So I’m glad things got easier and I could have him over again a few days ago.

Anyway, when I sent them back, we listened to hitz fm and had a karaoke session in the car (mostly me singing haha). They were bickering about what was the singer singing, “cikgu itu “happy” kan?” “bukanlah “here” lah!” “bukan lah “him” lah!” (the word was “hero” but that’s beside the point). I told them to read any English books at home despite not understanding them and to listen to English radio stations.Then, I met some of their parents. Some were indifferent and didn’t care where their kid was, some were very appreciative. But they all had one similarity: they all came from homes that are very not conducive to learning. Dilapidated, noisy, dirty..

I drove home drained from the long day but I could still hear their voices in my car. It’s defining moments like this that made me realize that they’re worth pushing myself for, even if I have to start from scratch, from peter and jane book 1a.

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I have so many more stories to tell! Some hopeful, some downright depressing, some frustrating, some angry, some happy, some really emotional. I’ll get to them slowly when I have time. Thanks for reading despite the lack of updates!

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UPDATE: On Friday, the day after the extra class in my house, a teacher reported to me that he saw Rakis reading an ENGLISH BOOK during moral class. I shook him and begged him to tell me more, and he said Rakis was reading about simple body parts like eye, nose etc and seemed engrossed. I wanted to burst into tears, mostly because I was so touched at his determination. Then I told myself: one step at a time, one step at a time. Body parts now, Stephen King next.

Teaching is so unpredictable. The success of your lessons are hinged upon soooo many different factors. The mastery of the objective of the day is dependent on the curent dynamic of the teacher and students, which is actually dependent on how the teacher feels that particular day (whether she had enough sleep, whether she ate breakfast, whether she has prepared extensively for class etc), on outside factors (is this the last few periods and the kids are restless? are other kids running around outside your class? are they tired from other things like Merentas Desa, Takraw competition, Olahraga, yadda yadda) and especially on how the students feel that day (whether they ate, whether they were bullied by other kids, whether THEY are bullying other kids, whether they were scolded by parents/other teachers, whether they feel like studying that day, and a million other factors).

Sometimes I beat myself up so much when my day goes wrong (allllllll the freaking time) but I try to remain positive about it. There are a lot of things that are beyond my locus of control and despite me wanting so much for my kids, sometimes I have to resign to the fate that today is just not the right day for them to learn. I feel conflicted though, because we only have this many schooling days in a year and if today is not the day, and tomorrow is not the day, and the rest of this week is not the day, then WHEN is it the day for them to be good and to learn successfully??

Teaching is so tough and challenging. Sometimes I feel like if I had a chance to talk to my one-year ago self, I’ll tell her to NOT choose this. If I knew how much tears and sweat would go into this, if I knew sometimes, how little can a teacher actually do to help change circumstances, if I knew how broken down I’ll be, I would tell her to run far far away from making this decision.

Yes, my spirits are very low right now. My motivation level is hovering dangerously close to zero, encroaching slightly to the negative side. I am feeling very unorganized, there are a million and one things to do outside teaching and I have not done any of them successfully. That would have been okay if my teaching is going well, but I’m beginning to feel like I’m a lousy teacher. I used to think that although I’m nowhere close to being transformational, I’m still somewhat an effective teacher. That seems like an incredibly naive thought in retrospect.

But I know I have to be strong enough to pick myself up. To some of my kids, I may be their only chance to get help from. I know I can’t beat myself up if by the end of the day, my kids did not master English enough to make me a really transformational teacher in terms of boosting their grades. I know I’ve spent a lot of time making sure my kids are not driven by exams, I’ve spent class time not drilling them to answer exam questions but to tell them how the world is like beyond their village, to tell them what Psychology and Law and Medicine and Economics all about, to encourage them to do their best even if they fail their exams, to sing English songs so they recognize the words they hear on radio, to talk about love, to be there for them as a big sister.

And that for me, is enough for now.

I’ve been away all week (school holiday week) in our usual training center in Gohtong. Things are really beginning to look quite crazy from here on. I thought the past three months were tough since I’ve been working practically every second I was awake, but now we are thrown into a bigger and scarier roller coaster.

Since all of us don’t have our diploma in education, we’re actually studying WHILE working full time. We’re currently enrolled in University Utara Malaysia doing our Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and will have to attend classes twice a month and almost every school holiday. Not only that, we have tons of assignments to do – just like any other university student! which is mind blowing because we barely sleep as it is with our full time teaching job.

But I’m not complaining cause after this, I’ll be a certified teacher and will get another degree so yays! Just that I’m really really…reallllly dying since I’ve feeling quite burnt out and still didn’t have time to recuperate just yet. I’m just taking each day as it comes but I’m feeling quite sad actually because I don’t have time to plan better for my classes. I want to do SO MUCH more and be a better teacher cause the kids deserve that, but I’m just swamped right now

Anyway I was feeling quite nervous to go back to school because

1. I haven’t had time to really plan my lessons properly,

2. I knew the kids would be out of control after the holidays

3. I knew I need to reset the classroom culture (positive and negative reinforcements, consequences, rewards, class policies, rules, expectations etc) but I didn’t have time to prepare much!!! GAH so angry!

BUT!  my kids were surprisingly not out of control like I thought they would. I was imagining monkeys being released into the wild, books flying in all corners, kids thumping chest on their tables ala king kong. but nada, just kids who didn’t do their homework. Phew!

I’m entering my two most challenging classes tomorrow so I really hope they’ll be somewhat controllable too. I just need more time to PLAN PLAN PLAN! I need so much stuff: books (ESPECIALLY books, all kinds!), stationery, papers, volunteers!!!!!!, gifts as rewards, more hours in a day…..

I’ve been getting lotsa emails offering to help, so thank you so much! I just need to set up an FB page to list down what I really need, but I don’t have time to T_________T Will keep you guys updated when I do! But I won’t accept monetary contribution because it’s quite unethical I think, to ask for money using my kids.

Breathe breathe breathe. Just gotta breathe first then I’ll have the energy to push on further. Should I start taking chicken essence wtf? Vitamin C? What gives you more energy?

Ok abrupt end cause gonna collapse soon. Nap time then continue planning the night away. Fun fun fun.

Posted this on facebook so thought I’d post it here. Will edit this post tomorrow, have so much to update! Broke down AGAIN this week. This job is getting a little too emotional, I have to learn to detach a bit while maintaining the passion

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As I plan my lessons for tomorrow after a very tiring long day, I ask myself what I actually want for my kids. All I want them to do is to be able to read Harry Potter, Enid Blyton, Stephen King and all the amazing novels I grew up with. I want them to read so they can imagine a world beyond where they live in now. I want them to read Frost, Poe, Shakespeare and Kipling and be inspired. I want them to watch movies without having to miss all the nice parts because their eyes were fixated on the subtitle.

I want them to challenge what they read and to think critically about everything. I want them to have an opinion and to not be afraid to stand by it. I want them to truly enjoy learning, to tell me that I’m not teaching them enough and that they want to know more! more! more! I want their eyes to light up when they recognize a difficult word they just learned in the book they’re reading. I want them to yearn, to want, to be so hungry for knowledge that I have to placate them with more books. “Nah take them, take them all you educated monsters, you!”

I want SO MUCH for my kids but right now progress is so excruciatingly slow that I begin to doubt if I can ever achieve that. One day…

I’ve been talking about really positive stories of kids inspiring me everyday, so I thought I’d like to share something else I see in school. I’d like to paint a more..realistic picture of the kinds of challenges plaguing schools like mine (and many more in this country).

I teach Form 1 and 2 kids so they’re 13 to 14 years old. My kids are still young and very much..how should I say this..they’re more untainted. Although some of my Form 1 kids are very very naughty and they have the potential to go on to be terrible troublemakers a few years later, they’re still manageable now and I can still control them.

However, I definitely can’t say the same for the older kids. I enter Form 4 and 5 classes all the time as a substitute teacher, and I teach if they want me to but most of the time I end up just sitting down to chat with some of the kids. I always ask them how they feel about school, what they want to do after finishing school, what are their aspirations, their family background etc. Most of their stories are quite sad but I do try to maintain a certain degree of skepticism too with their sob stories cause they could lie sometimes.

Anyway, there are these two kids that stood out to me. One of them was A. He is the older brother of one of my students (who’s a pretty good student) and this A is in the “last” class. He told me he used to be as smart as his younger brother too but as the years go by, his results got worse and worse and he’s now in the last class and labelled as someone who can’t study anymore. In fact he himself told me that he can’t study anymore. He skips school all the time because he has to work to support his brother, his grandmother and himself since their parents had left them. He gets RM35 a day from working 10 hours in the farm.

A is a really funny kid actually and I love talking to him. He likes singing to the latest English songs and I was surprised that he could understand me perfectly even if I speak English with him. He said he wants to do so many things after finishing school, but he just doesn’t know if he can with his results (he usually fails all his subjects except English).

Then there’s this other kid, B. B is in the last class in Form Five and has always been in the last class for many years. When I spoke to him about his aspirations, he doesn’t have any because he told me he just “doesn’t know how or what to do”. He said he wants to study, but he doesn’t know how since he has never studied before all his life! He lives with his grandparents and nobody cares if he studies or not, so he just…doesn’t. He’s 17 now and realizes that he probably will fail all his subjects in SPM, but there’s nothing he could do because all his friends are in similar predicament as well and it doesn’t really matter anyway in this village.

I talked to him about many things, about having bigger goals and doing something bigger and going beyond the village etc, but he seemed really pessimistic. I can’t blame him at all, because that’s all he has ever been exposed to.

I’m sharing these two stories because they have been running in my head for a while. I’m glad I’m teaching Form 1 because I feel like I can still change things for them, I can still help them. For the older kids, they seem so resigned to their fate and the teachers around them have also subconsciously stopped trying with them. I can’t blame neither of them because I HAVE tried teaching them and it’s just really really hard. They have fallen so deep into the cracks of the failure of the system, and I think it takes a lot more than a teacher who cares to help them get out.

I walked into a form 5 class who’s having their exam today and I see half of them sleeping and half of them trying to do their papers but to no avail. The average passing rate for this class is 40%. 40%! Only 40% of them pass their papers! Not even an A but pass. What is going to happen to them when they finish school only with a pass? What is going to happen to the OTHER 60%?

All this makes me so upset! How did these kids got to where they are today without anyone noticing? Without anyone caring? There are tons and tons of them in my school, and this is such a prevalent issue in all schools in this country, especially in areas outside klang valley.  What does it take to help them? Can they even be helped anymore?

Honestly, I feel so helpless for them. I want to help, but I have my own kids to worry about first. I don’t want my kids to end up in that deep dark abyss and I want to get them out of the rut as soon as possible but even that is proving to be very difficult. So I guess in a way, these older kids’ stories, despite making me feel really sad and helpless, are inspiring me to help my younger kids.

But what’s going to happen to the older kids?

I guess they are just left with the way they have been for many years. They become the faceless part of the society, uncared for, uninspired, and life for them is just waking up each day and trying to make ends meet. They’re victims of the circumstances they were born in and the whole cycle just repeats itself with every generation.

This realization made me really sad today.

I’m sorry, I know I’ve been boring some of you with my Cikgu Suet stories and some of you think that I’m not as funny/cool/interesting anymore, but those days are behind me now. What’s a teacher to do, we have a certain image to uphold!

…except maybe for the weekend of March 17.

For that one day I get to leave all that stress of an educator behind in Simpang Durian, let my hair down, and dance to the Chemical Brothers, Flo Rida, the Wombats, Chase & Status, Tinie Tempah, Kid Sister, Kyoto Protocol, Grandmaster Flash (he’s still around?!) and my favorite…LCD SOUNDSYSTEM!!!! Well, actually just James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, but I don’t know why they’re not listed on the official lineup page :S

Read the rest of this entry »

This week has been a mix of happy and sad for me. I’m putting in more time and effort in my lesson planning because I realized how important it is for me to be absolutely prepared for my classes. I had 3 classes on Tuesday, and every single class was just amazing!

My stronger class was top notch that day. I prepared an activity for them where they had to move around different stations to solve different clues before they could tackle the final mystery. The topic that day was understanding graphic materials (advertisements, notices, maps etc), but if I just got them to sit down and do the questions, they’ll really hate English. They loved it and moved around seamlessly whenever the timer (Mr Chicken) rang.

My second class was a weaker class and we did pronouns. I realized, while explaining the different rules of when to use what, that ENGLISH IS FREAKING CONFUSING AND DIFFICULT TO LEARN. So I decided to scrap the whole explanation and just played a pronoun game with them. We sang Bruno Mars’ Just The Way You Are together and circled all the pronouns. I personally don’t remember learning pronouns (or grammar for that matter) by memorizing the rules but just by gut feeling after seeing how it’s used many times. Then, I put them into groups and gave them a homemade whiteboard each. I put up questions on the blackboard and they have to compete by answering the questions on their own board and raise them up. I use this all the time and the kids love it!

My most challenging class was also super well-behaved that day! I’d given two kids special pens I bought from Singapore because they were amazing in the class before, and they’d gone back to brag to their other friends. So everyone was really good that day because they all wanted special pens too!

It’s hard to explain the special moments I had in that class that day, but I can never forget this kid, Rizal’s face when he became a superstar that day. He completed his worksheet in half the time other kids took, and spent the rest of the time standing next to me to help me mark other kids’ papers! T______T Rizal is the naughtiest but cutest kid in that class, and I was so proud of him. I saw him and his dad that night at the mamak, so I told his dad that he’s very lucky to have such a bright kid. Rizal was just smiling like crazy behind his dad and when I told his dad that Rizal is doing very well and is really intelligent (it’s true, he’s in the “last” class but this kid is brilliant), his dad couldn’t even believe it. I think I made his night

So overall, Tuesday was just a really good day for me. I felt like finally, the kids are learning and showing progress (albeit veryyyy slowly but I’ll take it).

Then Wednesday came and it was just a HORRIBLE day I wanted to cry. I found out that some teachers might not like me very much because I don’t help out enough with other work like decorating the halls, preparing for meetings, admin work etc. I’m already super worn out from preparing like crazy for my classes, so I don’t know how to find time to do those things! Apparently I should have brought my kids to the hall DURING my lesson so I could decorate the hall. This made me very angry but I can’t say much because it’s the reality that teachers have to do so much and it’s not the other teachers’ fault *bites lips

And my classes went really bad that day too. The kids were very agitated and tired because half of them went for some olahraga thing and had spent all their energy running and sprinting. I went to this somewhat ok class but that day they were just driving me up the wall. I slept really late the night before to prepare for this class, and seeing how they don’t give two hoots about my effort just made me really sad. I told them twice that if they continue talking while I’m talking, I don’t think today is a good day to learn. I gave them consequences, gave them yellow cards for first warning, put them in the focus chair etc but nothing worked.

So midway through my lesson where only about half the class was listening, I packed my things and told them that’s it, I can’t teach anymore. I told them to just copy the notes and study on their own for their exam next week. And for the first time ever since I’ve started teaching, I walked out of a class. I’ve wanted to do this many times with my challenging classes, but I’ve never actually done it.

Some of the kids came running after me and begged me to come back. They were at the corridor, some crying, some pulling me, some apologizing. I told them to go back in because they were causing a commotion, but they wouldn’t let me go. I was really mad at that class, but I realized I was being unfair to half the class who wanted to learn. So I walked back in, told them to sit down and just do their own work while I sit there to make sure they don’t loiter around.

One boy stood up, said “Stand up class” and tried to get everyone to apologize as a class but they were too afraid to stand/speak. One girl, who is sick that day and whom I spent two hours with at the clinic the day before, came to me with tears and asked me to forgive the class. I was this close to just bawling my eyes out to be honest wtf

Anyway, I took a few minutes to calm down while I prepared the materials for the activity, stood up and pasted papers around the class for the activity. I gathered everyone (who was all shocked and confused – “cikgu bukan tengah marah ke?”) and told them that we’re gonna play a game and the class went alright after that. Midway through, one boy came to me and asked me to forgive him, and I said I already did, that’s why we’re playing a game. (also wanted to cry at this point *crybaby)

Before I walked out of the class, I apologized to everyone for walking out and for being angry at them. I don’t want to be a teacher who likes scolding her students, and I told them to not make me be that kind of teacher. I just want to play games and have fun with them because learning IS supposed to be fun. The kids then came to “salam” me and told me they’ll not do it again.

So I guess…everything went ok…but I was really upset at myself for being so emotional that day. I can’t believe I let my emotions get the better of me and was so unfair to the kids who wanted to learn. I was tired and frustrated, but they are still kids after all.

I’m sorry this post is so long, but I want to record down everything that happened this week!

Today was thankfully a good day. There is this one very quiet kid in my really weak class who can’t read at all. This class is full of very noisy hyperactive kids, and I almost always miss this boy from my radar. Today I saw his work and realized that he hasn’t done anything all day. I got frustrated because he just sat there staring at me blankly despite not understanding anything! I told him (quite harshly) that I will see him in his dorm tonight to teach him what we’ve done today.

I didn’t think too much about it, but I heard from another teacher that he went to her with a huge smile and told her that he’s very happy because I’m going to teach him tonight. He said he wants to be good in English so he can go overseas. When I heard that, my heart melted into a big gooey mess. I can’t believe that despite my frustrated tone, despite my harshness, this silly boy was still so happy that I’ll teach him!

So I sat down with him during my dinner at the local mamak and we went through all the flashcards together. He cannot even read RUN and TRASH and ROAD and we just spent the 2 hours reading them again and again. Even the waitress kakak joined us and did it together with him! I could tell that he was getting frustrated for not knowing how to read but he went on and on. I told him to take a break, but he continued flipping the cards and trying to read them, his milo ais untouched.

Today, Loga has taught me so many lessons to be a better teacher. His patience and determination inspire me to try harder despite my bad days in school. His happiness to learn, despite me being frustrated at him, showed me that deep down inside, every kid wants to learn and wants to experience success. This is why I teach for Malaysia.

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Here are two videos I’d like to share!

This is a combination of three of my classes singing songs and working in groups. (these are my stronger classes)

If you remember, I’m actually tone deaf and I can’t sing to save my life. But I’ve been using a lot of songs and have to always sing the loudest so the kids would sing along. I realize that if you want to have fun with your classes, you’ll have to make a fool of yourself first so the kids would feel more comfortable in class. Everytime I hear my voice I feel like cringing but they have never made fun of me *touched

TV3 came to one of my classes for an interview that day! Thank you Nazrul for this, my kids really enjoyed being filmed And the camera really added 10lbs to my face FML T___T

Got a really amazing poem from one of my readers the other day so I thought I’d post it up here. Also because I’m too tired to blog…… (ehem lazy ehem) (but actually I’ve been getting only 5 hours of sleep lately so I’m feeling quite dead also) (need to drink some ayam brand essence)

So! This reader has emailed me a long poem he/she wrote about me before and I absolutely LOVED it. Didn’t think that he/she would write me another one, but this poem is way more awesome and really good! Thank you, whoever you are, for taking the time to write this! I feel very very flattered and blessed to have a whole poem written about me

Like the placid stalk that holds the proud leaf
Through storm, wind or nightly breeze,
So is a teacher who molds the mind patiently;

But there is one suave Li who is learning not
Just to mold minds but inspire lives lovingly.

Like those tidal shifts that occur when the
Sun, Moon and Earth are jilted by gravity,
So will teaching have its set of difficulties;

But there is one cikgu Li who will persist
Unwaveringly as long as she can patiently.

Winter has its summer, Spring has its fall
Through yearly seasons they come withal
So is a teacher’s career that is a tall order;

But there is one sweet Li who will brave
Each season and leave a mark on pedagogy.

~

Teach! Oh teach, pretty Ms. Suet Li!
Teach until you would have inspired
And changed minds, lives and society.

Teach! Oh teach, young Ms. Sweet Li!
Until you see the child before you set
On a path of success and meaning.

Teach! Oh teach, mighty Ms. Sweat Lee
Until you would see a small spark
Ignite itself in the little growing mind,

~

Some days will leave you weary from
Planning each lesson meticulously
Only to realize they are not learning.

Some days will leave you excited from
Meaningful questions that are posed
In the way they ought to be.

Beyond this, you have the power
And capability to mold each mind
Patiently just by inspiring them
In each lesson constantly.

~

Teach! Oh teach, feisty Ms. Suet Li!
For you maybe on Earth for reasons
Beyond your understanding
But your student will always
Remember you for inspiring!

~Fashionablehost