Friday, March 23, 2007

convent sitiawan.

One day in 2001.

Lesson : English
Topic : Monsoon History

"silver fish tunneling..."

Teacher : So, anyone could tell me what is the meaning of "silver fish"?

quiet.

Teacher : anyone?

Teacher : yes, Khairun.

Khairun Nisa : erm.. ikan kembung mam..

*dunk* a duster hit my head.


ohooo....

ingat Pn Jackie shikin?

i just love my school days.

Pn Jackie is like one of the meaniest teacher alive but yes, i like her!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Pride of a teacher-to-be

Hassan Al-Banna, when being asked why he didn't write many books, replied,
"I am only interested in writing a great humanity."
Reflecting on this, I couldn't agree more that there is nothing nobler than having the oppurtunity to write a human, to shape a human-being especially when they are still raw. You can write as many books as possible, but how assured are we that people will read them? To write a human, requires patience and skills as it is a direct two-way interaction. You have to deal with many complex and unpredictable personalities.
So, this is what our future career is all about. Writing a human-being. I'm sure the most rewarding part of this profession is when we see the results of of our own writing evolves from a small caterpillar to a colourful butterfly that shines.
Proud to be a teacher :)

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Microteaching.

Wow~!! Time flies really fast without we realise it,
and we, my fellow Macquarians and I, are already in Week 3 of our first semester.
Soon, most of us from Macquarie will do our microteaching presentation. For instance this week, we have Wanee and Peri who will deliver their presentations.
I wish best of luck to the both of you..

Apart from the Microteaching presentation, which is a 10-minute teaching, we also have to go to the selected schools for the observation task. I guess most of my friends in (fellow teacher trainees) other universities have to go to school too, either for their practicum (teaching) or just for an observation. Whatever it is, I hope we'll gain a lot of new knowledge as well as various and distinct teaching approaches and methods during the period of going to the local schools in Aussie, NZ and UK. Personally, I really hope to learn new and beneficial things during my observation at the local school in Aussie later. I would like to observe the students-teachers rapport inside and outside of the classroom, I would like to know how the school set up the school rules, how is the students social behaviour between thier peers, with other races and with those non-native speakers.. The curriculum of the school also should not be taken lightly. For example in Australia, different states have their own curriculum plan and in New South Wales it is named NSW Board of Studies. And different schools have different school systems and each school is not restricted to the plan that is provided by the BOS but of course, they are encouraged to follow the plan provided. There whole lot of other things too which are, for me, an eye-opening in comparison to our own standardised curriculum.

As to that, if there's any of you would like to share anything in regards to our school observations or microteaching presentations and the likes.. I think it would be interesting to see some pictures or videos here posted by any of you.. hehehe..

Until then,
All the best everyone!!
Lets do our best while we are here!!

[fuMy]

Monday, March 12, 2007

Be a true guru

TEACHER TALK
By NITHYA SIDHHU

The word “guru” to denote teacher in Malay serves as a reminder to teachers of their responsibilities and duties.

FROM THE very beginning, I have, as a teacher, worked hard and diligently. I have never minded the work because I have always believed in the power of good teaching.

Even as I write this, I am aware of how strongly I believe that effective teaching does touch and change lives.

I have also grown accustomed to being called Cikgu. Everywhere I go, I am dogged by this name. Sometimes, or so it seems to me, the name my father gave me has ceased to matter.

In fact, in every school I go to, some students won’t even know my name or if they do, are rarely able to pronounce it correctly. So, under these circumstances, I have accepted the fact that my name is Cikgu.

Origins of guru

When I first started writing for The Star in 1996, my column was called “They Call Me Cikgu”.

Back then, if a foreigner had asked me what the word meant, I would have just said, “teacher”.

But there were times when I had wondered: “Why are teachers called Cikgu? How did this name come to be?”

I finally discovered the answer in the book The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

In Sanskrit , the word guru is made up of two syllables: gu and ru. The syllable gu means “darkness” while ru refers to “removal”. Guru is used to refer to a person who can dispel darkness.

Darkness here refers to ignorance, lack of understanding, skills or knowledge. It is the job of the guru to illuminate the darkness found within the mind of his disciple, devotee or student.

While God remains the supreme guru of all mankind, I believe that teachers are his instruments.

If we take teaching to heart, we ought to be able to find in ourselves the commitment and zeal to provide motivation and inspiration, give guidance, disseminate knowledge, hone skills and act as a facilitator in the learning process.

To be a true guru, however, we have to first educate ourselves and constantly improve in terms of our knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes.

Poor English

Nowadays, we often hear complaints about teachers who lack professional competency and yet do nothing about it. While these teachers do not form the majority, they exist

In the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English (ETeMS) for example, and despite numerous support and training efforts by the Education Ministry, there are still a number of teachers who are dragging their feet about mastering or improving their command of English.

One of their excuses is that the students can’t handle the language. As such, they use Malay as the main medium of instruction.

As a Science teacher I would agree that our efforts to teach this subject in English is hampered by students who are weak in the language.

Teaching them in English is an uphill task, especially when students do not come from an English-speaking background.

However, this weakness on the part of students should not be used as an excuse by teachers.

So, who is to blame when the implementation of the ETeMS policy suffers setbacks? Teachers’ attitudes, I fear, have been a contributory factor.

Some Science and Mathematics teachers have come to rely too heavily on government-supplied CDs to take on the role of substitute teacher.

I have passed Science classes where all that the students do is simply copy notes from the content of a CD projected onto a screen.

The reason? Their teacher does not speak English well and refuses to conduct the lesson in English.

A few years have passed since ETeMS was introduced but there hasn’t been much improvement on the part of some teachers, be it in their attitude or language competence.

Improve yourselves

With the introduction of English language proficiency testing, and follow-up refresher courses for those who need them, is there going to be a positive change among these teachers or are they going to protest yet again the whole idea of teaching the subjects in English?

I read an interesting snippet in the newspapers recently about the Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who starred in the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha”.

She had gone to The Juilliard School in New York to improve her English delivery skills. She recognised that it would be an asset and would lead to more movie offers from the West. I commend her move to spend time, money and effort to improve her English.

As teachers, it should also be our goal to continually improve and become good Cikgus.

Is Cikgu, however, the right name for a teacher? Does it reflect the knowledgeable mind of a good teacher?

What is the right name by which we should be called? Actually, we should be called Cik Guru.

And, to honour the noble meaning of the word guru, we should not be addressed by the shortened Cikgu.

However, I don’t think anything is going to change as we have become accustomed to it.

Why do some Science and Mathematics teachers keep on teaching these two subjects in Malay? Isn’t it because it is customary for them to do so?

Why do some Malaysian students keep wanting to be taught Science and Mathematics in Malay? Isn’t it because they are more accustomed to Malay than to English?

And, think of this: Even if you tell him otherwise, why will the Malaysian student always call you Cikgu? Because it is the custom to do so.

But, acceptance of what is customary shouldn’t change your realisation of the following: while you can’t change the fact that you will always be Cikgu, you can decide whether you are a true guru.

So, Cik Guru, before it’s too late, wake up and smell the coffee!

Source

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