ThE rOaD nOt TaKeN.
Friday, February 29, 2008
It's been a tiring week. It's not easy waking up at 5 plus every morning and then only getting to bed at almost midnight. Thankfully, I am not taking the full lessons yet, but the full thing starts next week so I really need to find my second wind.
They say that in running, there is this point where you hit the invisible wall and start to feel like you're not moving at all. That's when you dig deep and continue pushing which is what I call mental endurance. I need that now.
Today I had my first 'lesson' with my P2 class. Not too bad as I managed to achieve my objective although we didn't have a chance to go through the story with the class. I promised them that we would do it in the next lesson. It's on powerpoint, so I think it will be quite fun for the children. The children were so surprised when I mentioned that we would be using a camera for the first activity.
I was pleasant surprised to see JL in the lift after school. She seems well adjusted in sec. sch. I am confident that she will be just fine. Everyone has moments of weakness and self-doubt. It is the strong ones who remember what is important in their lives and live for the moment. Trust me, it is still early days so don't be a Rapunzel, be an Alice (that crazy lady from Resident Evil)!
Stayed back in school to help out in the Science Club project, they will be competing tomorrow afternoon at Plaza Singapura from 1230-1700 so everyone is free to pop by to support! I hope that everything will be ready by then.
Went for dinner with DW at Great World City then popped into Golden Village for a movie. We wanted to catch CJ7 but apparently it wasn't even showing there. Ended up watching Meet The Spartans which is a spoof of 300. Not the funniest show I have seen and some of the jokes are really in bad taste. If anyone intends to catch it, do stay for the credits after the show as there are 2 hidden film clips, 1 about 5 minutes after the credits start rolling, the other right at the end of the credits. Some of the hidden footage is so much better than the actual film.
Enjoy the weekend!
Labels: Day 5
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The past few days have been pretty quiet. Spent observing the CTs in action. It never ceases to amaze me how well the teachers can keep their classes under control. I think I have 2 good role models. Just hope that I will be able to build up the same kind of rapport with the children!
I am a bit concerned about the literacy levels of the P5 class, other than a few of the students who are wide readers, the rest are not that interested. I have something lined up for them but I will keep it a secret as some of them do visit the blog. Anticipation can be fun!
Managed to have a short chat with some of the students today. Let me see how many faces I can recall:
- Jerry
- Wei Keong
- Faiz
- Radin
- Tarmizi
- Wei Hao
- Tiong Han
- Sujata
- Lareal
- Yun Sheng
- Alicia
- Stella
Sorry if I missed anyone out, I didn't even include some others who are in my class. Some of them asked me why I am not teaching them. Well, unfortunately, I don't really get to choose who to teach, the original P4 class has been split up to so many different classes that I would probably have to split into 3 to teach everyone. Not to worry, if any of you are facing any problems in school and want to talk, you can always look for me and let's work together to solve it. Even if we can't solve it straight away, it never hurts to hear someone else's opinion.
Spent about one and a half hours in the school library searching. For what? For some stuff that I needed for a lesson. It's not easy. Sometimes, I take for granted the facilities at the National Library. When you compare the NLB to the school library, you start to understand how important it is to have enough funds to keep your library user friendly. I think it would be great if the students learnt to make use of the library as a place to study and learn. I still feel that it is really under-utilised. At NIE, I must confess that the NIE library was like my second home. My friends at NIE will know what I'm talking about.
Speaking of my NIE friends, we attended a poetry event last night which was held at Velvet Underground at Jiak Kim Street(near the River Valley area). It was called Poetry Slam and organised by the Word Forward group. Basically, it's a competition where budding poets read out their poems and are judged by the audience. Sort of like American Idol but instead of songs, they recite poetry. Although there were only a few participants in the Slam, I think it was still an unforgettable experience. We had a lot of fun! Right from the start, we helped to dramatise a short snippet from Lewis Caroll's Jaberwocky. Yes, I was playing the part of the Jaberwocky... and had to be 'slain' by my friend Mine(pronounced as 'Me -Nay'). Everyone was really sporting and although we had to sit through many different presentations(there were a couple of short films, poems and stuff), everyone kept an open mind. Now the question is whether they will attend another one?
I find that I am still trying to get used to the hours in school. I have to reset my internal class by an hour earlier as I usually have to be awake by 5.45am in order to be on time. By 3pm in the afternoon, I am starting to feel sleepy. Hopefully, I will adjust soon and then my engine can kick into overdrive during my lessons. I really need to find a way to boost my energy levels. *Sigh* I should probably get in some exercise. I will try to wake up at 5am tomorrow to do a quick jog to get the body awake and we will take it from there. Wish me luck!
Labels: day 3, poetry slam
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Currently reading The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, which is a fantasy novel set in a world called Fantastica. It is a story within a story as we discover the world of Fantastica through a book that is being read by the hero, Bastian who lives in England. Lovely story and I am hardpressed to put it down. Basically squeezing in time here and there to read.
Tomorrow also happens to be DW's birthday, so I'm trying to plan something nice and meaningful to give her. Will post it up if I can get it done in time.
Alright, better get some rest before I wake up looking like a panda.
Goodnight.
Labels: 1 day more
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Being Thursday, many students were staying back for supplementary/remedial lessons. It was great to see so many familiar faces (teachers AND students), to say, "Hi, how are you doing?" Where else can you go and be greeted by so many smiles? One week before CA, so the teachers are understandably stressed. Yes, teachers are usually more stressed than the students as the exams draw nearer. Who doesn't want their students to be well prepared?
Found out that Mrs. Sin and Ms Pek are going to be my Cooperating Teachers(CTs) which is actually quite good because they are really fun and great teachers.
Can you imagine how busy I was over the last 2 days? I wrote the portion above on Thursday and I couldn't even post it up until today(Sat). I think as things speed up again in school, it is going to be 'challenging' (teachers never use the word difficult) to have time to reflect on the events of the day. That is why I hope that I can get get Internet access when I bring SnApPy to school. Quite silly to have to walk all the way to MacDonald's just for an internet connection, right?
I finally have a chance to breathe yesterday when I handed in my EL assignment. Not confident of doing well, but at least I tried to apply what I learnt.
After handing in the assignment, I went over to help out at the booth that my service learning group is in charge of for Service Learning Day(Friday). I wasn't very satisfied with the display as there were no photographs at all! However, it was much too late to do anything about it. I just wished that the people I put in charge of the set-up had told me that they needed help. When the group coordinator came over, I didn't know what to say. I am just happy that Mr. Chua PH is quite an understanding guy. Later the dean came over to explore the booths, at least we could share a bit of our experiences with him. Oh, well.
The good thing is, after the event, I was able to join some of my friends at Kbox Clementi for a round of karaoke which was very enjoyable. Tried to sing lots of songs but my voice wasn't up to scratch. However, I think the spirit of karaoke is not so much about being perfect vocally but about being yourself and accepting your weaknesses as part of your character. And just having fun with it! Woohoo!
Might spend some time working on changing my blogskin, though. It's been a while and I am lagging behind the times.
Looking forward to a restful weekend!
Labels: back to lps
Monday, February 18, 2008
As mentioned earlier, this week I will be returning to school on Thursday to attend a briefing by Mrs. Tan-Wee Aye Maye who is the teacher coordinator for all the trainee teachers. I am keen to find out which classes I will be teaching and which teachers I will be working closely with. They say that the Cooperating Teacher is one of the most important people during the TP. I don't want to give the CT extra work, I hope to help where I can. The idea being that when I leave after the 10 weeks, the classes will have been better off and I would have a better relationship with my colleagues.
Personally, I am worried, not because I don't think I will do a good job in the classroom, but more because I will probably set very high standards for myself. I really want to do well for the practicum and this translates into extra stress. I think finding a way to handle all this stress is going to be one of my critical areas. Hopefully I can still vent my frustrations with my friends who are also facing the same stress! Gambatte everyone!
Some of my friends have said that they would just like to go through the TP peacefully and teach normally. I don't have anything against that philosophy. I just feel that every student in my class deserves my best when it comes to teaching. How can I ask them to do their best every day but shortchange them when it comes to my own work?
It is a pity that I do not get a chance to start fresh from a new year but this can't be helped. I do want to get to know the children and to see how I can help them to develop a love for the subjects that I teach.
In the meantime, I am spending the remaining time working on my assignments which are due this week, so I might not be able to post often this week. I will try my best.
For those of my friends who are busy preparing for tests, try to relax and be confident about yourself. Understand the key concepts for each topic and it will help you to remember the content. If you really don't get the results that you want, do spend less time moping and more time working on improving. That's where your happiness lies in the end.
Go go go!
Labels: countdown
Friday, February 15, 2008
Spent the day at home as today is Budget Day and I have no lessons today.
Had a few chores to clear:
1) doing the laundry(cotton clothes)
2) preparing some barley water
3) cleaning the living room fan
I planned to pop into the Bukit Merah branch of NLB to pick up a couple of books. Will do so if I can finish cataloging my previous haul of books
Had a good time at the book fair in school. I came across many interesting books and sadly, I wasn't able to buy everything that I wanted.
From back to front:1st row(L to R):
1)Edward The Emu by Sheena Knowles
2)Edwina The Emu by Sheena Knowles
2nd row(L to R):
1) Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema
2) Troy Thompson's Excellent Peotry Book by Gary Crew
3) Ouch! by Natalie Babbitt
4) Starry Messenger by Peter Sis
5) Olivia by Ian Falconer
6) The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
7) The Three Little Wolves and The Big Bad Pig by Eugene Travizas
8) Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman
3rd row(L to R):
1) Fairytale News by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins
2) Tadpole's Promise by Jeanne Willis
Spent over $150, but it felt good. Now, if I can only find the time to wrap them up nicely. Any volunteers? =)
I will be at LPS next week for a briefing on Thursday afternoon. Hopefully, I will have a chance to see some of my students again!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
To all those who've been checking my blog regularly, real sorry to disappoint you. I will try my best to update on the latest news!
GOING BACK TO LIANHUA PS =)
Woo hoo! Yep, I will be coming back to LPS on the 25/2 for my teaching practice to share more interesting lessons with the students and hopefully learn from them as well. Hope that answers your question/tag, Jerry =)
Really looking forward to seeing all my friends at LPS again. Since my last visit on Teacher's Day, I hope everyone is doing fine. It's too bad that I won't get a chance to see 6Diamond 07 but I know that you guys will come back to visit the school right?
This time round, I will be coming back with Mrs Joyce Tan and Mr Tang Chee Weng. Although I will only be there until early May, hopefully I will be back for good after completing my course in June. I am curious to see how my 4 Amethyst class members are doing in Primary 5. Not too tough, I hope?
CNY
I
II
III
IIII
IIIII
(my version of the fai cai bamboo!)
Happy New Year to all my friends!
Not much of a holiday. Spent the most of the time visiting relatives on my wife's side. As I'm not too familiar with them, it was mostly just smiling and nodding while my mother-in-law chit-chats with her 'generation'. Managed to indulge in some friendly wagering with a few rounds of "dry swimming". Many opportunities to eat yusheng but as my friends would know, I don't touch the raw fish. Funny, right?
My MIL remarked the other day that this CNY is quite quiet. Perhaps with all the rise in prices, no one is in a real good mood to celebrate? I remember everyone thinking that with the economy booming at the end of 2007, we could look forward to a good 2008. Oh well, we all have to deal with the inflation. I'm just not comfortable with the food prices going up by so much. For example, dim sum that used to cost $2.20 a basket, now costs $2.70! Although I sympathise with the hawkers who have rising costs due to the increased prices of ingredients like flour, I really wonder if they will return to lower prices when the supply of these ingredients become readily available. Therein lies the reason for not my being not that sympathetic. So less dim sum for me then!
Looking forward to school today as there will be a bookfair with lots of good books on sale! Will share my purchases here later today.
Labels: CNY, going back
