ThE rOaD nOt TaKeN.
Monday, April 28, 2008
This week is pretty short since Thursday is a public holiday. The bad thing is that with 1 week to SA1 (excepting the oral, language paper 1s and the listening compre papers which are almost over) that means that I am extremely short of time to revise with the P5s (I am only down to 30 min instead of the usual 2 hrs.)
Luckily my CT's very understanding and she is willing to give me some time to cover what I need to cover for the exams. Now if only the class will be able to listen... XP
As for me, I am trying to clear my backlog of work and sort out my TP file because my sup's coming over soon to discuss my final grade. I want to exit from LPS with a clean slate.
I'm tapping this out in Gombak Macs as my wife is supposed to pick me up after work. Luckily, I had a late lunch (like 6pm) and I have things to do with my 'free' time. The Macs is pretty full during dinner with many patrons like me lugging laptops. Unfortunately, there are 2 inconsiderate people near me who have not discovered the use of earphones yet and are playing music and watching video using their laptop speakers. As if sitting under the LCD TV is not bad enough(this is the umpteenth time James Blunt is crooning You're Beautiful), I have to listen to this fellow demonstrate his utter lack of consideration. I am so tempted to take a picture and make him a 'star' on STOMP. =)
Finally, he has decided to lower the volume. So much better. Oh well. My batteries are almost fully drained anyway.
Labels: Macs
Friday, April 25, 2008
It's been a long week and although I had a chance to go back early yesterday, I was only catching 2-3hrs of sleep every night.
Well, the last LO is over and now I'm just awaiting the final visit from the NSC to discuss with my CTs my final grade. I think overall the process has been a positive one. I have found it a more enjoyable (albeit stressful) period as compared to my 6 month stint last year.
Before I leave LPS again, I will want to ensure that the children who have started to read have all the information they need to become self-motivated readers. I will work out some book lists for those kids who are interested to go 'book-hunting'.
I'm heading to the BB library to check out some books.
Labels: still tired
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Today marks the second last LO for the TP and I'm happy to say that at least I managed to achieve what I set out to do in my lesson objectives. I think the children were happy and my CT had more suggestions for me as usual on how to include more CL in my lessons. It was then that I found out that she is doing a module on CL (hence the numerous inputs on the topic). She is currently doing a Masters in Education(Science). Amazing!
Recently, I added in bookplates for the books in the class library so that everyone can add their comments after they read each book. I went into class after school to check out the comments. I am glad to see that they have started to write in the bookplates and although there are some negative comments, it's ok as opinions about books are subjective.
Tomorrow, I will be rewarding the people who have already reached the required level for promotion in the D.E.A.R. Programme. I hope they like the bookmarks. =)
I am also looking forward to Labour Day as there will be a bookfair by MPH at the Singapore Expo from 1-4 May 08. I'm sure there will be some good bargains to pick up. Oh yeah!
I found out that I will be involved in the group interviews on Friday which is kind of stressful as I am not sure what to expect. Originally, we (meaning the TTs) were not involved at all. Now it seems that we will be giving our feedback too!
Gulp.
Labels: LOs
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Looking at my calendar, I find that there are only about 3 weeks left before I return to NIE again... probably a good time to take stock of my time at LPS.
The classes I have been assigned are challenging and different from my class last year. 11 weeks is really a short time to spend to understand students and to help them learn properly. It feels like I'm leaving them at a time which they need me most.
Haiz!
However, before I return to NIE, I want to accomplish the following things:
a) encourage and get some children 'addicted' to reading
There are so many books out there that the children are missing out on because they think that all books are filled with depressing lines of text. In fact, one of my kids wrote to me saying that he will only read comics because of that! I hope to 'open' his eyes soon!
b) share as many stories as I can
A teacher once told me that in teachers don't read to their classes as often as they should. If I were taking a class permanently, I would set aside time every week for this simply because it is something that I can share with my kids (and this also forces me to be very careful in choosing books)
c) help the children to understand a little bit more about the scientific process
I'm still worried that the children will find the SIP really tough simply because they are not able to understand the entire process. Hmmm... perhaps I can find a video clip to explain?
d) remember to say thank you to all the teachers who have made this period bearable and fun
Time to get my thank you cards ready especially for my CTs (yes, even my ex-CT!)
Okie SnApPy's batteries are dying, so laterz...
Labels: home stretch
Sunday, April 13, 2008
I'm finding it harder to blog. Not because nothing interesting happened but more that when I finally get a chance to do so, I want to rest instead. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
I've an assignment due tomorrow, so will be spending most of my Sunday doing it. So boring, but it can't be helped. This week has been packed with excursions and activities as it is Kindness Week and Friday was International Friendship Day.
I brought the kids to visit Healthzone at HSA and to the Singapore Discovery Centre for IFD. I think the kids had a lot of fun. Those who had cameras kept trying to snap pics of me, but being camera-shy, I dodged as many shutter bugs as I could. I should be honoured, but part of me is still shy. =)
On Friday, we had the IFD concert in school and some of the children came to school in their national costumes. It was quite colourful as we have many foreign students at LPS. It was really like a UN meeting! The students presented some information about the flags of Malaysia, China, Korea. And I had to raise my voice at three students in the hall. I think I was really loud as the students in the hall all stopped and looked at me. Later on, some teachers came over to talk to me about it as well. They were all surprised as they have never seen me scolding students. After that, I made it a point to talk about the incident in class to let them know that I was really saddened by the whole incident. I feel very sad that a teacher has to scold the class in front of the whole school. I can only hope that they will change for the better.
In the afternoon, the field trip to the SDC was fun and we had a chance to discover more about tae kwon do, gymnastics, the Paraolympics as well as the history behind the Olympics. We even had a chance to play some games on the Wii sets (not part of the programme, but fun nevertheless).
As I had to rush for the bus straight after my lessons, I didn't take lunch and had to quickly have some
nasi lemak at the cafeteria at SDC. The students were quite excited and they helped themselves to the snacks and hotdogs that were on sale.
During the gymnastics session, the trainer asked the class what IFD meant and one of the students, D, said, "International Fire Department!" with much confidence which caused everyone present to burst into laughter...
I noticed that during the tour of the Olympic exhibit, the children were starting to get bored and it made the tour guide's job very difficult. I couldn't help but empathise with her as I understood how short the attention spans of the children really are. I will need to always work in the element of fun in my lessons or risk losing their attention. Good luck to me!
Okie, enough blogging. I need to get back to work.
Labels: Healthzone, IFD
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Lessons today were not as good as I had hoped. Many of the students were not able to concentrate except for the so-called interesting parts like the video and the pictures. Perhaps I need to use more familiar examples to keep them interested. I noticed that some of them were more attentive when I tried that during my teacher-talk.
I introduced the new set of books today as part of the new chapter. Many interesting things in the books to highlight and such as the trivia points, the illustrations and the review questions at the end of the book. I was pleased that all 5 books were borrowed by the end of the lesson.
I wasn't able to do my production activity again. *sigh* The class seems very resistant to group work. Almost like it was asking them to donate a kidney. I want to divide them into smaller groups and institute an incentive system to spur them on. I think it will be an uphill struggle but I'm willing to try because I think basically they are good kids. They just need someone to 'show them the way'. I'm not saying that the form teacher is no good, (in fact, she's very nice) I just think that she is pretty stretched at the moment because she is shadowing her boss at the management level and that is very time-consuming. I just hope that she will go for my suggestion.
I'm typing this out at Macs because it's the only time and place where I can do it. Waiting for DW to pick up and wondering if some of the kids in the class are taking their education for granted. That's what I told them today. I'm going to dig up a story to make them understand what I'm trying to say. Otherwise they will think that I'm just nagging.
Pretty tired as usual, but I am starting to feel motivated again(especially since my LO is tomorrow).
CT was interesting today. My colleagues shared some of the information that will be presented to the evaluation team. I thought that most of the room was disengaged from the discussion, simply because it seemed like they were just talking instead of really buying-in to the whole process.
Personally, I feel that similar to reflections, doing it for the sake of doing it defeats the purpose directly. If you review your actions/performance, write it down and file it away for good without improving, then what's the point of doing it in the first place? It would be more efficient to not do reflections and just keep doing things your own way.
So I really feel that in this instance the EV is not being used as an improvement tool but as a means to 'reward'. Because this process is tied to material gains, the focus is lost and the ultimate benefits of reflection are lost. And my colleagues are spending so much time on preparing for this. This is a waste.
Time to go.
Labels: education as privilege, EV
