Reward Day!

Group 1 won themselves a tub of Pringles today. Ever since I started doing my homogeneous grouping, despite being one of the stronger groups, Group 1 failed to peerfom because...

1) they are all hyperactive boys who could not sit down properly to get their work done, and

2) they are the big-bosses of the class (one class monitor, one gangster-like decorations manager, one laid-back cleanliness manager and one naughty attendance manager who had just been dismissed from his classroom job) and thus need to run around managing their folowers

... so I was actually very proud that they have finally pulled themselves together and won the challenge today.

Anyway, my cute but naughty boy S. in group 1 has a best friend A. in group 4. Best buds these two. So the boys in group 1 were enjoying their reward while trying to complete the adjectives wordsearch puzzle. S. shook the almost empty can when everyone in the group had their fair share and made eye-gestures asking whether anyone in the group would like to have the crumbled crisps. No one wanted any. He looked like he would have it for himself until his eyes met A. from group 4.

They exchanged a look. Slightly heavy-heartedly but not reluctantly, S. passed the almost empty can to A. A was pleased but he would not show it. Instead, he muttered something, maybe to say that there was not much left in the tub anyway.

Today I learn from my kids that, friendship is, when you are willing to share your last chips with another person (:

Who gave me the ultimatum? I am now a tyrant.

So about the rough patch...

I am grateful of the dispute yesterday, because it made me reflect on the fact that I am not doing what I want. I o not wat to stress my kids out, I do not want to be a mean teacher, I do not want to belittle my kids etc.

So, we had a survey today about our progress in the classroom. I put in an extra question at the very end asking the students to state a few factors that caused them to lose interest/ concentration in English class.

90% of my kids said: when the teacher was angry, when the teacher was scolding us, when the teacher puts up a frustrated face (muka mood) ):

What a transition. I was Cikgu Banyak Senyum and now I am Cikgu Muka Mood ):

We are going through a rough patch ):

I am shocked to realize how much I am “into my character as a teacher” lately. I have picked up some really bad habits (easily agitated, being angry with students all the time, complain about their attitude etc.) and has started practicing all these very things I disliked in a teacher.

Right now, because of my behavior, I am going through a rough patch with my kids. I regret how things has spiraled down and come to think of it, by the end of the day, all I wanted is to help my kids to be better people and to excel in whatever fields they want to excel in. We actually do share a similar goal here, me and the kids, so why the dispute?

Dear Lord, please help me to be patient and kind and loving so that I can continue to be in the position to touch lives. Amen.

EEC 1 in action!

Thanks to fundings from Taylor's, my kids now have the opportunity to have fully sponsored extra classes on Monday and Friday afternoons to improve their English!

And the books are funded by KDU!

Make us proud one day (:

Occupations and Ambitions (:

After nine long months I realized that I am not here to be loved or to be just a friend. I am here to be a teacher, who leads and inspires and disciplines.

And authority in the classroom being firmly hold in the teacher's hands, is actually something students would appreciate (:

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Today, I had a great time in 1 USM. We are still discussing about occupations and ambitions and still very much stuck in Band 3. However, today I get to share with my students a little bit about my passion and my past failures before finally achieving my dream to become a teacher. 

My students were really quiet (hopefully they are listening instead of dozing off) and sat up staright throughout my sharing which took approximately 3 minutes illustrating how many times my application to become a teacher was rejected.

After that, I put Sarah's multi-sensory approach into good use. We started off with listening and reading and visuals. I had manila cards with occupations in large print pasted on the board, and my nice occupation chart with the visuals on the side. And then after reading and reciting together, we had handwriting practice followed by a word search and then the fly-swatter game.

By the end of the lesson, 3 of my students scored 14/14 in the assessment! Only 3 students scored below 7/14. 

Little successes like these do keep you on your track, and keep you feeling hopeful (: 

What a wonderful Tuesday!