Heard of Chenor before?

Hi, all! First and foremost apologies to those of you who read this blog because I haven't been updating my blog since my practicum days in Sri Rahmat. I received my posting letter even before I started my ‘menanam anggur’ session. The moment I reached home from JB, my father checked the postbox and Wallah! Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda for Aida. The feeling was exactly like that nerve wreck you get while waiting for your SPM results once you’ve arrived in school. Can you imagine not knowing the fate of your career launch? There it was, the envelope in my father’s hands. Suddenly he said, “Jabatan Pendididkan Negeri Pahang!” Okay, Pahang it is. But where in Pahang? On 13 July 2009, at approximately 5a.m. we started this momentous journey to Temerloh. As we embarked on our journey that early in the morning, the road was empty and it only took us 15 minutes to be in KL! That’s amazing, right?! Anyways, my feeling at the time was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Gosh, it was so scary. By 7.30 we were already in Temerloh and it took us awhile to figure out the way to Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Temerloh. My thoughts at the time was quite good, I was beginning to imagine myself living in this small town called Temerloh. As I looked around studying the area, I managed a little smile and said to myself, “there’s a chance I might get one of the schools around here!”. Once we were there and done waiting…(they are always late!) and listened to several speeches, one after the other impatiently and completed the feedback form, the moment we’ve been waiting for arrived! We were officially given our posting almost as if we were prize winners. After all, getting a job these days is something to be proud of! It felt like I was having my pumping heart full of blood in my own hand! That’s a scary thought, a scary imagination too! Most of friends knew somebody who knew somebody who could ask around to find out the school they will be posted to. At times like these having parents who worked in the private sector seriously wasn’t helpful. Even though my sister’s father in-law knew somebody who could ‘help’ me get a good posting, but it couldn’t be helped…it’s written in the big book by The Big Guy I suppose so, oh well, I know so! SMK Tengku Ampuan Afzan Chenor. Do you know where that is?

a whole new adventure

hi, all! i haven't been writing for ages. at this point i'm just lazing around watching every single tv show, eating as much as i can and lepaking to the max. what i'm doing is enjoying every bit of comfort that i can get at home before i start a whole new life in a new place. i received my posting letter the day i arrived home from jb. my plan to stay at home and hopefully get a school nearby vanished the moment my dad opened the letter and announced that i'm to report at temerloh, pahang on july 13 2009! what do i know about where i'll be posted? nil. do i know anyone there? nil. nonetheless i can hieve a sigh of relief to know that at least 7 other coursemates will be reporting at the same place on that monday morning. all my friends from pahang got pahang and since kl is full so those from kl, s'gor will be deported to other states. in fact, my friends in kelantan also got kelantan however they are sent to remote places like gua musang and jeli. they are at least told which schools they'll be placed, unlike us. so it'll be a surprise i suppose!!! hehe...let's just hope and pray that everything will run smoothly. please pray for me!!!

laskar pelangi

mimpi adalah kunci
untuk kita menaklukkan dunia
berlarilah tanpa lelah
sampai engkau meraihnya

laskar pelangi takkan terikat waktu
bebaskan mimpimu di angkasa
warna bintang di jiwa

reff:
menarilah dan terus tertawa
walau dunia tak seindah surga
bersyukurlah pada Yang Kuasa
cinta kita di dunia selamanya

cinta kepada hidup
memberikan senyuman abadi
walau hidup kadang tak adil
tapi cinta lengkapi kita

laskar pelangi takkan terikat waktu
jangan berhenti mewarnai
jutaan mimpi di bumi

repeat reff [2x]

laskar pelangi takkan terikat waktu

I watched this Indonesian movie yesterday and was deeply moved by it. The reason why I include this piece in my teaching blog is because of the theme of the story which it was based on. Laskar Pelangi is a story about how two teachers struggled to keep a school running with only 10 students in the school. The narrator tells his story and experience with 9 other friends on his visit back to his hometown after years leaving the place to further his studies. Apparently he is the writer of this novel turned movie. Back to the story, it really touched my heart to see how these under privilege kids strive for their education despite the hardships they endure. The teachers too, never give up on them or the condition of the school. Fyi, the school was in such an appalling state it looks like it can collapse anytime. I will always remember what the headmaster always says, "Give as much as you can, not take as much as you can". It shows how genuine his heart is in dedicating his life for his school and the kids. Sometimes I think about what I have gone through in life and how disappointed I've been but then again looking at those kids make me realise that there are so many things I should be grateful for and happy about. "Menarilah dan terus tertawa walau hidup tak seindah syurga, bersyukurlah pada Yang Kuasa". It was an eye-opener and it's kind of movie you want to watch so that you will be reminded of how carefree kids are and how we have lost that innocence while we're busy growing up. We always get caught up in a rut and we forget to live and give and even smile for what we have. My credits to the author and I really salute him for what he has survived, not many people can achieve that.

sorry, haven't been writing

this blog was supposed to be filled with my experience as a beginner teacher. however, due to exhaustion and endless amount of work, i have been neglecting this blog. so sorry...anyways, here i am after 12 weeks of school filled with excitement, disappointments, torture all the elements of bitter-sweet memories. I've survived 9 evaluations with my mentor and seven with my lecturers. I've yelled at a student who refused to do my activity which resulted in him leaving the class right after, I've blown up quite a temper at the class for their lackadaisical attitude with my homework, I've also given a silent treatment to them for the very same reason (teenagers - they never seem to learn), I've had some personal issues with my ex (ok, i'll stop here because this is all about teaching) and I've learnt to truly understand what a love-hate relationship with students meant. Kindda like faizal tahir's song 'bencinta' - hope I got the spelling right. Today, as a final gift i relieved a teacher for the last class of form five. The GSTT teacher (Kak Liza), wished me luck before I entered the class. Apparently, 4 students didn't want to sit for the exam at all, not even take the exam paper and writing their own names. After that one of them decided to take one and only answered the objective part which he did without even reading the questions as he blindly blacken the answer sheet. That's how sad it is. Oh, before I forget a student actually didn't know what his IC number was. Hmm, the exam paper was filled with irrelevant answers or not answered at all. How's that for our future generation? This my friend, is the reality...

school break!

The day I've been waiting for has arrived. Thank God, it's FRIDAY!!! tomorrow I'll be heading home and this time I'll be carrying with me the test papers from the recent Monthly Test. I marked it already but looks like I have to go through it again because to be honest my marking was quite strict. I really thought they will do well since the paper was quite easy. Now I've identified a few students who are really weak in English and looks like I have to do a "postmortem" whether or not they actually understood what I've said - when I say this I mean if they can understand English at all. The paper only consists of 3 sections; section 1 & 2 information transfer and section 3 literature component (with choice of answers provided). However, sad to say many of them still did not do as well as I expected. It really revealed how severe their case were. However, I'm glad to say that at least I don't get extremely funny answers like "Why....?" and instead of "because...", the student answer the question with a name! It's basic English to know that when a question starts with "Why" the answer should be "because..." of something. And if you answer a person's name the question will start with "who". This test has proven many things. I still hope to improve as a teacher and do better to cater to my clients' needs - my students. At the same time, it's really frustrating because teenagers can really be a pain in the ***!!! It drives me nuts to deal with the ones who simply ignore my orders and disrespects me. Although they don't do it verbally, they tend to get on my bad side because of their lackadaisical attitude. I am pretty sure some of them are in fact clueless about their own future. Slowly I'm showing my temper and ugly side because of the way they upset me. Seriously, sometimes I want to physically just hurt them! bad! But I've never touched a kid. NEVER. Jangan sampai cikgu cubit awak nanti! I am a teacher. Yes, I am.

students exam...teachers gossip

greetings to all! today i write in a different tone, full of joy and happiness as i do not, i repeat DO NOT have to do my lesson plans for the week!!! hooreyy!! only today do i see teachers in the staffroom rejoicing and treating themselves to some time of gossiping and chit chatting. only today do i see students in my school sweat and struggle as they answered the questions in their first test while i was watching them like a hawk....hiding my evil laughter inside, "HAHAHA!!!!Jawab la korang soalan kimia yg susah tu.....my days of answering test papers are OVER!!!! PADAN MUKE!!!" Finally, i got the rest i needed. I get to sleep without cracking my head on what to teach tomorrow. At times like these, I thank God so much for the existence of examination. I now can at least rest from the nights when I sleep so late due to printing work sheets and stapling them and making sure their in the right order, the exact amount I needed...only to be disappointed by sleepy students, stubborn students and lazy students. Oh, I sound so much like a teacher...get a grip Aida, you are one! I'm really looking forward to the 1 week break that's coming soon....yeay!!!! I get to see the cute little camelia hani! bye2 school....for now!

tired

who ever said that life as a teacher is easy is definitely wrong. this week i've been evaluated 3 times. the first day i was down because of the feedback i got from my lecturer. the second day i improved tremendously and i enjoyed my time with my students. it's got to be that magic of song. i was really satisfied and I could see that my lecturer is happy - she's great, keep on supporting me. today, maybe because i'm burning out already and i haven't had much rest for 3 nights in a row, i could feel that i was off my game. i didn't do well. and due to that vibe i gave, no wonder my students were quiet too. i tried to no avail to get them to speak. what should i do??? i must admit, in terms of preparation the third round was not so thorough. i was just too tired. i couldn't take it. Ya Allah, please give me the strength to do this. make me strong. i want to be a good teacher.