para mi?? muchos gracias!!

One of my student gave us this!!

Oh, dear Annur Athira, so sweet of her!

Feeling all warm and fuzzy inside~ *^^*

The AMAZING MATH RACE

Today, to end the week of lessons, we had an AMAZING MATH RACE between A2, my class, and A4, my fellow friends' class.

Kugahn, Joon Kee, Sharon and I have been teaching lessons in class A2. Joon Kee and Sharon (who will be with me in my future school) have been teaching English, while Kugahn and I have been teaching Maths.

The students are an awesome bunch, if only they had more confidence in themselves and participate more in class, we all could have so much more fun while learning! Anyway, they are a great bunch!

Back to the topic. Today we had this AMAZING MATH RACE between 2 classes. 4 teams from each class will compete against one another in 4 different stations: The PMR Question Station, The Construction Station, The Second Chance Station and The FUN FUN FUN Station. It is all about Form 2, Chapter 9, LOCUS.

And for your information, I have 3 Students from Peralihan, which is the Reform students. 

Teaming the students up with a mix of stronger kids and weaker kids so that they will help each other out, I am very proud to say that my kids did great!

AND GUESS WHAT???

Between A2 and A4, the winner of the AMAZING MATH RACE 2011 in SMK Ampang Pecah goes to....

*drumrolls*

A2!!!

My students earned top 3 in 8 teams competing!!! 

There is no English words I can think of to describe how I feel about my students achievements. AWESOME is an understatement. 

These kids have potential, mass potential, and it is really heartwarming to see them grow.

By the way, the picture above shows the chart of (hopefully they were honest about this) how happy our students are with our lessons for today! 5 bars of happiness!!! 

*hmmm... I wonder why Wai Loon did not grade us a 5.*

Well, I may be lacking loads of sleep if compared to the looong hours sleep I usually have at home, but somehow, their happy signals made every hour of sleep I lack so worthwhile...

P/S: I'm going to nap now......

OMG~ I hate teaching. Or do I?

I love how the ideas come flowing when I'm thinking of ways to teach a certain lesson or objective to my students.
I love it when students actually get a concept and answer correctly.
I love how students come to you with smiles, treating you like a friend and be open about themselves.
I love how students actually tell you that they FINALLY understood a lesson, although they might have been taught the lesson before.
I love how my student told me she wanted more bars on her Happy Signal because 5 bars is not enough to express how happy she feels!
I super love the warm and fuzzy feeling when students can proudly tell everyone else what they learnt in class and why they enjoy coming to class!!!

But... I hate it when time seems to pass sooo quickly I cant seem to deliver my ideas well to my students.
Today, I am expected to teach the concept of locus of a straight line and locus equidistant of 2 intersecting lines. I asked them all to fold a paper plane each, and later noticing how the lines are parallel to make the wings equally sized and how the lines half the angles of certain folding, to show equidistant of 2 intersecting lines. However, I did not get to explain every lines on the paper plane but quickly rushed through it. The paper plane impact is not there, I think. *FAIL*

However, on the bright side, not to sound evil or crazy, I like FAILURES, even in my students' result (of course I'd LOVE if they succeed), becauuussseee THERE IS MORE SPACE FOR IMPROVEMENT!

I shall learn with every fall, and stand again, stronger and tougher.
There is much to be done.
Ciao~

From the 'inside' of a teacher-to-be.

I hear the whipping of the fan blade,
crickets break the silence of air.
Scribbles on paper,
thoughts at the end of a pen;
arose a feeling unfamiliar, unknown.
When pairs of eyes stares, I behold,
and realize the feeling that arose;
for no feelings like any other,
of imparting life into another.

Baby step to becoming a teacher

Teach For Malaysia (TFM) Training/Institute has been on for 2 weeks.
I may or may not have mentioned this, but I am very honoured to be on board as a TFM fellow and contributing towards the education sector in my beloved country.
I'm very amazed and surprised, with myself and all 49 other fellows and the TFM staffs for still being able to maintain smiles and laughter.
Kem SKORlah will be happening in 2 days time, on this coming Monday.
Here we are, on a Saturday, photocopying diagnostic test papers, catching up on lesson plans, classroom culture management plans, preparing colourful charts and diagrams to kick off and boost the excitement of the students who missed their holidays for this camp.
Here I am, drawing cute lil graphics and diagrams on my mini assessment for my students.
Work will continue tomorrow, a Sunday. But I can ensure you, although there may be butterflies, dragonflies, beetles and bugs in my tummies, I shall still go on with a smile.

Salute to everyone in TFM for being so energetic all the time and feeding my drive to walk down this path together.

Simple pleasures in life VII

31. Being open about my feelings.
32. Meeting like-minded people and making friends with them.
33. Being complimented and reassured.
34. Working on an assignment and enjoying the process of working on it.
35. Smell of dry cleaned laundry! ~<3
36. HIGH FIVES!
37. Missing nap time and doing something productive with it.
38. Fresh air.
39. Feeling the love from a phone call.
40. The feeling that if I'm given another chance to relive my life, there is nothing I want to change.

My dreamworld

Where work and play goes hand-in-hand. A new terminology for it shall form.
Weekend and weekdays ceased to exist.
7 days a week is a continuous activity filled with everything positive and nice, just a hint of negativity to allow comparison of what is great and what is not, in all aspects, be it physically, mentally, emotionally, intellectually, morally, etc...

Dreams do come true, right?

And tears shall fall but the mind shall rise, higher than before

Taare Zameen Par (Stars on Earth)

- Directed by Aamir Khan
- Written by Amole Gupte
- Produced by Aamir Khan Productions

I finally cried my heart out, after holding it in for 3 days.
My purpose of joining TFM has always been vague.
I had not planned on my future and TFM was an "off-the-shelf" 2-year plan for me.
I did not have to worry about what to do in 2 years time.
I came in partly because I had this lazy thought in my mind.
I was not sure about what to do for Masters.
So TFM seems like an instant solution.

TFM came like a calling, it sounded definite, reliable, and of course noble.
I have been back and forth with nothing in mind and this sounded secure and stable, at least for 2 years.
Somehow, power of thought, I had a feeling I'd get this. Applying nothing else but TFM, yet unsure of why I did it, I still knew I'd get in.
I came to the Institute, unprepared, not finishing my Pre-reading pack, which I ought to have read through to begin my 'journey'.
Small, I felt, for many came from overseas, speaking absolutely fluent English, some even with accents (no judgement there)!
Everyone seemed so cool and big (not in size). Everyone looked so sure about themselves doing this.
Everyone else seemed to have read up stuff and prepared to embark on this path.
I was everything but all that...

I came in, open to everything they can offer me, for I had nothing to begin with.
My passion was not solid when I came in. I had doubts...
Some way or another, something called to me, and knowing I had accepted it,
even after being forewarned about the what-maybe-the-worst-2-years-of-your-life, I had to come.
It would be terrible, morally, not to go on.
I came here, soften by the thought of so many people supporting me, physically, intellectually, mentally and emotionally.
My passion and drive were the two main things I came to look for here.
Both of this needs to be solidified and filled, for this will be one hell of a ride.

It has only been 3 days, and I have been humbled to my knees.
3 days have made me grown so much.
What I have seen, learnt and experienced here moved me like no 23-years of life experience can.
I thought I was brought up well, filled with values and character.
I came to realize all that values were nothing without me putting it to good use.
This Institute and TFM helped me channel those values out.
I gained my self-worth, I saw my value, all the I-am-small feelings faded and I focus on the value that I have, however tiny it may be.
I can work on that! And I will...

Superb quotes

~Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.~
~It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.~ -A. Einstein

~Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.~
~ No groups or organization can properly prescribe precisely what should constitute the body of knowledge with which true education is concerned~ -Franklin D. Roosevelt

~ You know how many seeds there are in an apple, but how many apples are there in a seed? ~
-Pastor Elisha Satvinder Singh

~ The heart of education is the education of the heart ~
~ Define school. School is a building with four walls and tomorrow inside it.~ -Pastor Phua Chee Tiong, SMK Jinjang

~A great teacher goes beyond what is presribed~  -Mr Pudun, SK Ba Kelalan.

游戏

我不想玩了。。。
玩不起了啦！！
Appreciate the excitement, but I can't afford to continue.
I need to step on firm ground, so should you...

Expectations

It gives hope, inspires, motivates and encourages.
Also, burdens, confuses and sometimes disappoints.

What are your expectations of me?