Change

Hi hi,
This is my recommendation: bring your work outdoors. Hee, I did that early this morning, and got all my marking done. :P Woke up early like a normal weekday, had a wonderful breakfast that is different from the weekdays, lug my bag of papers to a park facing a reservoir, got myself some mineral water, and perched myself on a park bench and not move for the next 4 hours. Feel the wind, the early morning sun (not recommended if you cannot stand the sun), sounds of nature, and lift my eyes to wonderful greenery while ticking along. Hmmm.... It is a wonderful feeling. A change of environment is good. I feel more efficient too. Everything was done within that 4 hours :P

Things to note though. Dun go to a mozzie-infested park. And it gets much too warm as the day progresses. So, start at daylight. If not, you will certainly find it too uncomfy very soon.

SW

Aiyo

Hi hi,
Yep, it is a strange title to have. But it sums up what is on my mind right now, after going thru some ss essays over this weekend. Lesson learnt - never assume they know how to write their essays.

Why?

1. A number of these 15-year-olds wrote an entire chunk of words for a 12-mark SEQ essay, with no paragraphing. Aiyo. Aiyo.


2. Most of them failed to identify the factors, but merely threw the case studies all over the place. This is despite giving them an overview and getting them to plan their essays using graphic organisers.


3. Similarly, most failed to relate their points to the question.


Problem: Assumed too much. Failed to check for prior knowledge, especially important since we came in sometime in the middle of the year.

Rectification: Start from zero knowledge. Spend the next lesson going thru how to structure a nice SEQ essay with graphical reinforcements on how their essays should look like. Got to tell them explicitly that case studies are merely there to illustrate their points on the causes/factors. Got to really hand-hold them on how to write essays that can score. Aiyo.


It certainly was painful going thru all those essays. But I learnt. At least I now know where they stand and what can be done about it.


SW

Feeling high

Hi hi,
13 July 06 - the day we are officiated as t'chers. Nothing much to comment about the ceremony except that t'chers cannot sit still for too long. Our gowns kept us from misbehaving, but we were all wishing that it would all end soon.

But there were 4 highlights for me on this morning. One, getting to see most of the wonderful gang once again, where we exchange hugs and well-wishes and of course kodak moments. A pity we could not get any class pictures taken in either CS's. Some of us had to rush off. Sigh...

Two, getting to meet dear mummy of the twins again. I was truly glad to see her and would certainly throw a tantrum there and then should she elude my camera. :P But, hmmm, the picture turned out really superb. :D

Three, catching a glimpse of our tutor in his gown too. That was a first. :)

Four, catching a glimpse of other acquaintances (service learning mates, content upgrade mates, elective module mates, TP mates etc) smiling into the video-camera, a sign that all is well with them. I sincerely wish everyone all the best in their journey on this path we have all chosen at this point of our lives.


That's it... Oh, decided to treat myself to a sports jersey of my favourite footballer, on the way home. Then, rushed home to get all the distractions out of the way so that I could get every piece of work at hand done. Needed to start the next day with a nil 'to-do' list. While the day away from work offers a happy day away from the routine, we have to bear the consequences of having piles of work to go through and suffer some aches on our arms with the number of inevitable ticks and crosses we have to imprint.

True enough, been working on those piles that grew taller as the day progressed, though they did not grow to the desired maximum height, which means that we have to double as debt collector, or the ultimate naggy mother hen/broken record (whichever you prefer), to chase after those who owed us stuff, over the next few days. Sigh.... And by close of the day, we were talking about having forklifts and vans to drive those books home to continue with our ticking and crossing tasks. Don't you just hate those heavy activity books? Sigh... Next week is a heavy week (induction plus various duties) and hence not much work can be done. So, got to finish ticking/crossing as quickly as possible.

Amidst the sense of euphoria from overdose of the ticking/crossing activity, was a meeting to get my other tasks assigned to me. Hmmm... Maintaining our audio library. Wow, the perfect excuse to get into idolising mode again. :P Getting some avid reader programme going starting Sept and buying prizes. Another perfect excuse to do a bit of shopping? Hee... No wonder I am high today. Love the feeling of having lots of new and exciting stuff to do. They keep me going. Or was it going thru the rites of passage yesterday?


SW

Things are looking bright

Hi hi,
It has been 2 weeks since my last post. Deliberately kept away from posting earlier because my post would have been a depressing one. But things are looking more favourable for me now, so, here I am now.


Day 1 in skool was a struggle. Had to talk to many people, get all the necessary books/info/SOWs etc, since they were not arranged for us earlier, and we needed to start lessons proper on day 2. Forgot to drink water and came down with a sore throat by afternoon. At the same time, received news that mum was not doing too well in the hosp. Her weak heart stopped beating for a while and she had to be resuscitated. She subsequently gained consciousness, was disoriented for a couple of days, but her condition improved tremendously, even had an angiogram done without any complications, and was discharged a few days back, but not before causing the family to lose a few days' sleep and hypertension to set in. All these anxiety in the midst of skool madness and a sharing session all the way in the west, all I could do was to keep my sanity.


I thot I was the only one not coping well. But no, many others were struggling too. Everyone was overwhelmed by the workload, particularly in the first week, especially for those who did not have the chance to prepare themselves prior to day 1. I can only say to these poor dears, be fair to yourselves and not judge yourselves too harshly. Things will get better once we have settled in and caught up with things.


Now that 2 weeks have passed, I can look back and say that my luck has not been too bad. Have a relatively light schedule and the better classes. What more can I ask for? It is heaven compared to my TP experience when I had no exp classes. Here, the bulk of my classes are exp classes. :) I feel so spoilt all of a sudden. Yep, just cannot accept my good luck. Even my CCA and other duties (everyone has to perform) are comparatively light. :)


So, now is my chance to really hone the skills I lack, make my lessons interesting, gather resources and learn from the experienced.


My world seems perfect now, except that Germany should have come in first in the World Cup 06, and Portugal a close 2nd. Sigh....
Hee.... Kahn, Ricardo & Deco!!!!


SW