| ||||
|
Profile
DOB: 10th June Country: Singapore Tagboard Links [X] Louise [X] Shi Jie [X] Shi Shyan [X] Xinwei [X] Alina [X] Angel [X] Diana [X] Sharon [X] Weilun [X] Yah Hoon [X] Alison [X] Beng Loon [X] Eugene [X] Evelyn [X] Haojie [X] Hua Zhong [X] Huimin [X] Jia Leng [X] Joel [X] Karen [X] Michelle [X] Priscilla [X] Silvia [X] Wanxin [X] Doreen [X] Esther [X] Faiz [X] Grace [X] Soon Eng [X] Wilson [X] Xue Ling [X] 2E1 [X] Basyar [X] Chloe [X] Denise [X] Francesca [X] Hong Sing [X] Hui Juan [X] Hui Voon [X] Jason [X] Melisa [X] Naufal [X] Serene [X] Venus [X] Xiao Hui [X] Xiyu [X] 2E4 [X] Bridget [X] Chunwen [X] Janice [X] Jessica [X] Stefhanie [X] Xin Hui [X] Yan Teng [X] Amos [X] Bao Kun [X] Hui Juan [X] Jia Wen [X] Jolene [X] Johnathan [X] Raseena [X] Sherlyn [X] Stanley [X] Swathi [X] Amaran Archives December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 August 2005 September 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 February 2009 June 2009 |
<
Thursday, December 30, 2004 The thing that I'm going to share might be good news for some students, but personally for me, it's a piece of bad news after today's staff meeting. It came as a shock to me, something that I couldn't accept and take it positively when my HOD, Grace told me about it. The hopes and aspirations that I have for my class are dashed, and I wouldn't have the chance to fulfill it anymore.
I will not follow up my class and be their form teacher anymore. Grace told me that the school management sees the potential in me and I could manage my class well and create the rapport with them. Hence, they decided to stretch my potential further and let me try to be the form teacher of a NT class, which is Sec 3T1 next year. I would rather they don't see any potential and let me continue to be the form teacher for my class next year. My first thought is "what is going to happen to my form class this year?" They should have informed me earlier so that I'm prepared mentally for that. What about the plans and aspirations that I have for my students? For the past week, I was making plans for them...spend so much time arranging the seating arrangement, planning how I can inspire and motivate them to do well for their students, trying my best to know them better and understand them. All these plans were gone to waste overnight. They have completely removed any contact that i can have with my class. In Christina's case, although she's no longer the form teacher for 1N2, she still sees her students for EL next year. I would greatly appreciate if i can still see my form class for EL although i'm nt their form teacher anymore, but Grace told me that it was to avoid any misunderstanding or unhappiness with the new form teacher next year. I will still see 1E5 next year, although I would have prefered 1E3 because they are my form class and I was so attached to them. After all, this is my first form class after i've graduated from NIE last year, and i have really put my heart and soul for this class. I see the changes in them and I thought I could do more for them next year, but i would never get the chance to do it anymore. It's like they are going to be so near yet so far. How would the students feel if they know the news? Will they feel sad and disappointed like what I've felt? When Grace talked to me and explained the rationale to me, i was calm and composed. But when i shared my feelings about the bond that i have with my class, i was on the verge of crying and I was trying to hold back my tears. Maybe you think that i have over-reacted and got too emotional, but all these reactions were because of the bonds and the rapport that I have built with them, the heart and soul that i have put in for them. I remembered spending so much time talking to them, trying to understand things from their point of view and tried to solve whatever problems they have. I tried to relate to them and and see things from their point of view. But i will never have the chance to do that anymore. I guess the chalet thingy is sort of the last gathering for us, the last time for me to interact with them. I'll cherish those days at the chalet. To think that we even discussed that next year's chalet would be at Sentosa, but I don't think that can be possible now. I have even decided the people for class committee members. Either Jiajie or Hafiz will be my chairman, Xinwei or Eunice will be my vice-chairman, Priscilla will still be the secretary, Shi Jie or Chin Seng will be the treasurer, Hakim or Justin will be the head of function, Stephanie or Zoe will be the head of welfare, Alvin or Ammar will be the head of management and Qinhong will be my EL rep since he's my PA for most of the time this year. But all these plans will not materialise. Oh I didn't reveal the new form teacher yet. He's Mr Tan Wei Chung and the new EL teacher will be Mr Tan Huong. I guess I really need time to come to terms with this news, but there's not much time left because school is going to reopen soon. I know it sounds a bit mushy, but I'll still say this: I'll really miss all of you in 1E3, all the things that have happened this year, all the fun and laughter complement from people like Jiajie, Qinhong, Sean, Justin, and the things that you all have done that touched my heart. It will be fond memories in my heart. Although it's hard to let go, time will heal everything. I will still see you all around in school although things will definitely be different, because I'm no longer your Form teacher anymore. I might not the first person that you will come to when you have problems or happiness to share and I don't know how you see me in future, just an ex-form teacher? But feel free to come to me when you have problems or when you need somebody to talk to, I'll still be there for you. I shan't write any further, in case i get too emotional again. Promise me that you all will work hard next year and get into a good class. Behave yourself and learn to be more sensitive and considerate to the people around you. 0 Comments:Tuesday, December 28, 2004 The incident of the earthquake and the tsunami really made me realise that lives are really very vulnerable. One minute we can be enjoying ourselves at the beach, the other moment we weren't be around anymore. What about the dreams and plans that they have made with their loved ones? They wouldn't be around anymore to fulfill them. Then I start to think that I may have taken some things for granted. I would always leave some things to tomorrow, but what if tomorrow never comes? Then would i regret not doing those things today? Would i then leave the world with regrets, thinking that "if only I have done all these earlier"? But by that time, will i ever get my chance again? Maybe not. Hence, don't always leave things to tomorrow. Tell your family and friends how much you love and treasure them, because we wouldn't know what will happen in future. We might not live till that time to tell them how much we have treasured them or they might not live till that time to hear it from us.
Live your life to the fullest without regrets. But can we all do that? 0 Comments:Monday, December 27, 2004 Gosh, I have never spent so much time standing and queueing until today; I was queueing up at UOB Bank at Bukit Panjang Plaza, then OCBC bank at Causeway Point and finally the Singtel shop at the basement.
I went to Singtel to change my broadband plan. Mine initially was 256 kps so I changed it to 1500 kps after my 2-year contract expired. If not for my brother's friend, I would have been deceived by the salesperson. He told me that i was not entitled to the freebies even if i were to sign up for the 1500 kps plan because i was an existing customer and not a new customer, and i believed him for the simple reason that he was the professional in that area. Nah, I was wrong. In the end, my brother's friend said that I was conned by him, being denied of the chance to get a free modem, $100 Royal Sporting House voucher and a Philips hi-fi and VCD system. Fortunately, when i went back to the shop, Singtel allowed me to change after much explanations that i needed to do. This is really a waste of time. If that salesperson had done his job properly, all these would not have happened. I wanted to treat my brother's friend to dinner for "securing a deal" for us, but he needed to go back home early to prepare for work next day because it's his first day reporting to work at Nanyang NPC after he has completed his training. In the end, I treated my two brothers for dinner at Sakae, oh my brother's girlfriend was there. Now that my brother has grown up, I can see the difference in him. Although he used to be so childish when he was young, he was quite mature and considerate now, and he was really thoughtful to his girlfriend. Guess time can really change a person. Boys are quite childish and insensitive when they are young, But when they grow older, they'll be more mature and thoughtful. Girls, there is still hope for the boys in our class =P 0 Comments:Friday, December 24, 2004 Oh my, I actually spent 6 hours in a hair salon today. This is my longest record. I nearly dozed off when the hair-stylist was doing my hair. I guess I was really tired because I woke up at 6am to get ready to go to school for the sec 1 registration. Only managed to sleep for 5 hours the late before.
It was really tough waking up so early in the morning, especially when I've been sleeping late and waking up late recently. I must change this bad habit since school is starting soon, need to wake up early and sleep early. Come to think of it, the holidays are coming to an end soon. That means no more late nights of being online but more late nights of marking. The thought of it is so disgusting. Oh ya, I went back to school for sec 1 registration today. The sec 1 students were so cute, polite and innocent. Some of them have the angelic look, a far cry from students of 1E3 =P. I was trying to visualise how angelic my form class students would look, especially on registration day when they were so lost and blur in the new environment. Hai~, I can never picture that, judging from some of the devils' horns that were already protuding from their head, and the angels' halos were already gone. I saw one boy from PEPS, and he reminded me of Qh. The keen and earnest look on his face was so similar to Qh's during his first day of school, so polite and bright. But I could no longer see that look on his face now. Instead, I would be reminded of the mischievous look of spongebob on his blog if I were to picture him. Either both of them have the same mischievous look or his blog design was so successful that people would link him with spongebob, "dum dee dee dum" or the tune of "Pinky and the brain". Maybe it's the generation gap, I have no idea what's "dum dee dee dum" or "pinky and the brain". Children, please enlighten this old teacher... =) 0 Comments:Wednesday, December 22, 2004 I came across this article in Digital life and it really striked a sombre note in me. I was reading the excerpts from Dying is, and I really admired Grace Chow's positive attitude towards life and how she confronted death. I was so overwhelmed by the things she wrote, and this phrase really set me thinking...Dying will be more difficult for the people around me than it'll for me. It is easier to let everything go when you die, but when someone you love is dying, you would want to hold on to as much of him as you can instead.
Death has always been a taboo issue for me, because I will always wonder what will life be after death, is there really life after death? My grandma's death last year came as a blow to me. Ever since I know the meaning of life and death, I never have any close encounter with it, till last year. I was doing my practicum at Chua Chu Kang Sec, and it was never easy to pretend nothing has happened and continue to teach the students. I nearly broke down and cried, but I restrained myself. The students would be shocked if I were to cry in front of them. When I saw how sick my grandma was, I wished I could do more things for her instead of seeing her suffering alone. I started to regret not spending more time with her. During her last few days, she couldn't talk at all and it really pained my heart when I saw all those tubes that were attached to her. That was the first time that I felt so sad and really cried. I don't usually cry, some girls will cry over small things e.g. they see a sad movie or when they quarrel with somebody. Then that priest said that we were not allowed to cry during the wake, otherwise our grandma would not be able to go in peace. This is really illogical, who would not cry in situation like this. Hai~, feel really sad when I think about it now. I was reminded of the incident when 2 PE teachers met with an accident in New Zealand. They just got married and such thing had to happen to them. But, come to think of it, it's better that both of them passed away, otherwise, the one who survived will be grieving for the one that passed away. There's always this saying that good people always die early...Maybe it'e true in this case. Their students felt really sad when they heard the news and some of them cried. If I were to pass away one day, will my students cry for me? or will they rejoice that the world has one less evil teacher? Xinwei asked me this question the other time, "What is the meaning of life?" Have we ever stopped and thought about such question before. I thought for a long time before I answered her question. I guess life is...bringing joy to the people around you and to be able to make a difference to their life. What is the meaning of life to you then? 0 Comments:Sunday, December 19, 2004 Omg, My house was "flooding" today. My family and I went out for dinner and when we came back, the dining area was literally flooding with water from the fish tank. The fish tank cracked and water was leaking out. Can you imagine a fish tank that is filled with 20 litres of water flowing out? Oh man, we had a hard time clearing the dining area. We had to use mops, towels and pails to drain the water and had to transform the fish to another fish tank.
My poor dog was barking loudly when we came back. He wasn't at the door when we came back, instead he was barking from the sofa. Think he's really smart ya? The floor was wet and he actually avoided the floor and jumped to the sofa to prevent himself from getting wet. Oh my, Bobby is really clever, he actually knows how to react in an "emergency" like this!!
That's a picture of Bobby on his small sofa that we've bought for him from Carrefour. Think I'm going to fall sick soon. I've a bad flu and sore throat, or rather I'm sick already. Must drink more water, especially honey with lemon, it's good for sore throat. I think perhaps it's due to the late nights that I've been keeping and not sleeping enough, I only slept at 5 plus in the morning. I was trying to do something about my distorted blog and examining the "foreign" codes that I hardly understand. Then I realised that the problem lies with the date of the new post and not the codes. Blogger doesn't allow 2 postings with the same dates and the blog will be distorted after that. I took a few days to understand the logic behind this, through trial and error. Seems quite silly when I think of it, it's really a waste of my time. But can't really blame anyone, cos I wasn't familiar with html codes in the first place. The second thing that kept me occupied was the seating plan. I was planning the seating arrangement for my form class next year. I spent more than two hours doing that, because I must take into consideration special cases when some boys must sit in front because they need special attention, and instances where so and so cannot sit together for obvious reasons. Fortunately, "somebody" was there to offer advice and he was able to offer sound advice, i would say. But he must be thinking why he was asked to do the seating plan in the first place. This "somebody" did something that totally changed my opinion of him. Suddenly, I realised that he can be so nice and thoughtful, and I told him that at that point of time, I really think that "nice" is an understatement for him. If only this "somebody" would display such acts of thoughtfulness and sensibility more often, then the world would be a better place to live in and my life would be longer without having to deal with his vanity, insensibility and childishness so often. I think my greatest achievement for assigning the task of planning the seating arrangement to him is that he finally understands that it's not an easy task planning the seating plan and there are so many factors to consider. Hmm...don't think he will ask to change his place again, and that's a relief for me because it can be quite troublesome to deal with students who want to change place. But there again, it's impossible to please everyone. 0 Comments:Friday, December 17, 2004 I attended a two-day workshop titled "Classrooms that work" on Monday and Tuesday. It was quite an useful course and I learnt a lot of useful tools from the trainer. Hmm...maybe I can think about it and try it out with my classes next year. Oh ya, I got to share the useful tips that I've learnt from the course with the rest of the teachers at the Department meeting that is going to be held on 30 Dec.
As the trainer was presenting her ideas, i was thinking about my form class especially. That was the class that I had put in a lot of effort and time to really understand each and every one of them and tried to help them in whatever ways that were within my means and ability. It helps me to reflect on my classroom management skills and I've realised that certain things and matters could have been handled in a more appropriate way. I also find out that when students misbehave and say hurtful things, they have their reasons for doing all these. It could be that the students may be trying to seek attention or they do not know how to express themselves properly. But many times, when we are so angry with the students , we fail to see things beyond the surface, and that is when the problem escalates. I must learn to use my heart to see things that are invisible to the eyes. But very often, it is so easy to say all these politically correct sentences, but when it comes to doing it, it's always a different story, a very different story. But I'll try my best to keep my cool. The trainer also mentioned that in all situations, it's the teachers' responses that decide whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized. Moreover, a teacher can be a tool of torture or instrument of inspirations. I must bear that in mind. Hopefully, things will be better next year. I'm praying hard...Peace be with you, children...and with me too =) Holiday is the time to meet up with friends, especially when we are so busy during term time and could not spare the time to meet for dinner or update one another over a cup of coffee. Can you believe that watching a movie can be a waste of time, as the 2 hours spent watching watching the movie and another 2 hours spent on eating dinner could be used for planning the lesson and marking the never-ending piles of compositions and comprehensions. Well, there are exceptions too, when we are meeting up to celebrate our friends' birthday, there is no excuse to miss out on those special days, and those days are great excuses to put our work aside and indulge ourselves in such luxuries. Two of my close friends are getting married next year. Gosh, we are approaching mid-twenties next year; very soon well be experiencing the quarter-life crisis. One of them has gotten a flat at Tiong Bahru and we went up to her house and see. It was beautifully-furnished and was really cosy. Come to think of it, its so nice to have a house of your own, a house that you truly call it your own home, without the constant surveillance of our parents. Theres really a sense of satisfaction and ownership when you could decorate your own house in the way that you want and it's pure joy and happiness when you can spend the rest of your life with the person you love most. Oh my God, it's so tempted to get married, but how to get married when I don't have a boyfriend now...haha 0 Comments:Thursday, December 16, 2004 ![]() The boys took a long time to pose for this photo outside the chalet room... ![]() Now it's the girls' turn to pose...inside the room ![]() 3 gamblers in the making and their supporters =) ![]() We woke up at 5am hoping to watch the sunrise, but alas, we could only see a blue sky and faint sun rays... ![]() 5 blur-heads on the way home...including one Nazi supporter and one poser with the yellow bag ![]() Gosh! Look at Justin's eyes...Poor JJ looks so tired 0 Comments:Friday, December 10, 2004 It has been a tiring 3-day-2-night chalet. Just like to share some of the thoughts that I have at the chalet.
It really takes a lot of tolerance and endurance to survive these three days. Seeing them for 3 days at the chalet is so different from seeing them 3 days in school. It's not easy trying to please everybody because different people have different preferences. This is the time when everyone has to learn to give and take. We had a barbeque on the first night. I knew some of them were unhappy that they were not allowed to go to their rooms to watch the Chinese drama or bring their food to the room to eat when we were having the bbq. But I think that's being fair to everybody. Imagine if a few of them were allowed to go to the room, I'm sure the rest would want to follow and there will only be a few people left to barbecue the food and clean the place which I think it's not being fair to them. Hence, people complained and started to grumble without thinking for the benefits of everyone, and there I was, being cursed at by angry students. Sigh, my life is getting shorter each day after all that cursing...haha Shan't elaborate some of the inconsiderate acts by some of the boys when they made so noise when they played with the soccer ball or the X-Box at night nor the screaming made by the girls when they played "Heart Attack" or pillow fight. We went cycling on the second day and we booked the bicycles for the whole day. It was a nice experience exploring the place at Costa Sands Pair Ris. There are more open areas and greeneries compared to Costa Sands Downtown East. More importantly, there's a beach at the other chalet. Then a small "accident" happened. I'm not sure if it's my fault or Linghuan's but somehow our bikes collided and both of us fell off our bikes. Ling Huan's leg was bleeding and she couldn't walk at all. I felt so guilty about it because I think i was the one who had caused it to happen. While i was cleaning the wound with tissue paper, I could see that she was in pain and she couldn't walk. At that point of time, I really had no idea how to bring her back to the chalet as we had cycled quite a distance and we were quite far from our chalet. Fortunately, we spotted a lorry near Fisherman's Village. Qinhong and Jiajie went to ask the lorry uncle if he could give us a lift back to the chalet and he agreed. I was so thankful to the lorry uncle. It was so kind of him to help. On the way back to the chalet, I was thinking of giving $10 to the uncle as tranport fee and for helping us, but he refused to accept, saying that he was just doing what he can do to help us. He's such a nice uncle, giving us a lift and helping us to carry the bicycles to his lorry. I really appreciate his help, if not for him, i wouldn't have known what to do. Once we had reached the chalet, Xinwei and Eunice helped Ling Huan back to the chalet while i went to the shops to see if i could get some antiseptic lotion or gauze to clean her wound. My hands were trembling when I was cleaning the wound. It's not that I'm afraid of seeing the wound, but the trembling was the result of the bicycle. The impact of the bicycle falling on my hands could have caused it. Despite the morning incident, we went night cycling still. This time round with a bigger group of 12 students compared to 7 students in the morning. I was more worried after the incident this morning. Moreover, visions were poor since it was night time. This time round, Justin's bicycle tyre was punctured and it was impossible to cycle with the tyre in that drastic stage. Justin tried cycling but it was quite tedious. I suggested going back but Justin refused. I could see that he really enjoyed cycling, or rather the fun that he didn't mind jogging while we were cycling. This is too challenging for him i think. Moreover, he had seen a doctor earlier for sore throat and fever, so it was not advisable for him to jog. I know this is going to sound bad, but I have to say this. Maybe it's retribution that such thing happened to Justin. In the afternoon when I asked him for help when Ling Huan was injured, he gave me excuses that he had a back injury and couldn't help which I think was merely a crappy excuse. Maybe he's embarrased that the person he needed to help was Ling Huan, if it's somebody else, say a boy, maybe he wouldn't have given such a silly excuse. But I believe what comes around goes around, meaning that if someone refuses to lend a helping hand, it's just a matter of time when he will definitely be in a situation where he needs people to help him. And it really happened for Justin. But Justin isn't really that nasty though. In the end, he still turned up with Alvin at the bicycle kiosk and rendered his help. Oh, I remembered that when we were playing games and he had to be bombarded with bags of water bombs, he did not complain at all and gladly accept the punishment, quite a good sport. Oh come to think of it, that could be his retribution for coming up with a silly excuse. We decided to stop the cycling trip because it was really dark at night and we could not really see the way clearly and it was too dangerous to continue. Moreover, some boys were simply cycling too fast and did not bother to wait for those who were behind. It was very easy to lose their way and I wouldn't want to come back with one student less. The next best alternative was to abandon the whole activity and made our way back to the chalet. It was definitely safer to cycle in the morning when the sky was brighter. Guess what, we woke up at 5am the next day to begin our cycling trip, hoping to see the sunrise. While cycling to the beach, i was practically in "sleeping" mode or as what Jiajie said "dream" mode. But I told myself that I had to be more alert because I had 12 students to take care of, nothing could afford to go wrong. When we were waiting for the sun to rise, there were two extreme reactions from the boys. Either they were waiting patiently (people like Dawei, Youjing, Alvin, Jia Jie) or they were complaining that it was so stupid to wait for the sunrise (a classic example was Qinhong). True enough, we didn't get to watch the sunrise although we were in the east, we only saw the faint sun rays. During the cycling trip, I wasn't merely cycling and making sure that everyone was ok, but at the same time, i was observing them too. I was quite impressed with boys like Chin Seng, Shi Jie, Jia Jie and Qinhong. Chin Seng and Shi Jie were quite considerate and responsible. They would volunteer to cycle at the back to make sure that nobody was left behind. Shi Jie insisted that he was the police patroling behind and refused to let me be the last cyclist, and he even commanded his teacher to follow his instructions and cycled in front of him. I told him that his intention was good, but the way he expressed it was a bit inappropriate. Same thing for Chin Seng, he is quite a considerate boy, but he expressed it wrongly and it is very easy for people to misunderstand it as being rude. But I know that's the way he talks, so i shan't penalise him for that. Oh ya, they helped to carry the girls' bicycles down to the first level when we went for out cycling trips and helped to carry it to the second level when we were back from our trips. They were so helpful, but...when you asked them to clear the rubbish in their room, they would complain. Guess this is something that they don't like to do. Somehow, Jiajie impressed me with his maturity in thinking and handling matters. He would take the initiatives to check out the routes when we were not sure which way to take. He will make sure that everything is ok. Although some of the things he did wasn't that significant enough to earn a big "wow", it's these small matters that you discovered the potential in somebody. This boy seems to possess leadership qualities. Hmm...I've plans for him to take on more responsibilities next year as I feel that he definitely has the capability and the potential to handle it. As for Qinhong, he pissed me off with the things that he said, not all the things he said though, some were quite sensible, but there was this particular sentence that got on my nerves and made my blood boil. We put in effort to plan for this chalet and when things were not to his liking, say for example when he had to clean up the place during bbq or when there were things that he didn't enjoy or find it boring, he would say this "Should have listen to Sean and stayed at home and not come for this chalet". When I heard this, I was so angry with him. How could he say such thing. It simply meant that this chalet thingy was a failure and we had wasted our time planning for this. How could he say such thing when he was made to do things that he didn't like to do? We all had to contribute our share to clean the place. Even as a teacher, I had to clear the boy's room when it got so messy and did I ever complain about anything like "I shouldn't have organised this chalet in the first place and wasted my money". When he was doing the things he liked like playing X-box or cycling, was he happy that he came for the chalet and not stayed at home like what Sean did. Sometimes, this boy simply muttered things without considering the impact or the consequences that the sentence had. Sometimes, the word "dumbo" really suited him perfectly but there were times when he said things that were so thoughtful and sensible. Sigh, I guess not everyone is perfect, and he's still growing up and these are things that he'll learn as he matures. Perhaps when I point out the wrong things he does, he'll learn from his mistakes and change for the better, such as saying "thank you" when he returned the tissue that he has borrowed, and not being a cleanliness freak that sitting on the grass will dirty his dark-blue bermudas. I think I've written an extremely long entry, shall stop here then. Hope everyone has recuperated or rested enough especially for those who did not really get to sleep during the chalet. Till we meet again when school reopens. 0 Comments:Sunday, December 05, 2004 Oh, we are having our class chalet tomorrow...so much planning is involved during the holidays so I really hope everyone will enjoy themselves.
Let's put the enjoyment part aside and give me an avenue to air my "grievances". There's so many last minute changes, people are not going and they don't inform me personally earlier. I only hear it from their friends and not the person who is not going, and in some cases, I need to call the students personally to find out and this is quite ridiculous. They could have called me or message me since they've my handphone number. I've already catered for the bbq buffet and I can't change the number of person, so I got to absorb the money and pay it from my own pocket =( I know some of the students are complaining or grumbling among themselves. Since it's the holidays, why can't they dye or highlight their hair? It's not that I'm strongly against that idea, but I think as students, they are too young to dye their hair given all those strong chemicals that they use to hightlight their hair. Then they have to spend money to colour it back to black again when school reopens, so what's the point of highlighting it in the first place? Anyway, wouldn't it be a case of peer influence when they ask their friends to dye their hair together for the fun of it? Sigh..don't wish to dwell too much on this issue. It's hard to explain such things to children my concerns because the only word they have in their mind now is freedom. I actually get the students to plan the programme for the chalet and they feel that they have restrictions in the kind of activities that they want to do. Things like lan gaming from 11 pm to 1 am is out and maybe night cycling, unless i'm there with them. But what about the rest of the students who are not going night cycling? They have to understand that as a teacher, I'm accountable to their parents. What if something happens to them and who is going to be responsible? It's not that I'm selfish or trying to control them. They said things like "but my parents allowed me to do that when we had a chalet last time". But it's a different story this time. In their case, it was 2 parents taking care of their own children, the most 4 children, but in my case, it's one adult to 30 students, and I'm not even their parent, so I can't really punish them when they are mischievous. Hence I've to make sure that they don't venture too far at night after 11pm and make sure that they are within my vision, otherwise I wouldn't be able to ensure their safety. You know something: this is the first time i experience so much stress when I'm going to the chalet and there's so much responsibility. When i went to the chalet with my friends, I didn't have to worry about so much thing, but it's so different now. I have to ensure the safety of 30 students and it's not an easy task definitely. When I told some of the teachers that my class is organising a class chalet, they were dead against the idea because there is so much responsibility and accountability and my students are only sec one students, whom they see as immature and playful students when compared to sec three or sec four students. In his 15 years of teaching experience, there's this teacher who hasn't arranged for any class chalet at all for fear of the responsibility involved and said that it was too risky for me to do that. Let's hope nothing serious or bad happens and my student will understand why I'm giving them some restrictions. But will they understand in the first place? I'll update again when I'm back on Wednesday. Hopefully not many things to complain =) 0 Comments:Saturday, December 04, 2004 Been almost a month since I last updated. I was trying to understand how this blogger works. There is so much technical aspects to understand, especially those html codes, it's giving me a headache, a big headache to be precise....argh. Didn't know it was so complicated to set up a blogger until i tried my hands at it. Boy, it was really tough, especially searching for the skin, and I didn't expect it to take so long, probably I was trying to search for that "perfect" skin, cos nothing seemed to catch my attention. Once I've selected the so-called perfect skin, it's time to move on to a more challenging task. It's never easy to understand what those complicated html codes mean cos they are aliens to me. Fortunately, Xinwei was online to render her help. Though it was hard to communicate through MSN to ask her what "so-and-so" means, in the end, she volunteered to edit those codes for me, and I was really thankful for that. Really appreciate your help, Xinwei. Come to think of it, it's really embarrassing that a teacher doesn't understand all these html codes and got to get her student to help her =) Hush Hush..don't let too many people know about this...haha. I'll still need your help in future. Another person to thank is Qinhong...surprisingly he can be of help. He set up the blogger thingy later than me but he can understand the html codes better than me. Cos you know why...he played neopets last time and they needed the html code to design the shop. I used to think that neopets is just a childish and useless game where children do nothing but feed their pets and clean up the mess that their pets have created. But i was wrong. They do learn constructive things like using html codes to design their shop. Impressive man!! Thought this small boy only knows soccer and nothing but soccer. Hey, he knows soccer and html codes. Shall give him credits for helping this igorant newbie. He taught me where to look for midi files and how to add the music for the code. I was so happy that it works. But my happiness was so short that it only lasted for 2 minutes and the music didn't work anymore, no matter what expertise he offered. But it's ok, I was impressed with him still. Can't believe I'm still awake, trying to figure out this "chim" stuff, it's almost 3.15 in the morning. Guess I'm too engross with this new stuff, something different from the usual television watching. I didn't expect that creating this blog can be so fulfilling and satisfying. |
|||
| Layout by Yiling of Anime Skies | ||||