2008 ~ the Year That Was

Thank you 2008 for being kinder to me then you were to the country and the world on the whole. In retrospect, I find there is much for me to be thankful about.
As for my job, I have had more than enough to keep me busy through the year. The year end holidays gave me time to catch my breath and get ready for the year ahead. I am actually looking forward to seeing the students again but am hoping for a change in the teaching routine. Am not sure what I want, just for work to be more interesting.
Things have been good at home. The children have been doing well with Dhivia finishing her 1st year of the M Pharm program in IMU, Dhama getting excellent results in her PMR and Karthi comfortably in the 3rd year of his engineering course. My husband had a chance to do a certificate course in the U.S. and also made a couple of trips to the U.K. He felt rewarded for all his hard work.
The family was fortunate enough to have a few holidays together. The highlight was our trip to Bali which was our 1st overseas holiday for the 5 of us since 2003. We had a great time. We also made a trip to Penang for Deepavali, spent a few days in Langkawi in November and visited Malacca for Christmas. Can’t remember having so many family outings in one year!
Health wise too we have been blessed. Thank God! No major catastrophe except for some aches and pains (that comes with age!) for me and a couple of asthma attacks for Dhivia.
The petrol price hike and subsequent rise in prices of almost everything else was a little worrying. But with a simple lifestyle, we are handling it quite well. I hope to save enough money for a holiday in 2009.
There has been a downside though – I attended funerals of 6 relatives/close friends, the biggest number in a single year! Sadly too, 4 of them were still in their 50s. That’s scary especially since I’m going to be 50 this year!
Well… briefly that was 2008 for me and will be grateful for a repeat in 2009.

Astro

I decide to take a break from my chores, sit back on the sofa, put my feet up to rest and catch some interesting programs on TV. I understand our satellite TV Astro has hundreds of channels. But there seems to be only one ‘program’ on all the channels every afternoon – SERVICES CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE! It is a very boring show – a blank screen with only one silent and still character -a yellow dot. I don’t have the patience to leave the TV on to time how long this ‘show’ goes on everyday but I’m disappointed that I’m paying for it!

Shouldn’t we consumers be demanding compensation from Astro for such bad service? We should be getting a rebate on our monthly payment for all the NO-SHOW hours. I thought that satellite TV was a very advanced medium of communication and a result of our progress in Science and Technology (form 2 Geography!). Thank goodness I have only subscribed to the basic package in Astro and thank God for RTM – Reliable enTertainment for Malaysia. Nothing to shout about but it doesn’t let you down every time it rains.

Promotion for 6th form teachers.

Note : 1) To my children – you need read no further. This is going to be very BORING!
Btw, my posts are not meant for your entertainment.
2) To my students – you may learn a little about school politics so please feel free
to comment.
3) To my bosses (hopefully to the highest level) – please take note of the contents.

Two weeks ago a letter was sent out to parents asking them to provide a stamped self-addressed envelop to their child’s class teacher so that the child’s final exams results can be posted to them. To date I have received ONE envelop! Since it will be the holidays, I threatened to deliver the results personally to their homes if they do not hand me the envelopes this week. I’m waiting to see how many fell for this threat. Anyway, I expected this response from my 2 Seroja kids and that is why I have already got my envelopes and stamps ready. I also heard some of the students intend to give wrong addresses! What has this got to do with the title? This is just one of the many challenges a 6th form teacher won’t face.

Last year a decision was made to treat 6th form classes as a separate department in schools and several new posts were to be created (read promotion) for teachers. Apparently some teachers were called up in December 2007 to apply for these posts. Early this year when school reopened, there was a scramble among teachers wanting to teach 6th form (I suppose to qualify for this promotion exercise) and the teaching time-tables were rearranged several times. However there were numerous complaints by teachers, especially from those whose schools do not have 6th form. I thought there was a case to put this decision on hold.

Several days ago the principal announced that the 2nd promotion exercise was underway and told teachers qualified to apply. I paid little attention to this as I don’t teach 6th form and I was also in a hurry to get back home to finish some chores in preparation for Deepavali. However as I was leaving the office, the principal asked me if I had collected the forms to apply. I felt very honoured by that question but I told her I don’t teach 6th form. I interpreted her question as she recognizes me as one who deserves to apply. That alone was like a promotion for me. Thank you Puan Nurul.

The following day saw many teachers in serious discussion about who had been successful in the 1st promotion exercise. No official announcement has been made and I am in no position to question these awards. I just want to highlight my work load in comparison with the 6th form teachers.

The subjects I teach are only given 3 periods a week, so 24 periods a week sees me going into 8 classes every week. Class size ranges from 22 – 37 students ( P.Moral classes) and 32 – 35 students in my Geography classes. In total I face 254 students every week and that also translates into that number of books to mark, coursework to check, exam papers to mark, etc. I am also not privileged to teach non-examination subjects, so my 24 periods is solid covering of syllabi to prepare for exams. While flipping through the school magazine, I couldn’t help noticing the size of the 6th form classes. Some as small as 11 students! And how about the number of students taking certain subjects? Sorry, I don’t have the statistics. But as for me, my 4th form Moral classes were considered too small so they were later combined so that I have 36 students in my form 4 A/B class and 37 students in my form 4 E/F class.

Another salient point to note, NO STUDENT goes for P. Moral TUITION. So even if the pass rate of my P.Moral class is just 50%, I can claim total credit for it. Not only is there no tuition for this subject, there is also no demand for tuition because it is considered unimportant by the students. Very few students also go for Geography tuition. In fact I always advice my students to invest their 1st month tuition fees in buying several Geography revision workbooks , then be disciplined in answering the questions. This way they save tuition fees and time traveling to and from tuition classes.

Academic work aside, administrative and disciplinary work is also more challenging in the lower forms. I have sent out more than 50 ‘surat amaran’ for absenteeism to the parents of my 2 Seroja children. Imagine how difficult it would have been for me to collect fees from these children if I can’t even get them to give me stamped self-addressed envelopes! I could go on and on and on…..

Anyone reading this and thinking why don’t you try teaching 6th form? For your info I have taught 6th form from 1985 to 1990, until I went on a transfer to a school with no 6th form. I am up to the challenge (read privilege)! I understand it is easier to teach 6th form now because many go for tuition! Boss, don’t you think I can handle MUET? Would love to give it a try!

Little thrills

At my age there’s hardly any chance of having thrilling experiences. I might try the roller coaster in Gentings because can’t afford bungee jumping in New Zealand. I could save up for a ship cruise because that will definitely excite me to the core. But then again, a cruise will be a big thrill!
Thanks to the school magazine editorial board, I was thrilled to see my pictures in several articles reported. I have not been so privileged before. Better yet was the article on blogging which had a special mention of my blog.
Now I feel pressured to post more regularly. It is not that I don’t have issues to discuss but I must practice self-censorship so that my blog won’t be controversial, contentious, litigious or touchy. But with the school holidays around the corner, I hope to find more time to practice my literary skills.

Datuk Shah Rukh Khan!

What a surprise when I saw the front page news on Saturday ~ Shah Rukh Khan was being awarded a Datukship by the Malacca governor. Yes, what exactly has he done to deserve this? Apparently 6 of his movies' song sequences had been shot in Malacca and this, claims the governor, has brought more tourists to the state!

If that is the case, about 50% of the South Indian movie heroes should be given datukship because they have shot more than song sequences; they have made movies in Malaysia which has made our country a household name in India. Why do you think there are thousands of Indians coming to work in Malaysia? These movies shot in Malaysia have given them glimpses of the beauty, the wealth, the lifestyle, the multi culture and so on. Only when they arrive here do they realise movies are for entertainment. They are not life and movies can fool you.

Back to SRK, wonder if he knows how to pronounce the name Malacca? knows where it is? what is this datukship award all about? Aren't there any more deserving Malaysians? My son has been contributing to the Malacca economy these past 4 years!

Anyway, can't wait to see SRK's next movie, with the credits running - Starring Datuk Shah Rukh Khan!!!

Exams and academic year end.

Much discussion has been going on in the media about when school final exams should be held. There have been many requests that exams should be avoided during the festive season. Such issues have not been raised in the past. Now parents demand that their children should be allowed to enjoy the festivities and not be bogged down with exams. Festivals take priority over their children’s education. Festive celebrations come and go every year but their children’s school years are only for a short period of time, especially the public exams. Why all this fuss? Is it because parents are occupied with their own work and social life throughout the year and only reserve time to be spent with the family during festivals?
Schools have received directives to hold final exams right at the end of the school academic year. This was a result of numerous complaints from parents that when final exams are held earlier, their children do not go to school after that. So teachers are very free in school but these parents probably have a difficult time managing their children (or only child!) at home. Parents may be ignorant of a teacher’s duties and responsibilities, but I’m surprised that officials in the Ministry of Education actually entertained these complaints.
As a parent, I would want to know how my child fares in the final exams so that I could plan for him/her to utilize the school holidays to revise and be better prepared for the following year. Presently, exams are being held just before the school holidays start so that teachers can mark the exam scripts and process the marks during the holidays. I suppose students will only know their grades next year. Students won’t have a chance to check their answers until 2 months later. By this time exam scripts may be lost or misplaced during the break. They may not even be marked / marked properly if there is a possibility that the papers won’t be checked!
Teachers are not exactly free after the school final exams. Apart from grading exam papers, year end reports have to be prepared and filed. A large percentage of teachers have to invigilate public exams, such as SPM and STPM that goes on until early December. It is teachers too who grade the public exam scripts, which is done through December. Certain teachers who have special duties like preparing the time-table for the following year; organizing distribution of text books; collecting, processing and distributing PMR results, and so on have to come back during the holidays to perform their respective duties.
Why do students stay away from school after the finals? Is it because school is uninteresting or home is more entertaining? Children have all sorts of gadgets to entertain themselves at home like Play Station, computer games, internet (unsupervised!), Astro, VCD / DVD players (viewing also unsupervised!) and enough money to be splurged at entertainment centers. I wonder who is responsible for this??? Yes of course, teachers!
Many students said they actually looked forward to school after the final exams. This was the fun part of school where they played games, had enjoyable activities and could put their books away for a couple of weeks.
Now, no more class parties…lost tradition. No more last minute advice on how students should spend the holidays or even giving students holiday homework, especially for those who fared badly in the finals. When the bell rings after the last exam paper, it is bye, bye. Indeed a HAPPY HOLIDAY. Have fun!

Short book review?!

Thank you for telling me in your own polite ways that people don’t like to read book reviews in blogs. I thought I will do my share of promoting the reading habit since research showed that Malaysians only read 2 books per year. However I am not surprised at your feedback because a colleague who teaches English commented "you still read story books at your age" when I brought out my book to read while waiting for the meeting I was attending to start. Ironic that it should come from a teacher, and an English teacher at that! Didn’t know there was an age limit for reading story books. Every time we visit a bookshop or I read a book review in the newspapers, I point out to my children the book I would like to read. That saves them the headache of deciding what gift to get me for birthdays, anniversaries, etc while I can be certain that I will like my gift! I also read between 2 – 4 newspapers everyday, depending on how much time I have. It is very important to me because it helps me relate moral values which I teach to current issues and situations to enable students understand what they are studying better.

On another issue, I am not one who frequents the temple. We only go to temple on auspicious days like Deepavali or Thaipusam and sometimes on family members’ birthdays. But I admit I feel good and revitalized after each visit to the temple. After reading an e-mail forwarded to me, I feel guilty thinking it is a hassle visiting the temple on a regular basis. I like to share the story with you:
A 'devotee' wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to the Ashram or Temple. 'I've gone for 30 years now, he wrote, and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 mantras. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the Gurus are wasting theirs by giving services at all. This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to the Editor' column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to the Temple for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!
When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

By the way, if you are one who likes to read suspense-filled legal thrillers, you shouldn’t miss Steve Martini’s ‘Critical Mass’. It is about the theft of two nuclear devices from the former Soviet Union and smuggled into the US. It is a gut-wrenching, superb thriller… so realistic it scares you. Happy reading.