Wednesday, March 23, 2005
The First Observation
i never tot i'd be very nervous when the day finally arrived. i've always been the kind who would usually not feel the heat of the moment until the very last minute. so i was initially quite confident that my first observation would be fine.
thing began to turn a bit messy starting wif my lesson plan. my weakness was that i always assume that these express students would be able to catch up with the lesson easily, but i misjudged them coz they are in the last express class. i planned for a lot of stuffs within the given 2 periods. i wanted to go through their homeworks they did yesterday. then i intended to do revision on the first 2 parts of Coordinate Geometry that i've been covering for the past 2 days. then i would teach the new topic on "Gradient of a Straight Line", which actually consists of about 3 parts. finally i would want the students to attempt some questions from the textbook, hand it up to me n end the lesson by summarising the whole thing.
HOW WRONG I WAS! firstly, the professor mentioned to me that my lesson plan seemed to have a lot of things... i took that as a hint for me to "cut down" on the content, without compromising the essence of the lesson. so before the class began, i mentioned to my professor that i would not go through yesterday's homework as planned, but to push it to the end of the class if time would permit. i got a nod of approval.
i suddenly felt very nervous as i was about to start my class. i just informed the class that a professor from NIE was there to observe our class. i dunno wat went in their minds... as long as they didnt "sabo" me, that'll be fine! ;) after the customary introduction, i got very nervous. i started to fumble wif my whiteboard and OHP markers. so i started reciting the necessary and appropriate "doas" and carried on wif the lesson. Alhamdulillah, it eventually turned out very well. i managed to get the attention of the class by making them fill in the blanks in the worksheet given to them. it had better be, after i've spent such a long time and effort setting it up! i got to go around the class and help the weak students when i gave them the classwork. i also managed to stop the distractions that went around the class as i was teaching. it was irritating to see papers being passed around in class, for watever reasons i didnt want to know, dat made students laugh around while they were supposed to do seatwork! overall, i think i've done ok..
so here came the evaluation by the professor. as usual, i expected to see some Cs in the report. we are graded by A, B, C or F. therefore, it would be quite safe to at least get a C grade for any of the 6 items being observed. Alhamdulillah, i got most Bs, 2 B- and an A for the 6 items. the A grade, i think, is quite standard for all trainees, as it was meant for grading our professional attitude and appearance in class while we teach. my professor mentioned that it was fine for me just to teach 1 out of the 3 things i wanted to do, because of the time constraint, and for that matter, i was successful in meeting the objectives of the lesson. he also explained to me why i had B- grades for 2 of them, and suggested ways to improve them. he also gave tips on things that he observed but not mentioned in the official grading form.
phew, Alhamdulillah, 1 down. 1 more observation to go. may dat last one turn out well again, insyaAllah. ;)
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Monday, March 21, 2005
must've been the Monday BLUES
everything didnt go smoothly today. from the start, ive oredi forgotten to bring my school access card, so i wasnt able to enter the staff room without the help of another person. u see, my school's staff room can only be accessed by flashing a card on a reader on the wall. it works something like the EZ-Link card. so there i was soo handicapped..
then i also forgot to bring my pencil case, where all my whiteboard markers, calculators and stationeries are.. luckily there's a fresh source of markers in the school office that i can use first. so dat one ok..
then the school has rearranged our seating position. i have to vacate mine coz theres a bunch of contract teachers coming in, n one of them is taking my place. so somehow, fortunately or unfortunately, i didnt know i had to do relief teaching for a notorious class. it was a double-period somemore.. n it's just before my CPA lesson that i had to conduct. by the time i knew abt it, i had abt 10 mins left if i were to come in. the teacher in charge of issuing relief classes came to meet me, asked if i was aware of such arrangement. so i said i didnt receive the slip, hence i didnt know! wat happened to the class i dunno, but i saw the Discipline Master make the students from those class run around the school field. my guess was that they must've made a mischief out of the time they had. so the whole situation was blamed it on miscommunication. fortunately also dat i didnt get any scolding from the DM for not attending my relief class, coz i explained to him wat happened. he just smiled.
then, my CPA class students had to make noises while making their way to lesson. it was my mistake to expect peace n prosperity from them. for those moments of making them go in n out of comp lab, it distracted me sooo much dat i didnt manage to deliver my lesson smoothly. even my Coorperative teacher noticed it, n mentioned it to me. i apologised to him n explained the whole situation at the beginning of the lesson. well, alhamdulillah at least he smiled most of the time i was explaining. guess he could emphatise my position. ;)
now ive just finished slogging my marking.. am trying to complete my lesson plan for tomorrow, and more importantly for Wed as i need to submit it to my NIE supervisor by tomorrow before he comes over for my first observation...
too deel doo...
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Sunday, March 20, 2005
i can't imagine the holidays r over by tomorrow. all the seven days were packed! i spent my mondays completing my assignments for submission on the same day. spent tues wif my mom at my aunt's place in JB. spent my Wed doing last minute packing foodstuffs for my sis in US. A Zillion thanks to Darling Da for helping me n family in the delivery process of the 2 packages. Luv u many many! ;) Went for my tajwid class at night, so there went my Wed.
thurs was spent the whole day wif my parents as my dad took a day leave for his blood test at SGH. went JB again wif them to look for A&W outlet but i couldnt seem to find one. we went to Angsana first. mom got herself her fav "tarzan n jane" vcd, then we headed to Giant Plentong to eat. mom liked the Rojak there. i liked it too. Da oso likes it! so i cant wait to find a time to bring her there to eat.. hmm, mebe in May, i hope! ;) then i went to get my car alignment done. found 1 nail on each of the rear tyres.. no wonder the left rear tyre had been leaking air badly! alhamdulillah all leaks patched up. almost didnt have time for zohor, but we managed to solat at masjid jamek Taman Perling. not a bad mosque after all.. mom liked the place, as long as she's comfortable, then its fine. mom's a bit particular over cleanliness, so if she finds it clean, it must be much much cleaner for me! ;) by the time we got back, i was damn tired.. almost didnt go for night class. dad said he was tired so i didnt have to go, but i think he said it just to get me rested at home. mom initially didnt want to go coz dad not going. but when she knew i would still go, she changed her mind. seeing dat all would be going, dad decided to go too! ;) so dats how thurs went.
fri was ok ok ah. after prayers, i went to collect my home cordless phone i sent for repair last tues. alhamdulillah, at least they could get it fixed coz they said they're facing parts constraint for dis model as it was oredi obsolete. then i spent the remaining afternoon changing the house curtains.. mom been asking me to do it since i dunno when! hehehe but i enjoyed the evening, coz i got to meet darling Da for late dinner! ;)
saturday was a meaningful one for me. mom invited Darling Da for exercise session wif us at East Coast. mom was more forthcoming when talking to Da. she seemed more composed n more accepting. alhamdulillah i was soo happy. mom even asked Da to sit in the front seat when we were leaving East Coast, but she politely declined! wah!! dats an improvement! Alhamdulillah all things r falling into place nicely. mom even wanted to see the houses dat me n Da plan to buy in future.. ;) dunno for wat reasons!
but saturday was a busy day for me too, tuition in late morning n early afternoon. went to Sim Lim to get a mouse for bibik Huda, n a new keyboard for Darling Da. mom suggested we sent the keyboard to Da's house after visiting bik Huda, so i was pleasantly surprised mom said dat! so dat was wat i did.. reached Da's house only at almost 11pm. so all in all, everything was great for me! i shall cherish the moments i had for the entire Saturday! ;)
so here is Sunday now, time spent shopping at NTUC n cleaning the house. at least i got to make my mom n dad happy, though it was quite a tiring week for me. but nothing is lost; mom got to get closer to Darling Da, another unexpected step closer to getting more acquainted wif one another. the best part, mom even asked if Da's mom would like to join us for the exercise last Saturday.. now dat's a BIG STEP ahead! ;)
pray for things to go smoothly for us, insyaAllah. plans for marriage seems to be on the right track. insyaAllah we plan to get married by end May 2006. sooo, lets just wait lah ah! ;)
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Wednesday, March 16, 2005
wow... must've been ages since i last blogged.. lets just say it was a challenging time for me since past 3 weeks.. coping wif adaptation to new environment in sch. i didnt know students can be sooo devilish.. wonder y when we were students things werent like dis. *sigh* but wat the heck, alhamdulillah, at least im still coping, alive n happy.. just heard a teacher trainee jumped to her death sometime last week. but it wasnt revealed in the media. dunno y. stressed ah i believe. tu lah, nak sgt become teacher..! hehehe but like wat ppl said, its a calling, n i believe its a calling for me to be one. may Allah help us all in being good honourable teachers!! ;)
went to KTM railway station wif Darling Da n friends last fri. it was so very near to my home n i didnt even know such eating places exist.. yes my readers, the railway station, besides being the singapore stop from malaysia, has turned its carpark grounds to an eating bazaar.. i like the atmosphere.. its cool, vibrant nightlife wif the dim kind of lighting somehow felt soothing. friends even smoked sheesha. me didnt want to try, coz of the tobacco thingy, better not start. Darling's friends were very fun to be with. alhamdulillah they can accept me as much as i can accept them. Special thanx to my Dearest Darling Da, for being wif me, personal thanks to Wati for inviting me, Zarina, Rai, Izwan, Ali n partner, n Nizar, for a pleasant evening together ;) mebe we can meet up again next time..!
sent 2 packages to my sister at Washington DC dis afternoon, thanx to Darling Da for the great help! Kak, pray hard dat both packages will reach u without getting stuck at US Customs k? Darling's been doing a lot of work helping to sort things out, arranging for delivery and even packing till late night yesterday. appreciate very much dearie..
i miss my dearie every day.. so sad dat things will be back to routine next wk where i can no longer hang on the phone early morning n keep u company while u go work, sayang. watever it is, i alwiz love u, miss u, be strong, another yr to go.. :)
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Saturday, March 05, 2005
choppy waters up ahead
in life, everyone has to go thru numerous n rigorous tests... n i believe it's my time to face the test of time... a lot of factors are causing the stir.. i pray n hope dat Allah will grant us the strength to pull thru these tough times, insyaAllah.
stay strong, dear. i love u no matter wat happens..
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Tuesday, March 01, 2005
my first time teaching since last yr..
i wonder y there is such a thing as banding. in the past, especially my time, we didn't have to change classes when we attended maths, geog or language classes. now, if u're in Band 1 for maths, u go to another class taught by another teacher; the same goes if u're in band 2 or 3. hmm, quite confusing, but i think dat's the way the story goes. one benefit i see here is dat if u were to teach the band 1 students, they tend to be more attentive and studious, so less classroom management problems faced here. on the other hand, if u're teaching a band 3 class, chances dat u get out of such classes feeling nothing less than sheer utter frustration coz u didnt complete ur required objectives at the end, but also the classroom management dat drives u down to the max.
alhamdulillah for dis practicum, i was given a band 1 class for my sec 3 normal academic maths. although they're in N/A, but they're taking Maths meant for the sec express stream. the benefits for them is dat, when they take the O level paper, somehow the marks they get is converted to Normal Academic level, n by doing dat, their grades can be adjusted positively. for instance, i heard from my colleague; if a student were to get a D7 for the O level maths, the grade would be adjusted to be B4 or C5 after conversion to N level standards. dat'll definitely help them tremendously, to those who're interested to study dat means.
ok here's the verdict of my first time teaching in NTSS. it was... ok, not bad. my Coorperative Teacher (CT) gave some positive encouragements for starters. she advised me on the use of different coloured markers to indicate to the students which ones to copy into their notebooks n which ones are just for discussion purposes. and she oso mentioned dat i didnt have to die-die stick to my lesson plan n rush the work. so im allowed to pace my lessons as see fit.
i can say i wasnt satisfied wif my own performance. i knew i could do much better than dat. teaching for the first time made me have some jitters, but i hope to improve them wif time. alhamdulillah i was glad dat i received welcomed feedbacks from the students when i asked them after class. u see, while i was observing my CT teach last week, i managed to get to know some students whom i feel are the more attentive ones. one said my explanation was ok.. the other one said i was a bit too fast, but still ok. i intend to slow down the pacing and change the way i impart the info. more on dat soon..
tomorrow they're having maths test. i'll be answering the questions first to try estimate how long they'll take to finish, though i may finish faster than wat they would take. so i have to offset ah..
somehow im looking forward to teaching them again. though some of the r really a pain in the a**e, but heck, thats wat teaching is all abt!
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