You Reap What You Sow!

The STPM results are finally out. And as previous years, the teachers are the ones who get the first look at the results. Just like the STPM candidates who are shivering in anticipation, the teachers likewise scream and yell in delight at the success of their students and some give long sighs when they find out that their students have not done well. In reality, how the students perform is a reflection of the teachers' performance itself. The teachers credibility as educators is judged by the school administrators and their other counterparts who do not teach Form 6. Worse still, the public can be equally judgemental. To be fair, success or lack of it, especially in an examination, is the responsibility of both the teachers and the students. After all, it takes two to tango. Only in this case, don't get into trouble by doing the tango with your students!

Cries and Goodbyes

When it comes to the time when you want to terminate a relationship, how, exactly do you say goodbye to the person? And more importantly, how will that person take it? I, for one, can't help thinking that the person would be confused. It's easier for me, I guess, because I am the one who is going to sever the tie and the person is going to get second-hand knowledge about it. Confused is definitely an understatement. Rage would possibly ensue, followed by a bombardment of questions and self-blaming, which makes it a lot more difficult for me since I can't think of a reason to give. Actually, I know the reason but it seems rather difficult to put it into words. Is there such a thing as an eloquent departure from a relationship? Could there be such a thing as, you go your way and I'll go mine without giving a second glance for fear of looking into each other's eyes? Well, I'd give a second glance; as long as that other person doesn't look back!

The Best Gift

When I think of all the complaints I've made in this blog, I suppose I still have a lot to be thankful for. This may be trivial to most people but to me, after waking up for the 49th year this morning, I came to realise that just being able to breathe, walking about the house, chatting with my family, going to work, meeting and laughing with friends, are all things that I have taken for granted all this while. Things that I now realise are actually the most valuable gifts that anyone can get. Valuable because they are things that you cannot buy from any store anywhere in the world. Sometimes all you need to do to realise that these little things in life are gifts in themselves, is to take a little time to ponder. Quoting an unforgettable dialogue from an animated movie; 'The past is history, the future is a mystery but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present". Don't give me any present, just give me my present!

Should Corporal Punishment be Implemented in School

What does a teacher do when they are confronted with an unruly student who only has disrespect for the teacher, never does his school work and disturbs the class when the teacher is trying his very best to teach. In a nutshell the student is trying his very best to be a pain the neck. On top of that he repeatedly does it over and over again. A teacher's hand is proverbially tied and thus hinders him from lifting a single finger to reprimand the student when in fact the student can even go to the extent of giving the teacher a heart attack! Something should be done to this kind of student. This student should be caned. We must remember that manners is something thought at home since birth and not when they enter school seven years after birth. Thus, his parents are to be blamed for this student's rowdiness. Come to think of it, maybe the student is not the one to be caned, but his parents!

Who Needs Enemies When You Have Friends Like These.

In my previous entry earlier this year, I mentioned about the backstabbing that happens here, comparing them to scenes from popular night time soaps. Well, unfortunately one of those victims is now finally me. After twenty plus years of minding my own business, people have now taken into their assumption that this docile behaviour is a submissive trait and people can just simply go behind my back and stab me. No! Not like 'bury the hatchet' situation. This is more like I-stab-you-so-I-can-get-ahead-of-you situation, even though that person does not really deserve it. I think I will continue minding my own business, come all the JRs in the world, because I feel there's always a place for Bobby Ewing! And isn't there a saying that goes 'Good always Triumph over Evil'! I choose to believe. So there!

A Nation's Wealth should be Common Wealth

The days of share and share alike have gone by passing us all at break-neck speed. Gone are the days when one gets financial gains, and the rest of us share in the wealth and feel the tangible increment. Gone are the days when you get a small slice of the pie, the rest of us also get a slice each. However, in today's situation, things do not look that bright when one can get a huge slice of the pie and the rest is left with crumbs. Worse still, that single person gets the whole pie, crumbs and all. So, we watch in frustration and salivate to no end on the side line, when others get that huge slice of pie, all the time salivating too; only waiting to sink their teeth into that thick juicy pie. And, still we continue to wait and say; just you wait!

Locally Trained Teachers are Capable of Teaching English in Schools

Why is there so much distrust and lack of confidence in locally trained teachers to teach English in schools that thousands of native speakers of English have to be brought in to teach these teachers? And to use the term "Master Teachers" sort of brings us back to the days when we were colonised by these 'masters'. And what happend to those hundreds of English teachers who were sent to do their first degrees in TESL, TESOL, Literature and ESP in the UK between the years of 1992 to 1996, supposedly to improve the standard of English in Malaysian schools? Shouldn't we tap those resources first before spending valuable Malaysian Ringgit on a project that is at best a way for these "Master Teachers" to collect materials and later on publish books for their own benefits? Malaysian teachers teaching English have done a bad job. They follow the syllabus to the letter, that is to prepare students for real-life communication, when in fact, what the syllabus dictates is not what the students actually face in their real-life situation. Maybe that is the situation, oh, you high and mighty, should address first before anything else!

Advantages of Studying Abroad

I think one of the advantages of studying abroad, is definitely the notion of being independant, especially when it comes to food. If you have always had your mom prepare your food for you, studying abroad gives you the chances to prove your culinary skills, more so if you are where it is quite impossible to get food that conform to your religious backgrounds. Thus the easiest way out is to prepare your own food. Not only do you comform to your religion, you also become good at cooking and, who knows, you may one day turn the skill into a livelihood.