Thursday, April 20, 2006
4th day.
And the day when I was forced to really shout at the students for the first time. I was giving my class a mock test in preparation for their CA next Thursday.
After giving them the instructions and distributing the papers, some of the students kept asking me whether the test scores will be considered for their CA.
See, never listen to instructions.
Always busy talking among themselves, only to ask the same questions again and again. Never mind.
2 or 3 guys strolled in after the test started. I either have not seen them before or had not recognised their faces yet. I was half right. One of the guys has just came back to school after being suspended. He was very tall and looked malicious. I later learnt that he was 2 years older than the rest as he had been retained in his primary school before. He had came from a boys' home. He introduced himself to me and that he was a student of this class. I gave him the test paper and asked him to do it quickly as he has had less time. Soon, as I was doing my rounds in the class, I found this guy sleeping at his desk. So I waked him up. "Do you know you are supposed to do the test now? Do you have any difficulties?" He said he did not know how to do. I admitted that the test was hard this time round as it was a Sec4 Normal (A) paper and anyway it would not count towards his CA scores. So there is no need for him to do it, he said simply, and went back to sleep. I pestered him. "Having a hard question paper doesn't mean you do not have to try it. See your friends, they are all trying their best." This time round he flared up. " Why do you all (teachers) keep pestering me one? Can leave me alone or not ?", looking at me in a menacing manner as he complained. I gave up and went away. Never mind still.
The noise level is rising. That's the problem in this class when you turn your attention to a few students; the others would start talking away. Hello?! This is a TEST right? No doubt it's a mock one, but that doesn't mean you do not have to follow the rules. Aha! This is some new to me--- I see some people DISCUSSING answers!! And BLATANTLY! WTH?! "Teacher, very hard leh.."was the oft-cited reason to justify an act that can be deemed as cheating during the exams, accompanied by a 'pitiful' expression in the hope I would let them off.
The group of guys at the back are starting to talk again. But this time round, they were not discussing answers. Some of them have either completed the test or given up on it and started fooling around with their friends. But who cares? " Whoever makes anymore noise again jolly well gets out of the class and do his test!!!" I shouted at them. " "**** and ******, you want to get out?"
Things are getting tougher.
I was exhausted at the end of the 2 periods, which I initially thought (giving them a test) was the easiest.
You cannot be more wrong than that.
-sobs- -__ ;
In the afternoon, I went out with B! She said she was meeting her students at the airport to give them remedial (or extra help) in their History. B is a fellow relief teacher who has been with the school since the start of the year. But she is only nineteen-- that means she just graduated from JC last year! What a big change in the role she's playing within the past few months. From student to teacher! And to a full-time one since she had to teach half a year's syllabus to her students. Luckily for them she was a History student in JC and luckily for them, she really went the extra mile to give students extra lessons during her own free time. Outside school as well. She would make a good teacher, I told her, as she is currently applying to the MOE teaching award and may very possibly become a full-fledged teacher some day.
All these aside, I find that she is a very approachable person to talk to and share problems with. No wonder we have become such good friends in such a short span of time. The reason she is giving up her free time to help her students is that according to her, relief teachers would have much more time and thus flexibility to provide students with extra help outside school hours. So she's contributing her part to it. And she had even conducted such small-group discussions on public holidays like Good Friday! She's such a dedicated teacher that her students were lucky to have.
Anyway, we went to the airport staff food court to have lunch and help the students with their work. The pasta stall was great! I would not have eaten pasta if not for her recommendations and I did not regret it.
Of the 4 students, 2 were from Taiwan and 2 from China. As they had just arrived here early this year, their command of English was still far from proficient and we had to translate the history text to Chinese for them to understand better. Interesting experience I had. And it was fun and fulfilling. B also introduced me to Suduko during the short rest intervals when she gave the students a little work to do. Haha. All six of us had fun and laughter this afternoon. Being a teacher is so fun.
:p
Posted by charles at 9:24 PM
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
It's the end of the 3rd day at East Spring Sec, having endured a long and boring assembly session at the warm and cramped school hall. I have just been extended for another 7 days, till the teacher comes back from her operation. Heard that she have had some complications with her illness.
Meanwhile, the teacher sitting closest to me is suffering from back injury and another is having fluid in his foot that causes pain when he is standing. Haiz... why are so many people suffering from the myriads of occupational illnesses these days?
Sorry for having digressed... anyway...The 3 days have passed quickly, and I have had an interesting experience at the school. So far, I have allowed my students to eat outside the library (which was strictly prohibited and the students were scolded by a senior teacher in front of me... haha... I have been too lenient with them and they love me a lot... muahahaha... " 'Cher, sorry hor... Next time will not get you into this sort of trouble again..." ); witnessed a so-called 'cat-fight' in my would-be-in-charge-of class and a mock fight in my own class. Let me make myself clear--- it's only a MOCK fight--- one that you would have seen in army camp bunks and in school last time when you was a student. I had to order the "attacking" students back to their seats so that only then the one being "bashed up" would be willing to get his butt back on his seat as well. But, as I have oredi stated, this is only a small matter, not that there are any serious problems so far, and I hope I won't run into any of those in the coming days I would be stationed at the school.
Posted by charles at 8:55 PM
Monday, April 17, 2006
My First day in School! ;)
I finally got it.
This morning.
A Monday morning.
At about 7.05am I received a call, mind you, 7.05am. What could it be? Relief teacher required. And required before 8am. That meant I had about 45 minutes to fully wake myself up, get prepared and travel to school. Luckily for me, my dad offered to fetch me to the school.
Reached school at about 7.45am. Incredible for a person like me. I must have broken my record... er..or rather my speed limit. haha....
When I entered the office, the clerk hurriedly gave me the timetable for the day. Luckily, my first lesson was at the fourth period. Whew! That means I have more than one hour to get used to the surroundings and prepare myself to conduct my first ever lesson in front of a whole class, not to mention that they are students whom I have never met before. Actually, I was only expected to "babysit" the classes as the teacher on medical leave would be coming back on Thursday. The classes I was assigned to were mainly the normal (technical) classes and I am to take them for English and Social Studies.
The 4th period came and I stepped into the classroom. I introduced myself and greeted the class. "Good morning class, Mrs K***** has an essay for you all to be done in class today. You have one English period now and 2 after recess rite? Can continue doing during those periods if you can't finish since I have nothing else for you all."
I walked around the class. The students were talking among themselves and some were sleeping. Even those two sitting right in front of the teacher's desk. I went over and tried to wake them. "ok...ok.." and back to sleep again. This time, I pulled the desk away from where the student was resting her head. She simply pulled it back and continued sleeping. Later I found out that usually the teacher would allow them to sleep in class as they had to work after school till late at night. One of them even helped out in her mother's "Zi Char" stall till the wee hours of the morning so actually the only time she has left to sleep is in class. Sigh!
15 minutes after the start of the class, I found that there were only 4 or 5 students doing their work and luckily this handful of them were near completion already. How about the rest? You should have guessed it right. Still talking... and some worse... playing non-stop. But well, what do you expect of youngsters nowadays? Especially when you have seen worse in army camps and experienced a similarly high decibel environment in a top class way back in secondary school.
"It's ok." I told myself, and I went round the class asking nicely the students to do their work. They should be cooperative if I treat them nicely. Young people of secondary school age would only accept you and the things you tell them if they find them reasonable and when you are not too demanding. They are way past the age when you can just shout and scold them for being noisy--- aka primary school and kindergarten kids. Even some of the upper primary students would already have a stand of their own and would behave better if you reason things out with them. Some of these were learnt from my personal experience during my schooldays.
It's a fact that all classes, from any school or having students of any type, would be noisy to different extents. Young people mah, shouldn't they be lively rite?
The students were generally friendly towards me and would not (so far) talk back. Occasionally, there will be an act of defiance (like continuing to disturb their classmates) and I would have to talk to them sternly. One main focus of students to me and other relief teachers alike was about our age. Sometimes I would ask them to guess. "Teacher, are you 18 or 19?" most would ask. But at other times: "You have not even started the work I have given you and your exams are round the corner and yet here you are asking trivial things like my age?" Haha. The students can be very cute sometimes. And very mischievious too. :p
Posted by charles at 8:07 PM
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Haven't been writing for ages... Either too busy finding jobs or too lazy to go online lately...
I had found 2 jobs recently, namely a hotel desk receptionist and an administrative cum question paper setting job at a tuition centre, both of which I rejected. For the former, the jobscope is something really new to me and I had looked forward to starting work had not my parents been strongly against it because of the relatively long working hours and shift work. I had even purchased the required workclothes for the job and had felt resentful for quite a number of days after being forced to give it up. However, I did not regret giving up the later as I found the boss of the tuition centre, which I would not name, quite dishonest and exploiting. He offered to pay a sum of three thousand for the setting of 8 papers per subject per level for maths and science from Pri. 1 to Sec.2. That, I calculated, worked out to be more than 110 papers but according to his erroneous calculations there were only 88 he claimed. That was only the first part. In addition,I had to do some administrative work and be in the office 9 hours a day for 5 days a week. The total sum of $3000 is actually paid on the basis of $30 per day for the 2 1/2 months I would be working, amounting to $2100. The remaining $900 would be paid provided that I finished all the papers within the given time, but this is subjective to satisfaction with my work. Again, I felt that something was amiss and worked out the pay to be ONLY $3.30 per hour! I brought this up to the boss during the interview but he said that I would likely to be paid the $900 part of the salary so my earnings per hour would be about $6 or even higher, depending on how fast I could finish the whole project. I later actually worked this out to be less than five dollars an hour! I felt that there are too many discrepancies between what the boss told me and the reality. There were too many uncertainties in the jobscope as well as the pay. How would I know what exactly his standards are and how he would be satisfied enough to pay the $900. Furthermore, I found his attitude a little arrogant and condescending when he told me that he WAS being a nice guy and gentlemanly to have let me keep my weekends free for my own tuition lessons as he had initially expected me to work for a 5 1/2 day week. He said that we should be gentlemen and and compromise each other. I was taken in by his offer finally, though unpleased by his condescending attitude.
Luckily, when I went home and thought about it again, I decided to give it a miss. There was even mention of a contract, which I would have to sign the following day when I report for work. Why wasn't it prepared for me to bring home and go through carefully? Was I being pressurized or even psychoed, to work for such a low pay? I would advise those looking for work to pay attention to the terms of their employers' contracts and look out for any discrepancies in what their would-be employers have told them. Do not be rushed to sign the contract and all doubts should be cleared before making the decision.
Posted by charles at 9:55 PM