Mommy's milk = smart

A story shared by a colleague last Monday morning at the canteen really tickled my bones.


While her pupils were doing their work, my colleague heard a slight argument between two of her kids. Let's name them D and N. They were arguing about whose coloring pencils belongs to who since both have the same type of coloring pencils.
While arguing...

D : Buduh bah kau ni!

N : Kau lah buduh!

D : Kaulah buduh!

N : Kau lah buduh!

D : Ok, kau minum susu apa?

N replied in a jiffy and without hesitation, "Susu mummyyyy".

D was speechless for a second and before he could say anything, N asked him back.

" Jadi, kau minum susu apa?"

D : Susu lembu...

N : Nah, jadi kau lah buduh!

My colleague was holding hard to not burst out. But as she re-told the story to us, we definitely couldn't hold but to laugh out loud! I mean, that was quite a brilliant answer except the inappropriate choice of word of course.

Well, that's just beside the point. The point is, how far have we come to instill inappropriate words in our life? Surely, pointing at someone that he is bodoh/stupid isn't in our upbringing and is not supposed to be in our upbringing.

But, uttering word such as that, I believe, has perfectly blends well in our community regardless of race. It's like a common word to express something that sometimes isn't exactly means stupid.

Example:

When I accidentally dropped something on the floor and break it, I'd say, "Buduh!"

When I wrongly press a button on an ATM machine resulting to an error page to appear, I'd say, "Buduh!"

When I accidentally hit a rock causing pain to my foot, I'd say, "Buduh!"



Basically, it's like an expression to tell our own selves that we have done something clumsy and silly. Not necessarily stupid. But when it becomes a habit, unconsciously we'd say it out loud. Letting others to hear it. Children to hear it. And children to copy it. Because it sounds so normal they thought it is a word in the dictionary that best used for such a situation. The thing is, they are still not able to actually know how to use it properly and accurately. Like saying, "Kau lah buduh!" That is just simply telling other people he is stupid.

Idiot Test

Honestly, I have used and still using this word and some other words to describe the above examples (being clumsy and silly). I admit it's a bad habit. But I try as much not to vocalize it in public especially not in front of my students. They learn by example and I do not want to be the person responsible for that example.

I have had experience trying to shorten the word 'buduh' to just 'buds' (pronounced boots) so that my niece and nephew who were staying with us for the school holiday won't catch us saying bad words. Little did I realize that they actually like the word and copied it as well. They even know when is the best time to use it. Even though, it may sound a harmless word but as an adult, I felt guilty that these young minds had to copy my action without even have to question the meaning. Imagine when people heard them saying it and asked what it means and all their answer is, "I don't know. My aunt said it and it's kind of cool." Misleading no?

And what about telling someone that he is just bodoh?
Well, it has got to be in context.
No one is stupid but anyone can be an idiot.
Loosely translated in BM, "Tiada siapa pun adalah bodoh tetapi sesiapa boleh menjadi orang bodoh".
So yeah, when you tell a person he is bodoh. Make sure you are referring to him because he is an idiot. Not stupid.

Mesti lah pandai

The past few days, I've been working on a Big Book entitle, The Singing Crow. Living in a world with fast rising technology, I should know better to just scan the pictures, print them in bigger size and voila, a Big Book for me!

Instead, I decided to go for the long way - draw and color.
I don't know about you teachers out there but I am the kind that enjoy colors (and coloring) very much. VERY! So, I don't mind the longer period to complete my Big Book. It is, after all, a project that I have no intention to rush to finish it.

Whenever I have free time in between classes breaks, I would spend it on the Big Book project. However, the coloring thingy has becoming more addictive now that it is reaching its final few pages. I am more determine to complete it, pronto. So today, during my Library session with one of my Maths classes, I tagged my drawing paper and my 36pcs Stabilo coloring pencils along with my RPH book to the library. While the kids were enjoying their books, I, on the other hand, enjoying doing my Big Book project.

I was sketching a new picture when one kiddo came to ask me something. She saw what I was doing and somehow forgotten what's on her mind in the first place. She then left but after a while seconds, came back with another friend. And then, they whispered to each other but obviously, loud enough for me to hear.

"Cantik oh kan teacher lukis," said the first girl.

"Yabah, cantik oh. Pandai oh teacher kan?" the other girl responded.

"Eh, memang lah bah teacher pandai. Dia kan teacher," the first girl retorted quickly.




I chuckled.
Of course I am flattered even if that compliment came from 9 year old kids.
That brought memories back to when I was a student myself.
I, too, thought that my teachers are all smart people. People with great wisdom. One that possesses knowledge at the tip of his finger.
He(She) who knows everything about anything!
Yes, I seriously think that way.

Come to think of it, teachers sure are people with great knowledge.
In school, teachers do not just teach BM. Or English. Or Maths. Or Science. Or Kemahiran Hidup. Or Geography. The list goes on.
In fact, most teachers in our country are required to at least able to teach more than one subject.

I remember my first year posting to one school at a rural area near Nabawan. I was all ready with my Maths teaching skills when first thing I was given to teach were English Language and Pendidikan Sivik dan Kewarganegaraan! Imagine this virgin teacher's horror. Well, not so much on the English Language since I am a keen learner of the language itself. But Pendidikan Sivik was new to me. I dreaded the thought that I have to read the syllabus and text book so that I would be able to teach my students. But of course, I didn't retaliate. It was, after all, a challenge for myself. And I don't think it was a wise thing to sulk about it because I am teaching primary school. If re-learning elementary school's syllabus is a problem for me, what kind of a teacher am I? That is like, worse than a 5th grader spot on!

Back to teachers being a smart and intelligent people. Surely, the word 'smart' is too subjective to describe a person. And being intellect does not guarantee one is a qualified candidate to become a teacher. However, to be an educator without at least the effort to gain intellectual-ness, that would be like a jigsaw puzzle that has lost a piece of its puzzle, right?

In my attempt to earn that perception my students think of me (and I thought the same of my teachers), I try as much to read and learn some skills of just about anything. I wasn't actually good at drawing when I was a kid but I love coloring. Drawing and coloring are synonyms to each other. So I learned to draw. And so now I am labeled, the teacher who knows how to draw. Ha!

And this is my point, to be an educator, one must grasp as much knowledge and skills as possible so one is able to relay this knowledge to his students and it nailed deep in their hearts.

As for me, as the saying goes, learning is a life-long journey. It never ends. So, I will try to learn as much as possible while I am a teacher myself.

They noticed

Wednesday is the day to wear Club Uniform i.e. Scout, Red Crescent etc.
But we can also wear our staff uniform a.k.a F1 shirt a.k.a Corporate shirt instead of the Club Uniform.
So today I wore our blue tones Corporate shirt.


Being a person who likes the idea of coordinating colors, I chose to wear bluish eye shadows instead of the usual brown hues.
I know that with blue tones eye shadow, my eyes would look more 'Chinese' than they already are.
But I didn't realize it signals something else other than looking very Chinese.

I was in the middle of doing my routine 'multiplication interview' with my kiddos when one boy, out of sudden asked me.

"Teacher, kenapa mata kau?"

Thinking I could have smudges on my eyes, I shifted my attention to him.

"Kenapa dengan mata teacher?" I asked him back.

"Lain sikit ni hari," he replied.

"Lain yang macam mana?" I became more quizzical.

"Mata teacher macam penat."

He paused for a while before continued to say...

"Macam teacher KURANG TIDUR."

Ha!

That sent laughter to the rest of the class. Even I laughed too.
I felt funny that he said that and realized, this must be the effect of the blue eye shadow. It must have made my eyes looked swollen. Bengkak!
I didn't give him further explanation. Only smiles.
He must be thinking that I have spent the night in vigilant due to World Cup. Ha! Ha!

This is not the first time students took notice of what I am wearing or how my appearance is.
Early this year, as I was teaching body hygiene and mentioned that one should brush his teeth twice a day while showing a picture of a set of teeth that looked rather yellowish.

A boy (always a boy, huh?) nonchalantly commented on the picture.

"Kalau kita tidak berus gigi, nanti kuning tu gigi macam dalam tu gambar," he said.

I nodded and said yes.
Then he continued, "Macam gigi teacher. Kuning."

Kurengs!

On other days, some of the kids would ask me why I let my hair down when I usually tied it in a bun or just pony tail.
Or why I wear glasses when at times, I don't.
But most of the times, they were innocent comments that surely make me smiling.

Glad that I am a person who thinks taking extra effort to look good is not a chore.
The saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover' is true.
But first impression counts as important too, right?

Happy watching the match between Germany and Spain tomorrow morning (and have 'penat' eyes at work later).

What's in a name?

While checking my student’s attendance during the Maths extra class today, I came upon one student who wasn’t listed.
His name is clearly written on his name tag. So, instead of asking his name, I asked for his surname.
He looked at me and then shifted his eyes up, signaling he was thinking.
And then, he flipped his exercise book to check his name on the front cover.



“Eii, nama sendiri pun boleh lupa kah?”

He smiled and told me his name.

“How do you spell your name?” I continued.

Again, he looked to his name on the front cover and uttered out the letters slowly, in what seem like a hard thing for him to do.

“Susah kah mau spell nama kau?” But I know it was hard cos the spelling of his name is somehow tricky, with the unusual mix of consonants and vowels.

He smiled.

“Nama bapa kau kah tu?” I was referring to the second name he told me and he shook his head. I asked him what his father’s name is and he blurted it out effortlessly. Even spelling it was not a problem.

To that, I sighed to myself.

“Kesian ni anak, kena kasih nama yang dia sendiri susah mau sebut dan eja.”

So parents, do you think it is wise to name your children with super boombastic names and weird spelling that obviously would send every teacher in town having headaches writing the names down?

I understand the need to have a unique name so your child will not be mistaken with other people. Take for instance, me. My name is Caroline Charles and in Sabah alone, I know three other Caroline Charles and there were the occasion when I was mistaken for the other Caroline Charles. You know, like when you were called by a bank for an unsettled car loan installment when in fact, you don’t yet own a car. Or when you check-in into a hotel only to be identified as Caroline Charles who hailed from Papar when in fact you are from Keningau. However, the fact that my name is easily pronounced and spelled makes me glad that it is my name.

But to name your children with a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious name? Would you?

Flattered nonetheless

20 years down the road, you think I’m still going to be remembered for this?


Well, at least something about me stuck in their mind somehow.
Hope it lasts for good and for the better.
Happy Teacher’s Day to all you teachers and educators out there!
Gotta head back to ‘Marlboro town’ for the weekend to meet ma’ mama and pop.
Pleasant weekend ya’all!

Fight and Motivation

Hubby once asked me, if I am to be promoted from being a teacher to working in the education office as someone most people call 'Pegawai' and with a raise in salary of course, will I take the job?

I couldn't give a straight answer cos half of me is delighted with the idea of a pay rise.
But the other half is missing the things that I will leave behind - my kids and their antics.

A story to share:

After conducting a Mathematics games in a class, a teacher announced the winner as well as the group that lost.
The teacher noticed that the group that lost was not being cooperative amongst themselves. Hence, the lost.
So in order to teach them a lesson for not being cooperative in group work, the teacher gave them a light punishment - draw a smiley on their cheek.
All group members will have a smiley on their face. Fair and square, the teacher thought.
Two of three members didn't mind the punishment and even laughed having their face drawn.
But one did mind.

Peter* refused to be punished, telling that he's been doing a lot to 'save' the group but the other members especially John* did not give cooperation to him.
Keep blaming John for the lost of the group.
The teacher told Peter that since it was a team work, they should work out things as a team.
And when a team failed, people will look at the whole team. Not the individual members.
Peter got very angry and started banging the table and tried to punch John.

Situation became chaotic when the rest of the class interfered.
John who was initially not bothered about Peter being mad at him, gotten angry himself cos his other classmates blamed him for causing Peter's tantrum.
He suddenly kicked a chair hard that it landed on the floor with a loud crash, ran to the back of the class, feet stomping the floor, shouting and crying out loud in anger tone.
The teacher, who intended to show angry face was halted from doing so.

She thought, "No, this needs a softer method."
While giving the rest of the class her 'stare' to not get involved, she hugged Peter who was still crying with one hand and dragged him to be near to John.
John was already squatting at the back of the class while lifting a chair on his head to cover himself, crying.
At times, his foot kept stomping hard on the floor, showing his angry feeling.
The teacher had to squat as well and hugged John with her other hand.
Both Peter and John were in the arms of the teacher now.
She never held her students as close as that day, trying to calm down two very angry kids.

To cut the long story short, she managed to calm the boys, settled their conflict in a softer method and even had them shook hand, willingly and smiling. When she saw the boys again later that day, they greeted her with much love and smiling.

That sent her over the moon for a week.
She has learned new approach to tackle kids problem and that gives her motivation that she could do even better next time.
Small achievement yet an overwhelming one.

So tell me, why should I leave this job?


Until next post!
*hugs*

Seeing inverted

Oh wow!
It sure is a great feeling to be up and about again after being sick for three days.

I was getting better yesterday except the heavy throbbing headache…urrm, nope, it felt more like my head was swollen and it felt heavy.
So, my body was aching to move around but my head said otherwise.
In attempt to not sleep all day long cos the body detests it…I read.

This book is about an autistic boy who wrote his own investigation book ala Sherlock Holmes.
It’s really a page turner especially when you are a parent having one like him.
Or you are teacher dealing with special kids like him.
Or, you are a teacher seeing these kids like him every day in school.
Like me.
I do not deal with special kids.
I do not have the proper training to do so.
But every time I deal with some of my super duper hyper-active kids, I think of those teachers who deal with special kids.
It’s not easy.
In normal class, it’s easier to have your temperature shoot up because of the students.
One stubborn student, ok.
Make that 20, it is so not ok.
But, these are kids who understand your feelings.
Or at least, be able to feel the fire on your head.
And they will be quiet (even if it’s just for a while).
However, special kids are not like that.
I mean, some of them may recognize feelings but some may not be able to absorb and understand it when needed.
These are people who have world of their own.
Out of the ordinary context that is.
I do not have experience dealing with special kids so I do not have details to share how would they react or respond to things surrounding them.
But I do know that, if I am to be their teacher, I need lots and I mean lots of patience and love and care and not forgetting, passion in my heart.
To all the parents and teachers of such gifted children (they are gifted cos they are known to at least expert in one thing), my hat’s down on you people. Salute!

Pakai candle la...

Another story with my Year Two Moral Education class.


“Gambar ini menunjukkan seorang lelaki sedang memadam lampu. Pada pendapat kamu, adakah ini satu sikap bersederhana?”

“Yaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Kenapa cikgu selalu pesan supaya sebelum meninggalkan kelas, lampu dan kipas haruslah dipadamkan?”

“Supaya tidak membazir, cikgu!” One girl answered.

“Supaya jimat, cikgu!” Came another answer.

“Ya, betul. Kita mesti bersikap sederhana. Jangan membazir elektrik,” I told them and was about to move to the another picture when…

“Cikgu, kalau tidak mau membazir electric, pakai candle lah!“

Huh?

And this Chegu went onto speechless mode (almost burst into laughter) for a brief seconds before she could think of something to ‘counter-attack’ him.

Kids and their innocent mind.

Counter Strike!

I teach Moral Education for Year 1 and year 2 kiddos.

I was teaching about Love & Care for the family in my Year 2 class yesterday.
I showed a few pictures and asked them what are the ways they can do to show love and care for their family members. Being the most talkative and opinionated students amongst the three Year 2 classes, they gave me lots and lots of responses.

“Kalau emak kamu menyediakan makanan tengahari untuk kamu selepas kamu balik dari sekolah, adakah emak kamu sayang dengan kamu?”

“SAYAAAAANGGG!” They replied uninamously.

“Jadi, sebagai anak yang baik. Bagaimana kamu menunjukkan sikap kasih sayang terhadap emak kamu?”

And the class turned very noisy with their responses.
Some even came up with their own situation at home.

“Teacher, daddy saya..eh..ayah saya kan…kalau mummy saya kasi sedia makan, dia tidak tolong. Dia main computer saja. All the time.”

“Oh, mungkin sebab daddy kamu ada kerja. Itu sebab dia main computer saja,” I replied.

“Tidak! Dia main Counter Strike!! Non-stop.”

Erghhh.

Bah, daddy-daddy semua… rajin-rajin tolong wife kamu ah.
Nanti anak kamu complaint sama cikgu dia.

Au Revoir St James

As most of you have known, I am now teaching in a new school.
I am finally 'reunited' with the Hubby for good after almost 5 yrs of living apart (except weekends and holidays).
No more lonely weekend travel back and forth KK-Kgau.
No more lonely four-nights-a-week sleep. Ha!

The first three years of my attempts to apply for transfer was a roller coaster.
What more with the abnormal pregnancy in Feb 2006 and later PTD in June the same year and had to undergo mild chemo treatment, followed by another miscarriage in Feb 2007.
After all that, I decided to just focus on my job and give the best that I could while I am here.
Deep in my heart, I know I will definitely be able to transfer.
Just time can tell.
Key word is to not give up trying.

I've spent the past 5 years teaching here with absolute wonderful times.
I never regretted having leaving footprints here.
They, my colleagues are fantastic people despite a few who are simply pain in the a**.

I remember the time I was emceeing for a farewell party for one senior teacher.
It was my first year there.

In my opening speech...
"... teacher F has been with this school for 20 good years and this is the ONLY school she has ever been to. Wow! *paused* I'm only on my SECOND year of teaching and this school is already my SECOND school."

I remember the other teachers giggles at my last sentence followed by a reply by another fellow teacher.
"...so, we hope you'll stay longer here like teacher F."

Everyone giggles again.

As much as I want to say I want to stay, I can't.
I know, this place is only going to be my temporary station.
But I promised them that I am not going to waste every minute that I am gonna spend here no matter how short or how long I'll gonna stay.

It's really a sad thing to leave things and people that you have grown to feel comfortable with.
To venture into new environment - change.
It is scary to not know what lies beyond this change that I have to go through.
But this change is for the good.
And I believe, it's gonna worth everything that I've been waiting for before.

Love you all peeps at St James, Apin-Apin.
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the wonderful times we enjoyed together.
And I will see you all again (I'm sure).

It's different but it's Okay...

Hola!
How’s work? How’s school?
Great I supposed.
Mine is so far so good.

For the first time in my 5 (going to 6) years of teaching, I am not looking after exam class i.e. UPSR kiddos.
Instead, I am given Level One kids - 7 to 9 years old little fellas.
And I get lesser stress subjects which is fine by me, of course.

I however feel a little bit weird though that this time around, I am not in the ‘lime light’.
You know, the usual “You UPSR teachers must work hard this year! Must maintain last year’s result. Must score higher.”

Perhaps, after having the same pressure for the past 5 years, I got used to it for awhile.
But then again, I’m sure gonna get use to this new working environment sooner than I thought.
I have to admit, I do miss my old school.
My colleagues especially.

I am going back there tomorrow to bid my final farewell to the school.
I dunno what to expect tomorrow but I do know what to say for the school that has taught me well as a teacher.