I feel that it's common for us educators to tell our kids what to do and what not to do. In fact, it has become so ingrained in our everyday communication that we forgot the reason why we were given such power to command kids to do or not do something.
In fact, sometimes I feel that I forget that the reason why we tell kids to do or not do anything is for them to realise that there are many things out there that they need to know about. Not only is that crucial but it's also important to realise that telling them to do something means that they will have to change themselves... believe me when I say changing yourself is not easy.
At least by saying do that, it is directed and there is a good idea about what we require them to do. In fact, most of the time, we'll say things like:
Do your work.
Do the exercises following the instructions given.
Go into your groups.
These are very direct in terms of focus and the kid knows exactly what to commence next in his actions.However, most of us take the action of don't do to be similar. It is not as directed as do that. In fact, when you tell someone not to do something, what happens is it creates a void (assuming he follows you).
The commands don't do must always be followed by do that. A lot of teachers take that for granted. We cannot expect the kids to know what has to be done to fill that gap that we told them to create. We should similarly direct them to do something to fill in that gap.
To be a good leader, one must first learn to follow.
I believe strongly in the idea of strong and authoritative leadership. In fact, these leaders are the ones who get things done with their no nonsense attitudes and headstrong decision making abilities. It's not an easy task in any way which makes it so revered and respected when one can attain those attributes. However, being able to step down and micro-manage your colleagues is no easy task as well. In this case, it's not a leader who necessarily steps into character but a co-worker.
I believe that good leadership is reflected also by how well and willing the comrades aid the leader during battles. A good general is always the first one to hoist the flag and the last one still holding it in the heat of battle. He is one that steps out first to battle in order to boost the morale of his army to join him in the crusade. He is also accessible and at arms reach to watch the backs of his privates and is the first one to save their butts when their legs can hold them up no longer. A good leader must be able to gain the trust of his comrades.
To be able to be with kings but not lose the common touch.
Many leaders end up segregating themselves with the commonfolk. Unknowingly or consciously, they tend to set themselves apart in ways that would only create uncomfortable bonds and to lose the soft skills among the people you work with is only going to make things more difficult. A leader I believe to be swift in duty is also swift in supporting the welfare of his comrades. A general cannot win the was with wounded soldiers let alone angry and demoralized ones.
With that being said, I humbly serve you first in order to gain your trust and cooperation.
For some unknown reason... I sorta had a revelation in my volatile brain to make bird sounds..
And due to that peculiar fancy that probably lasted for 5-7.5 mins, I've just decided to set up a birdy account. Yup. Tasty English's author and authoress are now officially twitting.
I've so far twitted 4 times when this post was written.
Will be twitting more as the bird-mood is still there.
Twit me if you can. I'm at adriantan_85 if you come flocking around...
I stumbled upon this video while reading the news online. This dude called Ted Williams is not just homeless, he used to struggle with drugs and alchohol addiction. He looks scruffy, unpresentable and just like your typical bum...
But don't let that smock and unpolished look fool you...
Here are 2 cliche proverbs for you today:
"don't judge a book by it's cover" because "there is more than meets the eye"
sorry I can't embed the video... I am just using my phone to blog and I can't seem to load the embedding codes from youtube... Trust me though... It's worth the time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou_XuEEGQA8
edit: managed to get the embedding working on my phone... Here's the video. Enjoy!
This year's first top ten list is courtesy of my wonderful form 5 class.
Wonderful.
Since it was the first topic of the year, I was doing something light related to the topic Reaching for the Stars.
They have to imagine they have Bill Gates fortune worth USD50 billion and write out the things they would do with the money and how much was the estimated cost of it.... here goes:
THE TOP TEN LIST OF THINGS THEY WILL DO IF THEY WERE A BILLIONAIRE
.... and the costs...
10. I will give money to my perents. USD 10 000
9. I will go to China for enjoy. USD 150 000
8. I will invest in seafood restaurant. USD 5 million
7. I will keep safe in bank. USD 2 billion
6. I will give money to my couple. USD10 000
5. I will buy a car and a home. USD 70
4. I will buy 4 RXZ, 1 Mazda RX8, 1 Nissan GTR, 1 Ferrari Turbo. USD 5 million<---guess the gender
3. I will give money to my couple for honeymon. USD 100
2. I will give money for marry my sweetheart. USD 15 million <-- guess the gender
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.and....
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.#1!!!!!!
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I will buy a car and house. USD 30 000 billion
*insert big band jazzy ending with lots of confetti and USD 100 bills
I have the honour of teaching the first 2 form 5 classes. They are the previous form 4 classes that I have thought for a year now and they are result of hard convincing and trying to get them to liken English.
Yup.
Not improve in English, but just to liken English..
I think that's a fair objective. It's important to first and foremost try to get your students to love English. I'm not sure if it's entirely a good thing but also to love you and everything that you do and are in the class. I deeply believe that a students who loves the teacher and the subject (no matter who the teacher is) will somehow have a significant advantage over one that hasn't any inclination towards likening that subject.
Therefore, I gave the students a year-long project.
Each student has to encourage/promote/improve another person in school from a lower form to liken English. That's right. I told them that it is their duty as a person who already likes English to spread that emotion and connection to at least another individual in school.
How?
I told them that if you can get 1 other person in school other than yourself to like something that has to be seen/heard/read/talked in English, that would be a major breakthrough. In fact, I went as far as to say that the failure or success of the person in the language itself is not important - getting their interest in that English subject (subject being any form of media or form) is already good enough.
Spread it out!
Tell the tales!
Share the music!
Trade pirated DVDs!!!.... erm... OK, maybe not that (*disclaimer)
By the end of every month, they'll just have to submit a short and simple profile report of that person they are trying to influence to me for evaluation and responses.
I hope that at the same time that they try to promote something about English to another, they develop deeper interests towards this subject.... and by teaching another, they learn faster and practice more.
We'll see how my promoters use their monthly quota.
Tomorrow will be the first day of my sophomore year as a teacher.
Am I geared up? You could say that... I've made sure that I packed my weapons and utility bag to hop into the battlefield once more. I'm not going to play the same game nor am I going to layout the same strategy plan.
It's going to be different this year.
I don't want to go on doing or hoping for the same things again and again. It's just not right. I wouldn't even go to someone's party if that person was just doing the same shit again and again every year round. I want to make sure I don't get stuck. It's so easy to get stuck... trust me, you can become too complacent with the way things are.
I'm not going to become that guy who just became a teacher and went in and out of the class without getting anywhere... I'm inspired to do more. I WILL do more. I can't word it in the right way yet nor can I explain what I mean by that... all I know is... it'll be different this year.
That is the title of the latest documentary movie that has been released.
This movie is about education or more specifically what is lacking of it in the US education system. It states and I quote a lot of good and effective English teachers but also containing a lot of very ineffective ones. According to The Oprah Show and the guest starring in that documentary Michelle Reed, this is one of the major reasons why the education system is failing and the fact that even a few of these ineffective teachers are in classes everyday, 5 days a week is detrimental to the vision and future of young ones.
If you have 3 effective teachers going in for 3 straight periods, versus 3 ineffective teachers going into class for 3 straight periods, it heavily guides or misguides the path of students - Michelle Reed in The Oprah Show
I think this is phenomenal and not to mention not new. It has been under the rugs for too long that the acceptance of ineffective teachers are always compromised. At what expense? The education of the students. Michelle Reed purportedly fired more than 1000 teachers in the public sector in the US for not being effective teachers even with a system similar to ours; a teacher's union that heavily guards the security of not just the teaching profession but the security of being a civil servant as well.
Being a civil servant and a teacher gives a lot of security blankets to individuals. Not only is it difficult to fire a teacher, it is also difficult to make that teacher's life difficult. You can, but it is not easy. It isn't new that there are a handful of teachers who abuse this sense of security and abuse it the best they can. Some are smart about it and tend to fix their attitudes every now and then to ensure that they are safe just in case there are people watching over them.
I find this sense of security to be VERY unchecked. Don't get me wrong, I think that having security and a union is brilliant and ultimately necessary but if this leads to unchecked abuse of those within the system, then you're just covering up one hole by digging another. Job security should not immediately equal to I-can-do-whatever-the-hell-I-want-and-no-one-can-talk-smack-about-it. Once again, I'm not saying that the system is impervious and invincible, I'm saying that it is made so difficult to crack, it'll take more than a sledgehammer to break those walls.
I can understand the sentiment brought up by those in the Oprah Show. I also hate it when I see some slacking off around me while others are doing their mighty best to improve the people around them. I hate it when I see people giving tonnes of excuse while others take it with a don and force themselves to work harder for the betterment of others instead of themselves. I feel that our system of Guru Cemerlang is excellent in paving the way for teachers who want to become better and strive to improve their students. I think that there should be a thorough check and balance system to make it easier to recognise these tireless teachers and credit them for their uproaring efforts and success.
Until then, I really wanna watch Waiting for Superman.
Following up with my year end analyses, I think it's important to keep things brief as well. I think being a civil servant and teacher has taught me a few lessons rather painstakingly.
Well, some things can't be taught or told. You have to experience it yourself. It really is very 'eye-opening' to work with civil servants. You really get a mixture of a 'variety' of characters. I hardly want to divulge detailed information about these relations... Because it's just not professional.
I think keeping your workplace and work ethic tip top is the key. I know this has nothing to do with professional development but it helps you stay focused. In the end, it's very easy to feel imbalanced and untethered to your duties. You feel like you're leaving too many things hanging and you don't know which to commit to first. Organised - that's the keyword for the year.
Following up to the word 'organisation' is management. I think student management cannot be undermined here. The idea is - you manage them well, you can have any activity. You 'teach them to self manage' and they become 'instintively creative'. My ultimate goal and resolution for 2011 would be just that.
Get students to become their own managers and think-tanks. Make their dependancy on teachers to be near zero.
As the year draws to an end for school, it's important to have a little bit of reflection about the year. I can't seem to put it in more comprehensible writing so I guess I'll be splitting it into parts.
First up, the students
i think they have been very appreciative of what i've been trying to do. I feel very blessed to have them not to be my students but to teach me how to become a better teacher. Seeing it's my first year as a full-fledged teacher, the things I've learned are important and will stick for a very long time.
... No matter what they give to me, i'll give back two-folds.
I had a storytelling competition with my form 1 class and it proved to be quite the hit among the kids.
I should do this more often to boost the confidence of the students to speak in English. I've already posted the album in my Facebook account (link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=266075&id=507101837 )... So I'm not going to post it here. I'll just post the winners here as a small prize of appreciation.
Since this is the first time I'll be going graphic, it's kinda... sad that I'm posting about punishment. This kid skipped my class and had the nerve to hide from me as I spotted him from afar. I just had to punish him but I did not want to resort to barbaric and crude assaults.
So I assault his brain.
*note: some of the images could be very graphical. A teacher's assistance while viewing is advised.
Tomorrow, 1 Dalton will be having a story telling competition. It's important not only as an enrichment process of speaking English, but performance wise it helps a lot in confidence.
CONFIDENCE
If there is one thing that students need more than anything, it's confidence. Importantly, you get a lot of kids who are noisy, full of energy, and very out of bounds when it comes to personal hygiene... Well, this isn't going to change that last bit...
... moving on....
Most of the time, you'll get students who are so energetic and outspoken but are complete wusses when told to come up to the front of a crowd to speak. It is important to break that irritating affective factor and get them out of their comfort zone; not to freak them out, but to freak them out now. So that they will get the chance to say "Been there, done that".
I'm very happy that I'm going to do this for the form 1 students.
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