Would you prefer to teach secondary school or JC? A question that I have asked and have been asked numerous times.
For me it's more about preferring teaching GP to teaching English rather than JC vs Sec School per se. GP is so much more interesting..I get to do research about many fascinating stuff (although I always get censored by the school network for trying to access violent/explicit websites...hey can't be helped..that's the nature of the subject! To show the various perspectives!) Reading what students have to say in GP essays is also more interesting (most of the time..except for the dreaded "I agree to a large extent.") than reading silly stories written by secondary school students (And having to read cliche openings and nonsensical stories.......although I do miss having a good laugh =p)
And I love GP because I get to argue * eyes lit up * but sadly very few students want to argue with me. (Actually they do, but only about silly things like "can we extend the deadline" and "no you didn't tell us!"..not very intellectually stimulating!)
Having said that I do miss my lovely GMSS students(though I'm affirmative NOT all of them miss me...=p). But sometimes in secondary school I have to resort to so much nagging and scolding that I just dread myself. Hmm..on second thoughts I might have to resort to that even in JC.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Blogging again! After the onslaught of verbal assualts and physical intimidation from friends and students, I type this entry with the utmost reluctance. (Only when someone threatened to ban me from accessing her rather entertaining blog)
Since i have tons of marking to do(convenient excuse), I'll just give a brief update of my life in case you haven't contacted me for the past few months.
1. Graduated from NIE, although I did not attend the ceremony, neither did I collect my scroll. It's just too much of a hassle, with NIE being so far away and having to reschedule and make up my lessons. Anyway NIE wasn't such a defining moment of my life that I felt compelled to go for the ceremony, although I did miss the chance to meet up with the 13 gorgeous girls who are my classmates.
2. Went on a self-planned trip to Shanghai-Hangzhou-Suzhou. Not very uplifting, I would say, or like what Kaile might say, it's "approaching expectations". It was enjoyable, definitely, but somehow it just lacked the "oomph" which I got from Japan and Switzerland. The best part was the cheap books and DVDs/VCDs ..I have tonnes of books and Jap dramas (legal copies..i.e. non-pirated) which I have no time to finish(and here I am writing this entry......see Angie..how nice I am)
3. posted to SAJC. (If you don't know this by now you probably don't know me personally) To be honest I was a little upset initially, since another school had accepted me and I was all mentally geared towards that....quite a shock when I saw my posting. Well but it turned out to be a nice place..my colleagues are really nice, warm and helpful except one person (no prizes for guessing who) ...oops can't bitch here, so I'm really glad that things worked out.
4. My students are...............nice. Oops I think as a GP tutor I should refrain from using some bland and emotionally lacking words like "nice"..but then I can't type while keeping my fingers crossed. ok I'll try my best...they are interesting and funny people, rather amusing, although some are in a higher state of inertia and require more prodding....
5. Became teacher-in-charge of SAJC Band. Wow...an astonishing group of people. Both in terms of musical excellence and vibrancy. I was truly touched and impressed several times over the past month, during the concert, practices, band dinner, etc...although i did not have much chance to interact with them as yet, though I'm sure that'll change with time to come.
6. Performed with Hsing Hai. Wow this concert like clashed with SAJC Band's..so I was rushing back and forth several times that day..nearly killed me in the process. I realized it had been almost a year since I last performed on stage..quite a feat for me! Guess I won't be performing much now that I'm no longer a part of any musical group. (Flo...that's not an excuse to ask me to play the violin during GP =p)
7. Speaking of which..I bought a $1200 violin after coming back from China. Blew my budget..but just couldn't resist when they started dangling more and more expensive violins in front of me. My intended budget was only $600-$800. Sigh..well guess I'd have to wait a couple of months more for my piano.
Gosh..I lead a sad life..I can't even come up with more than 7 points to summarize two months of my life. And 5 of these revolve around the school. My social life's at stake!
Since i have tons of marking to do(convenient excuse), I'll just give a brief update of my life in case you haven't contacted me for the past few months.
1. Graduated from NIE, although I did not attend the ceremony, neither did I collect my scroll. It's just too much of a hassle, with NIE being so far away and having to reschedule and make up my lessons. Anyway NIE wasn't such a defining moment of my life that I felt compelled to go for the ceremony, although I did miss the chance to meet up with the 13 gorgeous girls who are my classmates.
2. Went on a self-planned trip to Shanghai-Hangzhou-Suzhou. Not very uplifting, I would say, or like what Kaile might say, it's "approaching expectations". It was enjoyable, definitely, but somehow it just lacked the "oomph" which I got from Japan and Switzerland. The best part was the cheap books and DVDs/VCDs ..I have tonnes of books and Jap dramas (legal copies..i.e. non-pirated) which I have no time to finish(and here I am writing this entry......see Angie..how nice I am)
3. posted to SAJC. (If you don't know this by now you probably don't know me personally) To be honest I was a little upset initially, since another school had accepted me and I was all mentally geared towards that....quite a shock when I saw my posting. Well but it turned out to be a nice place..my colleagues are really nice, warm and helpful except one person (no prizes for guessing who) ...oops can't bitch here, so I'm really glad that things worked out.
4. My students are...............nice. Oops I think as a GP tutor I should refrain from using some bland and emotionally lacking words like "nice"..but then I can't type while keeping my fingers crossed. ok I'll try my best...they are interesting and funny people, rather amusing, although some are in a higher state of inertia and require more prodding....
5. Became teacher-in-charge of SAJC Band. Wow...an astonishing group of people. Both in terms of musical excellence and vibrancy. I was truly touched and impressed several times over the past month, during the concert, practices, band dinner, etc...although i did not have much chance to interact with them as yet, though I'm sure that'll change with time to come.
6. Performed with Hsing Hai. Wow this concert like clashed with SAJC Band's..so I was rushing back and forth several times that day..nearly killed me in the process. I realized it had been almost a year since I last performed on stage..quite a feat for me! Guess I won't be performing much now that I'm no longer a part of any musical group. (Flo...that's not an excuse to ask me to play the violin during GP =p)
7. Speaking of which..I bought a $1200 violin after coming back from China. Blew my budget..but just couldn't resist when they started dangling more and more expensive violins in front of me. My intended budget was only $600-$800. Sigh..well guess I'd have to wait a couple of months more for my piano.
Gosh..I lead a sad life..I can't even come up with more than 7 points to summarize two months of my life. And 5 of these revolve around the school. My social life's at stake!
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
My life is so embarrassingly boring that I cannot blog about it. Unless you want to hear about how I took a 1.5 hour trip to NIE to listen to a silly CCA talk that stretches for barely an hour, then to take another 1.5 hour trip home again. What? You actually do? Then your life is more pathetic than mine.
It suffices to say that the NIE induction is ridiculous. I can't believe the last stage of my student teacher life(or is it the initial stage of my full fledged teacher life) involves sitting in a LT and listening to people talk about things that I am not in the least interested in. Hopefully the visits to ITE, Changi Prison, etc are going to be more exciting, since I already gave up hope on the Sungei Gedong camp visit.
I'm so laid back and stoic now that the long list of undesirable colleagues-to-be no longer perturbs me. I think I'm already maxed out, even though I still have not met the remaining ten of them, I think things can only get better from now. (How can it not be!) I am now thankful for small favours, and the tinest positive aspects which I can wring out of my miserable life I give them full credit. (like not having to teach CME)
It suffices to say that the NIE induction is ridiculous. I can't believe the last stage of my student teacher life(or is it the initial stage of my full fledged teacher life) involves sitting in a LT and listening to people talk about things that I am not in the least interested in. Hopefully the visits to ITE, Changi Prison, etc are going to be more exciting, since I already gave up hope on the Sungei Gedong camp visit.
I'm so laid back and stoic now that the long list of undesirable colleagues-to-be no longer perturbs me. I think I'm already maxed out, even though I still have not met the remaining ten of them, I think things can only get better from now. (How can it not be!) I am now thankful for small favours, and the tinest positive aspects which I can wring out of my miserable life I give them full credit. (like not having to teach CME)
Monday, May 22, 2006
It has been some time since I last blogged in NIE Computer Lab, but here I am doing it again. Four hours to go before English lecture .....and Calbin just abandoned us to get a haircut when he has no need for one. I really felt like going home, but then Desi is presenting and it's not nice if we don't show our support for her. See Desi, the agony we are enduring because of you!
Today is supposed to be my last day of formal lessons in NIE. Actually we haven't been doing much since we came back from practicum, it's just like coming back to chit chat with fellow classmates. Not that I'm complaining.
ARgh..these two paragraphs took me only 3 minutes. Three hours and fifty seven minutes to go.
Today is supposed to be my last day of formal lessons in NIE. Actually we haven't been doing much since we came back from practicum, it's just like coming back to chit chat with fellow classmates. Not that I'm complaining.
ARgh..these two paragraphs took me only 3 minutes. Three hours and fifty seven minutes to go.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
ROTTING AWAY
To quote Calbin, " Life has been boring". While my poor GMSS students are struggling with their exams, I am shaking legs at home having nothing (much) to do. (Btw, I noticed the F2-1 students did not come online during the exam period, while the F1=1 students continue to be online. SHAME ON YOU! tsk tsk) Well exams are over for them as well by now, so do take a (well-deserved?) rest for now. =)
For me I have not adjusted to suddenly having so much time on my hands. MOre time for maple story, more time for practising, more time for reading. Oh I haven't read so many books since I could remember. I finished Book 1 of the latest Dragonlance trilogy: Amber and Ashes. Juicy stuff. The gods are bickering among themselves again. I like the capricious and wilful Zeboim, goddess of the sea. Maybe it shall be my new pseudonym, and I do need one. I also read this hilarious book entitled "The Short History of the Tractors of Ukraine". The colourful characters and witty dialogue make the book impossible to put down and I finished the book in record time.
Kayser is my nemesis. For the uninitiated, I'm not referring to a brand of sweets(hmm..haven't seen these sweets recently actually), but the 36 etudes(studies) for violin. Despite the words "PROGRESSIVE" and "ELEMENTARY" on the cover of the book, I can guarantee that the etudes are neither progressive nor elementary. Seriously I have never played such ridiculously difficult stuff even in my almost ten years of CO, and now I am expected to play this in like..less than ten months of violin playing? I feel sorry for the millions of violin students(myself included) who contort their fingers regularly in such awkward positions to master Kayser. Well..I guess at least it keeps me busy .. =p
For me I have not adjusted to suddenly having so much time on my hands. MOre time for maple story, more time for practising, more time for reading. Oh I haven't read so many books since I could remember. I finished Book 1 of the latest Dragonlance trilogy: Amber and Ashes. Juicy stuff. The gods are bickering among themselves again. I like the capricious and wilful Zeboim, goddess of the sea. Maybe it shall be my new pseudonym, and I do need one. I also read this hilarious book entitled "The Short History of the Tractors of Ukraine". The colourful characters and witty dialogue make the book impossible to put down and I finished the book in record time.
Kayser is my nemesis. For the uninitiated, I'm not referring to a brand of sweets(hmm..haven't seen these sweets recently actually), but the 36 etudes(studies) for violin. Despite the words "PROGRESSIVE" and "ELEMENTARY" on the cover of the book, I can guarantee that the etudes are neither progressive nor elementary. Seriously I have never played such ridiculously difficult stuff even in my almost ten years of CO, and now I am expected to play this in like..less than ten months of violin playing? I feel sorry for the millions of violin students(myself included) who contort their fingers regularly in such awkward positions to master Kayser. Well..I guess at least it keeps me busy .. =p
Thursday, May 11, 2006
It all began when we heard something about someone receiving his posting via snail mail. Of course we dismissed all these rumours with a mere wave of our hands, and you can't blame us. The pandemonium that resulted in Feb everytime there was the slightest rumour that our practicum posting is out is still fresh in our minds. And hello...this is like one whole month before 12 June..how can NIE/MOE be so efficient?! So it's not surprising that the news barely stirred us.
It was not until Cedric called me to tell me he is NOT being posted back to GMSS that I realized the rumours are true. Our posting is out! The excitement which resulted from this simple fact resonated rapidly throughout the NIE population. SMSes are being sent, phone calls are being made, rumours are being verified, information is being shared. Like everyone else, I rushed home, despite the fact that I was supposed to go for a rehearsal first.
It came as a shock that I was posted to SAJC. I mean, even Mrs Ang assured us that once an agreement is made between a trainee and a school, it's almost 100% guaranteed(especially if it is a JC). Seriously I wouldn't complain about being posted to SAJC (although once again it's located in the labyrinth of expressways and those you-can-see-the-school-but-how-on-earth-am-I-supposed-to-cross-all-these-roads-and-railings-and-fences type of situations, okay not a common occurence to most people..but believe me, I have more than my fair share of these situations by now), it's just that I feel rather let-down after all the arrangements have been made.
Hee..after 20 years in our education system as a student and having no problem getting admitted to whatever school that I set my eyes upon, it's funny that now I am a teacher and I don't get to do that anymore. =p Well..I guess I'll never know if I'll like the school until I actually start teaching there, but it's almost guaranteed that I won't be able to subscribe myself fully to the school values. I've always been one who likes to fit right into whatever community/institute I find myself in (I see heads shaking...some people see me as an iconoclast.)....hmmm I guess i'll just have to wait and see and make my peace with the situation. What I know is that it will not dampen my spirit to teach........at least not yet... =p
It was not until Cedric called me to tell me he is NOT being posted back to GMSS that I realized the rumours are true. Our posting is out! The excitement which resulted from this simple fact resonated rapidly throughout the NIE population. SMSes are being sent, phone calls are being made, rumours are being verified, information is being shared. Like everyone else, I rushed home, despite the fact that I was supposed to go for a rehearsal first.
It came as a shock that I was posted to SAJC. I mean, even Mrs Ang assured us that once an agreement is made between a trainee and a school, it's almost 100% guaranteed(especially if it is a JC). Seriously I wouldn't complain about being posted to SAJC (although once again it's located in the labyrinth of expressways and those you-can-see-the-school-but-how-on-earth-am-I-supposed-to-cross-all-these-roads-and-railings-and-fences type of situations, okay not a common occurence to most people..but believe me, I have more than my fair share of these situations by now), it's just that I feel rather let-down after all the arrangements have been made.
Hee..after 20 years in our education system as a student and having no problem getting admitted to whatever school that I set my eyes upon, it's funny that now I am a teacher and I don't get to do that anymore. =p Well..I guess I'll never know if I'll like the school until I actually start teaching there, but it's almost guaranteed that I won't be able to subscribe myself fully to the school values. I've always been one who likes to fit right into whatever community/institute I find myself in (I see heads shaking...some people see me as an iconoclast.)....hmmm I guess i'll just have to wait and see and make my peace with the situation. What I know is that it will not dampen my spirit to teach........at least not yet... =p
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Finally, my days in GMSS are over. No more marking, no more writing of lesson plans, no more zapping of worksheets....(at least for now). I have the gift of time on my hands yet again! And finally I have the time to update my blog...
Obviously I would have loved to bitch about certain people (both teachers and students) from GMSS, but I have to refrain from doing that since I have students visiting my blog. Haha. Well, if you really want to know, check out my secret blog at www.howdumbareyou.blogspot.com, or you can always ask me in person! (This offer does not extend to any personnel related to GMSS, however remote, whether living or dead.)
Still, there are more good times in GMSS than bad times I guess. Special thanks to my EL CT Miss Johnson for her guidance and support, and also the inspiring comments she wrote in my farewell card. I'll also miss the 120 students I have from Faith 1-1, Faith 2-1 and Faith 3-4, especially Faith 1-1 because I see them many many times a week. All the best for your mid-year exams!
Do I want to be posted back to GMSS? I don't really know..a small part of me wanted to say yes..but I don't think I'll ever be fully at home in that school.
Obviously I would have loved to bitch about certain people (both teachers and students) from GMSS, but I have to refrain from doing that since I have students visiting my blog. Haha. Well, if you really want to know, check out my secret blog at www.howdumbareyou.blogspot.com, or you can always ask me in person! (This offer does not extend to any personnel related to GMSS, however remote, whether living or dead.)
Still, there are more good times in GMSS than bad times I guess. Special thanks to my EL CT Miss Johnson for her guidance and support, and also the inspiring comments she wrote in my farewell card. I'll also miss the 120 students I have from Faith 1-1, Faith 2-1 and Faith 3-4, especially Faith 1-1 because I see them many many times a week. All the best for your mid-year exams!
Do I want to be posted back to GMSS? I don't really know..a small part of me wanted to say yes..but I don't think I'll ever be fully at home in that school.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)