Oxymoron In The Tropics

I learned early how to excel at something.  I just needed to do it over and over and over again until others have given up and until I know it better than anybody else in the vicinity.  The only thing I had to overcome was my tendency to get bored fast.  So I also learned to short-circuit this tendency by switching focus to other things but things that are still related to that something I wanted to excel at.  For example, in university, I had to master Lewis structures.  After a few dots and dashes, it got a bit boring.  So I diverged into finding out who Gilbert Lewis was and where he lived and why he came up with these structures (and who came up with dot diagrams)... well, you get the picture.  I went to the library (no Internet in my day) and borrowed books that had nothing to do with my upcoming exams.  None of my friends wanted to study with me.  But I understood Lewis structures a shade better than my other course-mates.  Altho...

When I first became a teacher, it surprised many of my friends.  I suppose there were different reasons... I wasn't obvious teacher material when I was in school.  I was too much of  a class clown at times, too bookish to front a classroom at other times... but the one person who was most surprised was myself.  The only reason that mattered to me was how I viewed the teaching profession as a boring one.  And I was more easily bored than I should be.  I wanted to be a journalist with different assignments every time and never the same view to look at (so I supposed).  Unfortunately for me, the year I applied for a course in university was also the year major riots took place in my hometown and my mother was traumatised to see the reporters (and specifically one who was brother to my aunt) getting the best views in between the Federal Reserve Units and the rioters.  1986.. what a year.  Just a year earlier and I could have been a rep...

When I first started teaching Form Six students many eons ago, the only things on my mind were finishing the syllabus (I was teaching Literature, besides English Language) and polishing their abilities to retain information, organise information into the form required by the question and present the info in an academic fashion.  However now, things have changed.  Not only do I have to scrabble my way along the minefield of today's schools (mines that begin with e- or online-), I also find myself having to deal with social pitfalls.  Not MY social pitfalls,  THEIRS. And one of the most interesting is their chosen email addresses.  Yeah well, let's deal with one social pitfall at one time.   One of the ways I make sure my MUET students at the very least know how to attach a document to their email is by asking them to send me their homework via email.  I do this because I want to ensure that they arrive at university campuses with rudimentary knowle...

Today a friend asked me for some advice.  Should he go to the PPD (education district office) or stay in school? Well, it all really depends. I know why he asks me for advice.  I am currently working in the Kota Kinabalu PPD and I have past experience working in the State Education Department.  I've also racked up a reasonable number of years in school, if you'd call 11 years reasonable.  Here's what I want to say to him and I'll make it clear that this is my OPINION. How many years has one been in school?  Two years?  Six years?  I'd want to have at least three years of school service time under my belt before I try the challenging walk of a PPD officer.  Some people would scoff at that and say more years are required.  However, if a teacher has been in school almost seven years, I'd advise him to stay put.  He has better promotional chances in school.  HOWEVER, there are many reasons for one to serve as a PPD officer (note...

Yes, I should be grateful I'm overworked.  Because that means... ... I have work to do.  ... someone wants to give me work to do. ... I have a job. ... I have a salary. ... I am solvent. ... I have financial independence. Today was pay day :) Thank you, God, for overworking me!

Every year, around May or June, I am sure to be asked by a school leaver the plaintive question,"What am I going to do now??" I will normally retort,"What do you want to do?" After years of dealing with that, I finally decided to list down options so I need only tag them. You see, nobody can answer this question except for the school leaver himself. But of course he needs to know the options first, right? Option One : Continue your studies; matriculation, A-levels or Form 6. And whatever else is at the same level. If part of your problem is money, then you'd have to do some part time work, such as giving tuition, typing assignments for other people (NOT doing them!) or working in fast food restaurants. Option Two : Continue your studies with the help of a scholarship or loan. Be diligent about filling in forms, knocking on doors and making phone calls. Option Three : Work first, save the money and continue your studies later. The da...

Sigh, it's that time again.... of choices, dilemmas, adjustments and ANGST. Yesterday was a deadline for the Form Six Academic Teacher Post applicants to verify their data with the Unit Naik Pangkat (Promotions Unit?) of the Sabah Edu Dept. As I have already moved to the District Education Office, I had to contact my previous school to do the verification. The teachers were whispering about a possible appointment briefing in March or April. Hmmm, wonder what that would mean for me. A Senior Assistant friend of mine sat for an hour, unloading all her grief related to this promotional exercise. There were teachers who applied for posts in Phase One but didn't get any offer, while others who applied in Phase Two were given offers. So the aggrieved teachers were complaining to her, asking why how who what and whyyyyy ...( imagine sad eyes and upset hearts ). I think (my own personal opinion, okay??) that this may have happened because a number of teachers in Phase One turned ...

The first time news came of promotional posts for Form Six teachers was in December 2007.  That excited so many people... and then news came again of Master Teacher posts up for the taking.  In Sabah, anyway.  Promotional exercises came fast and furious and forms were being filled in by every teacher.  There were even cases of teachers filling in forms because they saw their friends filling in forms and they were afraid of being left behind.  I remember when I was a DG44 Senior Assistant ( Penolong Kanan ) in school and there was an opportunity to get a DG48 post as a Form Six Academic Teacher.  I waffled for two weeks and finally gave in to the fear of being left behind and FILLED IN THE FORM!  Like so many other of my compatriots.  And the result is... so many of my Senior Assistant friends are now stepping out of their administrative posts and taking up DG48 posts as Master Teachers or Form Six Academic Teachers.  Some are happy as they have been buckling under the stresses of a...

Today I was on the phone, calling up English teachers I knew (and didn't know!) to help out during an international event in my city. It wasn't a difficult task for the teachers...all they had to do was become tour guides to Kota Kinabalu. Qualification? Ability to speak English well, cheerful personality and proactive mindset. It wasn't the first time I've been asked to get English teachers together to do something not related to English teaching. English teachers tend to have a reputation for being willing to do all sorts of stuff (er...can I read that as being creative?) and bundling in lots of loud laughter in the process of doing the job. I've noticed that TESL grads are extremely marketable in my part of the world. Quite a number of my TESL buddies have 'abandoned' the MOE in search of greener pastures elsewhere. One even found an employer willing to pay off her substantial bond to the government! A corporate friend of mine told me that these gr...

I was reading a friend's blog post where he expressed his frustration with teachers who just didn't care. It is sad to meet such teachers as actually they are suffering inside.  Either they have forgotten the magic of teaching and seeing the light of knowledge in their students' eyes or they never really knew that magic at all.  But then why are they in the teaching world at all?  Teaching is a VOCATION, which means it is a career you are called to.  Something you have a need to do, a strong inclination towards.  For me, to teach is life.  I MUST teach, I NEED to teach...otherwise I feel dead inside.  When I teach something new and a student says,"Oh wow...I didn't know that...", my day is made.  If I teach and I see a bored expression on a student's face, I cannot rest until I find out why that student is bored and how to dispel that look.  If you are a teacher and you're reading this and you do not understand, then you should ask yourself why on ea...

However the heat has merely shifted to English Language... Published: Wednesday July 8, 2009 MYT 2:42:00 PM Updated: Wednesday July 8, 2009 MYT 3:55:24 PM Math and Science back to Bahasa, mother tongues (Update) KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has decided that the medium of instruction for Maths and Science will revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in national-type schools from 2012 onwards. The reversal of the Teaching of Math and Science in English (PPSMI) policy will be done in stages, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday. He however added that there will be greater emphasis on learning the English language. English literature will be re-introduced, as will subjects on grammar and composition. Beginning 2012, students in Year One and Year Four in primary schools, and Form One and Form Four in secondary schools, will learn Math and Science in Bahasa Malaysia. The change will not affect those in Form Six and...

I SAID I wouldn't say anything about which place I prefer yet.  I SAID I had to give the new place a chance. But sometimes when the writing bug hits you, it hits you.  And so I want to say what I feel about my transfer to the new place. First, the positive bits.  Always mention the good stuff first... classic approach. I am where things are decided at the district level and I can say things like I wanna be emcee for the Asian Schools Football Cup pretty please!   Or organize things the way I want them done...such as the way data is compiled and analyzed.  I can sit in an air conditioned room the whole day and make calls and surf the official websites (other sites are blocked...LOL...).  The working hours is not really a factor as I spent the same number of hours (and MORE!) in SMKKL. But the negative aspects... There are no students to teach and no classes to conduct.  And it's not the same as SMKKL.  Yeah, I like that school and its lovable mish-mash of eccentric people (b...

On the 22nd of June 2009, 105 teachers from Kota Kinabalu (including Penampang) will be sitting in KK HIgh School Auditorium, waiting to receive their letters and waiting to be given their briefing. On the same day, a few hundred others will be OUTSIDE said auditorium, feeling all kinds of emotions.  I foresee emotions such as disappointment, anger, despondency, envy. bafflement, jealousy, fury... distress. And afterwards, this turmoil will cause problems in school :P  No need for me to elaborate. The moral of the story : plan better next time before one implements something .

I promised myself I'd create a list of realizations/ideas/strategies for penolong kanan (senior assistants) once I had enough experience as one. Well, since I've been transferred, I won't have any more time to gather experience. Therefore below is the List compiled by one with only 28 months' experience. a) Remember always that you are dealing with people. They are not unfeeling documents that can be filed away. Take time to win their trust. Take the effort to keep their trust. Take pains to find out what makes them tick. Without the staff backing you up, you are like a ship standing dead in the water. b) Begin the day with a smile. And try to remember that no staff ever begins their day by thinking,"What rule shall I break today?" So whenever I face a problem with staff, I will always ask myself why this person is doing this and what could be influencing his or her actions. I dare to say that in my 28 months, I have yet to meet a person who deli...

It's my second day in the new job and I'm dog-tired. First day : Meeting with KPM and JPN officers from 8 in the morning till 5 in the evening.  I only left around 5.45 because I was getting info about my scope of duties.  Spent the night preparing 22 files and burning 22 CDs for Tuesday meeting. Second day : Meeting with secondary school senior assistants and data officers (8.30 to 10.30 am).  Internal meeting to plan the year's projects from 3 pm to 4.30 pm.  Spent one hour in my room preparing files for Wednesday's meeting.  EO asked if I was informed that I was involved in the function on Thursday night (big VIP's welcome).  I just smiled weakly at her over my armful of files, CDs, LCD projector, laptop and purse. Am sitting at the PC right now wrangling two CD burners. Third Day Plan : 8.30 - 10.30 am : meeting with primary school senior assistants and data officers (location : Inanam) 8.30 am            : meeting to plan Thursday night's function (locati...

The first day at my new place of work was...to say the least, instructional. I arrived at the KWSP building and went straight to a meeting at another section. Call it what you will...it wasn't a meeting. It was a series of briefings; seven in total. To make sure we didn't run away, they had breakfast ready, 10.30 a.m. tea break, 1.00 pm lunch and 5.00 p.m. coffee break. Now I remember how I piled on the kilos in my six years with the department. They packed everyone into a small room, where we sat shoulder to shoulder and then began a powerpoint marathon. By the time the day was over, my head was spinning with all the programs and reports I had on my plate. But it wasn't all bad. I met so many old friends. Jake; now Sipitang PPD. Lookin' good as ever, despite his new status as weekend husband. Sufri... hey, man, watch the chocolates and cigarettes! Rafidah ... we managed to exchange some info that will help a young lady in Lahad Datu Myrene, long 'lost' fr...

Today is my last official day in school.  As in the last day that I'll be teaching and the last day that I'll be in school full-time. It is very different from my last day in the Academic Management Sector.  There are benefits to working in the education offices but the major pull in school is the people, students and teachers.  In the office, everyone is busy handling his or her own work.  Most of the time, the work doesn't overlap.  So you get used to being on your own from 8 to 5.  But in school, EVERYTHING overlaps; from the teaching to the canteen doings to the field activities.  I can walk from my office to the canteen and take half an hour because every room or every person I pass has something to say or discuss.  Sometimes I never even get to the canteen.  But in the office, I can walk around the office, ACTIVELY looking for people and they are all in their cubicles, on the phone or deep in files.  Sigh... Perhaps I'll be online most of the time then... Robbie ...

It's still only Thursday but I'm already suffering Monday blues. Received a call to tell me not to forget to go to the office (read that as the PPD : new place of work) on Monday and that I had a meeting to attend that day itself.  "Oh btw, there are reports to submit...could you ~do~ them?" :P Well, maybe I can't do them as maybe Monday will be my first day on the job.  Maybe lah.... Argghhhh, this is what I do not like about moving on to a new job.  I'll be picking up the reins and the headaches as well.  People also keep congratulating me...but they are not aware this is not a promotion...in fact, I'd be losing out on two allowances: the incentive for teaching in English and the Senior Assistant allowance. The relevant terms in the title of the letter are : Arahan Perpindahan Setara. I'm so not looking forward to Monday... : (

Today I received a call from the PPD's PA.  I was to go down to the PPD and meet the boss that very day. My heart dropped.  I was in class at that time and having a good time with my Form Sixes.  At the same time, my student debaters were in SMKA Inanam, fighting it out with SM All Saints students.  But the writing is on the wall...and I have to toe the line. I was given only a week to comply with the transfer. :(

Oh, great great great news! 40,000 Civil Servants Given Option Of Pension Scheme November 27, 2008 18:17 PM PUTRAJAYA, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- About 40,000 more civil servants will be in the pension scheme following the government's decision to grant back that option to all those who had earlier chosen the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the move was to enable these civil servants to enjoy the medical and other retirement benefits provided by the government. "All this will be good for them in the long run," he said after presenting the Public Sector Quality Awards to the recipients at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, here, Thursday. When I was a young teacher (very wet behind the ears!) attending an induction course years ago, one of the course presenters told us about the EPF and pension options. But the gist of his presentation was that EPF was the better option of the two. This, plus the fa...