MANUAL TO TEACHING

Every new teacher wishes there is a manual to teaching. Unfortunately, there isn't.
Teachers are required to undergo training, but what is learned in colleges, from books etc are only very helpful in preparing teachers the basics. However, there are more to it that can only be learned over the years of teaching.

Even after spending 19 years teaching, I'm still learning and testing new methods. We need to be in par with the changes over the years.
The closest to a teaching manual is experience + creativity + patience + observant.
So, here I would like to share a glimpse from my 'manual'.

A) Who is the best person to teach you how to teach?
Answer : Your client aka your students. Every student has similar traits but never the
same. So, never assume.

B) How do you know what you're supposed to do?
Answer : You don't, at least not immediately. You'd need to quickly get to know and
recognize each student's character, ability, strength, weakness and problem be
it in academic, social, personal or discipline.

C) How do you know whether what you're doing is right or wrong?
Answer : You don't know exactly, but through experience + creativity + patience +
observant you'll get as close to being right.

D) When do I give up on a student?
Answer : Never ever. There is always hope because I always believe every child wants to
learn. It is up to the teacher to push a student to the maximum capability of the
child.
Example : A child is not capable of drawing a rocket, then at least teach the child to
connect the dots and color a picture of a rocket.

E) Do you use a cane to push a student?
Answer : Avoid the cane if possible. I say if possible because some students like my own
son needed a cane to jump start him when he was 6 years old. He refuses to
learn anything because he misses his mom. So Pn Zai, his kindergarten teacher
after exhausting every other method (when he was 5 years old all
other teachers had given up) and against all her beliefs, had to
show him the cane in every lesson for the first two months. She never used it on
him. Since then on, he successfully scored 8As in his PMR. My son is a shy, timid,
quiet, low profile boy in school.
So, before using the cane or shouting at them, KNOW YOUR STUDENTS.
I myself found my most impossible hardcore students responses to gentle cajoles
from me. Don't be sidetracked by their rudeness, because that is their way to
cover up their weakness.

This post is getting to be too long. So, I will end with a reminder.
A teacher is a powerful person. A teacher is capable to make a child do what they believe they can never do.
So teachers, use your power to the full.
HAPPY TEACHERS DAY : GURU PEMBINA NEGARA BANGSA

All Work and No Fun Makes A Dull Teacher

My passion is teaching maths. Some, ok maybe most people may think I'm weird but I enjoy answering impossible and illogical questions from my students, because they make my brain work harder and understand them better. They teaches me how to teach them. I always enjoy challenges such as creating this blog, real mind blogging for a non-computer addict like myself. A pity I couldn't afford developing photos during the earlier years of my carrier. Would like to have taken a few candid shots of my students. Thank god to digital.

However, when school breaks, BYE kids to the extend that I'll forget their names and have to learn it all over again. FREEDOM!!! I'm human after all...

So, what do I do during the hols? Traveling, photography and shopping of course, although since my husband is super crazy about photography, I've become lazy, nowadays I prefer to either be the model or the director since he's a bit of when it comes to framing. I'm his worst critic.

I've travelled a few places overseas and covered every state in Malaysia (some of them more than twice). My favourite is Kota Kinabalu ( I've lost count how many times I've been there) since I can do all 3 in 1 go. I've learned and tested a few local dialects over the years.

I also enjoy observing people during my 'expeditions', we can learn a lot from other people's problem, activities, antics or manners. It reminds us to be thankful of what we have or work harder to get what we want or not to do what that guy just did (horror, horror). We always pray that we'll become a better person each passing day.

I always enjoy sharing my hols experiences with my students as an interlude (after all admittedly, addmaths can sometimes be dragging) and if left to their wism, we could sometimes loose track of the time, to the chagrin of the bookworms. My intention is purely to open their eyes to the world (moral values). Some of them never go anywhere much, always 'balik kampung' only. My children are the envy of their friends.

What I'm sharing here is a glimpse of how most teachers live their life. Of course we have our share of extra duties and extra classes etc (extra pay? Dream on!) even during school break. The none teachers always quip that we have so many off days (not much left actually after all the extras), but they forgot that in order to teach, we need to learn. What is the best way to learn if not to go out there and experience everything first hand? A great teacher is a teacher with lots to share.