Fitri would not copy from now on

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum :D

Here’s a reallyyy CUTE story:

One of my favourite pupil, Fitri from the second class, 2T1 did not understand how to construct sentences using has and have so I called him aside and taught him slowly whereas other students have already finished writing and starting to make noises. After explaining everything and seeing him writing half of the exercise, I decided to let him finish it all off.

Then, I saw him copying one of his friend’s work and I said;

Fitri tiru ke tu?

And he sheepishly tried to hide the paper.

So I said; takpe, tiru la, teacher penat ngajaq, kamu nak p tiru pulak padahal kamu bole wat sendiri. Taknak cuba takpela.

And then he tried to pass the paper up and I said, teacher tau ni kamu tiru kan.

And then he got really guilty and he said;

Ok, ok, nak buat balik la teacher bole tak? Biarla kertas ni dah jadi rojak pun.

And I said, takpela, teacher nak amik dah ni.

I went to help other people and he thought I wasn’t looking and tried to retrieve back the paper, searching it within all the piles of the other students’ work.

I caught him red – handed and said;

Fitri! Buat ape tu!

And when I went up to him and took the paper, he actually tried to snatched it back from me until the end of the paper got ripped!

I wat tatau je, and he said, teacher, sorry teacher tapi tolongla, nak buat balik…

And I said, did u learn your lesson?

And he said; yes, saya takkan meniru lagi.

And he even went to the staff room after that to apologize profusely.

He’s so cute isn’t he?

But sometimes I scold him because he can be hingaq in the class too, hehe :p

Sometimes I Get Depressed :(

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum :s

There’s a Secret Recipe Café on the way to the Kulim town after the place where I’m teaching, Big Pumpkin and since I’m saving a lot of money eating hostel’s food, sometimes, on the free Friday’s that I get, Nani and I would hang out at Secret Recipe and enjoy having our tea while surfing the internet. I only buy a cheese cake or the pastry and not the too expensive meals because most of my money goes to my car.

And I do need the internet because I CAN’T DRAW! Yes, and it’s such a handicap not being able to draw for my below average students who loves pictures that could assist them in understanding the language better. So I would take lots and lots of pictures either to print or when using the PowerPoint to show them.

And it’s still so frustrating when they are not able to understand BUT at the same time, I don’t blame them at all. This is because of the atmosphere and how they are born and bred don’t allow them to use and practise the language much. Plus, they have such limited exposure to the language and this not only hinders them in learning the language that I’m teaching them but also science and maths in which what they can understand in Malay, when its in English makes it too difficult for them. Besides, they also have this mindset that I can actually help them with science and maths but I have long forgotten many terms and the how – to’s of the 2 subjects.

I looked at them and my heart goes out to them and I really want to change that BUT I can do so little and it makes me DEPRESSED! Yes, it does, you have no idea…

These kids are already in their form 2 and some of their English is fossilized resulting in them making the same mistakes and also not being able to grasp some English grammar rules, some English words, some English forms and functions, etc.

Every weekend, I cracked my head figuring out what kind of activities and games that would make these students of mine have fun and at the same time, comprehend what is it that I want to get across to them.

This is the EVERYDAY DILEMMA:

IF IT’S TOO MUCH FUN, THEY PROBABLY DON’T LEARN.

IS IT’S TOO SERIOUS, THEY WOULD GET BORED.

IF IT’S TOO DIFFICULT THEN IT WILL ALWAYS BE DIFFICULT.

IF IT’S TOO EASY THEN IT WILL ALWAYS BE EASY.

SO HOW DOES IT REALLY WORK?!

to be garang or not to be garang

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum :)

Is it true that when you first enter a class, you have to put on a stern face so that students know you mean business and that you can’t be messed with?!

Well, it’s what everybody says but I wonder of the truth in that statement…

I did tried to put on my best don’t – you – dare – mess – with – me – face but seeing the innocent and wide – eyed students made my heart melt and I surrendered as I smiled, huhu

I can’t help it, I have to admit it, I can’t be angry at my students, in spite of knowing that I HAVE TO BE STERN!

It bugs me, it really does and the only things I could do were warn them while looking (hopefully) angry:

‘Don’t make me angry because I’ll just throw you out!’

‘Do you want me to call the discipline teacher?’

‘If you don’t do your work, then I’ll have to ask the discipline teacher to help you, do you want that?’

‘I’ll just ignore you if you refuse to listen to what I say!’

[Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll really do the first one and that I can’t possibly throw a student out when I having I’m practicum]

A student said to me, Teacher tak garang pun, asyik senyum je! And I retorted; nak Teacher garang ke?

Huh! Kids!

2nd week and surviving!

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum :)

It’s been a week and Alhamdulillah I am surviving this teaching ordeal BUT I am grappling and struggling because I find it hard and challenging though I know this is life and there’s no shortcut to success and that Allah wants to test me and this is just the beginning~

The first week itself was DAUNTING!
On Sunday, it was Report Card Day whereby parents came to see the teacher for their children’s progress at school therefore there were no classes but the students’ were intrigued at Nani and I as they could sense we were strangers. After that Sunday, it was a week fill with tests so my job was just to invigilate the test done in the class that I will be teaching for the whole 3 months namely the form 2.

There are 5 classes of form 2. I got the second and third class whereas Nani got the first and fourth class. I have already fallen in love with the third class although their level of English is below average. This is because, not only are they mostly cute but they’re so eager to learn! They probably don’t understand the instructions I gave them in front of the class but afterwards they would attack me with questions! They probably don’t speak English but at least, they do the work that I tell them to do. And they probably don’t realize that I saw that a few of them wrote love letters for me because they tried to insert it inside my book but when I turned to looked at them, they snatched it back but I already caught a glimpse of teacher, nak no phone teacher, teacher comel :p

The second class was noisy or hingaq! In an annoyingly way and I’m sorry to have to say this but even though they are smarter than the third class but their level of English is still pretty weak yet they make lawak kering in front of me hence making me lose patience!

I am not the chengir (garang or strict in Kedah slang, when the teacher advice me not to be chengir, I was like, what?! Then Nani explain, huhu) type of teacher but I realize I had to be one time or another but my heart remains a softie.

You have no idea that I get tired and eat a lot after teaching lately and this is just my second week and I am still so afraid! It’s still about obtaining an A but MOST OF ALL, I just want MY STUDENTS to learn something and it’s not just them that’s finding it hard to understand English but really, when they speak really fast in that Kedah slang, I am already lost, hehe

Pray for me people~

There’s one cyber café here but sometimes the phone lines are unstable, huhu

survey b4 practicum

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum :)

After 5 years (and still going strong), my laptop finally succumbed to a virus that couldn’t be obliterate and so I had to take action because assignments were piling up and practicum is around the corner.

I am so used to my laptop and everything inside it for 5 years that when it was finally clean, I struggled to get used to it and my OCD finds it disturbing. This is because I have always checked thoroughly through everything inside my laptop no matter how outdated the software was that when the new updated software were installed, I find it intrusive, but then again, that’s just me trying to cope…weird huh…but I’m fine now and I’m glad I did the reformatting because my laptop seem lighter and nicer, hehe

I want to update my blog but I was also lazy to do so. Now I’m in Sungai Petani, Kedah for my preparation to go for practicum (which is practical training but practicum is a teacher’s term) and the internet connection is pretty slow.

For practicum, I got SMK Labu Besar in Kulim which is half an hour drive from the Kulim town and the Sungai Petani town. Apparently I didn’t get to choose my practicum partner but that’s okay since it turned out I got someone that I have chemistry working with which will be a lot of fun. Moreover, my supervisor is a new guy lecturer who seems fun and has lots of experience teaching rural schools who will come to check on my partner and me 5 times for the whole of 12 weeks of practicum.

I had already surveyed the school and the road to go there was long and winding. I was actually sleepy since we went with my friends’ mom who was driving after class but when the car went inside the oil palm plantation, I started to perk up. I was like, okayyy…why does the road seem never-ending?! Why haven’t we reached the school yet?! Why are we entering a road full of oil palms?! Why are there farm animals like sheep?! Why does it seem so rural?! Why is there only 1 petrol pump in a really small petrol station with a tiny Petronas logo?! How come there’s only 1 sundry shop?! Where is the school?!

And then finally, there was the school, smacked in the middle of the oil palm plantation. There was only 1 building 4 storey high and the other buildings were all single – storey. The kids were everywhere since it was Wednesday, their co – curricular activities was on until 2pm. I walked around just to get a feel of the school and to get to know the school surroundings better.

I found out that the students there were friendly and they smiled and greeted me when they pass me by. Apart from the students, the teachers and folks there were also very welcoming and made me in high spirits but at the same time, I was very anxious since the school’s atmosphere looked very much daunting. I also found out that only 46% of the students there passed their English PMR and that the students there were not academically inclined ESPECIALLY in a foreign subject such as the English language.

I have to confessed, I had thought about appealing for another school but I knew that would be impossible and that the lecturers would not entertain such request. And I have to admit that I am nervous and NOW I keep on thinking about that school and how am I supposed to teach and ESPECIALLY reach out to my students. That’s all I’m thinking about now…

I don’t know whether I can go back for my dearest senior, Kak Sarah’s Seth grand wedding…

And welcome home to MAI SIS!!! She gave me a ‘teacherly’ posh bag especially for me to teach and so I ditched my colourful bag for a more mature ‘teacherly’ bag.

Pray for me~

Nay seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: it is indeed hard, except to those who are humble.
Al-Baqara [2:45]

Back to Study Mode

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum :)

Yesterday I was still enjoying lazing around the house.

Today I was supposed to go out to see my youngest sister but the rain came down hard with the thunder and lightning so loud my heart trembled. Then the lights flickered and I saw the gate outside slide opened. YES INDEED, it was like something from a horror movie and all I could do was crouched in a corner looking outside at the trees ferociously shaking. I wanted to close my eyes shut but the sight outside and the noise the thunder made cause me to sit in the dark all frightened praying to God to end it. I love the rain but I hate the fright I get. It’s a good thing I don’t watch horror movies or else I might imagined the worse.

Tomorrow I will be driving to Sungai Petani so pray for me please…
And back to studying, sigghh…

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
But today is a gift and that’s why today is call the present ;)

I got these meaningful words from the movie Kung Fu Panda which is really cute and good! See, I told you I don’t watch horror motion pictures, hehe

Tag No 3

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum =D

I've been tagged by Tombak Goyang and Kak Aalaa’

7 facts about me:
1. I love to smile until my eyes shine
2. I have OCD
3. I’m a sucker for clutter
4. I love babies and how they grip their pretty little cute fingers around my finger
5. I love tigers and would like one as a pet
6. I’m allergic to heat and dust
7. I love the great outdoors!

7 things that frightened me:
1. The supernatural
2. Sometimes the dark
3. Death
4. Thesis
5. Eating too much
6. Losing the people that I love
7. Failure to make my parents proud of me

7 songs for the mean time:
1. Forever – Chris Brown
2. Step Up – Samantha Jade
3. This is Home – Switchfoot
4. The Call – Regina Spektor
5. Realize – Colbie Caillat
6. Damaged – Danity Kane
7. Love Song – Sara Bareillas

7 phrases always said:
1. korang tau tak
2. Subhanallah
3. Oopsy Daisy
4. Ala!
5. erm
6. Okey dokey
7. Tau takpe

7 valuable things for me:
1. Faith
2. Family
3. Friends
4. Car
5. Hand phone
6. Books
7. Happiness

7 first time in my life:
1. Went to National Heart Institute
2. Went to Baktisiswa at Tanjong Piandang
3. Had foster parents there in Parit Sungai Burung, Tanjong Piandang
4. Went to Redang Island and snorkel where the fishes go right to your nose!
5. Taught at school when I did my Rancangan Orientasi Sekolah (ROS) in my 2nd semester
6. Went to Zoo Taiping
7. Drove to Terengganu

Whoever hasn't doen it yet then please do so, I tag you! :D

Tag No 2

Bismillah. Assalamualaykum :)

I’ve been tagged by Islahee.

Usrah; nyummy, creamy and tasty

[1*] How long have you been involved in usrah?
Since form 1 and kakak senior as the naqibah. But I have had too many long halts in usrah, sigghh...

[2*] How did you get yourself involved in usrah?
It was compulsory back in my religious high school and then gradually from reluctance comes maturity and awareness and the need so the search and the will to maintain.

[3*] Why did you join usrah?
For answers.

[4*] 3 feelings after your involvement in usrah
i- knowing the need to have to come back for more

ii-revelation

iii-serenity

[5*] 5 things you obtain from usrah
i- Allah with me

ii- revelation

iii- knowledge to practice what has been preached

iv- ukhuwwah fillah

v- obligations

[6*] I would like to tag
- All you muslims and muslimats but I think I need to mention names just to get people going, huhu :p

Therefore I tag:

mai sis

nadiah

naeemah

nawwar

fakhru

hanis

rahim

kak aalaa'

kamilah shafii

amrina hakimi

(i guess they'll do it eventually, hihi ;)

Tag No 1

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum :)

Actually I have been working on my baktisiswa post but the pictures are a bit problematic and I wanted the story to go with the pictures so it’ll just have to wait. In the meantime, I want to please the people who tagged me so here is tag No 1.

I have been tagged by Moonlite.

1. Do you believe in cyber dating?

- are there any successful cyber dating stories? Let me hear em!

2. Have you ever felt stupid? Why?

- Who hasn’t? and for all the stupid reasons too

3.Where is the place that you want to go the most?

- Around the whole world if I could

4. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?

- To be guaranteed paradise when I’m gone

5. Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain?

- Always searching for the rainbow

6. Do you like being who you are today?

- I’m grateful to God

7. If you win $1 million, what would you do?

- treat my parents and my family and then myself and then my friends and then donate

8. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?

- yes to my husband

9. Who are the top five people in the world you would wish to meet?

i. Future husband

ii. Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, President of Mercy Malaysia

iii. Bill Gates

iv. Those Palestinians kids

v. Those other kids who want me to teach

10. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?

- Guidance

11. Which type of cars I love the most?

- Currently liking Toyota Rush

12. Which do you prefer from your other half? hug? or a kiss?

- From my husband, I would like both pls, haha, this is pretty lame huh, layan jela

13. If you have faults, would you rather the people around you point out to you or would you rather they keep quiet?

- depends

14. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?

- Faith, Family and Friends

15. Are you a shopaholic or not?

- Now the oil price is up so….

16. What kind of electronic device/gadget you own that you like most?

- Hand phone

- Laptop

- Ipod Nano

17. What is your favourite fragrance?

- from Body Shop and Crabtree and Evelyn

18. Are you in love?

- always have been with that cat

19. If given a chance, do you want to see your future?

- can I choose which part of it I want to see?!

20. Would you still be friend with your best friend whom had betrayed your trust?

- Forgiveness is the key to unhappiness but the hurt would hurt

And now, I'm tagging my friends:

- anyone who has time to do this urm ah survey :p

My First Baktisiswa

Bismillah, Assalamualaikum =)

It’s hard to get the soft copy of the Baktisiswa banner so no pictures for now. Just words.

I’m nervous!

This is my first time participating in Baktisiswa and the very first time I will have foster parents and the first time I will be staying in a very (as they say) rural area for 5 days, 4^th June until 8^th June.

And I’m nervous!

Pls pray for me~

And for all the participants from my college, Za’ba.

Allah is He, than whom there is no other god― the sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection). the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him.
Al-Hashr [59:23]

Whatever happens, it will become memories that I will treasure FOREVER :)

When I came back, I plan to tell everyone all about it and answer 3 tags from moonlite, islahee and tombak goyang, InsyaAllah ;)