Life through My Eyes

Say Hello to the World

2013-04-02T19:01:00.000+08:00

Want to be remembered or doesn't care?

I managed to write a song while I was in Ghana. This is the version singing and performing by the Ghanaian children! The best!

sunshine bright in the morning

little birds flying in the sky

flowers dancing with the wind

take a breath and let start to sing

taking tro-tro to Bojo beach

swimming and making sandcastle

laughing and cheering with my friends

happy day happy life begin

say hello to the world

open your eyes open your mind

nothing to lose when you try

yeah yeah

say hello to the world

sharing the love together

let's pray for peace forever

yeah yeah

ps: amazed by the Ghanaian children ability to learn songs!

Ghana's 56th Independence Day Parade (6th March)

2013-03-11T16:19:00.000+08:00

why need perfection when we are happy with imperfection?

"Oh my god! Wonderful, beautiful performance! Oh my god! Ladies and gentlemen just look at that" said the two speakers when the Omega schools' students started to march.

It was the celebration of Ghana Independence day today. This was the second edition for Omega schools to celebrate it together. Children from the 20 Omega schools chain came to march and enjoy the celebration. The field looked yellow with the T-shirts they were wearing - the Omega school uniform.

The celebration started with a few music and dance performances from some children. It was so good. The children who performed looked very confident and happy to dance. I think that dancing and Ghanaian culture are very close. It is very interesting. I was touched watching the kids marching. They do it with so much patience and determination. One by one the schools marched and showed their motto proudly. The other interesting part was to see the teachers marching together with the children! That was wonderful!

Ken gave a very good speech during the day. I wrapped up 2 things that he wanted his children in Omega schools to have and practise in their life to be successful which are vision for the future and a good attitude. I agree with him because a clear vision can make people aim for goodness and a good attitude can make sure the person is always on track to get the vision.

The ceremony continued with a few more dances from the children. Then followed a fantastic gymnastic performance which amazed me.

Really enjoyed the celebration as well as

the search of a mosque episode 1 7th March

2013-03-11T07:51:00.002+08:00

Do you believe in miracles?

Every now and then especially at Maghrib prayer time, there will be 'azan' that we can hear from the Macbeas Hotel. Farah and I, the only 2 muslims students in this trip were so happy to know that there is a mosque nearby. So, we decided to find the mosque. Eva, the hotel boy from Nigeria, agreed to help us to fine the nearest mosque.

So at around 7:30, we walked into the village. Osamu and George also followed us in a quest to find the mosque. Eva, even though he works in the hotel, does not really know this village so well especially because he is not a muslim. But, he is a very nice guy.

We walked for almost 20 minutes but we failed to find a mosque. However, we found something interesting. A private primary school! It is a big and beautiful school with a big entrance. We decided to talk to a guy that lives near the school. He said that we can come to visit the school in the day and see the children. That was very nice! So, we definitely will come to visit the school and see the environment.

After that, we decided to go back to the hotel and continue the journey tomorrow. On the way back, we found a church. We stopped by to take a look at the church. There was a speech being delivered when were there, so we did not stay long as we did not want to disturb them.

No worries, to be continued....

ps: a tin of coke for everybody!

the shoprite 5th March

2013-03-11T07:17:00.002+08:00

do you like to be judge?

After came back from the schools visit, I went to get a rest for a while. The experience in the schools make me feel so excited to start my research. In the same time, I am also a little bit worry thinking about the time that we really have to carry out the research. The first week will definitely we cannot do much on the research part except still doing the preparation. The schools will close on Wednesday and Thursday due to the Independence day celebration.

After the rest, around 5p.m, Joyce, Dimitri and me went out together to the supermarket called Shoprite. We used 'trot-trot' to get us there (I will write a special entry about this transport) next time when I have more time.

My real mission was just to get me a kettle! ahaha... I know it sounds very easy and not the most important things to do while traveling but I think to have a kettle will make things easy for me. The hotel is nice and have everything like refrigeratorin the room but not a kettle and they prefer us to ask for hot water in a flask if we need it. As I will stay more than a week, I make a huge decision to get one! ahah... for making coffe and noodles! woohoo... and I think the kettle really help me and everyone else!

On the way back from shoprite to the hotel, I had a nice conversation with Joyce. It was about how situation can changed people attitude and most of all change the culture. I think stress of the situation can make people becoming different from usual. Negative attitude like selfish, greedy and lie maybe will rise but at the same time maybe positive attitude can develop. I think at the end it depends on the individual itself.

ps: gathering every breakfast and night time! nice!

the schools 5th March

2013-03-11T07:10:00.000+08:00

Is it really necessary to have the definition of developed and developing county?

We went to visit a few Omega schools today! woohooo! definitely worth remembering experiences. Ken organised a bus to bring us to 8 of the 20 Omega schools.

When we arrived at the first school, the children were so happy and were running to the gate to greet us. All of them cheering, smiling and laughing happily! They grabbed my hands and held on to them. Not just one child but so many of them...it felt so good to make them feel happy. Most of the schools that we visited the same happened.

The building of most of the Omega schools looks very simple and humble. It was built nicely and I could see that they have their trademark for the buildings. Definitely this experience inspired and touched me. Everybody wanted to be educated with the best quality that they can get. Even poor people, people in rural areas or even in the big city. We need to bear this in mind and support what we can in what ever ways that we can....

In one of the schools, I met with a little cute baby. The baby's mother is the cook for the school. She is a lovely women. I held the baby for a while in my arms and he was so calm and definitely a smily baby...it made my day and made me forget about the tiring Omega schools tour.

What was funny during the school visit was that everybody was so excited, cheering and laughing in the first school. Second school the same, third school the same...then in the fourth school things started to slow down a bit and a bit and a bit and so on.... aha... I guess the hot weather does have an effect on the mood. Everybody enjoyed the moment meeting the teachers and children. Do not worry, the schools and the children's story will not just end with this entry... I have more days to go ;) Let's see what happens

ps: the experience in the bus was like riding a horse! (even though I have never ridden a horse, just my assumption) ;)

the first breakfast 4th March

2013-03-06T05:50:00.003+08:00

Will you find a way out from a hole or wait for the hole to open itself?

The first day was interesting. We gathered at around 8:30 downstairs. I think I had a good sleep last night. Queuing to get into Ghana during the last inspection at the airport was quite tiring. So a nice sleep was definitely refreshing!

The sunshine was bright very early. My mind keeps trying to compare the weather in Ghana and Malaysia. I'm not sure why I keep doing that but I just cannot stop it! aha... I guess it is interesting to feel and know the differences. I found that the heat in Ghana started very early even at 8 a.m while in Malaysia, we can still feel a bit cold at 8 to 10.

The interesting part during the first breakfast was not about the food. Definitely the sandwich and coffee were good for me. I can say that as long as it is Halal food (muslim food) I eat anything! ahaha... But the interesting part was about the discussion about the lizards. How to know the gender of the lizards...aha... No blame though, because the lizards were very attractive with some of them having an orange head!

We then headed to the Omega Schools office for the first time. Meeting with Ken (the Omega Schools owner) and his great colleagues. We talked about our dissertation and mini research a little bit for introduction and for Ken's record. Ken is a very good person with a big vision for education in Ghana. He told us the reason why Omega Schools, private schools for poor people, are successful. Its the quality of teaching and learning compared to the public schools. He mentioned 3 problems that always happen in public schools in Ghana which is very interesting for me to know. They are:

1. to get the teacher to go to the school
2. once they are in school, then to get them to go into the classroom
3. once they are in the classroom, then to get them to teach!

I believe, from what I can see at this moment, that Omega Schools do provide a good education that poor people can afford. With their famous daily tuition fees, it helps the poor a lot to get better education for their children.

ps: i guess it was not a bad idea to bring the suntan lotion after all :D aha

waiting for Katie and Dong 4th March

2013-03-06T05:50:00.001+08:00

Did you ever feel that what you think is right might be wrong?

Maddie and I decided to go to the airport and wait for Katie and Dong - another 2 students arriving in Ghana. Yesterday, we arrived in a big group of 10 of us. We wanted to make sure that everybody arrives safely and gets to the correct hotel. The story that Dr. Pauline told us in the last session about other people might fake things and get others to follow them was too scary not to be careful. The journey took us about 40 minutes by car. I love being in the car at night time and feel the wind blowing in my face...definitely the same wind that I felt when I was in Malaysia driving through the paddy fields to go to my grandparents' house.

The only problem that we faced with meeting our friends is that we do not know one of them - Dong! We know Katie as she is our classmate for all the modules that we take in the university. However, we were not really sure about Dong. I volunteered to go because I thought I would recognise Dong but still i was not that sure.

When we arrived, we were informed that the flight was delayed. It was 7:45 pm and we waited until 10 pm and they still did not show up. We got a bit worried and went to check in and out, all over the place. Luckily, the airport is not big so it was easy to walk around. The only thing was that there were so many people. I was a bit confused by them because I could see that people were not really waiting for anyone or sending anyone away. Some of them I guess just used the airport as a place to hang around. I am not sure about this so I might be wrong.

After a while, I saw Katie...fuhhh, that was a relief ... at least we got one and were hoping that Dong had not just arrived and already taken a taxi or something. We definitely do not have any phone at the moment as we also just arrived yesterday. Luckily, after a while, Dong arrived and he was the Dong that I was expecting and he also seemed to recognise us. A tired night makes you sleep well! and Dong is my roommate for the next 22 days! woohooo! aha...

ps: the traffic is busier than some cities that I have been to before? uhmmm...

walking back 4th March

2013-03-06T04:31:00.000+08:00

Is everything really need to be perfect?

After a nice lunch in a restaurant in JD Fast Food we decided to walk back to the hotel from the Omega school office. It was quite a long walk! It was fun to do but it seemed like people kept staring at us. I guess we obviously look like strangers and outsiders. Maybe it was a bit wrong to do it. It was just our first day and we were not really familiar with the street yet. Luckily the sun was not as hot as in the afternoon time and the wind kept blowing...it cooled me down...

Back to the lunch experience, I tried a new food. It's yam with palava sauce. I think I like it...definitely like the yam! The taste reminds me of tapioca my mom cooked for me back in Malaysia. And to be clear, yam is also a root vegetable, same as tapioca! I enjoyed the food ;)

ps: Friendly Ghanaian

the plane 3rd March 2013

2013-03-06T04:25:00.005+08:00

If you got a chance to change one thing from your past, what would you change?

The journey was good. Not much trouble at all except watching Uni and Farah getting through the security check. They were checked carefully because of some accessories that they wore I guess. I saw Farah was like dancing with the security because she was a bit ticklish! that was a bit of entertainment ;) aha...sorry Farah!

The view from the sky was amazing! desert, mountain, snow and the cloud made the view beautiful. Even though I fell asleep all the time, but still, I managed to watch the beautiful scenery as I got a seat next to the window! lucky me! beside me was a Ghanaian lady called Eva, who was coming back to Accra for a holiday with her family. Next to her, Kristina and her boyfriend. All the others were scattered all around the flight which meant no contact with them on the plane. Except Louise, actively walking here and there checking everybody ;) So good!

While I was sleeping because of being tired and not getting enough sleep yesterday, suddenly one of the stewardess woke me up. She handed me food. I was a bit surprised that she said I asked for muslim food during the booking. I totally had no idea and had forgotten about it. I also thought that I had missed my lunch as I was asleep and assumed that everybody else had eaten their food. So, who doesn't like food right? I finished eating in a second...and felt proud of it, when suddenly 15 minutes later, I saw the stewardess started to give the others their food...oopsss....I guess I was wrong! nobody had eaten anything yet and I was the only one who had eaten! I felt so bad! but it's not my fault though....aha

The plane landed at about 8:25 pm Ghana time. When the plane was near to landing it was a bit shaky. I guess the cloud was so thick and heavy and that was why. Once we jumped out from the plane, everybody started to talk about the heat. Yeah! its humid and hot! wooohooo...Ghana! Here we come!

The process of checking out from the airport took a bit longer than we expected. There were lots of people queuing to get the visa checked. I think the airport looked very simple and more humble than other airports that I have been to before. I got through the check point with no problem. And then we met the Omega Schools representatives and they took us to the Macbies Hotel. It feels so good to be in Ghana!

ps: I love hot weather :) woohooo!

i'm ready, are you ready

2013-03-03T12:46:00.001+08:00

do you prefer to be happy all the time or is being sad a good experience?

It's already 4 a.m in the morning...I can't really sleep tonight. So excited thinking about my trip to Ghana. I believe it will be a very huge new different experience for me. My first visit to the African continent! woohooo ;)

The main reason that I cannot sleep is because I haven't really finished packing my stuff yet....ahaha... and it is also my plan not to sleep too much because I just want to sleep in the plane later. Sounds weird but that is what I always do every time I travel. So, keep doing the regular activity ;)I

We talked a lot about African countries in our class, assignments and the latest one at the colloquim (the great pink booklet). We also discussed a lot about Ghana and Omega schools. This visit will be a practical experience - an experience that will definitely change my perception, change my views and most importantly giving concrete proof to what we have discussed in class before.

Ghana - a very interesting country with the same year of independence as Malaysia, 1957! I am ready to go, are you with me for the journey? come on!!!

ps: I cannot believe it. I bought sun lotion... lol! never used any in Malaysia before... the weather is quite similar between Ghana and Malaysia aha

i have some materials from Malaysia "pelikat" and "songket" to give as souvenirs...

miss home?

2013-02-23T03:42:00.000+08:00

to be a giver or to be a receiver? which one makes you happier?

Having been in the UK for some time, now at last I feel the 'miss my home' thing! Yeah, definitely yes. When I spent three years teaching in Perak before, at least I knew that at the weekend I could drive back home everytime I felt lonely and missed my family terribly. Or sometimes when you have some bad things or happy things happening to you, just by stepping back to your own place (your hometown) or by looking at your mom's face etc. definitely will make your day!

But now that I am 11314.94km away (source=google) what can I do? Talking by phone or video call sometimes is just not enough. You just want more than that! aha...

I think at the moment I am a bit negative about myself. Learning and discovering new knowledge mostly about the subject of economics, particularly in developing countries, make me nervous and scared that I might not be good at it. At the same time trying hard to make sure my writing style changes to a more academic style is another thing to worry about. I am very good at writing a blog (I guess so) but I am not sure if I am that good at writing academic essays.

One week more before I do some more travelling. Ghana. I mentioned this country a lot in my previous entries. Half of my body is eager to go, but the other half is a bit scared. Especially as for three weeks, every Wednesday, I need to have injections for vaccination. Why should I not be scared right? uhu...

p/s: going to teach some children in Ghana :D woohoo...

woohooo for 20pounds!!! :D

2013-02-14T07:10:00.002+08:00

Everybody will think that their problem is the biggest problem in the world until they see and understand other people's problems. Isn't it?

This story might not sound important...but why should I not write about it right? ahaha... So, yesterday, I gave some help at the Postgraduate Open Day, Newcastle University. As per usual, the same reason I keep using which is I am a second language speaker, I found it difficult to speak when I am nervous!

The job was quite simple. I just needed to give some explanations about the Masters in Education, by relating it to my own experiences, to people that have an interest to further their study this year. I was very nervous and scared. The person whom I encountered was a very cute girl asking me about the experience of studying International Development. I was so nervous and she is a British girl and that just added more pressure. But still, lucky for me she was cool and happy to listen to my explanation...ahaha... I think she was quite happy and that made me feel more confident! Ahaha...then I think it went well....

I really enjoyed doing it. I think I learnt a lot. Learnt about me and my explanation ability; learnt about other people too and how excited people are to know about furthering their study! I can feel a good atmosphere! An atmosphere of having the spirit to keep learning and to keep moving forward! Learn and learn! Yeahhh!!!!!

p/s: explore yourself! ooopsss

process of negotitation

2013-02-02T23:35:00.001+08:00

The more you give the more you get back? Should we expect something or not?

The trip to Ghana is confirmed! I have booked the ticket already. Only a month to go before the expedition. It is very exciting; at the same time I am very nervous to think about it.

A few days ago, I met my supervisor for a one to one meeeting with him. It was a discussion about the research topic - to what extent teachers in Omega schools in Ghana reflect on their teaching. I guess it was a process of negotiation between me and him. A process of describing my interest with passion, thinking deeeply, preparing and providing good explanations for the reason to choose the topic and methods. Then I needed to argue in the discussion.

It can be a bit complicated sometimes when your idea is being argued over by your supervisor or when some more ideas are suggested. I wanted to look at reflection from teachers' perspectives but then my supervisor said that I maybe should also see it from the school management perspective. Especially given that the schools that I will visit are not normal schools. They are low fee private schools that serve the poor people in slum areas. I maybe should consider it....

But on the other hand I also got more opinions and wider views that I may have missed. Like I said before, the process is full of negotiation. I still want to stick with reflection. That is what I am sure about. It is my passion and what I am interested in. Let's see the reflective practitioners in Ghana!

p/s: a very busy month for preparation...

2nd semester

2013-01-26T04:24:00.000+08:00

Is it really necessary to tell everybody everything you do all the time? Social networks

Semester 2 will begin soon. However, we have already been given a huge 'pink book' to read. There will be a colloquium at the end of February. Some of the marks for the Economics for Development module will be counted from it. So, whether I like it or not...I have to read it! aha...

The preparation to go to Ghana is still in progress. At least I have my Ghanaian visa now. One thing is clear for sure. Now, I need to wait for all my group members to gather and book the flight tickets.

I met with my research supervisor a few days ago, Chris. He is a great person. I just love to listen to what ever he says...aha...When he asked me about my research interest, suddenly I found it very difficult to say it out. I cannot believe that I hardly said a word! Even just to state 'reflection' was very difficult. ahaha...but it happens to me all the time I think. Second language sometimes 'pauses' my tongue and brain!

The interest area of my research is about Ghanaian teachers as reflective practitioners. As a primary school teacher in Malaysia, which is a developing country, it will be good to see the refective practitioners in another developing country. That is what triggers my interest at the moment. I hope to stick with this topic as I really find it is always 'big' for me...so, let's see what happens...

p/s: pretending to be teenagers again...ahhh...what a feeling!

the first snowman

2013-01-20T03:36:00.000+08:00

Cannot do it or Do not want to do it? A matter of choice

It was snowing heavily yesterday. More than I have experienced before. Even our journey back to Newcastle from Cardiff needs to be postponed. The roads are covered in white!

Waking up in the morning and discovering your surroundings covered with white was quite amazing. The roofs were white, the roads were white, the gardens were whites, even the cars were white too! Wow, such a nice experience...snow!!! :D

I can see that it was not just me getting excited...it was the same for other people. Suddenly I could see lots of people doing the 'snow walk' around the nighbourhood with their boots and thick coats, children were playing with their sledges and more than that, dogs were everywhere chasing each other. Nice! :D

So, I took the opportunity to celebrate the snow too...walking around the neighbourhood, looking around the place and more than that stepping on the virgin snow on the floor! ahaha...most importantly, I made a big cute beautiful snowman! My first! ahahaha... (I guess there will be more to come)

I am not gonna be in Cardiff for very much longer. Time to go back to Newcastle. The new semester will start very soon. I am very nervous. I think it will be much more challenging... wish me luck :D

p/s: it so cold that it hurts! It's a new feeling...

advice from an old lady

2013-01-14T23:20:00.002+08:00

When there is a lot of stress and problems, what will you do? Going through or giving up?

I met with an old lady in a coffee shop. She sat next to my table and started to talk to me. She was a very friendly, warm and easy going person while busy treating herself to a cup of tea and a bowl of soup.

She told me about how nice Cardiff was, especially the village community where she lives now. But I was really interested to listen to one story about how good her memory is. She is 85 years old this year. All of her friends started to forget a lot of things but not her.

It is the power of reading! Yeah, that is what she told me. She reads lots of books and still continues to do so. She said to me that she visits the library all the time and join a reading group there. The most important place in her life since she was a small girl! So good her!

I wish I love to read as much as her as she said to me "Reading books takes you to all part sof the world".

By the way, I already selected 5 persons to receive postcards. I already posted them! I hope you will like the postcards :) Thank you for your emails and support ;) Visit their blog here:

Atiqah (www.umealong.blogspot.com)

Syafiyah (www.sedetikdenyutannadi.blogspot.com)

Nizam (www.iwritetheblog.blogspot.com)

Syakila(www.syakilahisam.blogspot.com)

Kong Suk Ching (www.cassiewonderland90.blogspot.com)

p/s: obsess with jigsaw now!

5 Postcards to you from the UK! :D

2013-01-07T23:41:00.003+08:00

If everybody wanted to be special, so who else is left to be usual?

I have never done this kind of activity before. But I think it will be great! So, I am willing to send 5 postcards to some of my beloved readers. As I am still here fow a few more months, how about if you take this chance?

Write to me a paragraph of not more than 50 words on "Why I like to read Life through my eyes?"

Send it to my email secret_8sense@yahoo.com. Provide your name, address, emal address and blog link (if you have one) and I will send you a beautiful postcard from UK :D

It is interesting! A lovely postcard and a stamp from UK! ;) Do not think too much. Just do it! Carpe diem!!! :D

p/s: try try try!

missing teaching

2013-01-06T19:31:00.002+08:00

Even though we know it is wrong, we sometimes tend to repeat the same mistakes. Why?

Today is a very nice sunny day in Cardiff. I just keep sitting here in front of a big window, looking at a beautiful scenery. I can see birds flying here and there, chirping to each other. What a wonderful scene...it's a good time to work on the assignment.

The good thing about being on my own is that I will reflect a lot on what I have done in my life. Sometimes all the events that I have been through start to flashback and stop me from focusing on my work. The flashback comes to me very fast....my brain tends to change topic really quickly! So, sometimes when I am busy doing work, I am also busy looking back or predecting the future! ahaha...

I think I miss teaching...I love to teach but I wish school was easier and less stressful. Teaching and teachers nowadays do not really convey similar meaning. You can always teach anytime but people will not consider you as a teacher unless you teach in a school. I think the meaning of teaching is bigger than that. Loving to teach requires you to have passion, excitement and enjoyment! It is more than just planning on paper or waiting for people to observe you and find what is correct and what is not.

p/s: cooking Malay food inside a Welsh kitchen! :D

2013

2013-01-05T04:51:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year!!! 2013 just came to our life!!!

I have decided not to have any new year's resolution this year. I think I better just focus on anything that come across in my life at the moment. Set a target anytime I want and not just waiting for the new year to do it. From my last experience, I never really remember what I say I want to achieve. Usually, a few weeks after I say I want to do something that particular year, I forgot!...ahaha

So, this year let's see what happens and carpe diem! seize the moment and change what ever I think I should change! No more resolutions!!! Yeah!!!

After a few months of changing my routine from teaching to studying, from a teacher to a student, I found it still difficult to make myself focus on my life as a student. I was fine in the beginning but then after a while I found I lost track. I love going to the class and learning, discovering and meeting people but I found it is very hard for me to do self study! everything around me seems to distract me from reading or writing! Egh...such a terrible student!

Meanwhile, I have found that my I practise using my English language a lot. This makes me feel very comfortable to use it now. But one thing that I realised is that it's very difficult to change my usual ways of using English. So, if I make a mistake, I will keep doing it constantly! I hate that fact!

What to do? I believe that the first step of anything is about realising it and admitting it! So, I admit that at the moment I have these challenges...and I need to figure out a solution as soon as possible!

p/s: sending some postcards to Malayia :) ^^fake smile up there^^

the snow

2012-12-24T22:33:00.001+08:00

Oh no! I forgot to update my blog! Sorry that it has been a while...I guess I am a bit busy at the moment. Not exactly busy but it turns to look busy when you proscrastinate the work that you should have done ages ago. So do not try this at home k! No procrastination! Procrastination is a bit lame! lol

A few days ago, there are a few interesting things that I have done. Quite fun! Experiencing new things and new places. I traveled to Amsterdam via ferry from Newcastle! I had a good time there learning and observing, then I traveled to London and also traveled to Wales again! ;) I will spend my Christmas holidays here for sure!

A few weeks ago, on Wednesday (because I remember it was on my research class day but I forgot the exact date), while I was walking very fast, I had only 10 minutes to walk before the class start. Suddenly I saw some white things started to fall from the sky. I did not understand for a while and I stopped walking and started to look around me! what is this beautiful, soft, light white thing? Then when I started to make sense of it, I realised it was snow!!! woohoo!!!

Before this, the snow fell in the night time so it was not so clear to me. But having the experience of walking in day light in snow made me feel overwhelmed. It felt so different that it made you want to smile even though you were not sure why! ahaha... ( I hope I did not look like a crazy guy at that time)

It was great and let's see what happens when it starts to snow like crazy later! ahaha...cheers!

p/s: Trying to make sense of things that don't make sense. Does that make sense?

story telling eh?

2012-11-29T19:31:00.001+08:00

It's a nice sunny morning from my window. I know something about the weather here. Even though the sun is so bright, giving the best that it can, but I can never trust it. It will still be cold... See, I'm starting my writing with the topic of weather again.

While I was reading some journals (trying to sound like a good student here), suddenly I felt like writing a bit about story telling. Yeah, I never really put it on my blog before so I will do it today. As I remember from teaching my year 1 kids, every Tuesday was Story Telling day!

Yeah, even though I am a mathematics teacher, I found it very interesting and fun to do. I think it just in their nature for small kids to listen to a story. Especially when the story involves characters that they like such as animals or a princess as well as the way you carry out the story telling session.

I really liked to see the faces and expressions that they showed to me everytime I conducted a story telling session. You know that sometimes when you have the intonations in telling the stories, you will grab your kids' attention and they will wait for every word that comes out from your mouth! ahaha...it feels so good ;)

Just grab any story books in school and read for them. Then try to put in some elements that you teach, as per usual. Mine is Mathematics... You do not have to finish the story. 10 minutes is enough and can be continued in the next lesson! It's fun! :)

p/s: waiting for the snow to come but too lazy to go outside to feel the cold!

good news to share :D

2012-11-27T19:13:00.001+08:00

Congratulations to all my year 6 pupils for the excellent results in UPSR 2012. I felt really happy to know that 5 of them managed to pass all subjects which means an increasing numbers of pupils as we only have 3 last year! yay! And Congratulations also to 10 pupils that got pass for mathematics subject! Really proud of you guys :)

At the same time, this week I got to know that one of my lecturers in Newcastle University has used my book in his lecture session. Really good to know that it can help others to do reflection and learn from it :) Thank you for doing that...

I am in Cardiff for a few days...spending some time with welsh family :)

p/s: move on!

the elevator story

2012-11-17T06:47:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, I was busy doing my laundry. The laundry room is on the ground floor of my flat, so after I put all my clothes in the washing machine, I went up to my room again. I kept going up and down to check my laundry a few times.

As I was in the elevator waiting for the door to close, suddenly I saw someone running to the elevator to catch it and go up too. So, when I saw that he was running and looked in a bit of a rush, I wanted to help him. But I panicked! I just pushed the buttons that I could reach randomly!

He managed to get in. Lucky him. Then after the elevator arrived at my level I realised that the buttons that I pushed were for all the top levels. I live on level 7 and he lives in level 10. All the way up he would have to stop at level 7, 8 and 9 before arriving at his place! hahaha....pity him...
I just said sorry and we were laughing!
p/s: clumsy much? lol

ground rules to set in schools

2012-11-15T08:42:00.001+08:00

know that I only have about 3 years experience of teaching in a school in Malaysia. Maybe it is not apprpriate for me to give my opinion about the big issue of how schools in Malaysia can make further improvements. But after a while thinking about it and making some connections with my experience, I think I had better say something that we should all think about...the idea maybe not applicable or maybe certain schools already have done this. But better out than in :D

This idea should probably be led by the headteacher in a school. I think what we need to have in Malaysia is to set the ground rules for a few important things that we want pupils to develop in school. I mean something that all teachers, at every level, familiar with. Something that all teachers in the school agree to use and to do in their classroom.

At the moment, I think most teachers have their own ways of teaching their subjects. That is fine because every single teacher in a school must also have their own unique way of teaching that they prefer using. But still if we think about the development of pupils in learning, we need to consider having some shared ground rules.

As I am a mathematics teacher my example will come from mathematics obviously. For example, if we decided to use multiplication tables for teaching the kids, set it as a ground rule. This means that all teachers at every level will use this as the base on which to teach mathematics. Let me give you another example. Groupwork. The importance for pupils of learning in groups which means that all subjects need to have group work activities most of the time maybe can be another ground rules for certain school...

I believe that every other subject will also have its own thing that can be a base or the ground rules. Once we have this particular base or ground rules, we can share with parents what we offer in our schools. I think the objective will be much clearer to parents and every school does not necessarily need to offer the same ground rules...hm...something worth thinking about I think?????
p/s: make it real, make it here, make it now... ;)

it keeps going up and down

2012-11-12T06:58:00.001+08:00

My mood at the moment keeps going up and down. This week was the most terrible week ever. Everything seems to go wrong. Even when I tried to do some stuff and make myself busy, at the end it kept making me feel so down! Egh...

I have found that time has passed very quickly, as quickly as the sun goes down at the end of autumn. Even though it still 24 hours, how can I accept that 4:30 in the afternoon is already like 7:30 in Malaysia! It's dark!

Now that it is already the middle of November, I need to make sure I can get rid of this problem. I really need to focus on all the assignments that are due very soon. I cannot believe that I have time to write this rather than do reading! (No jokes this time, really mad to myself...egh...)

Ready or not, here I am! So swallow it even its taste is no good!

p/s: wish for the best! :)