#11 No Sherlock Required Here

One intelligent but dreamer of a kid spaces out everytime he's in class. In a class busy with projects and assignments, with blank papers on his desk, he constructs a rocket by stacking his coloured markers and has a one man space launch. Or he's caught doing something completely not required of him. He snaps out of a reverie when he's called on and often has a spacy look about him.

Growing tired of this I decided to investigate. Why should a well-spoken, seemingly well bought up child be so lost. So I said, "Jonathan, what do you do when you get home?" "I study for my exams," came the hesitant answer. "When it's not exam season what do you do? Do you watch a lot of television?" I tried again. "No, I play computer games," came the honest but apologetic reply. Now we were getting somewhere. "And what kind of games do you play?"

"I play SPACE RANGER 2."

Of course he did!

Working with little uncomplicated people is... AWESOME!

Image from here

PS: The author is busy pursuing a course part-time hence the few and far between entries, for now.

#10 Who is God's Dad?

A lesson on eponyms went like this:

Me: Can anyone spot other eponyms from the text?
Student: Yes, Christianity.
Me: And how do we get that word?
Student: It's from Jesus' surname.

Seeing things with simple eyes is.... AWESOME! and HILARIOUS!

#9 Turning the winds

Students were racing in the first eliminations for the annual sports day. Sometimes it's not the ones with the longest legs who have an advantage. A pint sized 10-year-old, clearly with something to prove, ran more with his heart than his legs. Every single time he was up, it was all or nothing.

And he had a bag of tricks. He zigged and zagged to cut his long limbed opponents off. He stuck his little chest out and simply willed his body to fly. But I noticed he had a secret weapon - his shorts. They were three sizes too big for him. When he ran, they seemed to catch the wind and work as a sail!

Seeing a little kid with a big heart and shorts to match is... AWESOME!!

#8 Making the boo boo better

They all fall down. At least twice a week, I find myself playing nurse. And the kids love to milk it for all its worth. They come to me with scratches that are only visible under a powerful microscope; and I baby them. For most of my 10 to 11-year-olds, this is one of the last few years for that. So I slather on some disinfectant, dab on some yellow ointment (I should find out what thats stuff really is) and tape them up before sending them off with a pat on their shoulder. And they gently limp away or clutch their wrists gingerly- whichever's hurt, reasured that someone cares about the phantom scratch.

I feel AWESOME when I make their boo boos feel better!

Image from here.

#7 HOLIDAYS!!

Enjoying a 5 day Chinese New Year break!
I love my job, but without a doubt, having school holidays off is one of THE MOST AWESOME things about being a teacher.

#6 Overhearing Little Criminals

Try eavesdropping on kids and you'll see they are already gearing towards certain stereotypes. Overheard between 9-year-olds today:

Boy 1: Is that four-wheel-drive your Dad's?
Boy 2: Yeah.
Boy 1: He should get a Hummer. Then he can rob banks and not worry about getting shot because it's bullet proof.

Seeing a notorious criminal of the future while he's still in school is...

AWESOME!

#5 Finding Laughable Errors

Kids were assigned to come up with sentences using the prefix 'bi'. This is what one little runt came up with:

Meaning of 'bi'- two.

1. I have bi-dogs at home.
2. It will take bi-days to reach our destination.
3. We have to take bi-trains to get home.

Bursting out in laughter in the middle of a work day is...

Bi-AWESOME!

And no doubt there will be more where these came from.

#5 Creating Helpful Monsters

The kids were not very good at being quiet today, so I introduced them to the 'Invisible ZOMBIE'. His role in class was to escort anyone who was noisy to a corner until I said they could join the class again. It worked!

When I found them getting too excited all I had to say was, "ZomBieee..." and the pin would have dropped audibly. Those who were lucky enough to get the Zombie's attention even seemed to enjoy walking off to the corner. Having a job that allows you to create Zombies as assistants is...

AWESOME!

#4 When You Feel Like A Teaching Rock Star!

We all have this impression that students dread teachers and look forward to getting out of learning whenever possible. We think they see horns and a pitchfork everytime we walk into the room. Granted, there are a handful who do just that, but today, I was pleasantly surprised. After taking a couple of sick days, I wondered what their reaction would be when I got back.

The minute the first class saw me go round the corner (at 7.30 a.m.!) they did a double take and screamed out, "Ms. SARAH!!"

Then, as I walked in the second class... same thing, "Ms SARAH's BACK!" I did a rocker pose complete with a shaka hand wiggle and they errupted again!

To feel like a rock star going back to school is...

AWESOME!

#3 Taking a Sick Day

Happy to be Sick?

Ok, so this is not exclusive to teachers. Every adult since the dawn of employment feels a strange sense of pleasure in waking up (on a weekday) with a stuffy nose and sore throat. Once that dreaded, over-dramatised call to the office is out of the way (thank God for employers who accept sms alerts), its just lovely isn't it? You take the medication, you build a nest in front of the television and groggily catch up on re-runs of Glee and How I Met Your Mother.

The Call of the Class

Then comes your responsible side (if you happenned to have one), raising questions and doubts on how well the kids are coping without you. Are they running amok without the class teacher present?  Is the substitute teacher able to understand my lesson plans? Would the children be ok without me? It's all a pile of poo to make me feel more important than I really am. I think I'm flirting with this subdued ego that teachers carry. More than once I've encountered teachers displaying quite (hmmm?) pride on their teaching prowers. But, I'd rather be one of those than the ones who do just enough to make it to pay day.

They Are Not to be Underestimated

Children are more resilient than I sometimes give them credit for. I'm just a paragraph in their daily books. I'm sure we'll pick up where we left off tomorrow. But today, I'm glad I can take the day off and recuperate, wondering what tales they'll tell me on how they manipulated the substitute teacher. I used to be one; and it's awesome to now be on this side of the fence.

#2 Making Students Cry

I know this sounds sadistic, but I felt good making a couple of kids cry today. And it was for the best (I hope).

I did not do my homework...

This is a line that most teachers dread hearing. Even those with a reputation for crucifying students' who even dared think it, have to deal with the occassional miscreant. I have battled this from the first week of school - that brings it up to about 4 weeks now, and my patience is waning. Elevated tones, threats to be sent to the headmaster, notes to parents and confiscating breaktime has not achieved desired results. So, today, I broke.

They Will Test You to Your Limits

Despite having the entire Sunday for homework, a few of my dear pupils waltzed into class this morning and said they had not done their work. The excuse? "I don't know how to do it." I could have sworn I heard a couple of synapses snap within my skull. My right eye twitched. I pride myslef in not letting anyone get left out during lessons. They are drilled with the facts and instructions and asked if they need more explanations till I'm hoarse. I draw them out and let them question me till they're satisfied. I do give allowances for the odd forgetful soul but SEVEN? It was obvious. They were testing my limits.

The Guilt Treatment 

After a general scolding, I asked them to approach me individually when they felt they had something to say. One on one, they were told that their behaviour was unacceptible because I expected the same effort from them as I put into their lessons. They enjoy my lessons. They get excited and revel in the activity and life I try so very hard to inject into their routine everyday. I take suggestions on how to make learning more fun AND implement them. Their lights are turned on during my classes and they willingly participate. I was a friend to each one, and so I was genuinely able to look into their guilt and fear stricken eyes and slowly say, "You have hurt my feelings."

Tears played in the eyes of 3 and genuine remorse showed in the eyes of  two others. Five out of seven was good enough for me. They whispered apologies and looked me in the eye. They waited for forgiveness to release them from the knots in their little chests. Something genuine had transpired. Even if they manage to foul up again (as I'm sure they will at some point), I'll always have this moment to revert to - a  promise. They have yet to realize that although my fuse is easily lit, God has given me an endless supply of it. Test away little ones.

I wonder what the darlings will have me try tomorrow?

#1 Finding Inspiration

The Spark
It's not easy to get inspired these days. Everything has been done and then done again a couple of times over. In all that recycling, it's hard to find something genuine and personal of value. As a new teacher, I think being open and finding new things to impart is crucial to the teaching and learning cycle. Although, I have seen and/or experienced a few (too few) inspirational teachers growing up, the whirlpool that children are now born into, is making that breed of teacher somewhat obsolete. I'm a a fan and advocate of good old fashioned values, but how it's presented (especially in Asia where teachers can sometimes be archaic) makes all the difference.

Today's Highlight

So, #1 in my entry is the simple joy of finding random things that spark a teacher's imagination and heart to inspire little minds. There is an excitement in wanting to go to 'work' on a Monday morning, chewing on a nugget of wisdom and finding little moments to slip some of it in. Everything has got to be right - the topic/area of discussion, the mood and the right, often impish, question that sets it all off. The lesson would now have moved from the book and board -to life. That, for me, is a day well spent; when they walk away mulling over something beyond the syllabus.

How it began?

From the time I started a short while ago, not a day goes by without something jumping out at me and enhancing my walk as a teacher. This blog has been inspired by http://1000awesomethings.com/ (picture shows an article in the Reader's Digest on the author who wrote 1000 Awesome Things) and I like the thought of documenting my journey. I hope all you teachers, students and life-long learners/educators will take a stroll with me here once in awhile. And your insights will be greatly valued.