Day In, Day Out

The brain of the dyslexic :) Source Source Source Oh Gosh! I'm in love.

Edited by Rod Parker-Rees This is a book about the Steiner Kindergartens. Many Malaysians are hyped up on Montessori Kindergartens so  this book review aims at exposing Malaysians to the other available type of kindergartens. In general, the Steiner Kindergarten is somewhat the same to the Montessori Kindergarten. However, this kindergarten is much more 'children-friendly'. The overview of the kindergarten: Teacher works with the children. No leading and following. Teacher makes attempt to trigger the children interest. Voluntary not instructing. Mixed age structure (also applied to the Montessori Kindergarten). The young learn from the older children. Communal feeling. Kindergarten is treated as a natural place of socialisation where children learn to interact with others.  Teacher provide children with enough time. Giving the child time to be in the early years. Based on belief that each child has different learning aptitude. Co-regulation instead of freedom. Co...

Everybody has their own story. One person life story won't be the same to the other person life story. I don't know yours but mine isn't a pleasant one. Tiring. That's the adjective which can sum up my whole life story. Many times, I give up with life. I do. I give up a lot of times. I cry in bed, in shower and even at the library when I can't hold the 'pain'. I struggle a lot in my life, so I definitely don't see any point of one to envy me. I'm doing TESL, yet my English is never good. That's why I spend more time on reading books. I just want to be at the same level as my degree friends here. I'm very into my future dreams, yet I don't have the money to walk my dreams. That's why I invest each penny that the government gives me on my future. I can't buy that prestige handbags and heels, cause my dreams need the money. I wanna get married to the man I love the most as soon as possible, yet getting married is harder than co...

This is amazing! I'll learn this more and use it in my future class. Why is this amazing? It has successfully combined mnemonics and phonics! Theoretically, the combination of visual aid, sound and movements play significant roles in helping students to remember the words and also the sound of the words which later result to the improvement of their reading ability. Yeay!! If a granny can do it, I also can! ;)

Spend your 50 minutes on this worth watching documentary on dyslexia: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/dyslexia-myth/

I spend my evening analysing: No Child Left Behind (US, 2001); source Every Child Matter (UK, 2003); source Getting it Right for Every Child (Scotland, 2008); and, source Memastikan Setiap Kanak-kanak Boleh Berjaya (Malaysia, 2011). source Why do I spend my evening analysing the above bills? Basically, at my first glance, all of the above bills sound alike. Though all sound pretty much the same, my first thought is that the Malaysian bill, 'Memastikan Setiap Kanak-kanak Boleh Berjaya' is closely initiated after the Every Child Matters because if the Every Child Matters is to be translated to Malay, it will end up something like 'Mengambil Kisah Setiap Kanak-kanak'. Ok. Itu pelik. But still, Memastikan Setiap Kanak-kanak boleh Berjaya and Mengambil Kisah setiap Kanak-kanak, they sound the same kan?   But instead, I was half wrong and half right. The 'Memastikan Setiap Kanak-kanak Boleh Berjaya' emphasises on (based on my own interpretation) : Setting ...

If we are serious about closing the achievement gap, we should make sure that every pregnant woman has good prenatal care and nutrition and that every child has high-quality early education. By Diane Ravitch Read more:  http://www.mysanantonio.com/community/northwest/news/article/Education-Achievement-gap-starts-before-school-2213710.php#ixzz1k196qjOu

Help students with aphasia. So what is aphasia? Watch this video for a brief information on aphasia.  ;)

Pendedahan Agama Islam to kanak-kanak luar bandar. Why are we so ignorant? ;'( They should be a Muslim. Stop being an ustaz/ah in the FB. Instead, try your best to menyampaikan to those yang memang tiada pengetahuan tentang mana-mana agama. Boleh tak nak lancarkan gerakan menyebarkan Agama Islam kepada penduduk luar bandar di Malaysia?  Saya tak alim, tapi saya kisah ;( 

My friends in IPDA (I'll be back in IPDA in July. Sobs) are busy thinking about the 'posting' places. Jadi, secara tidak sengaja, I also think about it. :) I know that for me the 'posting' thinggy is still a long way to go, but I cant resist to think about it. So where I want go. Below is my list: 1. SMK Pendidikan Khas (Vokasional) Instead of thinking on the counties where I want to go, I keep thinking on the type of school which I want to be recruited. I am aware that I dont have the knowledge to teach English to special students, yet I really want to teach them. I'll learn a lot from them and it helps a lot in improvising my teaching skills and such. So, dear government, please send me to this type of school. Though I dont have the knowledge, I have a secret weapon. You know what it is? It is passion. ;) 2. Kuantan, Pahang. If the government rejects my humble offer to teach in SMK Pendidikan Khas (how could you?!), just send me to a secondary school i...

Outside classroom support. Drop your problem about English language learning : during recess meeting = at ... on ... : after class meeting = at ... on ... The How: Teacher creates periods of time when students can come and ask questions about their learning, assessment marks and so on. Teacher should be at her/his place during the periods of time (you just allocate an hour for each period), unless you have an emergency. Rationale: Scaffolding Building rapport (I dont mean that you have to have an intimate relationship with your students! Please be professional) Support (Educational and also emotional support) Anticipated problems: 1. Students dont show up It's completely fine if no one shows up. You can continue having your coffee or maybe your nasi lemak. 2. You got much to do, so you dont have time for your students. Your students are your responsibility. They deserve some of your time. Come on teachers! ps : I dont mean this: when I say that education shoul...

Teaching for Change For those who are into teaching, please spend your 26 minutes on this radio podcast. It is incredibly good. http://www.bfm.my/hearandnow-teachingforchange-1501.html

A teaching routine (For secondary school students) The Rating Review: Rate me and I'll rate you. Preparation: Mini whiteboard/ A4 paper/ other alternatives (One for each student) The How: At the end of the lesson, 1. Ask the students to think back on the lesson. 2. Count to three (1,2,3) and ask students to rate your lesson 1 Terrible 2 Poor 3 Average 4 Very Good 5 Excellent 3. Pick on two or three students to justify their rating. 4. Show them your rating of the overall teaching and learning process. 5. Explain the rating. (Praise students if necessary) 6. Allow discussion and suggestion to improve the teaching and learning process. Rationale: Students' affective variables The power of praise Nurturing students' ownership and responsibility in their own learning process. Learner-centered Anticipated problems 1. Truth hurts. Try to a ccept criticism with grace and appreciation . Susah susah susah. Tapi, we should try to accept criticism because ...

If we have goals and dreams and we want to do our best, and if we love people and we dont want to hurt them or lose them, we should feel pain when things go wrong. The point isn't to live without any regret, the point is not to hit ourselves for having them. We need to learn to love the flawed, the imperfect things that we create, and to forgive ourselves for creating them. Regret doesn't remind us that we did badly, it remains us that we could do better.

A commitment device : A decision that you make with a cool head to bind yourself so that you dont do something regrettable when you have a hot head. There's two head inside one person: Present self Future self Why ? Resisting temptation is hard. It's not that your goals are physically impossible that's keeping you from achieving them, it's that you lack of self-discipline to stick to them. It's an unequal battle between the present self and future self. We might neglect our future self because of some failure of belief or imagination. - Derek Parfit. 

What have been said by the MP Pas Kubang Kerian are totally right. The TM Pelajaran should say: Thanks for the suggestion, we'll improve. Titik Macho je pun if you admit the reality. The video was taken on 2010, so I conclude that the government is working hard to improve apa yang pembangkang said since now we got the KSSR, NKRA and such.  If you're a car salesman, and someone says "This is a terrible car, I'm not buying it," it doesn't mean they hate you. They just don't like your product. I think that's a mistake a lot of people in show business. They're so tied to their act thus they take everything personally.  Jay Leno

Pra sekolah: LINUS.I think I'm in love with LINUS ;)

Saya bukan pro-kerajaan. Tapi, the government is trying very hard to please the Malaysian. For me, pada pandangan mata kasar saya, if Malaysians are willing to work hand-in-hand with the government, impian kerajaan and impian Malaysians mungkin jadi kenyataan. The government is being very concerned with the problems of education in Malaysia. Basically, the Pelan Hala Tuju Program Transformasi Kerajaan (GTP) is indeed a brilliant idea. Hurm. Renung-renungkanlah: Ada orang lain pernah kisah pasal mereka yang 'lemah':  Luang masa dan fikirlah. Yang salah bukan kerajaan. Again, jum rujuk sistem pendidikan Malaysia: Rukun Negara: : Belief in God Falsafah Pendidikan Negara: : memperkembang potensi individu secara menyeluruh dan bersepadu ... berdasarkan dan kepatuhan kepada Tuhan. Lain? Pelan Induk Pembangunan Pendidikan 2006-2010 and Wawasan 2020 pon review pasal kepentingan ketuhanan. Jadi kegagalan menerapkan component ketuhanan dalam kelas dan sistem pendidikan adalah...

Kurang ajar itu bukan jenayah? Contoh Pelajar: Lu apehal cikgu. Wa cakap lu ngajar cm *** je. Itu bukan jenayah la babe. Ini adalah satu bentuk ekspressi. Apa yang cuba disampaikan? Yang disampaikan cuma Malaysian educational system gagal mencapai matlamat pendidikannya sendiri. Rujuk balik Malaysian Educational Philosophy: "Education in Malaysia is an on-going efforts towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holostic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intelectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonic, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the society and the nation at large" Rujuk balik Rukun Ne...

Do you have one? No? You should by now. Salt Lake City School District Salem-Keizer Public Schools. Create your plan now: Admit your mistake. Learn from it. Stop blaming others.  Move forward. Make changes.

by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd. For me, the writing is slightly exaggerated. The points are simple but the explanations are too lengthy. However, this is still a good book for 'time lover'. It speaks a lot about oneself and personal time perspectives. Some of the quotations from the book (There are a lot! But I choose some of the best) : After all, people live their lives based upon their personal memories - based upon what they believe to be true - not upon an officially sanctioned version of events recorded in an objective history. (p.74) The book discusses on false memories. At the end of the topic the authors state:  Negative memories hurt, whether or not they are real (p.85) You don't have to be smart to end up wealthy. (p.234) What makes you happy today may not make you happy tomorrow. (p.262)

Yesterday This Day's Madness did prepare; To-morrow's Silence, Triumph, or Despair; Drink! for you know not whence you came, nor why; Drink! for you know not why you go, nor where.