Day In, Day Out

One day Prince Charming kept saying to not-his-Cinderella: Life is interesting. Full of uncertainties and surprises. I think about it. A lot. and yeah, life is interesting. That even in the midst of chaos, there is opportunity (Tsu Zsu), and that frequently, building a door for opportunity to knock, really works, and that too often, the moment of break down, is the moment of rebirth ( this time more wisely ). Silence

And what do I listen to?  I listen to motivational and inspiring talks. Why?  Cause I, really wish that I will be what I listen to; full of motivation and inspiring. So what do you listen to? One of my favourite talks is by Angela Lee Duckworth on The Key to Success? Grit. It is my personal favourite as if I were to choose an adjective which describes me well, it will be Gritty . Who is successful and why? [...] one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success and it wasn't social intelligence, wasn't good look, wasn't physical health and it wasn't IQ, it was grit. Grit is passion and perseverance for a very long term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future; day in, day out. Not just for a week, not just for a month, but for years and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it is a marathon, not a sprint. I am a gritty woman. I have goals but my goals aren't ther...

I believe that Malaysians are aware that most of Malaysian public schools are practising streaming system. Streaming system is a system in which the entire school population is assigned to classes according to students' overall achievement. It means that students of the same level will be grouped together; an A student will be placed together with other A students and an F student will forever be forced to be with the other F students. Well for me, the system is a good example of the proverb, ' birds of the same feather flock together '.  When I was a student (I was the A student) , I never found the system a problem. Instead, I enjoyed it because normally I had proficient and motivated teachers teaching me various subjects. Thus, being in the top end of the streaming system is a bless. On the other hand, recently, after having taught groups at the bottom end of the streaming system, I notice how harmful the system is to the students. Thus, it is not a surpri...

Every now and then, when I have to deal with my clients (I frequently call my students my clients as I am prone to run education like a business), I always keep in mind that I need to respect them. No matter how absurd their jokes are or how notorious they have been, I hold myself back and try my very best to keep giving them all my respect. I have sometimes been viewed by friends and by senior teachers as being too 'soft' or too flexible with my students yet I have my own teaching principles which one of them happens to be respecting my clients as human and more prominently, as children. In my degree years, I had spent hours on analysing  UN Convention on the Rights of Children  and my favourite article is: Article 28: All children and young people have a right to a primary education, which should be free. Wealthy countries should help poorer countries achieve this . Discipline in schools should respect children's human dignity . Young people should be encouraged ...

Hey, today I want to introduce you to an English educational game initiated by a wonderful woman I met during MELTA 2013 conference, Puan Razanawati Nordin . It is  chatting BOOSTERS! Let me describe the product: What? A deck of 53 cards containing different English language phrases and expressions. Example: To greet (x1) To ask question (x6) To make suggestion (x7) To end discussion (x1) Why? To assist ESL students speaking in a small group. To encourage interaction in a group. To overcome the fear in searching, constructing and presenting ideas. To express and exchange their views. To guide students for appropriate turn-taking and response. To correct each other while using the cards. To create relaxed, fun and lively discussion. How? Students form groups of 3 to 4 (I let students played in groups of 10) Each group is given a deck of chatting BOOSTERS! Teacher explains briefly on how to ...

What should I do with a broken wing Which does not let me fly? I have been silent too long, But I never forget the melody. Since every moment I whisper, The song from my heart. Reminding myself of the day, I will break free of this cage. By from this solitude, And sing with abandon. I am not a weak tree, To be shaken by any wind. I am an Afghan woman, It only makes sense to cry. Nadia Anjuman was a talented Afghani poet who was beaten to death by her husband at the age of 25.  Al-Fatihah.