My Life As A Teacher- Part 1 -before

To motivate and inspire my students to focus their efforts towards their education and career, I told them about my own experience and my career. Some of them were quite touched (so they said) and inspired. This is the first time I talked about it with the students. I don't know why. Maybe its because I feel closer with this batch of students or maybe its because this year we managed to finish the syllabus with a lot of time for revision. Using the practical periods for teaching was a bit more tiring as I had to teach 6 periods a day on Tuesdays. But the effort was worth it as we covered a lot of ground since we had 9 periods a week for theory. I hope they do well this year.its all up to them now.
When some ex-students heard about what I told the class, they were also curious and suggested I write in the blog. Actually its no big success story , neither is it an inspiring or touching story. What makes it meaningful is because its a person's true account.
When I was studying, I was not planning to be a teacher. In fact I wasn't even planning at all. Like most students, I didn't know what I wanted to be. I had no direction. That's why I keep telling them to have a direction..because I know most of them have none..just like me at their age. At that age our sight is only the immediate...we don't see far ahead. When I go for relief classes and try to talk to students about further education and career, most of them are not interested. The form 4 students are only concerned about the form 4 exam, they are not even interested in the SPM what more about what lies ahead after SPM! I don't blame them. At their age , I remember we were also like that. We didn't know it was important to get good grades. We didn't know and didn't bother to know what lies ahead when we finish school.
It is only after we finish school life that we find ourselves facing the harsh reality of the real world. In the next post I'll talk about how I ventured into the teaching career.......

Retirement Age

Somebody suggested in a recent article in the Star that the retirement age in Malaysia be raised from the current 58 to 60. I was asked by a couple of people whether I would extend my services if the government were to raise the retirement age to 60. Each time without hesitation my answer would be the same. Yes. Usually the response to my answer is not what I was thinking. Many people think that we should continue working after 58..otherwise we wouldn't know what to do with our free time. There are many reasons why I want to continue working but not knowing what to do with the free time is definitely not a main reason. The main reason is of course the income. I suppose it is attractive enough for me to stay on. The second is because I feel I have still a lot to offer. Although no one is indispensable, I still feel that I'm still an asset to the school. After all, there are not many of us who can teach Pre-U science courses fluently in English. The younger teachers would probably take quite a few years to reach our level of experience. Speaking of experience, our opinions and suggestions are still needed in the school management.
However, I think the Malaysian government will not propose an extension to the current retirement age. By comparison, our retirement age is among the lowest. It is 62 in Singapore and Thailand, 65 in Japan and 67 in Australia. With the average lifespan increasing most countries are extending the retirement age. In Malaysia, however, the government has also got to consider the unemployment rate. With so many public and private universities, more and more graduates join the work force each year. If the retirement age is extended, the unemployment rate may rise further unless the economy expands. At present there are no indications of a possible extension, so I guess I should start my countdown again and plan what to do when August 2011 comes.
The most obvious thing to do is to do what we do best...teach. I'll continue my tuition classes and maybe start a few more classes. At least until I'm 60, if health permits. After that, my wife would have also retired and I may just wrap up my classes and do what most retirees do. Travelling, visiting the children, TV and of course internet. I hope I won't get bored with facebook by then. maybe I'll blog more. And who knows, maybe I'll write some short stories!

Facebook or Blog?

Four months....I didn't realise that it was that long ago since my last post. Whoever reads this blog would have given up checking for updates. Since getting hooked on facebook, I have neglected my blog. But actually I cannot blame facebook. Before facebook, the updates were also not regular. Excuses, excuses. Maybe facebook does play a part for my absence. When we feel like writing something, we just write a short post on facebook. When we have photos to share, we put it up on facebook. In a way, facebook does replace our blog activities. What more with its addictive games, we spend more and more time on facebook..where to find time to blog? The guys who created and maintained facebook have really got us all hooked.
After seeing some of the photos I put up on facebook, someone suggested I write my story on my blog. The difference between a blog post and status updates in facebook is that we can write more details in the blog post. In facebook, all your friends read your status updates almost immediately, whereas the blogs may never get read. So the best way is to update then post the link on facebook. In the next few posts I shall write about my views on the teaching profession.

Male Teachers.....a rare species

It is reported that out of 100 teachers in Malaysia, only 28 are males. In my school, I think the ratio is even less. Look at the photos I took during a trip to an organic farm with my colleagues. You can hardly find a male teacher in the photos! Why do men shun this profession?
I was quite amused at one TV commentaryon Astro AEC. While discussing the issue of declining ratio of male to female teachers, the newscaster mentioned that nowadays parents warn their children to study hard , otherwise they will end up being teachers! They used to say the children will end up being garbage truck workers! If that is the public's view of the teaching profession, no wonder the young men are frightened away!
After spending 32 years in the profession, I am puzzled as to why people make such a comparison. Looking back, I have no regrets joining this profession. Our pay may not be as high as those in the private sector, but in recent years much have being done to improve the promotional prospects of teachers. Teachers do not complain about their low pay anymore. We do not spend lavishly but our income does make our living comfortable.
How about the job? Other than the documents, reports and files we have to keep, I still find it a joy to teach. Especially when I have carried out a good lesson and I know the students have understood. Seeing them do well in the exam is a joy we can't compare with money. And when they get good places in the university and end up with good jobs, we are so happy for them. That's the joy of teaching. Garbage collectors? Maybe they were referring to the discipline problems and the workload of the teachers. And males? why do they keep away? I wonder.

Visit to Pinang Peranakan Museum and Kek Lok Si

Penang is a popular tourist destination. But when someone comes to visit, you might not know where to bring them to. I guess the best thing is to bring them to the hawker centres. After all , the best thing about Penang is the hawker food. It has a been a long time since I last went to Kek Lok Si so we thought it would be nice to visit again. We were disappointed with what we saw. Other than the ongoing construction of the Pavillion of the Goddess of Mercy, many of the other places were in a deplorable state. The tortoise pool is a disgrace.

On an earlier trip we went to Khoo Kongsi and some heritage sites. But this time we tried the Pinang Peranakan Museum. We were pleasantly surprised with the place. Maybe it's because of the TV series Little Nonya and Iron Lady, it made the visit interesting. I don't mind paying the rm10 entrance because the owners did spend a lot to collect all those exhibits and maintained the place.
The place is also popular among bridal couples for thier photo shoots. I managed to catch a few shots. I don't think they know their lovely shots are in this blog. Anyway my congratulations and best wishes to them. May they have a wonderful life together.

Photo Fun

Go to http://www.photofunia.com/ to try out these fun pics.

Awards and Recognition..the story continues

Maybe it runs in the family...my daughter continues the tradition by receiving the Canada Governor-General Medal for achieving the highest academic standing in the Ontario Secondary School Diploma at Taylors University College. She also received the Chairman's Award, and the prizes for Computer Studies and for Mathematics.