= FAVOURITE WORD =
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
[NIV]
New phase. More changes.
What would the future bring?
Sunday, January 25, 2009
My Precious MP3 Files
Yes, yes. I'm still awake at this unearthly hour - thanks to the long nap I had this afternoon. ;p
Other than clearing up the mess in my room, I've been trying to organise my MP3 files too. I think I have so many 'new' songs to catch up with that I don't have to buy anymore for the next 3 months. Ha!
I still have three albums left to sort out, so I'll leave them till tomorrow. What the heck, it's already 'tomorrow'. -_-
I had a quick preview of all the MP3 files sorted out and I must say I'm really mesmerised by the original soundtrack of 바람의 화원 (The Painter Of The Wind). I've yet to finish watching the serial because the links for the last 2 episodes are broken. It's a really great drama with fantastic music, though I never got used to seeing Moon Geun Young and Park Shin Yang as a couple. Still, certain scenes were hilarious because nobody (other than her foster family) knew she was a female in disguise. The plot is really intricate and well-written.
Here are the first 4 songs in the album. The instrumentals are really charming, but there are just too many to upload. ;p
jOyZ blogged at 2:42 AM
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Saturday, January 24, 2009
Mixed Emotions Towards CNY 2009
I'm experiencing mixed feelings towards CNY 2009 at this moment.
On one hand, I'm glad that the CNY holiday is here. We can all have a break from the endless piles of work. Although it's been barely a month since the school term started, I'm already feeling exhausted.
On the other, I dread the CNY visits to the relatives, especially the never-ending questions about my life. I know they mean no harm and just wish to make conversation (to be polite; they probably aren't really interested in my life), but the questioning really gets on my nerves. For the past 5 years, I've been wondering the purpose of all this CNY visiting. It's supposed to be a time when we catch up with our relatives. We ought to be looking forward to this, but why am I not?
Then again, with relatives whom I'm closer to and more comfortable with, it's a different story altogether. I'll be happy to attend any family gathering at Aunt B's. In fact, I'm looking forward to the reunion dinner with my mom's side of the family this year. It's been a long while since I last saw my closest cousin, XR, and I'm sure we've got lots to talk about. Come to think of it, I flew over to HK more often than I saw her in 2008! :O
I guess that's what happens when everyone's all older and busy with work and personal commitments.
In recent years, I've been wishing my family would do away with the tradition of visiting relatives. Yet, knowing the significance of CNY visiting in our Chinese community, I can't help but go along with it.
I miss those years when CNY was so fun - the red packets, the glorious food and crazy games with my cousins. But all these have become memories now for they no longer hold the same meaning in my heart today.
Ah well. I didn't mean to sound so gloomy. After all, CNY is coming.
Hm, I think I should take things one step at a time. Since I'm looking forward to the reunion dinner, I ought to focus on it and be happy about it first. Hopefully, I'll feel more enthusiastic about CNY visiting after that. Ha!
jOyZ blogged at 8:38 AM
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Saturday, January 17, 2009
On Form Teachership And Such
It's been absolutely crazy ever since the school term started. I'd actually missed one weekend of blogging.
Still, I'm thankful that I wasn't given a form class this year. Not that I don't like to have a class to take charge of (or to boss over! HAHA), but with a form class, I can't run away from handling all sorts of administrative duties.
Over the years, when asked how much time does a form teacher spend handling all these, I found it impossible to calculate. There are just too many things! Form teachers spend time chasing their form classes for all kinds of forms (that's why the label 'FORM teacher'), payment of money (fees, courses, subscription of reading materials, handbooks, magazines and what not) and counselling their charges on an ad hoc basis (because there's no telling when a pupil will suddenly turn 'emo' or go 'crazy' in school). All these little things somehow add up and it's honestly too difficult to calculate the exact amount of time invested.
Then again, I do miss having a form class to go to especially during morning assembly - taking their attendance and making sure that they are all properly attired. Yes, I'm one of those anal teachers who hunt their pupils down if they have no name tags. I fine them for being sloppy and forgetful and all the money collected goes to their class fund, which usually grows into quite a nice amount for their final-year party after the national examinations.
In any case, now that I don't have a form class to look after, I have a lot more time to plan more meaningful lessons for my subject classes. It's been a good 3 years since I did any thorough lesson planning - being so overwhelmed with all the administrative work. I've arrived at the conclusion that I'm simply not cut out to handle administrative matters - no matter how hard I try!
I guess, to me, nothing is more important than the cognitive and character development of my pupils. This is not to say administrative work isn't important at all. (It must exist for a school to run properly, otherwise no one - pupils, teachers and non-teaching staff alike - can benefit.) It's just that it doesn't bring me the same level of joy or satisfaction I have when I see my pupils learning something new in class, or when I manage to convince them to do something after counselling them.
Honestly, I wish there were more administrative support for form teachers. If lawyers can receive administrative support from 'shared' secretaries (eg. 1 secretary to serve 3 or 4 lawyers), why can't it be done in the teaching profession? Will transferring all our administrative duties to the secretary make us any less of a form teacher (or just any teacher for that matter)?
Honestly, I feel form teachers are more than just form-cum-cash collectors. They are really the ones who have to take the school's vision, mission and core values and break them down into digestible bits for their form classes, so that the pupils will grow to become what the school has envisioned them to be upon their graduation. They are the ones who guide the pupils in setting their class motto, set the expectations and class's tone of environment, develop potential leaders and discipline the pupils when necessary. I remember there were times when subject teachers of my form class gave me feedback on the class's misbehaviour. Subsequently, they would get a second dosage of disciplining from me.
So, really, because the administrative workload is ever-increasing, it's high time schools started employing personal assistants for form teachers (say, 1 PA to 4 FTs) and teachers without form classes (1 PA to 7 teachers). It creates new jobs for the country too. And all we need are people who are organised and who can liaise with the administrators in the school's general office on our behalf. At the same time, the administrators in the general office won't have such a hard time chasing teachers to submit their form classes' forms and money. Doesn't it make everyone happier? All teachers can plan fun and meaningful lessons and deliver them effectively, and all form teachers can build better rapport with their form classes without having to get drowned in the sea of administrative responsibilities.
Only then, we can all talk about work-life balance.
Most importantly, teachers will no longer be described as grumpy!
jOyZ blogged at 6:10 AM
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Sunday, January 04, 2009
A New Year, A New Start
New Year's Day came and went, as did the first day of school. Lessons were generally alright, until recess time. Because the canteen (as well as hall and administrative block, for that matter) is under massive renovation, packed food was provided for all pupils and staff. Pupils had to eat their packed food in the classrooms, so it was quite chaotic during recess.
My timetable went haywire, too, due to some last minute requests and changes. Anyway, I survived the first day. It went better than I'd expected honestly. Week 1 of school starts officially tomorrow, so I'm bracing myself for more craziness in the weeks to come. :O
2009 is here and will see many major changes in not only my life but some of my friends' as well. A couple of my friends are already experiencing these changes, moving on to the next phase of their lives. I'm kind of in limbo, still waiting for answers, though I've already done what I could and all I can do now are pray and hope for the best.
Looking back at 2008, I must say out of the 2 resolutions I had set for myself, I managed to achieve only 1! I think I was not successful with the second one because I didn't make it specific enough. In any case, I'm going to continue with these 2 resolutions, and include a third and new one, for 2009.
1) To lose weight the healthy way through diet and exercise instead of stress at work.
2) To clear and pack my tables at work and at home every week (in an attempt to cultivate some orderliness in my life).
3) To finish reading at least one book in a month (so many books bought but unread yet).
Well, let's see how I fare 1 year from now.
A new year, a new start. Here's wishing one and all, A HAPPY 2009. :D
jOyZ blogged at 8:28 PM
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