I had attended this Teachers' Prepatory Course on the 20th and 21st of March just last week and I was personally inspired by what I had learnt then.
Our course instructor was this very experienced teacher called Mr Cheong Heng Yuen, who was formerly a school principal and a Director for Education under MOE. He shared vividly from all his teaching experiences and how to handle all the kids, which carved a deeper impression in me more than the notes itself!
We had a lot of fun these two days, learning about each other's teaching styles and do you know that there are actually 23 STYLES to manage a class? whoo hoo...most of us would remember very well how our own teachers had used those tactics to manage our class last time and how even we, being kids had "abused" our own teachers in return. Mr Cheong jokingly added, "You all now have a taste of your own MEDICINE!!"
He shared with conviction and with humour how we want our teaching experiences to be, giving us time to reflect also, one point which really struck me was," What's YOUR script for life?" Pretty much like the reflections we do in Church, he asked this one last question with seriousness that stunned the room after a slew of his jokes.
What's my script for life? Do I want others to write it for me? How do I want my teaching career to be carved out? What are my values and viewpoints that made me embark on teaching? I asked this question to my Papa and Mama who have a combined 70 plus years in the teaching career. So what stuck to them? What made them carry on? I had a glimpse of kids nowadays in schools from my relief teaching stint. It's their LOVE for the kids. Kids from all kinds of situations, from all backgrounds, from all races and different faiths.
Something about Mr Cheong that hinted that he was a Christian when he urged the class, "As long as I am righteous before God, why I had set myself to do and to achieve in this career as a teacher. I remember and I come back to the very basic principle that I hold on to when I take up this step in life, its that I have a passion to change the lives of the kids that I am teaching and LOVE, I would be Okay."
Still praying to God for strength and wisdom every single morning...
Every new day, Your glory unfolds
Filling my eyes with Your treasures untold,
The beauty of Your holiness brings worship anew,
My GREATEST LOVE is YOU.
Yesterday - 27th March 2006
Met my first serious case in this school. I remember before we ended the TPC, we all had bombarded Mr Cheong with questions on how to handle kids and classroom management. I had posed the question on Hyper-Active Children "ADHT" they call it..Not really ADHT for me, but this kid really needs help. I was relieving the class to do English Compo before they all go for school excursion. This kid could not calm down no matter what. His classmate had accidentally spoilt his mechanical pencil the early part of the day and he was brawling, screaming throughout the whole lesson, demanding that the friend should pay "$5 dollars for this pencil! Your pencil is stupid! My aunt will definitely hear about this!" he demanded in fluent, accented English.
Being small in size, he shoved the boys who were trying to comfort him to the ground, amazed at his strength and temper, i tried to counsel him, only to see him face tensed , fist tightly clenched, with gritted teeth wailing and crying..He was making noises that I know that this kid really need professional counselling...I nearly lost it when he screamed and threatened to hurt more boys. But something within me urged me to leave him alone. Only then I witness a true picture of love and comradarie among the boys in the class young as they were, the boys especially the class monitor was so sweet, he sat there, hugging him, talking to him, fixing his pencil for him and telling him that it was really okay.
He was so mature that he even advised me not to talk to that boy cos I would only provoke him further! The boys all wanted to calm him down, some of them even assured him and gave him their stationery with encouraging words. Even though some of them are actually quite afraid that he would yell at them or hurt them..
WOW...I am so amazed. Such sweetness...
Please Lord Jesus, preserve in them this big heart for the people around them....Please don't let them grow so harden hearted when they are older. This is the kind of love and the kind of environment that would really inspire learnng. No one is left behind, no one is discriminated. This is really the fruit of the Spirit in full display among such young boys of 8-9 years!
A learnng experience for me back there in that small classroom...:)
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
S.H.M.I.L.Y.
Although I have read this story many times..still touches me..:)
From the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series:-
My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they had met each other.The goal of their game was to write the word Shmily in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving Shmily around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more.
They dragged Shmily with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal.They smeared it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring. Shmily was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath.
At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper to leave shmily on the very last sheet. There was no end to the places Shmily would pop up. Little notes with Shmily scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows. Shmily was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents' house as the furniture.
It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents' game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love - one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents' relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection which not everyone is lucky enough to experience.
Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other's sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome an old man he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew how to pick him.
Before every meal they bowed heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune, and each other. But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents' life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that color so she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.
Now the cancer was once again attacking her body. With the help of a cane and my grandfather's steady hand, they still went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone. Shmily. It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother's casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby.
Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew then that, although I couldn't begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.
S-h-m-i-l-y:See How Much I Love You.
Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for letting me see.
From the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series:-
Shmily
By Laura Jeanne Allen
They dragged Shmily with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal.They smeared it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring. Shmily was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath.
At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper to leave shmily on the very last sheet. There was no end to the places Shmily would pop up. Little notes with Shmily scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows. Shmily was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents' house as the furniture.
It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents' game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love - one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents' relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection which not everyone is lucky enough to experience.
Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other's sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome an old man he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew how to pick him.
Before every meal they bowed heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune, and each other. But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents' life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that color so she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.
Now the cancer was once again attacking her body. With the help of a cane and my grandfather's steady hand, they still went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone. Shmily. It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother's casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby.
Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew then that, although I couldn't begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.
S-h-m-i-l-y:See How Much I Love You.
Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for letting me see.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
Missions Trip to Jakarta 9th-12th March 2006
Yupps...this gotta be my first short term missions trip overseas....really wanna Thank God for this chance to be able to go since I was not really working for the past few months...this trip has been a blessing...I thank God also for opening my parent's hearts that they would let me go too amidst all the bird flu scares and political unrest...
Really blessed by the protection of God throughout this trip, a lot of "mishaps" happened along the way but we were not hurt, neither were we under any danger...:)
More of "fei3-llowship" with the brothers and sisters from Hope Jakarta, I was personally touched by their willingness and their heart of service towards God and His people. Although the church there is small with only an attendance of 50 people and 30 committed members, the people's hearts were on fire for God!! Set in the rather bustling area in Jakarta, the church is located on a 3-storey shophouse of this placed called Jalan Mangga Dua "Two Mangoes". :)
When there was a call for some of them to change their current jobs and to move on to another part of the country to help build up or plant a church there..I witnessed that the brothers and sisters readily responded to the Pastor's call. Indeed it was the true embodiment of the Great Commission and the vision of our Hope Church! Matthew 28:19!
Young brothers from Hope JB, willingly applied for scholarships to attend school in Jakarta so that they can help strengthen the church there, another brother Yovan, putting down his current job in Jakarta to move to Medan to help out too. I was so inspired! With such a small group of people, with hearts united to do the work of Christ! WHat's more with our church in Singapore? 2400 plus people, it was already so hard to find someone who would wanna respond to church planting..let alone this small church back in Jakarta.
We saw quite a lot of sights and sounds of Jakarta, the traffic, the city sights, the slums, the bestest of all , the FOOD!! Gado-Gado, BAK-MIE ROCKS!!! The Hope Jakarta bros and sis took great care of us, driving us around for sight-seeing even taking the tab for our food, we were so blessed! oh yeah, who can forget the shopping??? Some of the bros and sis bought guitars at one-third the prices in Singapore! On the first day we were there, we swept up the Hope Store and the snacks from the Hope Caffee from the church!!
Too pampered by the comforts of Singapore I am, i began to appreciate what we have back home, the convenience, the ease of travel back home..to think that I can complain with only half an hour's time travelling to any where else on the island!!
We attended the church's leadership training sessions and Word for life classes and one very interesting event that happened was that to start of the day's sharing, we have to go around introducing ourselves by our names and our 5-YEAR PLAN! wow! such an inspiring start to the teaching! We also did street evax and follow-up on the second and third day after much prayer and finding out from the bros and sis there, the cultural differences and the mindset of the expatriates in Indonesia..we really learnt how to appreciate the different cultures of the up-market people in the business district Jakarta. Also managed to help organise a Matthew CG for brother Paul Liew's contacts at his posh condominium in South Jakarta.
It was really a fulfilling experience for me...:) Thank God for Pastor Mariska and the brothers and sisters if Hope Jakarta for their kindness and their hospitality to us!! :)
Here are some pics from the trip:- for more please visit the link here => http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?&mode=fromsite&collid=84924010805.229667624305.1142572691156&conn_speed=1
Really blessed by the protection of God throughout this trip, a lot of "mishaps" happened along the way but we were not hurt, neither were we under any danger...:)
More of "fei3-llowship" with the brothers and sisters from Hope Jakarta, I was personally touched by their willingness and their heart of service towards God and His people. Although the church there is small with only an attendance of 50 people and 30 committed members, the people's hearts were on fire for God!! Set in the rather bustling area in Jakarta, the church is located on a 3-storey shophouse of this placed called Jalan Mangga Dua "Two Mangoes". :)
When there was a call for some of them to change their current jobs and to move on to another part of the country to help build up or plant a church there..I witnessed that the brothers and sisters readily responded to the Pastor's call. Indeed it was the true embodiment of the Great Commission and the vision of our Hope Church! Matthew 28:19!
Young brothers from Hope JB, willingly applied for scholarships to attend school in Jakarta so that they can help strengthen the church there, another brother Yovan, putting down his current job in Jakarta to move to Medan to help out too. I was so inspired! With such a small group of people, with hearts united to do the work of Christ! WHat's more with our church in Singapore? 2400 plus people, it was already so hard to find someone who would wanna respond to church planting..let alone this small church back in Jakarta.
We saw quite a lot of sights and sounds of Jakarta, the traffic, the city sights, the slums, the bestest of all , the FOOD!! Gado-Gado, BAK-MIE ROCKS!!! The Hope Jakarta bros and sis took great care of us, driving us around for sight-seeing even taking the tab for our food, we were so blessed! oh yeah, who can forget the shopping??? Some of the bros and sis bought guitars at one-third the prices in Singapore! On the first day we were there, we swept up the Hope Store and the snacks from the Hope Caffee from the church!!
Too pampered by the comforts of Singapore I am, i began to appreciate what we have back home, the convenience, the ease of travel back home..to think that I can complain with only half an hour's time travelling to any where else on the island!!
We attended the church's leadership training sessions and Word for life classes and one very interesting event that happened was that to start of the day's sharing, we have to go around introducing ourselves by our names and our 5-YEAR PLAN! wow! such an inspiring start to the teaching! We also did street evax and follow-up on the second and third day after much prayer and finding out from the bros and sis there, the cultural differences and the mindset of the expatriates in Indonesia..we really learnt how to appreciate the different cultures of the up-market people in the business district Jakarta. Also managed to help organise a Matthew CG for brother Paul Liew's contacts at his posh condominium in South Jakarta.
Even though we could have done the same things in Singapore, but the heart of this missions trip is to allow myself to immerse and be sensitive to another culture and how I could learn to have a burden for global missions next time. Think its a small start somewhere bah...I think it was really an enriching experience for me to find out that most of the people that we talked to there are really entrepreneurs, who had great plans and a great mind to start their business and to make a difference in their lives, and we could see how these people need God in their lives too..:) We should be the examples to the people around us that WE CAN make a difference too!!
The last day went by quickly with Sunday Service where Pastor Mariska shared about being committed to a church and how to share Christ to the other people around us. I also shared my testimony on how i decided to commit to Hope Singapore with the help of dear sis Lydia who interpreted for me. The Missions team also sang "It's a Small, Small World" for the church and celebrated Keng Suan's birthday..:)It was really a fulfilling experience for me...:) Thank God for Pastor Mariska and the brothers and sisters if Hope Jakarta for their kindness and their hospitality to us!! :)
Here are some pics from the trip:- for more please visit the link here => http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?&mode=fromsite&collid=84924010805.229667624305.1142572691156&conn_speed=1
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Thursday-2nd March 2006-"I Not Stupid Too
Had a strong desire to wanna catch "I Not Stupid Too" today...being checking through all the schedules for the past few days for the show and realised that the screen times are running out.
Had missed the outing with Kim and friends for her birthday celebrations when they wanted to watch the show as I was at Steve and Gelene's wedding..could not take it anymore rushed out of school compound at 145pm hopped a cab and rushed to Tampines Mall at 205pm for the 155pm show...
Really thank God the past week. On Sunday, I had struggled but still gave by faith my tithe for the month as I was not really working for the past month. The blessings of God just flowed on Monday, I received a call from a neighbourhood sec school at 6AM (*yawn*) and was asked to relief at the school for the day, then little did I know that in the afternoon i was offered to relief for two weeks!! This provision is rather unexpected cos to be called up for relief teaching is rather an ad hoc basis as schools would only call u should they need help.
Immediately took up the challenge, of teaching kids which are taller than you, bigger- sized than you, and spouting what the teachers joked of the "third language"(vulgar language) at the speed of 5 words per second you...it's really scary to teach at a secondary school for me..i had applied for primary school teaching position...guess this should be the last week i can teach at a sec school..now i can really identify with Mr. D and Guangrong how they handled the sec school students...oh man...you two have my RESPECT!!
Day one - I was given this Sec 4 Normal Tech class...the moment i went in it was HAVOC...3 big guys one of them obviously the ring leader gave me lots of trouble...he and three other guys starting sprawling on the table after their PE lesson SLEEPING JUST LIKE THAT (cos i was teaching in an air con room) and simply refused to do work...asked one of them for their name...
Rach: "What's your name?"
Student A:" No name!!"
Rach:"What's your index number?"
Student A:"NO NUMBER!"
(Rach nudges one of the students for the name, got the name and...)
Student A:"You KNNBCCB!! @#$%@!!"
That's the end of Round 1 , Day 1 for that class..
The next few days were rounds and rounds of scolding and pulling big guys apart from fighting, silly squabbles among themselves...i was sharing to the CG members later in the day...i was literally running from class to class day to day praying under my breath before i could minister to the next class, kept repeating to myself" GOD loves you Rachel, if they dun love you, GOd loves you!" crying out to the Lord, "O Lord, help me love the kids..!!"
... ... ... ... ...
Plonked down at the cinema, was personally very moved by the show...what was portrayed in the show was really I felt how the students had reacted to the teachers in school! every retort and every complain they made! Cos had just experienced that a few hours ago...each scene really cut deep.
Felt really burdened and heavy hearted throughout the show and also got me to realise why and how certain youths behaved the way that they did in school..of course the show was highly dramatised....but it further instilled in me this sense of wanting to be there for the kids...to help them out to be even more of a fren to them than just literally putting my points across, my eyes were not dry thru the show...and so were the people across the cinema...
the scene are still very vivid in my mind, how the two main characters in the show, Tom and Cheng Chai turned bad even after they had tried their best to be good children, joined the street gangs..quarreled with their parents, and even had a softer side when they learnt how to give up their rights and reconcile with their parents...i realised also that parents and youths should also have more chances of communication with one another in the family and with their friends and teachers ..Some kids do have a soft heart after all
I was personally sad when the kids in school spout all the "third language" at me, but after watching the show, it really got me to be aware more on why such things could happen and my heart was better strengthened and my "face skin" thickened!! hahaa..
Teaching is certainly not an easy job..in fact at the days progesses despite the fact that I am only a relief teacher at the Sec school...I am more and more motivated to be a good teacher to spread the love of God to them, and as a life example...sounds like a major task but by the grace of GOD...:) All things are possible! I realised also that I have grown more and more emotionally stable to handle all the naughty kids and I do believe that the Lord Almighty has helped me through to handle the situations with lots more tact and wit ..:)
One Thanksgiving point I had at the end of the week for that Sec 4 Normal Tech class was that, guess what the "ringleader" did? He was so sweet! He actually handed in the work into the teacher's (whom i am relieving for) pigeon hole the end of the day!! Imagine the shock I had when i opened it and the shock of his fellow "gang" members!!! The next few days were rather easier to handle as I witness slowly the boys started to be "sweeter" to me, the ring leader started to make sure that his gang handed in the work and also some boys offered to lock up the room for me when the door was faulty...:) was joking to the office staff..."They still have liang2 xin1 (conscience)!!"
Kudos to all the Sec school teachers out there..guess you would never understand the situation until you really start to teach in one of them!! RESSSSPECT!! :)
Had missed the outing with Kim and friends for her birthday celebrations when they wanted to watch the show as I was at Steve and Gelene's wedding..could not take it anymore rushed out of school compound at 145pm hopped a cab and rushed to Tampines Mall at 205pm for the 155pm show...
Really thank God the past week. On Sunday, I had struggled but still gave by faith my tithe for the month as I was not really working for the past month. The blessings of God just flowed on Monday, I received a call from a neighbourhood sec school at 6AM (*yawn*) and was asked to relief at the school for the day, then little did I know that in the afternoon i was offered to relief for two weeks!! This provision is rather unexpected cos to be called up for relief teaching is rather an ad hoc basis as schools would only call u should they need help.
Immediately took up the challenge, of teaching kids which are taller than you, bigger- sized than you, and spouting what the teachers joked of the "third language"(vulgar language) at the speed of 5 words per second you...it's really scary to teach at a secondary school for me..i had applied for primary school teaching position...guess this should be the last week i can teach at a sec school..now i can really identify with Mr. D and Guangrong how they handled the sec school students...oh man...you two have my RESPECT!!
Day one - I was given this Sec 4 Normal Tech class...the moment i went in it was HAVOC...3 big guys one of them obviously the ring leader gave me lots of trouble...he and three other guys starting sprawling on the table after their PE lesson SLEEPING JUST LIKE THAT (cos i was teaching in an air con room) and simply refused to do work...asked one of them for their name...
Rach: "What's your name?"
Student A:" No name!!"
Rach:"What's your index number?"
Student A:"NO NUMBER!"
(Rach nudges one of the students for the name, got the name and...)
Student A:"You KNNBCCB!! @#$%@!!"
That's the end of Round 1 , Day 1 for that class..
The next few days were rounds and rounds of scolding and pulling big guys apart from fighting, silly squabbles among themselves...i was sharing to the CG members later in the day...i was literally running from class to class day to day praying under my breath before i could minister to the next class, kept repeating to myself" GOD loves you Rachel, if they dun love you, GOd loves you!" crying out to the Lord, "O Lord, help me love the kids..!!"
... ... ... ... ...
Plonked down at the cinema, was personally very moved by the show...what was portrayed in the show was really I felt how the students had reacted to the teachers in school! every retort and every complain they made! Cos had just experienced that a few hours ago...each scene really cut deep.
Felt really burdened and heavy hearted throughout the show and also got me to realise why and how certain youths behaved the way that they did in school..of course the show was highly dramatised....but it further instilled in me this sense of wanting to be there for the kids...to help them out to be even more of a fren to them than just literally putting my points across, my eyes were not dry thru the show...and so were the people across the cinema...
the scene are still very vivid in my mind, how the two main characters in the show, Tom and Cheng Chai turned bad even after they had tried their best to be good children, joined the street gangs..quarreled with their parents, and even had a softer side when they learnt how to give up their rights and reconcile with their parents...i realised also that parents and youths should also have more chances of communication with one another in the family and with their friends and teachers ..Some kids do have a soft heart after all
I was personally sad when the kids in school spout all the "third language" at me, but after watching the show, it really got me to be aware more on why such things could happen and my heart was better strengthened and my "face skin" thickened!! hahaa..
Teaching is certainly not an easy job..in fact at the days progesses despite the fact that I am only a relief teacher at the Sec school...I am more and more motivated to be a good teacher to spread the love of God to them, and as a life example...sounds like a major task but by the grace of GOD...:) All things are possible! I realised also that I have grown more and more emotionally stable to handle all the naughty kids and I do believe that the Lord Almighty has helped me through to handle the situations with lots more tact and wit ..:)
One Thanksgiving point I had at the end of the week for that Sec 4 Normal Tech class was that, guess what the "ringleader" did? He was so sweet! He actually handed in the work into the teacher's (whom i am relieving for) pigeon hole the end of the day!! Imagine the shock I had when i opened it and the shock of his fellow "gang" members!!! The next few days were rather easier to handle as I witness slowly the boys started to be "sweeter" to me, the ring leader started to make sure that his gang handed in the work and also some boys offered to lock up the room for me when the door was faulty...:) was joking to the office staff..."They still have liang2 xin1 (conscience)!!"
Kudos to all the Sec school teachers out there..guess you would never understand the situation until you really start to teach in one of them!! RESSSSPECT!! :)
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