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!! :)