First week at school.

The ridiculous performers at the 'ge tai' (roadside stage) is screaming to wake the dead at the field across my apartment. I am sitting here and trying to concentrate on writing my BLOG. It's the end of my first week at the school I've been newly posted to.

It's been a hectic week. Most of the bustle is due to work, not so much of anything else. Handling the boys have proven to be smoother than I expected. I guess all the training from growing up in a big family helped, a lot. Of course, the fact that being blessed with a natural flair for timing and dramatics only augmented my skills. One should never belittle the power of the stare combined with the ambiguous poker face.

One parent came to inform me of a boy telling his mum that the new teacher (me) is “very fierce”. Which I promptly replied, “I never touch them, scold them or raised my voice unnecessarily - all I did was stare and wait quietly for them to demonstrate the appropriate behavior”. The parent responded to my reply with a look of amazement on her face.

Better than a threat is the anticipation of an unknown one borne out of an overzealous imagination under duress. But of course, I show them that the choice is really theirs, to choose whether the lesson they are going to have can be fun-filled or boring and straightforward - they choose by their behavior.

Throughout the week, I was really making use of the opportunity of the last week of school to get to know the boys in each class I am taking better. The only lesson I was able to really conduct was music lesson. At the end of the third day, I got a note from one of the boys which read,

“Thank you for teaching us. I like you because you are kind. Love, Sam”

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My room at Goodwood

After a two-day session of meet-the-parents, all the teachers went for a school-organized retreat at the Goodwood Park Hotel. It was certainly a fun-filled time of learning and getting-to-know-you time. It was also a good chance for me to soak up and learn about the workplace's culture.

So what have I learnt about the environment and culture? For starters, the colleagues are really warm once you introduce yourself and get to know them. The ones you work closely with are also really supportive. There is this general camaraderie of “I won't let you fall” that seems to prevail unwritten amongst the staff. That somehow sets my heart at ease – less apprehension in coming to a new, unfamiliar working environment.

Things are not a bed of roses of course. I have been assigned to create 2 sets of topical tests – one each for English and Math and another three worksheets for Math. It’s all fine and dandy, except that the head teacher, who had left for her holidays overseas, had not given me a copy of the scheme of work for the syllabus and I am not quite sure what to set the papers on... looks like I’ll have to go and source for the necessary textbooks myself.

I had also received news that I may be taking over a primary 2 SEED class. That means the stuff that I have been learning in NIE can be applied into the classroom environment – MI, differentiated learning, portfolio assessment, creative thinking, etc. I am already excited about the prospects of creating a text and graphic rich environment, learning centers and even a classroom library for my children. Excited? I don’t think that even begins to describe my elation...

Of course, I had not have any classroom experience when it comes to the SEED program. So anyone out there who has pearls of wisdom to share, you know the pearls would be greatly appreciated... (hint, hint).

There is another mission I need to be on of course. It has to do with outfitting myself. Who would’ve known that being a teacher opens up so many opportunities to go shopping? Already on my list, there are several items that I need to add to my sadly barren wardrobe that has been deprived for the past 2 years. The items cover everything from head to toe; some of them include shirts, belts, shoes, socks and even a new organizer. I might even throw in a new Mont Blanc just to pamper myself a bit or perhaps in anticipation of the good results I am expecting to get. Otherwise, it would be a good consolation present, wouldn’t you say?

A new list of life...?