Hari Guru

Thursday, 16 May 2013

A day to celebrate teachers and all the work they do. Although it is mid-term exam season, exams were put on hiatus for a day to honor all of the teachers in Malaysia. Most schools celebrated in their own way with speeches, performances, games, and food.

SMK Labis also celebrated.

After the usual morning assembly, breakfast was provided for all students and teachers. The teachers received a free meal prepared by the canteen. However, since it wasn’t vegetarian, my fellow vegetarian teachers and I went to get roti canai at the shop owned by my landlord.

Upon our return, the students were in the process of forming two queues lining the road leading from the office to Block F at the other end of the school. The teachers were standing huddled under the building overhangs as a light rain began to fall. At the sound of the traditional drums, the teachers, led by the Headmaster and the administrative staff, began the procession through the students to the site of the day’s festivities. I smiled and waved like royalty as I walked past my 700 students, receiving smiles and laughs in return.

Once all teachers and students filed into the Hall, a number of speeches were given by the leaders of the school. I excused myself for a while during this time in order to prepare for my performance with the students. The prayer and speeches were given in Bahasa Malaysia so I understood very little anyway. After all of the speeches, and the oath and songs specific to Hari Guru, both students and teachers gave performances.

There was an incredible 10 minute video completed in full by students, a hilariously funny skit, a traditional Zapin dance, Chinese yo-yos, Indian veena music, a poem recitation by a teacher, two guitar performances, a Tamil dance, and a teacher’s “Oh My Bahasa Malaysia” skit.

I was involved in three performances. The highlight was the Tamil dance. For a week leading up to Teacher’s Day, I rehearsed a Tamil dance with a group of five Form 5 Indian students. The dance was only 2.5 minutes with simple movements, but it was great fun dancing with the girls. I was decked out in full Indian clothes, thavani I think the costume is called, complete with skirt, top, wrap, bangles, necklace, anklets, black hair extensions, and make-up. “Oh teacher, so beautiful!” was a very frequently heard phrase that day. When I came up on stage, everyone cheered as I started dancing. Of course my partner and I had to be front and center. You can watch a video of the dance on my Cikgu Leslie Facebook page!

After the conclusion of all of the performances, and after the teachers were awarded prizes for winning the teachers’ competitions and the superlatives (voted on by the students), the classes gave their head teacher a gift. This marked the end of the celebration. As people began to disperse, individual students came to teachers to give them personal presents. That’s how I came home with a bag full of wrapped presents. I truly do have the best students.


Traditional Zapin dance


Chinese yo-yo performance


Preparations for the Tamil dance - hair extensions and make-up


My dance teachers


The performance (Video on my Cikgu Leslie facebook page)


Oh My Bahasa Malaysia! skit


Teachers singing and having a good time


With my students

The Ah-Ha Moments

Today I did an activity with my lower stream, form one classes to help the students prepare for their mid-term exams next week. It was a simple activity to aid in correct sentence structure. The students were divided into groups of 3-5 students (depending on the class) and were instructed to make grammatically correct sentences using the words provided. I had prepared twelve sentences which I cut up on small sheets of paper and put in individual bags. The students were to take a bag, unscramble the words, and rewrite the sentence using proper punctuation, etc. before selecting another bag.

As the students were working, I went around to the groups to help the students deduct why the order of their words was correct or incorrect. And I would also make sure they understood the meaning of the sentence. In my orientation in January, all of the ETAs were told only to speak English, “absolutely no Bahasa Malaysia” in our classes. This is how we were taught in our BM classes – only BM, no English. I remember how frustrating this was for the teachers and for us as students since our grasp of the language was not strong enough and our vocabulary was very limited. When I speak only English with my lower stream students, I, more often than not, receive blank stares and looks of utter confusion in return. I know how they feel.

Thus, my teaching method has changed. I don’t believe that using a minute amount of BM hinders their English language learning, but rather that it enhances it. The students are able to learn additional vocabulary and better understand my instructions.

Yes, of course I use English most of the time. And whatever I say in BM, I also say in English. But every once in a while, a little bit of Bahasa Malaysia helps the students immensely. For example, some of the sentences today used future tense, a tense which many of the students are not very familiar. “Will”? What is this word? Teacher, I don’t understand. Well, there happens to be a word in BM that indicates future tense. Will = Akan. OOOHHHH!!!! The light bulbs go off. And then they can find the verb and correct the sentence.

During class today, I heard so many “Ohh!!”s and “Ahh!!”s and “Teacher, I understand!” accompanied by happy laughter. I know the students understood the structure and the meaning of the sentences. I can only hope that they carry this knowledge with them and apply it to their exams as well as in their daily English speaking.

These are wonderful moments to be a teacher.

Thursdays are my favorite days

Although hectic, Thursdays are my favorite days. Every day is typically good, but overall Thursdays trump.

Like every other day, Thursday begins at the ripe young time of 6am. I start the day off right with a delicious breakfast – sometimes granola and milk or fresh mango and home-made yoghurt, sometimes peanut butter toast or whatever else I may have at the house. I head to school on my motorbike as the dawn is breaking; every morning I see the sky change from black to grey to blue with some pink, orange, and yellow thrown in.



The sunrise on my way to school

Every Monday through Thursday, the school day begins with assembly. Thursday is my day, however, the day when I have the opportunity to stand in front of all 700 students at my school, with a microphone in hand, and do any sort of English activity for twenty minutes. While a few years ago I would have run away if told I had to speak every week in front of so many people, now I relish the opportunity. Since I don’t teach every class, this is a time for me to see all of the students and interact with them, even if on an impersonal basis.


English Within 20 Minutes program during Thursday assembly

The day continues with me teaching three classes – two Form 1 classes and one Form 4 class (roughly the equivalent of grades 7 and 10 in the US) – with a 40 minute break between each. Lately I have been doing a World Geography unit with these two Form One classes. We have been using a large world map to learn about countries and continents and to find their location in the world. We’re loving it!

When my Form 4 class is finished, it is time for the upper form break – their only free time during the whole day. The class schedule does not even allow time between classes – one leads straight into another. I take advantage of this break to visit the classrooms of the Form 5 students, students I do not have the opportunity to teach every week, and talk to them informally. They seem to enjoy this time as much as I do.


Form 5 students during break

Over the past three months of teaching at SMK Labis, I have noticed that my greatest impacts, and my most enjoyable moments, do not occur in a formal classroom setting, but rather in my informal interactions with my students. The times when we feel free to converse and are not constrained by the expectations of the school and education systems. This is why I love the break times and also my Thursdays after break.

Several weeks ago, I went to the library after the upper form break. My intention was to read the newspaper and relax until my weekly English teachers meeting. Instead, there was a Form 6 class in the library and several of the students invited me to sit with them. For the next 80 minutes, a double period, we talked. We learned about each other, our likes and dislikes, our lives, English verb conjugations (upon the request of the students), and honestly, became friends. Every week since, I have returned to the library to meet with these students. And every week there are a few new faces, but always some of the same. It is such a joy to spend time with students who are genuinely interested in getting to know me, my culture, and in speaking English. And, on the plus side, I think their English really is improving.


A few of the Form 6 students

Next up, we have our weekly English teachers meeting. I actually quite enjoy these meetings. It’s the only time that all of the English teachers are able to come together and discuss important issues. Every week, I have a chance to propose new projects, discuss existing ones, talk about my English camps, positives and negatives of my classroom time, and ask for assistance or advice from my fellow teachers. If I haven’t already mentioned it, I should have – I have the best support network in my teachers that I could ask for. They really are incredible and are more than willing to help me with anything.


My fellow English teachers


After this meeting adjourns, any number of events may occur. For the past 7 weeks, I have had choral speaking practice, but now that we have completed our competition, my afternoons are freer. Some weeks there is an additional class for all students called Mentor-Mentee, another time I love since I can walk into almost any classroom and chat with the students about anything for 40 minutes. Other weeks, I’ll return home, eat lunch, read a book, plan lessons, go for a run, or unintentionally nap.

In the evenings, every Tuesday and Thursday, I join a group of mostly Indian men at the Badminton Hall for a couple hours of intense badminton. I must admit, my skills have improved quite nicely since I started playing with them, though I still have a long way to go before I’m nearly as good as some of these players. Still, another highlight of my days.

Yet today was different. There was no badminton since the hall we normally use was closed. Instead, I spent a couple delightful hours in town with four remarkable Form 6 girls. They picked me up from my house and we went to town to… get my ears pierced!!

I’m so glad they came with me, to choose my studs, tell me not to cry, and laugh with me when I make ridiculous faces as the man puts a gun up to my ear. So now I have a hole in both of my ears and I still wear a smile on my face.


There are holes in my ears and yet I'm still smiling

Afterward, we went into a few more shops to look at earrings and other odds and ends before deciding it was tea time. We went to a pleasant little restaurant called Vanilla Café in downtown Labis where we ordered ABCs and French fries. ABC is a traditional dessert of shaved ice with coconut milk and sugar syrup drizzled on top, like a snow cone. Except it also has an assortment of other toppings. Today’s toppings included red beans, jellies, cendol, and sweet corn. I never know what I’m going to get, but it’s always good.


At the cafe

Always good. Just like my Thursdays.

Earth Day

Monday, 22 April 2013

In honor of Earth Day, I conducted three projects at SMK Labis, a school-wide “Black Out,” a recycled art project, and a recycled planting project.

On Monday morning, I took the microphone and once again spoke in front of all 700 students in my school as well as all of the teachers and staff who are required to be at Monday assembly. “What is today?” I ask the students. At first I hear a couple “Mondays,” but then I hear the response I was waiting for. “It’s Earth Day!”

“Yes it is. And today we are participating in two projects.” One, the Recycled Art project, my students already knew about as I had been promoting it for the past week. But first, we were going to have a school-wide “Black Out.” A what? A black out. For third and fourth periods, a time frame of 80 minutes, students and teachers would be required to go about their daily routines without lights, fans, phones, or computers. (Don’t worry, permission and support was first obtained by the headmaster.)

Considering all of the classrooms receive direct sunlight – two walls are lined with windows – and very few are equipped with any technological gadgets, this activity did not hinder the students’ ability to learn. The real impact was the lack of fans. Although conducted in the morning when the weather is cooler, it’s still warm at all hours of the day. Some of the students complained of the heat and even I sweated more than usual during my class, but the purpose of the activity was understood and appreciated by the students.


A Form 3 class using no lights or fans during the Black Out

After school, I was joined by students in almost every Form for the Recycled Art project. I challenged students to create original art out of recycled materials. My only requirement was that they only used recycled materials, excluding adhesives. The students rose to the challenge and created some very original pieces.

The masterpieces included:

The Petronas Twin Towers (with accompanying cat)
Made of: Water bottles, newspaper, straws, and toothpicks


A Car
Made of: Cardboard and bottles


Robots
Made of: Cardboard boxes and cans


A birdhouse, including nest and eggs
Made of: Cardboard, paper, tin cans, paper shavings, and bottles


A Dress with accessories
Made of: Plastic bags, paper, cardboard box, and food wrappers

Front of dress with accessories


Back of dress

I am so proud of my students’ creativity. They really impressed me with their recycled art projects. 

The third, and final, Earth Day activity I did, besides simple class lessons on the 3 R’s and ways we can protect the Earth and conserve the Earth’s resources, was Recycled Planting. My Form 2C and 2D classes brought water bottles to class which we turned into plant pots. Water bottles, a rock, soil, seeds, and water, plus a pair of scissors to cut the bottle – that’s all we needed. The students enjoyed getting out of the classroom and doing a hands-on activity since they don’t often have the opportunity to do so. They didn’t even freak out (too much) when they found a big frog in the bag of soil brought by one of the teachers!



I must take this opportunity to thank my headmaster, Amat Paijan bin Saruwal, and my fellow teachers who may have been inconvenienced by the Black Out, for supporting my Earth Day activities. I am very appreciative of the support my school gives me as my projects and camps would not be possible without this support!


Some of the students with their Recycled Art projects on display during Wednesday assembly

An American Summer Camp

13-14 April 2013

With scavenger hunts, ultimate Frisbee, charades, a talent show, line dancing, pillow fights, science experiments, relay races, and ice pops, An American Summer Camp was a huge success. My first English camp brought 38 Form 1-3 students, 8 ETAs, and all of my English teachers to school on a Saturday and Sunday. The fear of sleeping overnight in the dark and scary Block F didn’t deter my students who were so excited to practice and improve their English skills while spending time with new and old friends.



The students participated in many activities typical of an American summer camp. A few of their favorites including the ETA Scavenger Hunt, Line Dancing, and Ultimate Frisbee. For the scavenger hunt, the students had to use English clues to locate the ETAs who were stationed around the school campus and then complete various tasks. For example, the students had to spell words with their bodies, talk about their favorite foods and subjects, write a rhyming poem, identify money from various countries, summarize their favorite story, and tell and English joke.



My favorite part of camp was Sunday morning line dancing. We all piled into the Block A hall after breakfast for an hour of dancing. The Electric Slide, the Macarena, and the Chicken Dance were big hits. Several of my students now want to dance the Macarena for Teacher’s Day in May.



And then of course I loved teaching them ultimate Frisbee and watching them laugh as their attempted throw sent the disc straight up into the air. Surprisingly enough, my students are quite good at Ultimate, despite their never having seen a Frisbee before this year. Every time I bring it out during co-curricular time, the students who join me are able to throw a mid-range backhand with little difficulty and can also catch! They seem to learn the skills much quicker than the students I coached back in the United States.



After 21 hours of fun, games, and little sleep (due to excitement and a huge thunderstorm), we all left the school tired and happy. Thilaga was incredibly generous to have prepared a meal of thanks for all of the ETAs. I don’t know how she found the time and energy to cook for all of us. But it sure was delicious and a fantastic way to end an exhausting and rewarding weekend.


Group photo

Hello, my name is Morning

For the first month of school, before I bought my motorcycle, I rode to school with my mentor, Thilaga, and her children. Her son is in one of my Form Two classes, and her niece, who lives with them, is in Form Three. Unfortunately, I do not teach her grade level. Every morning, I would enter the car and exchange greetings. “Good morning!” “Good morning, teacher.” It became a standard procedure. Every morning, “Good morning.”

On our way to school, we would drop Kishira, her daughter, who is almost two years old, at the babysitter’s house. And in the afternoon, we would swing by the babysitter’s house to pick her up. After a few weeks, Kishira started saying “Morning!” when we picked her up. Smart girl, I thought, knowing that Good Morning is a greeting often used. “Good afternoon” we would try to correct her, to no avail.

Eventually my motorcycle was inspected, fixed up, and ready for me to ride. Since then, I have not seen Kishira very often. Only on special occasions, like going to the Indian coming-of-age ceremony, or when she comes with Thilaga to badminton with Kishan and Jeevetha. However, this past weekend I saw her a lot.

I saw her when Thilaga stopped by my house to pick up forms for my English Camp last Wednesday. I saw her on Friday when I meet them at a restaurant near my home and joined the whole family for tea. I saw her on Saturday and Sunday when she and Prasad, the father, came to my English Camp. And again later on Sunday when we went to Temple for the Hindu New Year.

“Morning!” she would say. “Good afternoon,” I replied. Yet then I realized, she kept saying “good morning,” even when I had been with her for a period of time. Turns out, she’s been calling me by my name the whole time!



At tea on Friday, I got lime juice. As Kishira was sitting with me, naturally she wanted some. I told her “no” as she had already finished her drink, but she proceeded to scream “MORNING!!!!” until I gave her some.

At my camp, she was given a sheet of paper but needed a pen. I didn’t have one at the time and had to finish giving directions to my students so I couldn’t look for one. The next thing I know, I hear “Morning! MORNing! MORNING!!!” until I turn around and she sweetly says “pen”.



At the Hindu Temple, I was talking to my roommate’s student and mother, but Kishira wanted me to come stand with her and Thilaga. So I hear “Morning, come.”

The morning has always been my favorite time of the day, so I suppose it’s better than being called “Afternoon” or “Night”. Soon enough, I’ll get her to say my real name! For now, it’s super cute.

Myanmar

22-30 March 2013

Welcome aboard the flight to Yangon, Myanmar. Please be patient as we locate the bags for the 15 missing passengers. We should be departing in 20-30 minutes." Strange, but okay.

30 minutes later, the passengers listen intently to the emergency procedures as we slowly move away from our gate toward the runway. Myanmar here we come! I proceed to fall asleep, having not slept the night before as several of us ETAs had camped out in the bright and noisy airport. I'll wake up in 2.5 hours we land in Yangon. Or so I thought.

When I wake up, I am in a daze of confusion. We're at a gate but I know we're not in Myanmar. But we already left... As it turns out, we are back at our original gate. The pilot comes over the intercom, "Due to extreme fog in Yangon, we can not leave. Hopefully, the fog will clear in the next hour so we can depart." Nevermind that the flight is supposed to take 2.5 hours and any fog is bound to have dissipated in that amount of time. But anyhow, we wait. Two hours after we should have left, we finally do. I just hope this isn't indicative of how travel will be inside the country! (With three 10 hour bus rides to look forward to, it could be a real nightmare!)

In actuality, that was the only transportation glitch in our week-long trip. Thank goodness! A delightful trip it turned out to be.

Yangon
A stroll through the palace grounds led my friend Wes and me to a small park where a group of young adults were enjoying the beautiful day by having a picnic on the side of the lake. Naturally, we went over to the group and engaged the youth in conversation. They were all in secondary school in Yangon and were indeed just enjoying the nice day together. We exchanged cultural information, sang "You Are My Sunshine," and took photos together. Interacting with locals is often the favorite part of my days and it is usually greatly appreciated.


Our new Burmese friends

I sat at a tea shop in a kid sized plastic chair at a kid sized table next to another kid sized table where a grown man sat. I ordered Burmese tea, a must-have when in Myanmar, and relaxed as I watched the people leave the local market with their daily purchases. The gentleman next to me kindly interrupts my people watching to ask where I am from. Then he asks, " Are you a teacher? You look like you might be one." I'm not quite sure why he thought that as I was wearing a t-shirt and ultimate shorts, but I just so happen to be one in Malaysia. Conversation about the importance of teaching grammar versus speaking confidence ensues. This man is a secondary school teacher in Yangon. Mainly a science teacher, he has taught two years of English as well.

A decision to stay at a pleasant restaurant to listen to the live local band play a mix of popular English and Burmese songs led to meeting a remarkable man who is training the Burmese police force after having spent many years of his life in the US Marine Corps. Apparently, according to this man, the Fulbright program is expanding into Myanmar in 2014.


Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon - Covered in real gold leaf!

Bagan
At 5am, we take a horse and buggy in the pitch black into the land of 4000 temples. After removing our shoes, we climb the steep stairs up the temple in the waning darkness. And then we wait. A few temples are lit up, standing bright and radiant as nothing else can really be seen. As the dawn breaks, more and more temples appear on the plain. It is an incredible sight.

The sun rose long before it could actually be seen. There was a layer of haze hovering on the horizon. Several hot air balloons lifted off to fly over the plains as the fireball sun finally broke through the haze. And a fireball it was! Perfectly round and fiercely red, a distinct shape in the far distance.


Sunrise in Bagan


A temple in Bagan

Every temple is different, yet each honors Buddha. With colorful and fading murals on the walls, statues of Buddha inside each, and hidden staircases leading to exterior platforms with breathtaking views of the temples on the plain, Bagan is truly a remarkable place, unlike any I've ever visited.


From the top of Shwesantaw Pagoda


The temple-speckled plain

Inle Lake
Another must see. Small boats carved out of wood speckle this vast expanse of water. Fisherman standing on the back of their boats throw fishing nets into the water while holding the oar with their leg. Yes, they control the movement of the boat with the power of their legs. Unimaginable strength and balance.


Fisherman on Inle Lake


Stilt houses

On my 25km bike tour around part of the lake, I pass a sign for a traditional Shan vegetarian restaurant. Note to self: return for late lunch. And so Wes and I did. A 15 minute bike ride into a small village leads us to a woman's house with two tables outside and a sign that says "Country Traditional Shan Vegetarian Food." We made it. While our food was being prepared, we played with the two adorable children who quickly warmed up to us despite not a word being spoken between us. Peek-a-boo, hand slaps, making animal shapes with our hands, and teaching/learning high fives put smiles on all of our faces.


The precious children


Ox cart in the village

And the food was delicious! Soup, potato and tofu curry, steamed rice with peanut crumbles, steamed vegetables and fresh calamansi juice. Mmm.

Back on the main road, we went another kilometer to the Red Mountain Estate Vineyard and Winery. We sat on the edge of a hill overlooking the plains and Inle Lake and watched the sun set behind the mountains in the distance.


Sunset

This trip marks the first of three school term breaks. As I post this, I have been in Malaysia for three months. Only seven months of my contract remain. Time is going by so quickly. And I'm loving every minute of my time here!



Marching band rehearsal at one of the schools in a village on the shores of Inle Lake