It's not easy to be a language teacher though...

(not my student's work)

The vagabond cries...

It was said to this vagabond
Time will heal
By the princess of his dream

Time passes by
Leaving this vagabond untreated
Surrounded by fake happiness
In the forest of his choice
Screaming to loneliness
Crying to deaf company

This vagabond is still waiting
For a sip of the dew of happiness
From the princess of his dream...

Farish 2009,
@Subang Jaya

The new preference...

The temporarily abandoned blog...

It has been quite a long period for this blog has not been updated. If this blog is a pet, I might found it turned to be a skeleton. My lack of time was due to my time spent for updating my new 'pet'. I was really occupied with the existence of a social network online application, the Facebook.

However, I still love my blog and have no intention to terminate it. I involved in blogging when I was doing my undergraduate study. I did a study on the use of blog to motivate ESL students for writing activities. I found that students were interested and gave full participation in the blog-based writing activities.

What about Facebook...?

It has come into my mind recently whether should I start to use Facebook as an instructional medium for my ESL class? There are many things I should take into consideration before I can use it in classroom. The security issue is the main thing. I am not sure about the teacher's security control offered by the Facebook. Students may be exposed to unsuitable contents of other Facebook users, addicted to games as well as being exploited by 'cyber criminals'.

The Pandemic halts educational institutions...

I received this message from a friend of mine while I was just started my car engine for the town..

" Dear friends, according to IPS, UPSI is closed from 29.7.2009 until 9.8.2009 due to the pandemic.."

When I arrived at the town, it was crowded with UPSI's students who were hurrying for the latest bus that they could get to go back to their hometown. I managed to snap some photos as below...

At the Tanjong Malim Bus Station

Making calls to everybody

Ready for home...

Mass hiring among measures to strengthen learning of language

Mass hiring among measures to strengthen learning of language

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The sixth sense or The sense of escapism?

There's a girl at my school who is now quite reluctant to attend school session due to what she saw at the school entrance. According to the girl, she saw two entities standing at the school gate during the peak hour where students and teachers hurried to school. After several interviews made, she described what she saw in sketches... below are the sketches..

The 'Mama'

The 'Daughter'

Using cell phone

I'm testing using my cell phone updating my blog.

Learn from the 'Hair Port'

Yesterday, I have fulfilled my children's request to bring them to a cinema in Ipoh for 'Upin dan Ipin'. It is not about the movie that I wanted to publish here but a signboard of a shop (a hair salon) attracted me for its statuesque-but-thoughtful presence. While I stood in front of the closed shop (it was 11.00 p.m. already..) I was wondering what if I changed some words and replaced them with my own educational-related words... Here is my version...

"A student is the most important denizen in our school compound. Even though they feel they are not dependent on us, Our tasks are dependent on him. He is not an interruption on our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider of our duty. He is a part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing a favour to himself, by giving us an opportunity to do so."

So ... how does it sound....? Remember teachers.. the above quotation is not a new National Philosophy of Education. It is just a thought that I have had in mind when I was looking at the signboard.... ;-)

When a western scholar talks about Prophet Muhammad

" O Muhammad, We have not sent you but as a blessing for all the worlds. "
(al-Anbiya', verse: 107)

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Today Muslims celebrate the birthday of a great man who was born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Makkah. He was given a name, Muhammad means "Praiseworthy" by his grand father, Abdul Mutalib. He was chosen as the Last Prophet by Allah. The above quote is taken from the holy scripture of Muslims, The al-Quran. The verse mentions the main purpose of the prophet being sent to the world. To those who do not like this great man (most of them are westerners) might give many negative connotations whether in writings, speeches or caricatures (while Muslims have never given such negative comments on any biblical characters). No matter how many negative connotations given, there are still great scholars who realised how great this man was and have written unbias writings about him. One of the scholars has written the description about the great and last Prophet as below:

"Muhammad was a man of exceptional genius. When he died in 632, he had managed to bring nearly the tribes of Arabia into a new united community or ummah."

The excerpt above is taken from Karen Armstrong's "A History of God". I read most of her books and found she is really sincere in her literatures. She describes Prophet Muhammad as if she was one of the Prophet's followers. To her, those who learnt literature should appreciate al-Quran and Muhammad is not the writer of al-Quran. About this issue Amstrong writes,

"Unlike the Torah, however, which according to the biblical account was revealed to Moses in one session on Mount Sinai, the Koran (al-Quran) was revealed to Muhammad bit by bit, line by line and verse by verse over a period of twenty-three years. The revelation continued to be a painful experience"

and the usefulness of al-Quran in natural science is sincerely revealed...

"...The Koran (al-Quran) constantly stresses the need for intelligence in deciphering the 'signs' or 'messages' of God. Muslims are not to abdicate their reason but to look at the world attentively and with curiosity. It was this attitude that later enabled Muslims to build fine tradition of natural science which has never been seen as such danger to religion as in Christianity."

Looking at the hullabaloo happens in the world nowadays, I regret the demise of this greatest man in history. However, he has left us (especially Muslims) his legacies which are the al-Quran and al-Hadith to guide us to the righteous path and yet many of us failed to follow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY O' MY BELOVED PROPHET MUHAMMAD

A visit to SMK Jalan 4 Bangi...

Today, according to what has been planned since last week, I joined the staffs of SMK Gedangsa for a visit to a "many-awards-gainer" school in Bangi. I will write more on it later... (I am too tired to write + no ideas) at the moment just enjoy this slide show via the link below.

SLIDE SHOW: CLICK HERE

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Latest update:
We visited the school on Monday after we have successfully carried out the Sports Day on Sunday. Therefore, Monday was given as a 'Cuti Peristiwa' for us. The principal however looked upon something for us to do as a Staff Development Course; the visit was the result.

Two occasions...
On that particular day the school actually had another important event. Their new principal was on the way for registration. We arrived earlier from the new appointed principal. We attended the briefing organised by the GPK Akademik. From her we knew that the school has women teachers in majority. Only 3 male teachers made up the minority male teachers population there. So, in the briefing session, this issue was emphasized... (... perhaps they wanted to show that without men, women can survive...)

What I learnt...?
I often heard very proud claim from people saying that private schools are better than government's schools. It is not true I believe. The SMK Jalan 4 Bangi, has proven that their school are at the same level as the private schools. Their advantage is on the very co-operative relationship with their PIBG. Parents willingly support every school programme. This effort has given enough 'power' for the school to equip good facilities for students hence improve its educational services quality. The photos below shows some of the good facilities the school provides...

This is the SPBT room which stores the textbooks. Very well managed and seriously decorated.


It looks like a family hall isn't it? Actually, it is the school sickbay. Their motto is 'Towards Dengue Free school environment' (..which I wonder how could they do that...?)

Friend's problems and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow

THE 'MASALAH PROBLEM':

A blogger; friend of mine has put her problems related to his daughter who was reluctant to go to school recently. (read her post here, Title: MASALAH PROBLEM) This problem reminds me of the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This theory was introduced by a Jewish scholar - Abraham Maslow. I learnt about this theory when I was taking my psychology of education subject. I have not learnt the theory in depth since at that time I had to learn many learning theories. However about my friend's problem with her daughter, this theory I feel has significance relationship with it.

MASLOW TELLS US THAT:

Some children are able or ready to learn while others are not due to 7 fulfillments of needs. These are called Hierarchy of needs. The Hierarchy is shown in the diagram below.



Looking at the diagram above, the lower levels need to be fulfilled for the higher level to be achieved. This means about the troublesome of my friends daughter, the parents should have checked every level to trace what the real problem is and why the child was not motivated to go to school.

I also had similar problems with my daughters few years back. I found that she had problems in the first level which was at the 'Physiological Needs'. She slept late at night and had trouble to wake up early morning. To solve that problems, I had to sacrifice my routine sleeping time (which was late up to 12.oo a.m ++) and pursued her to sleep as early as 9.00 p.m.

Another great stuff for the teaching of history

Photo: Statue of Patih Gajah Mada

Since history subject in Malaysia's schools is taught in Bahasa Malaysia, I would be happy to see this kind of video available on the internet in Bahasa Malaysia. It is no problem for me to comprehend the information; it would be hard for most of the students to understand some terminologies and words used.

This video tells us about the famous Majapahit Empire which once dominating the Malay Archipelago. Its famous premier was Patih Gajah Mada, a strategist, conqueror, as well as a successful and respected diplomat. He was in service during the reign of Maharaja Hayam Wuruk. These names sound wierd to my Form 1 students and quite difficult for me to explain reasons on why people at that time bore that kind of names.

More information about Patih Gajah Mada and Hayam Wuruk here...


(I love the music too...)

Happy Chinese New Year

I wish a happy prosperous Chinese  New Year to all my chinese friends.

Microsoft effort…

Microsoft has come forward with newly invented Windows Live many in one application. I am using the Windows Live Writer to update this blog. Nice and useful application so far… posting your entry just like using your word processor… hmm… nice

To cater students' health and social needs

Today the practice for cross country has been carried out. Despite the new working environment, I've never failed being equipped with my beloved camera. That was the thing I realised for my first involvement in school's activity this year in a new school where there was nobody to record the event for documentation. Whatever it was, the most important thing is students' needs for health and social activity has been carried out properly according to the schedule. I also realised most of the students were very enthusiastic in completing their cross country task. This correctly goes in line with our National Philosophy of Education needs to produce emotionally and physically balanced human capital.

Photo 01: The principal is waiting to release the participants.

Photo 02: Released....

While I was waiting for my students to finish their run (, I had captured some photos of the school compound and found quite beautiful to publish and share them here...

See the sky and the clouds... what a crystal clear blue sky...


Hmm... what do you think? Can we say it is serene?

Facade

Does life have values?

I started my Sunday morning doing my routine. Bought and read a local newspaper; the Mingguan Malaysia. For several days stories about massacre in Gaza inhabited many newspaper columns. Today the news was still about the illegal occupation of Gaza and the terrible situation faced by the people there .The front page showed an Israel's tank bombarded its target. After I've flipped through several pages,my focus was hooked to this picture...



Is this what they call their enemy? The most dangerous enemy ever? The terrorist? The Mingguan Malaysia Editor commented on this photo which he said had gained many comments from readers of various backgrounds. Yes, it touched my heart too. For me those who did this are the real terrorists and the enemies that we should fight. Those support this terrible and inhuman action are belong to the group as well.

You can read the Editor's comment here... BISIK-BISIK MINGGUAN AWANG SELAMAT.

Of tag

I have been tagged by a new blogging friend whom I never knew before; TERA who owns LEPIDOPTERA blog. So TERA, here it is.... I have written the 10 facts about me as required to receive the awesome award.

Read it here...

Back to school...

I wish all Malaysia's teachers,
"SELAMAT KEMBALI KE SEKOLAH"