A Day Made

My 4N2 made my day!

I was caught off guard when handed over a blue slip of paper typically used to inform you of the classes you are supposed to relief for.

I got 4T1 and 4N2. What a way to kick up a beautiful Wednesday after a long holiday break.

Admittedly, the 4T1 is rowdy,loud, disrespectful and completely ignorant of my presence, as expected. As a teacher, the lesson was a failure. I could not control the class(though there are only 6 of them), it was just impossible to get the message across. (Fariz suggested I should sit in during Mr Ang's lesson with 3T1, he's amazing) The 4Ts could not take instructions and worse still, they try their very best to go against you if you try to take charge. They refuse to be taken charge, and enjoy challenging the authority. It's funny how sensitive they can be to any slightest hint of an attempt to do so.

The class ended, with me feeling a little bit dejected. I guessed I have a lot to learn from Mr Ang before stepping into the class again.

Then 4N2 came along to erase the unpleasant encounter.

They are respectful, lovable and hard-working, everything which my and many others' stereotype has told me they are not. A plump guy politely asked to to help him with drawing inferences from Social Studies texts, another shared with me his aspirations to become an engineer. Hong Jun was his name. He wanted to go Singapore Poly, Engineering. I believed in him, and told him my best friend is there, thriving and ready to graduate and start working. Hong Jun wants to go a step further , he wants to go university.

How encouraging! Their desire to strive for the best, to do well, to excel, to have a dream, to pursue their dream........just like so many others in the mainstream track. They definitely do not want to end up in ITE, as they are expected to. I could tell from the way they asked me questions, how carefully they handled their work, and attentive that plump guy was as I explained to him.

There's something very unique about their eyes, they are bursting with that desire, their dreams.

The best thing among all that I was able to observe: they are absolutely TALENTED.

Took this photo of a student's art work. It was a fledgling dragon, totally captured my impression of them and I want to use it as picture for today.