1. Mr Chin Khen Theen
He is energetic, he is loud, he is vocal, the most impressive thing is, he is a passionate teacher. When I spoke to him, you cannot help but be moved by his passionate attitude. A P.E HOD at Bartley, he has been there for a decade. You may think, as I have erroneously thought, that ten years is long enough to wear a person out, to erode whatever dreams and passions that remain of a teacher. But you will be mistaken, as I was, when you meet Mr Chin Khen Theen.
"Education is about building relationship, not imparting knowledge." That was the most unforgettable thing he said that remained firmly edged in my mind now. Why is relationship important? I asked, isn't the quality of knowledge and character building more important than relationship?
"Without relationship, nothing is sustainable. Without relationship, everything will be forgotten."He answered. "Knowledge, yes, they'll get it, but one day it will all become nothing, be forgotten. But relationship sticks with them forever.
"I'm still keeping in touch with my Presidents of the Student Council from the past ten years". He grinned. "I'm inviting them for a Chinese New Year celebration at my house this Saturday" His grin grew even bigger.
"Our kids here very very close with their teachers, they are dependent and look upon their teachers for parental guidance". Very true indeed, as I have heard thus far, many parents of Bartleyans make little effort to be involved in their children's education. Parental neglect lead to low esteem level and unquestioning mind. Many of them do not like to question or respond to questions. A typical classroom lesson observes mainly initiation by the teachers, whereas students learn passively and only respond to questions when their names are called. Outside classroom, however, they'll be like a changed person, becoming chatty and sometimes rowdy.
"They fear of being shoot down by their peers, they fear to be laughed at for their supposedly stupid answers", echoed Mr Zhang Yukun, a Physics teacher for my 3E1 class. I assisted him in overseeing the CIP Newspaper Collection yesterday.
The truth is, they can be really rowdy and rebellious, a natural response to parental neglect at home, and their special way of seeking attention from teachers.
"They want to know you care, someone cares ", said Mr Chin. "When they make mistakes, we do go all the way out and punish them. It can be harsh,20 knock it down is very common". But there's no grudge, the students knew we care for them, and they appreciate it. And that's why "I like the school, you have the trust of your students, and the relationships you built, are ever-lasting"
The most challenging thing? to build an influential school culture conducive for learning and has a positive influence over the students, and to be "constantly on your feet"--coming up with creative ways to convey a message or point out a misbehavior.
That was Mr Chin, whose passion has driven him ten years down the road and yet, still passionate about teaching and going on full force building relationships with all his students.
2. About Marking and Lesson Tips
This week I've got the chance to lay my hands on two piles of students' work, from Kah Yang, my Math mentor who is also the HOD of ICT and E Math Teacher for my 3E1.
To me, marking used to be easy, especially for subjects like Maths where the answer is either rght, or wrong. There could be no ambiguity. So after Kah Yang taught me his usual practice in marking, I got my work done in less than one hour. But a few comments from Kah Yang got me thinking.
"What are their common mistakes?"
"Are there any particular students who are weak at a particular field of work?"
I wasn't able to answer those questions very well. Yes I've noticed many of them made careless mistakes and copied the questions wrong, but I didn't start with the correct mindset-that is to learn where the students have gone wrong, whether it is a careless error or a conceptual mistake, which is important that we correct it.
I didn't get much out of my first marking, I did not have the correct mindset. I learned my lesson and started the second time with those questions in mind.
"Is this student consistent in his understanding and application of laws(of indices)?"
"No, he's still making conceptual mistakes, his foundation is not strong enough"
So when I saw a wrong answer, I didn't just put a cross, but went through the students' working, paying particular attention to the step which he went wrong, identify whether it's a conceptual error and penned down helpful comments and hints that would aid the students in doing corrections. For those conceptual errors I spotted more than thrice, I jot them down on a piece of note and made sure Kah Yang know about it and go through them in his next lesson.
It turned out that, you thought you know a lot about something, but most of the times you're deeply mistaken. I know I have a lot more wrong mindsets to be shed, it is a long journey ahead.
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