Action research, the way to go!

Today, all primary school teachers, who are diploma holders and below the age of 45, are given a chance to become degree holders. By the droves, they register at the various institutions that offer 'recognised' degree courses. With their friends, they attend classes and do assignments. Of course, there is a lot of plagiarism. They are expected to know better, being teachers, but what happens is that they are in the company of friends. They have to excel, they have deadlines to meet, they have stressful and time-consuming jobs at school and they need to graduate with their peers when the time comes. So the easiest and fastest way to get their work done is to 'plagiarise' in one form or another.

In the first place, most of these teachers do not have the calibre to be graduates. They may have the years of teaching experience but when they were accepted for the diploma courses in education, it was because they were not eligible for degree courses. How is it that now, after a few years, they are eligible? Does teaching experience alone qualify one to be more eligible to become a graduate?

Instead of generalising and making all teachers graduates, it would be more beneficial for the teachers (and their students) if they were sent for training to improve their individual basic skills, to improve their teaching methodology, to change their mindset, to make them more creative so that these skills could be passed down to their students over the years. With all their existing pressures as teachers, simply undertaking an academic course and making them graduates will not benefit the children that they are teaching.

What would be more practical would be to get existing teachers to carry out action research in the classroom so that their concept of education, their attitude of service and their sense of creativity will be developed and nurtured. A teacher working under the guise of a degree-holder will not change the world. His personal sense of self-improvement needs to be revamped so that he will be able to move mountains!

Action-research would help the teachers to reflect on their own teaching methods with the group of students that they have. Through continuous reflection, supervision and discussion with others teaching a similar subject or the same calibre of students, the time the teacher spends in the classroom can be of greater quality.

This is what the Ministry of Education in the Malaysian government should be advocating. At present, it envisions that by merely allowing all teachers in the profession to become graduates it will improve the image of the teaching profession. However, the teachers are wearing themselves out by trying to fulfil the demands of the course they are undertaking and carrying out their teaching tasks while the stakeholders, namely the students, will continue to be the victims of the education system. In the long run, no one will benefit!

A beautiful poem

I wish you health
So you may enjoy each day in comfort

I wish you the love of friends and family
And peace within your heart

I wish you the beauty of nature
That you may enjoy the work of God.

I wish you wisdom to choose priorities
For those things that really matter in life

I wish you generosity so you may share
All good things that come to you

I wish you happiness and joy
And blessings for the new year

I wish you the best of everything
That you so well deserve"

by Charlotte Anselmo .

A New Year, A new Beginning

As the new Year unfolds, it is time to ponder on life. Watch this short inspirational film based on the book Finding Joy by Mac Anderson.
"Life can be pretty complicated, but happiness is really simple..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hECUfKVxXJ8&feature=email

Time flies!

'There is so much to be done and yet so little time to do it in,' many lament. The year is drawing to a close. Many look forward to it and yet many more will dread it because of unsettled matters and because of greater demands set since one will be getting older and more mature.

What will the New Year bring? A few will say that today is just the same as yesterday and so tomorrow should be the same as today. If there is no difference then the days will just pass by one after another.

One should set aside some time to evaluate one’s life – the events that have occurred in the past week, the past month, the past six months and even the past year. Highlight the extra special events and do not dwell on the demoralising episodes. Only then will one envisage how much one has grown, not only chronologically but also in terms of attitude and behavior.

If one is not aware of this growth in one’s life, then one would be merely existing from day to day. There is still time for change and we should all strife to make our world a better place without hurting others. Record all the achievements you have experiencd on a regular basis and you will be surprised to note that you have made a difference not only in your life but also in the lives of those around you.

Don’t let time fly by unnoticed! May you achieve great things in 2012!

Bus-rides

Boarding the bus in Ipoh for intra-city travel is not such a horrendous experience as it was in the past, especially since new buses have been put on the roads to ply the popular routes.

It would however be great if the Majlis Bandaran Ipoh could erect more bus shelters at strategic locations within the city of Ipoh. Besides providing shelter from the elements, it would also serve as a landmark for the occasional bus-rider. He would know where to get on and off the bus. What would also be fantastic is if the companies could then advertise their route maps and follow a routine schedule in these shelters.

Undoubtedly, once all this falls into place, more people will opt for riding the bus rather than driving their cars.

Being connected, staying connected!

Many people come into our lives everyday. Being an only child with no immediate family, I have been forced to rely on relatives and friends now that my parents have gone to enjoy their reward in heaven. There are some people who have chosen to cut off ties with immediate family members and friends for one reason or another. The bottom-line is that we do need people around us so we should try to stay connected. In this age of modern day technology, there are so many ways to stay connected, so there is no excuse unless one chooses to be a recluse.

Just because ...

Just because …..

…. it rains today at 3p.m., it does not mean that it will carry on raining into the night.

Just because …..

… children have iPods for playing games, it does not mean that their parents are wealthy.

Just because …..

… students attend tuition classes, it does not mean that they will score As in their examination.

Just because …..

… a baby cries, it means that it is hungry.

Just because …..

… the dog barks, it means that there is someone at the door.

Just because …..

… we do not talk, it does not mean we do not care for each other.

Just because …..

…one has chosen to be single, it does not mean that they are lonely and alone.

Just because …..

… one is on holiday, it does not mean that one does not need to cook and wash.

Just because …..

… one is an animal lover, it does not mean that one will love children.