Sunday 4 January 2009

Another school year

Today's post is nothing fancy just what is going through my mind since today is the last day of the school holidays.

Yes, 7 weeks has gone past just like that and now it's like any ordinary school week Sunday, meaning tomorrow is a school day. In fact in some states school has already started today.

So what to expect when school reopens? Oh, sure the state Pengarahs would expect lessons to start from the moment the bell rings. Such stupidity is to be expected from people who are so out of touch with reality.

They have not sent most schools the full compliment of teachers and they expect lessons to start right from the 1st period. The asked schools to finish last year's exams on the last school day of last year, so how the fuck would student know which class are they assigned to this year?

Since schools finished their exams late, they can't collect books given out on loan. They would first have to collect them and then only could they issue them. Yes, there are some clever people saying why not collect those books during the holidays as if teachers are that stupid as to not have that in mind. The problem is that, pupils are not that enthusiastic about coming back to school during the break to return their books and then come again to collect them for the next year.

Try sanctioning them from getting loans if they did not return their books on time and you have politicians from both sides of the divide screaming and hollering at you as if you have just masturbated on tv.

On the 15th of December we had registration for form 1 students and the response was at best mediocre. Sometimes these parents deserve public canings more than their children. So what happens? There will be a rush at the office to register their children on the first day and the Pengarah expected us to start lessons on the first period itself.

Teachers especially those who are teaching Maths, Science and English would be issued their laptops which happens to be those non-performing machines they got last year and so their old headaches are back.

New teachers would need time to get acclimatise to their new surroundings and new pupils especially those who transferred from rural to urban or the other way round.

Then there would be the matter of new administration. Yes, like in my school we have a new principal. With every new head, we need time to read these people, their likes and dislikes. Oh, yes, teachers are also human, don't forget that, they too size people up. There would be those opportunist types who like to suck up and they are just bidding their time before they get to work of apple polishing or durian smoothing.

Classes would be issued their normal stuffs like brooms, dusters, feather dusters and waste paper baskets which incidentally would last about a month before they either fall apart or go missing.

Form teachers are the unluckiest of the lot. Besides having to start teaching as their pengarahs demanded, they would have to sort so many things out like getting their students particulars which to some could take a year, fill in so many forms, collect report cards or report files from their students, collect photographs, prepare discipline cards, fill in the obsolete 001M cards which no one uses anyway, plead, beg, and threaten for pupils to pay their fees, collect them should their pupils bring the money or else risk not ever getting the money, issue resits and the list go on and on and they say teachers have it easy. Want to trade places?

Form 1 form teachers would then have to open up one very big and heavy book to write their students names and particulars which is a duplication of what they have to write in the registers, and assign their students a registration number from which they would then assign their rumah sukan.

The form ones would go through a few days of 'suaikenal' or orientation while the bigger boys and girls would be at their oldselves.

Afternoon teachers would have to go through the hassle of finding a parking spot since their morning counterparts would already occupy the best lots.

Eager and anxious parents would still crowd the school compound as if they are seeing their children for the last time before being sent to Palestine to fight the Israelies. Mind you this is in the secondary school so imagine the number of worried parents in the primary schools.

I have some more to write but I do not want to get myself down before going to work tomorrow so I would stop here.

Don't get me wrong, it is not that we teachers do not like to go to work, i's just that people have this twisted idea that teachers have it easy. Times have changed. We are as loaded with work as with any of you out there, not to mention climbing up staircase to the top floors from one block to another.

23 comments:

Ydiana said...

Mama: "La, apasai sayang tak nak gi sekolah ni? Kat sekolah kan best, ramai kawan, kat kantin tu pun best, macam2 boleh pilih apa nak makan. Ni, mama siapkan bekal pun best tau, chicken nugget, burger, air coke, kopi pun ada. Balik nanti mama masak best nyer. Pastu macam2 hadiah mama sediakan. Mesti best, mama janji ni! Pegilah, sayang...."

Papa: "Tak mau, tak mau. Kalau mama nak pegi, mama pegi jeklah. Papa tak kisah. Mama pegi lah tengok samseng2 tu...."

Mama: "Lah...susahlah kalau Cikgu sume macam ni...."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Hehehe...cikgu. Just a scenario I remembered from an episode of Jangan Ketawa..! Jangan mare! :)

Unknown said...

Ydiana,
Memang betoi ada kot? Ni hau ma?

Anonymous said...

Cikgu, I only finished Form 5 the last time. I often asked myself, why the tuition center keep on increasing in my neighbourhood with students from top schools going for tuitions. When the PMR results came out, I read from the newspaper and saw the news from TVs, the students thanking their teachers and their tuition sessions. One question, why the need for tuition? Is our system too demanding or our new teachers sucks?

During my time, I never go for tuition except on one occasion, to get to know a girl who went to a tuition center, but that is another story la. Eh, maybe that's why I only finished Form 5.

Anonymous said...

Cikgu,
Thank you for sharing a teacher's nightmare. I know that teachers really have a bad deal.. but didn't know it's this bad.
Now I do regret being nasty to my Form 5 Chemistry & form teacher. The whole class don't like her! When she reminded us to get her a present for Teacher's Day, the class on purpose got presents for all the other subject teachers, except her! She was furious!
So with naughty students like us, teachers really have a bad deal.
Minta maaf to all the cikgus.

Unknown said...

Frankie,
Let me tell you this, our form 5 certificates of old is worth much much more than the jacked up results of nowadays.
As to the teachers, yes I have come across young teachers with an attitude but the workload also plays a part.
Teaching in 2008 is a far cry from teaching in 1977 the year I started. It was so much fun then.

Unknown said...

Peng,
What she asked for a present? That is shameful. A teacher should never ever do that.

Singh Is Kinng said...

Salam Cikgu,

Climbing staircase burns calories, provided the heart is still in good condition.

My personal opinion, school years were the best years as far as I can remember, coz during those time we the school children were still innocent.

I remember more of my school teachers rather than college professors.

Do enjoy another year of guiding, educating and nurturing our younger generation.

All the best and Wassalam.

Unknown said...

Piggy,
Yes, it burns calories but for someone so huge and unfit as me it is more of a torture.

Aah what I would not give to go back to those times when I was back in school.

Anonymous said...

Chikgu

You know, many journalists, especially american and australian journalists tend to get confused or careless in using the words, "COMPLIMENT" and "COMPLEMENT". The editors of well regarded newspapers don't pick up easily. For these two words, not sure whether there is thin line between being careless or confused among journalists. Rarely see this mistake in British newspapers.

The obvious as we all know is the former is to congratulate while the latter is to add or include.

Just a tender thought in case your students are reading your blog.

cakapaje said...

Salam Cikgu,

Wah! New skins eh? Niiiice! :)

As for teachers' heavy workload, I should know, my emak was one.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

i remember back during my days, the start of the new term teachers were frequently absent to our delight. now i know why...heehehhe...

aN_archi said...

A teacher has only two rights :
1. Bekerja dan dapat gaji
2. Tak suka kerja berhenti

beribu lagi kat luar tu yang nak jadi cikgu.....

Unknown said...

Frankie,
Thanks for pointing it out.

Unknown said...

Shah,
I am not complaining about the workload, its just that I think people should know about it before passing judgements.
As to the incompetence, that I am complaining.

Unknown said...

an_archi,
Yes, I have heard that before and they come from useless good for nothing officials which sometimes include the principals and guru besars. Shit them.
So how many more months do you have?

Unknown said...

kerp,,
Most case of missing teachers are genuine busy cases but I can't vouch for all.

muteaudio said...

I was in the same school for 13 years. Yea... that show proof of how much I love my school. Every year, the best time was the first week of school when there wasn't anything much for us to do except 'PE' which we look forward to. And not forgetting the final week before year break. We had special 'PE' lesson for 2 periods everyday, on our own of coz. Everyone on holiday mode!

Unknown said...

Muteaudio,
Holiday mode is the best mode ever. Its painful switching from hols mode to urgh school mode.

Ydiana said...

Laoshi, wan an!

Wo hen hao de, xie xie ni. Ni ne?

Wo zhidao, xianzai, yige laoshi you hen duo de ...work, keshi, wo mingbai nimen work is bu easy. Dangran, wo xie xie yige laoshi hen hao de work.

Hee hee... Just my old rusty mandarin, since you started it. Zaijian!

Unknown said...

Ydiana,
When I started it, I didn't know that I would get myself in such a mess. Wow, to you it maybe rusty but to me its Chinese Shakespeare

Anonymous said...

Chegu, your new pages are easy to read for otais like us but the two "skulls" are not friendly and frightening too.

Salaam.

Unknown said...

anonymous,
Can't help it, the skulls come together with the heading. Will tery to make new banner to replace the pr4esent one.

Sammy said...

I used to remember that my parents used to take us for a holiday in December but we had to return before the date to collect the book list to purchase school books, 1 week before school reopens. School bookshops used to open at night till late to hand out lists and also sell textbooks. That was more than 20 years' ago.

Dunno if parents give a hoot nowadays.

Anyway, good for you, Chegu that you are trying to educate our new generation and hopefully some will turn out well, if not all. Can't say the same for the younger crop of teachers who consider teaching as a last option.

What ever happened to teaching as a noble profession?

Happy New Year!

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