Look2U

People always ask if one would be able to make an impact in a short period of time and most of them tend to think that it is impossible to do something significant in such a short span of time. I do not subscribe to this mentality as Pastor has always been telling us that we should never despise our youth and that anyone can make a difference even in seemingly impossible environments and time frames.

Teaching Assistantship (APR201) has been eventful and fruitful. The combination of personalities of all NIE trainees were “just-right” as we complemented on each others’ weaknesses and tapped on each others’ strengths. I’m glad that we have been such great friends and I’m sure that we’ll bump into each other back in NIE.

Speaking about APR201, there wasn’t a need or an obligation for me to plan and conduct lessons. However, thinking that I would have to do it in Teaching Practice I and Teaching Practice II in the years to come, I decided to have a try. And, it’s not going to be graded! So, I’ve got nothing to lose.

Mathematics was pretty much a disaster as the computer gave me problems and I couldn’t use my slides as I would love to (I spent 6 hours on the slides for that 1 hour of fame and it had to backfire). I was pretty affected by it but thank God that I managed to handle the crisis pretty quickly and the students were generally attentive and managed to grasp the key concepts at the end of the lesson. I was quite sure that the students also found it a pity that technology backfired on me and this resulted in a not-so-interesting lesson. But nonetheless, I learnt that I should never place ANY faith on technology itself and I should be more prepared for a contingency plan.

Drama was the highlight of APR201. Most of the teachers found it interesting that NIE does train teachers in Drama and Drama education. As such, my cooperating teacher decided to tap on my knowledge and ask me if I was willing to conduct certain segments of the Language Arts program. Since it’s Drama, I gladly accepted the challenge. Classes were generally fruitful and I could see that the students enjoyed it very much. I found it even more fulfilling when I saw pictures of my classes dominating the “Drama Classes” section on one of the exhibits put up by the English Department for the School’s Official Opening. I never asked for any kind of recognition as I know that as long as God sees it, it’s fine. Plus, I’m doing when He’s called me to do. But truly, God exhaults people who follows His call and I could see this from the School’s Official Opening as many people took notice of this young chap who teaches Drama.

God, thank You for that…

“Even when the mountains tremble and a thousand fall,
I will stand with You,
My Jesus,
Take my all“

And so, here are the results that I’ve obtained for the units I took at QUT.

KTB204 Understanding Performance – 6 (Distinction)

KTB206 The Creating Body – 5 (Credit)

MAB220 Computational Mathematics 1 – 7 (High Distinction)

MAB233 Engineering Mathematics 3 – 7 (High Distinction)

You might want to know that I got perfect scores (100%) for both my Mathematics units. Yes, I’m happy and I thank all your well wishes. But seriously, I believe any Singaporean can do the same. Their standards are THAT low…

It’s nostalgic to have Stephen Hazell back with us briefly. I recalled the times I had with the cohort in my first year in NIE doing Drama. Boy, I sure was naive to think that the program that I was enrolling into would equip me to teach Drama in the future.

Little did I realise that the Drama curriculum in NIE and UCLES were totally different. I was in a complete shock with the sample examination questions in the UCLES paper. I couldn’t even answer some of those questions myself as I was never formally taught topics like stage management, lighting and sound. I do realise that my students might be more qualified to teach ‘O’ level Drama than I do.

Tiara, Sri, Xuwen and I had a long chat about Drama in the Singapore curriculum after our meeting with Stephen, Wayne and Adelene. The meeting ended off with a pretty negative note as all of us concluded that it’s going to be a challenge for us upon graduation as we see the possible problems that might come along.

Drama at NIE and secondary schools are two separate entities. I admit that I’m ill-prepared to face the challenges that lie ahead and I’m not sure if I’ll be given the opportunity and time (not sure if she’s on my side as well) to make mistakes. I do have faith in God that things would turn out fine but sometimes, facts are just facts. Well, at least I’ve got another two years to arm myself to minimise the possible backlashes. But looking at how MOE is (re)positioning herself, I’m going to have a tough time…Sigh…