Of Rain, Rain and More Rain!

An Aerial View of the Congested Canteen Area

It had to happen!  The continuous rain for the past six days has resulted in the town of Gemas being flooded.  This is the second time this has happened in my fifteen years of service here.  If I am not mistaken, the last time this town was hit by flood, it was back in 2008, when fortunately, my family and I were spending our December holidays in Seremban at my in-laws place.

However, the flood this time is more serious than before to the extent that even the railway station is affected.  The railway tracks have been absolutely covered with flood water, which in reality would result in many train services being postponed.  Many pictures posted my friends in one social network, show the extent of the flood, which also included shops partially submerged in water.

Nature's fury has not spared the residential areas either.  It came as no surprise to me this morning when I went to school to complete some work, which incidentally was delegated to me by a colleague who has gone on maternity leave.  I realised that the school has been turned into a flood relief centre with the victims occupying the classrooms at Block E.  With clothes hanging on the classroom windows acting as temporary curtains to shield them from prying eyes, the flood victims sat on mats, probably donated by generous people, trying to make themselves as comfortable as the cold cement floor of the classrooms could offer.  On top of that, I heard that one hundred and fifty more flood victims would be joining the present ones in their makeshift homes.

Let us all be grateful that, even though many victims lost their belongs, all is still well because we have been spared any collateral damages.  Let us be grateful that it seems to have stopped raining, indicating that the flood water will soon recede.  Let us also hope that all the human spirit that was shown during this time of difficulty, will continue to grow; not recede and disappear like the flood water!

Of Rain, School, Parents and Their Children!

It is an inappropriate time of the year to be raining non-stop, especially when you consider that it has been pouring for more than a week.  And I say inappropriate because, this is not the usual time of the year for it to be raining endlessly.  The usual rainy season is December.  Not that it did not rain last December, but it has continued to rain ever since then.

Rains seems to bring the worst in people unfortunately.  Not that it does not bring any good, but I would like to focus on the  mentalities of road users when it rains. 

You will notice that when it rains, people want to keep dry, but when it is dry people will wish for rain.   I guess that is human nature.  Apparently, it is also human nature for people to become terrible road users when it rains.  On a rainy school day, parents will drive all the way into school compounds, no matter how small and congested the school area may be, just to make sure that their children do not get wet.  As if their children will not get wet at all.  I notice that some students purposely play in the rain, after their parents have left.

School compounds, already congested with teachers' cars, are made even packed with parents' vehicles.  Most parents, if given half the chance or the accessibility, would even go to the extent of driving their cars or vans or jeeps into their children's classrooms!  Even worse, they hog the road, giving teachers little chance to manoeuvre and park their cars to promptly get into classrooms; in time to teach their children.

Road users also become less patient when it rains.  Again, impatient road users hog the road, criss-crossing from lane to lane, overtaking haphazardly and neglecting to follow general road regulations, eager to reach their destinations.  I suppose, these people think that, if they reach their destinations early by being formula one drivers, their vehicles will not be as wet compared to if they dilly-dally in the rain.

Well, hello!  To these people, you are not only supposed to be courteous on the road when it is bright and shiny, but you are also required to be courteous at all times; come rain, sleet or storm!  If not, get your vehicles off the road and take the public transport!

Consolation In Cooking

Fawn M. Brodie, a biographer and professor of history, once said that 'housework is a breeze, cooking is a pleasant diversion, putting up a retaining wall is a lark but teaching is like climbing a mountain'.  A mouthful I must say, but very meaningful nonetheless.  She seems to cleverly sum up everything I want to say, except housework is not a breeze!

I must confess that I agree that teaching is really like climbing a mountain.  There is nothing easier.  Being a teacher, I am always confronted with students' lack of interest to study, burdened by loads of work decimated by my superiors and mounting pressure from parents who want their couldn't-care-less children to excel in their academics.

When I am confronted with such a situation, I go back to Brodie's quote that says 'putting up a retaining wall is a lark' because it actually is a hoot.  With such a situation there is no wall thick enough that can separate a teacher from these conditions.  Sad to say, a teacher's only choice is to accept the situation and face it head on.

If that fails, I once again go back to Brodie's quote; 'cooking is a pleasant diversion', because that is what I do when I am stressed.  I can't put my finger on it, but I always feel a little bit better after I have baked a Walnut Mocha Cake.  I seem to fall into a daze as I go through the motion of weighing the flour, butter and sugar; mixing the ingredients, baking the cake and smelling the vanilla as the aroma of freshly baked cake overcomes the whole house!  The ultimate joy is eating the cake after it is baked!

Talk about having ones cake at eat it too! If that does not help you to release your stress, I don't know what will!

Silence Is More Than Gold

I should have just kept my big mouth shut!  I should have maintained my silent personality which has been part of me for all my life!  I have always been rather quiet!  An introvert even!  So much so my friends have learnt to identify me as the quiet one; the one who has very few to say but once said, always leaves a deep and lasting impression.

But last fortnight I was just not being me!  I had the wrong notion that if I expressed my thoughts, it would some how be to my advantage, in some unthinkable way.  I knew that no one in their right mind would ask for an extra work load, like an additional class to teach.  But, like I said, I was not being me!  I expressed my intention to my superiors that I would be willing to take on an extra class, and thus being the case, would be grateful if I could teach one of the better classes.

So, when the hammer finally came down today, I was rudely awakened from my slumber and false sense of security that I would get to teach the class I asked for if I volunteered to add an extra class to my already burgeoning time table.  Not only was one of my classes, which incidentally is a good class, taken away from me; and not only did I not get the class I volunteered to teach, I was shoved with two below average classes; students whose reasons for being is just to make teachers' lives miserable and their attendance in school is just to while the time away!

Hence, not only do I now have two classes that other teachers refuse to touch even with a ten-foot pole, I also end up having more number of teaching periods than other teachers!  That should teach me a lesson!  I guess superiors are trained not to listen to their subordinates!  I guess being superiors they are so high up the hierarchy pedestal that they don't hear what you say even if you yell at them.  Well, in future if they refuse to listen, I should just learn to shut up!

Nureen Yasmin

Distance and work have always been the barrier that has driven a wedge into my relationship with my siblings and their offspring.  Some people may not feel those things are real hindrance but for someone who don't work well under pressure, especially when the work takes me far from home, I find it difficult to meet up with them.

Thus, I was tugged at the strings of my heart when I read in my sister's Facebook status that one of her daughters, Anis, was initially taken to hospital for fever.  But, my heart was torn to bits when I found out that my little niece was later admitted to hospital and operated on for appendicitis. 

I could never have imagined that Anis would have to suffer such pain, especially not for a child with such a small and fragile frame; so sweet and demure.  I can only imagine the pain and fear she must have gone through before the operation and now, the further pain she has to endure during the recovery and healing process. 

I am happy to note, albeit it is only through my sister's Facebook status, that sweet Anis is well on the road to recovery.  My heart and prayers go out to you, my dear niece.  May Allah give you speedy recovery and return to being that happy and cute child we have all known to love and cherish.  Amin.

At A Second Glance!

Today is already the 15th of January 2011.  The proverbial time really does fly and there is nothing anyone can do about it.  No one can turn back time to do things that have not been done and there is no way of sitting on your laurels to ponder on work not accomplished. 

Well, I personally feel that we should let bygones be bygones.  We should look forward to the future and plan for things that we want to do, which incidentally is still not too late.  Indeed, when you look at things at a second glance, there are a lot of things that we need to accomplish.  Time does not stop just because we are not able to keep up with it.  So, planning is crucial because time again dictates our life with the saying that time and tide waits for no man.

Unfortunately, some things cannot be accomplished according to time because of other more important things that may suddenly appear that would require our immediate attention.  In essence, sometimes we need to work according to priority and whether we like it or not, we have to put certain things on hold.  People may not understand why we do the things we do, and in the process we may be reprimanded for it. 

That being the case, there is always that other proverb involving time that can provide a bit of solace that is, time heals all woulds.  It may take a long time to heal all the wounds people have inflicted upon me. A very long time.  But God willing, they will eventually heal.

How Do I Say No!

Saying 'No' has always been my greatest weakness!  I have always found it rather difficult to say no to anyone who asks a favour from me.  I find it difficult to say no because I fear that I may offend these  people who ask favours from me or I am afraid they may be angry at me or worst of all, that I may in some way lose their friendship. 

On my part, I don't find it easy to decline a request because I know that I will eventually feel guilty for saying no.  And as a result of being guilty, I will in turn feel depressed and that I have done these people a huge injustice.

But, sometimes as I ponder my predicament, I always realise, albeit too late, that some of these people ask favours from me as a way of taking advantage of my weakness.  These people know that I will not be able to deny their requests and shall be obliged to fulfill them.  And indeed, in quite a number of situations, I find myself pressed for time, doing these people's favours, just to get into their good books.  I find myself focusing on these favours rather than my own work.  I also find that I later regret doing these favours because these people who ask them don't even take the time to thank me.

Anyway, today I managed to turn down a request for a favour.  And as I suspected, the person was in a way offended, and I suppose saddened by my decline.  The person cut short our conversation after realizing it.  Well, I am not surprised.  I won't even be surprised if what is left of our friendship is terminated.  But, if friendship thrives on one-way favours, I say, let it be terminated.

It's Always The Teachers' Fault

An Enviable Team

Teachers are generally responsible for a lot of things, especially at the beginning of the year where there is still a lot of sorting out to do.  Some teachers are responsible for chairing panel meetings after school.  Some are responsible for the enrolment of new students where they are required to collect school fees and complete their personal details and information.  But, in general, most teachers are responsible of ensuring that the teaching and learning process goes on without a hitch on the very first day of school.

All this is not much of a problem because I feel that all these are part and parcel of being a teacher; a responsible one.  After twenty years in the service I have learnt to take anything in my stride and have learnt to accept the fact that we teachers are susceptible to change.

However, I must confess that I disagree that teachers should take the brunt for students' lack of discipline.  You cannot except teachers to be responsible for, let's say, students' reluctance to wear their special uniforms on Wednesdays.  You cannot expect teachers to be at the receiving end of your anger towards students who do not attend the school assembly.  And you should not put the blame on teachers if students stealthily go home early.  I am a firm believer that teachers should not be made responsible for all students' misbehaviour because these teachers have informed, reminded and in fact warned the students to follow all the school rules.

In my twenty years of service, today is the first time an administrator publicly put all the blame on teachers; a specific group of teachers that is.  Even the top man made a scathing remark regarding the matter.  If I had the power to shrink myself, I would crawl under a rock in shame.  Come to think of it, if I had the power, I would just take that rock and hurl it at someone who best deserves it!



Happy School Year 2011

To the other parts of the world, today is the first day of the year 2011; the beginning of another new decade for this century.  To those parts of the world, there was much merriment and jubilation, plus the fireworks and huggings last night followed by the ubiquitous Auld Lang Syne!

For most of us in this part of the world, today is the second day of the year 2011 and things have started to become a bit more frantic as momentum picks up for the impending opening of the new school year.  In most schools, year one pupils and form one students, in their brand new school uniforms, throng schools for their registration.  For the rest of the schools' population, the usual morning rush to school will start all over again tomorrow morning.

I guess it will be difficult to tune back to normalcy since we have all had a long holiday; more than a month in fact!  But, I guess it's back to the mundane routine of school life for me, as I see the early part of the year slowly trudging its proverbial feet, filled with uninteresting and time consuming meetings.  Not forgetting the  strangers who visit or gate-crash the school to make their somewhat unwanted presence known!  But, I guess it will be up to me to make life in school and life in general more interesting and certainly more bearable.

As for the moment, I don't see anything new, with regards to my responsibilities in school, in the immediate horizon but one can never tell what is behind it.  However, I guess, I will cross the bridge when I come to it.  I wouldn't mind crossing those bridges as long as they are in good condition.  I'd hate to be re-building bridges and then crossing them, especially those that have been broken by some one else. 

The first bridge for me to cross is tomorrow.