Black sweet!

I once asked my students the categories in which they may use to classify the students in their class. Instantaneously some shouted, "gender," and some said, "age". A female student shyly put her hand up to answer, "size of shoes and date of birth". I praised and thanked them for their participation. While putting their answers on the board, a male students shouted, "madam, what about our skin color?". I told him that it could also be a way to classify people and asked him to specify the items under that category. Before he got to answer, another student stood up and confidently shouted, "i know madam...black sweet!"- a direct translation of the Malay "hitam manis" which refers to one who looks sweet though having a slightly dark skin tone! A few students then asked me what the English word for "langsat" is. I knew straightaway where they were heading to so I just stared at them and ask them to look it up in their dictionary. They meant to provide me the direct translation of "kuning langsat"- one of the local fruits of Malaysia!

S.O.S I'm drowning!

School holidays are always something that everybody, especially kids, would look forward to. Amidst the hectic work schedule, school breaks are perhaps the only time for a majority of people to enjoy getting together with their family and friends.

We are fortunate as Malaysia provides many interesting destinations for families to enjoy their holidays. Some may choose to hike into the jungle, ride in entertainment parks while some will choose the waterfall, the beach or even spend a few days at fancy or budget hotels. Where the holiday spots are is not an issue here as the bottom line is everybody just wants to relax and be happy. Unfortunately however, for some people, school holiday trips may rekindle sad or traumatic memories. What should have been a happy family trip to the beach can turn sour if one of the family members or friends suddenly went missing and were later discovered drowned.

When school holidays arrive, there are bound to be reported cases of people drowning. Up till now, what have we done to decrease the number of drowned cases? What we see in the newspapers are merely news reporting these unfortunate happenings.

I believe that it is about time that our government should introduce a practical mechanism to curb these mishaps. Why can’t we encourage schools to provide swimming lessons to kids as a means to equip them with one of the most essential survival skills i.e. swimming? If schools in the western countries can allocate a day in a week for teachers to take their students to the nearest swimming pool, then why can’t we work towards that? At the swimming pools or centers, children can spend a few hours to be taught on the safety precautions while they learn how to swim. Advance learners may then opt to be trained as lifeguards.

No doubt that swimming brings us an abundant of joy and benefits to our health; it is also a skill vital for our kids’ survival. By having the skill, children can enjoy water activities more and parents can have a peace of mind knowing that at least their children are aware of some basic strokes and safety precautions when they are out in the sea, in the lake or even in a swimming pool.

So why wait until more lives are taken? Take a small step towards saving more lives. Let’s all act now.

"Boy, Can you Boy?"

One day, I had to replace a part-time lecturer to teach a group of semester one students. I decided to explain to them about the different parts of speech i.e. nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. To ensure they fully understood the lesson, I came up with a few activities that involved all of the students in the class. I was happy when they seemed to be confident with their answers. They even managed to provide me with correct examples of verbs. I spent the rest of the hours explaining to them the other parts of speech. Just before I end the class, I thought of testing their understanding again. I always like some kind of reassurance. So I wrote on the whiteboard the sentence: 'The boy is clever' and asked them which word class does the word "boy" belongs to? To my surprise the students shouted out "verb"! I asked the one who answered the loudest, "can you sing?"...he confidently replied, "yes". I continued to ask him, "can you eat?" and he gave the same reply. I asked him, "can you play?" and he straightaway replied, "yes". Then I popped him the question, "so, can you boy?"....with a quizzical expression he turned to face his friend. For a moment there was a complete silence. Nobody dared to say anything. I waited patiently for his answer. He then turned to face me and with an innocent look and shakily answered... "no madam, i like women" :P

Lethargic strikes!!

It's the thing that strikes you when you overdo your poor self. Take a short rest and rejuvenate...

KiDs WilL aLwaYs bE KiDs...

My daughter has just registered to a new school. It's a private Islamic school where they ensure the teaching and learning of intergrated knowledge. My first impression...well what can i say? It's still too early to pass any judgment. I reserve my expectations and would rather wait and see. So now I would send my daughter to school every morning. But today I had the opportunity to stay back for the school assembly- the first held for this year. The school has large speakers so from far i spared my time to listen to the short speech delivered by the school's principal. There was nothing exceptionally unusual about the speech. She stressed on the daily discipline that students have to abide while present in the school compound i.e. no running...no pushing...no fooling around...no throwing litters everywhere..etc. The students were sitting down so i couldn't tell whether the information transmitted has been truly absorbed. Anyhow, after singing the national anthem, the students were instructed to make their way to their respective classrooms....and yes...they had to walk in line. But kids will always be kids...no matter how many times you remind them...or reprimand them...or even scold them...they will do the complete opposite! In the next split second...i could see that almost all of them started dashing up the stairs and pushing their friends while making their way across the corridor. I let out a tiny giggle...shaked my head and simply accepted the fact of nature that kids will always be kids...Even us adults may have the small child inside us sometimes...

Happy New Year

I hope it is still not too late to wish all a happy new year. May this new year bring us a lot of strength and determination to accomplish our resolutions. Talking about new year resolutions...i'm sure everybody strives to do better for the months to come. It's just that for most of us... we come to realise that at the end of the year...some resolutions are just forgotten and forsaken. Some goes down the drain and cease to exist in our conscience. Better still some unaccomplished mission are recycled for next year. Whatever it is...having aims is better than not having any. At least it shows our concern to upgrade ourselves. Having the right conscience and awareness is good enough as a start. Again, what's the point of having idealistic or unrealistic aims if you know that they are going to be beyond your reach. Aim low but score high so that at the end of the year...you'd be surprised at how well you've managed to achieve. Take small steps but be consistent (istiqamah). From an Islamic point of view...everything starts with the right intention (niah). It sets you on the right track and even at some point when you unintentionally go astray...your sincere niah will guide you back insyaAllah. So all the best and may your days to come be filled with Allah's blessings! Bon courage!