Bye Bye Bartley...

(oops... another one of those backdated posts)

hmm... i am rushing through this post as i have taken some time off packing my 'little corner in the staffroom' and preparing to make the move back to my humble abode.

hope that there is enough time before the geography department proceeds for their meeting, which i have been cordially invited to, fortunately only for the food part of the meeting and not the meeting itself.

the practicum folks have more or less received their posting orders from MOE, and i'll write a little bit more about that in another post as there is so much to journal/blog/write/think about. i wonder what life will be like after practicum. NIE! wow... far... but it's nice to see the others yet again and trade stories over lunch and during our long travels to and fro.

i'm also wondering about how my 10-week students are doing or have done for their exams. i marked some of the geography scripts (short answers - skills based stuff) and it wasn't that wonderful. but i am pretty sure that the other sections will benefit the hardcore muggers in the cohort.

as for english, that's a really tricky one. i thought that the second paper would be tough, but some of them thought it was simple... so let's hope that the class clears the hurdle without much difficulty. as for the secondary threes... it's their own merit really. at the end of the day, upper secondary students have to run the last stretch of their race for themselves.

so back to the packing... i've cleared pretty much everything, said my goodbyes to my wonderful CTs and 10-weeks colleagues. i don't suppose our paths will cross again?

so... the question that people will be asking: "what have you learnt through this practicum?"

let me craft out some quick answers so that i may recite them should the need arise.

1) set good classroom routines... (i should have listened to the advice about starting strict then easing off)

2) take their EZlink cards! (it is an offence to confiscate a person's IC... so the EZlink cards work because the students need that to go home. for those who live 'next door' to the school, take their security pass)

3) in other words... hit students where it hurts the most.

4) in that sense... i think it is also important that when delivering a lesson, they must be engaged.

there is so much talk about 'engaged learning' or 'student-centred learning'. it is very true, as we(individuals/human beings) tend not to pay attention unless a topic/concept is interesting and has some relevance to our daily lives.

5) when planning lessons, make sure there is an activity that follows the theory part.

6) use the "1, 2, 3" - it generally works. again, refer to point (1) about setting routines and SOPs

okay... so that's my 6 point reflection for now. i'll write more stuff when the time arises!

so the next question people will be asking - "where have you been posted to?" - i'll answer this in due course.

to all my wonderful ex-students:
1) okay, i know most of you would probably forget who i am after this june holiday (or even after the mid-year-exams) but do know that i had a really great learning and enjoyable experience being your 'teacher'... even if you did not learn anything from me =)

2) do keep in touch (somehow) and let me know if you need help - especially for those needing some sort of help for English.

3) remember how i kept telling you that i will most likely not come back? - i won't be.

take care!

bye bye Bartley!

james