La La La La La La La......

Today is a seminar day for me. Most Wednesdays I make an effort to go to the Head Office to attend various seminars. I also go to keep in touch with the other instructors. It's good to keep the fire burning....so they say.

Today was good because after the seminar, a group of us sang. As in a choir group. We are going to sing for the students during the National Prize Giving ceremony. We all came out smiling from the practice room, thinking about us being on stage and sing. It's going to be funny in a way. However, I'm sure it'll be fun for the students to see their teachers on the stage.

Talk about singing. I have before experienced having students singing while doing their work. It was hilarious when a Korean Boy started singing in Korean. He didn't mean to distract the class but because it was a foreign language to us, everyone started to pay more attention to his singing than to their work.

I have a few times been caught humming by the students. Most of them have approved of my songs but one time, a boy said he hates love songs. I think that's why I started to listen to USHER!!!!! However.......it's easier to hum love songs.

Back to work!

After missing 2 classes on Friday and Monday, I am now back at the centre. How disorganized I feel this morning. Like it's my first day at work.

I was briefed by both staff of the things that has happened during my absence and before we finished, I had an appointment with a parent and spent 45 minutes talking to them.

Called 2 parents and talked to them on the phone. One mother was complaining about how her daughter is just not taking the hormone changes in her body well. Can you imagine??? The daughter is 10 and acting like someone approaching menopause. Always tired, always agitated !and just not like her. Our solution.....take a month break. Ah well!! One absent, 3 new enrolments and 7 came back from the summer break. I don't think that sounds so bad.

Another mother was concerned about her daughter not knowing how to subtract the bigger digits. She's been taking off for a week due to chicken pox, and she's doing an advance level....so that explains.

Now, the action plans have to be put to action. NO more just on paper and planning. I have to now take over the English Area and I'm going to just have so much fun.

While I was away, my staff were able to handle things well. I'm just so thankful.

A much needed break

I`m taking a break from my centre at the moment. I`ll be back on Tuesday. I needed the break. I think every instructors go through moments of despair and just need time out. At times like this, all an instructor need is words of encouragement and some TLC...(Tender Loving Care!)

Anyway, on Tuesday, I`ll be back with new ideas and higher spirit to go on in my journey as an instructor.

I think every instructor should be in touch with each other, and this does not ony include instructor from the same country. When you meet up with instructors from other countries and share your classroom moments, you get all charged up.

I`ll share in my next entry what I`ve been doing in the last few days. Till then, have a good weekend.

While I was trying to sleep.....

Over the weekend, I've made some action plans for the next 4 months for this year. Something about spending the weekend at my Mom's and being able to work in the garden under the hot sun made me think and had a brainstorming session while trying to sleep.

Now I can't tell, whether I couldn't sleep because I was brainstorming or I was brainstorming because I could not sleep.

First action plan will be to reorganize the Management Team. I'll still be the Chief Instructor, under me, will be, Maths Department, English Department and Administration. Maths will be divided into 2 sections. 1-higher level studies which will be headed by Miss Environtmental and 2-lower level which will be taken care by Mrs Mommy. I will also head the English Department and Ms Italiano will assist me. In order to do that, I'll have to get Maths Assistants to do feedback for me. I'll not be seeing the students, but i'll keep the handshake before you leave tradition with "all" the students.

Since I started that handshake tradition early last year, I feel certain closeness towards the students. I can't forgo that!

Administration will be under ... who else???? Mrs Admin. She's just so good at it. At times, I wonder how I managed without her years ago. Teaching + answering calls + answering inquiries + Accepting fee payment + attending to under aged students with their antics.

That leaves.... Abang, who happens to be my dearest brother. yes yes yes, he ain't heavy, he's my brother. That's what I call responsibility. He's been our security man and janitor, but most of the time, he's the clown in the classroom. However, now, I'm going to give him a heavier task. I'm going to put him in the classroom.

I think I'll survive!!!!

My aim now......to get back to 200 + students, in enrolment!

The pain

My never ending staff problem is back. Well, I don't actually know if I have a problem anymore or not. I fell all numb now when it comes to problem relating to that. Anyway, the good news is, Miss Environtmental has decided not to look for another job until next year when things have settled down. I made her an offer a few months ago, but didn't want her to feel that I was stopping her from getting a better job. Having graduated as an engineer and all. She's been to many places looking for a job. She was offered a few, but nothing seems to make her happy there. She said she can't find a better place than our centre. I was actually glad to hear it.

I'm interviewing this Monday and Tuesday, but now thinking about it, I might as well fully utilize my existing staff. I have to really make use of My brother. He's working there, and he's not been given a real big responsibility and I'm paying for his car for goodness sake! I just have to work harder during the 1st two weeks of September.

I actually made a loss in August. I hope I'll recover in September and months after that.

Lost in Numbers

Once a month, instructors are advised to attend a tutorial session at the head office. I have not been attending, but today, decided to give it a try. came in, didn't conquer and.....left. Didn't leave the room, but my mind did.

Now I know what it's like to be in a tutorial room when your heart is not in it. I salute some of my students for still coming in twice a week after years and years. Let me imagine myself having to do that.

When I first started the centre, I was actually forced to learn back all that I've learned in Maths from many years ago. Everything went smoothly ... until... 4 transferred students came. All the way from Hong Kong. Panic attack!!!

I called my manager, I called my General Manager, I called my "clever friends, I called, I called, I called, in the end, I just had to calm myself down. I made an attempt on factorization from the very basic, learning from examples. 1st page ... good, 2nd page ... ok, 3rd page ... struggled a little bit, ... now ... 4th pg is a whole different story. By that time I was calling out "MR. JAPANESE BOSS!!!!" I need help.

I was desparate, I was in need of a helping hand, HE came. HE spent 1 hour to go through from page 1 to page 10. One by one. Step by step. GREAT!

From all that commotion, I learned that I should have taken a deep breath, then make an attempt on every each question and if things get difficult, learn the easy ones again and try the next question after understanding the easier ones. Examples should be copied a few times if it's still not understandable. The most important thing is somehow PRACTICE and has to be done regularly. Try ... I can assure you that this remedy will work.

Heart of steel

This whole week is the government school's holiday. It's the whole week of everything going haywire. It started on Thursday where students came and asked for the whole week's homework.

August isn't a busy month at all. Which is fine. I'm just preparing for September, where a lot will come back from the summer break. As far as I can remember, most of the students that go away for summer will come back chubbier and tanner. It's usually nice to see them again after so many weeks.

I can't wait to see Little Miss Punjabi. She's only 5 but is tall and big. She can pass for 7 years old. One time she came in wearing a nice short pink skirt that has Barbie Doll's face all over and was wearing a purple stoking. When i complimented her on her beautiful attire, she was proud. To my surprise, she was actually very proud of her new purple stoking that goes all the way up to her waist. Can you guess how she showed me???? "all the way up!!!!"

Last week, I felt like I could collapse from heart attack when "Ketul" came back on Friday. DOn't really know why his mom sent him two days in a row. He was acting up real good. He even cried in the end. Thank god his maid was around, so I just had to leave him to her.

What if a teacher has a weak heart?