After a long fight, I am defeated by the flu bug and granted with a certificate called the MC granting me 2 days away from school. I have been having a bad sore throat since last week. Not because of much screaming but lots of talking and voice projection. The throat remains dry till its time to break-fast so that I can replenish it with water to salvage it. I try to ignore it because I do not want to miss lessons. Then the hubby has a bad flu. The bugs saw the vulnerable me and start to drop by to visit my immune system and I lost.

Bad time to fall sick, my poor sec 3 kids, are preparing for exams and this is the time I need to be there for them to assist in their preparatory studies for Art. I have left instructions for the relief teacher to conduct the necessary lesson for me. I hope all goes well.

My dearest Caesarians and Diophantusians, please keep working for your prep work. I have given you the necessary worksheets and lessons for you to work on your prep work, it is a matter of applying the skills. Hunt for the worksheet that I have given you when I first took over the class – it has all the necessary details of a proper prep studies.

Please remember, I want you to excel. All of you had done target setting and reflections with me. So let’s work towards what we have aimed and promised for ourselves. Even if it means you aimed for a C6 or C5 – let’s make it happen!

Please do email me if you have any queries or problems. Do look for books related to art to look for ideas. It will help you to start thinking.

All the best my dearest kids.

Today is an ‘interesting’ day.

There are a lot of implications when your timetable is packed back to back of each other, with just an eeny-weeny half an hour break in between.

Amongst them,

Exhaustion…yes ….. that is me today. Mad rush. Overloaded.

Upset too. Kids are misbehaving in class. It’s the end-of-the-day syndrome. All restless and sleepy.

Sick. I am losing my voice – the weapon I can’t afford not to have.

Tuesdays are really interesting and I am energy-less at this point.

But I must write a little something here. A little uncomfortable experience that sets me thinking. Nope, nothing to do with the kids, I’m rather immune about their habits, behaviours, syndromes and whatnots. I’ll deal with them as it comes….Disciplining is bread and butter in classrooms.

It’s about people and work ethics. I shall not divulge about that uncomfortable experience here. We have to be responsible and wise netizens in this ‘www’ age. I will just reflect based on what had happened in relation to myself.

My profession is a demanding one. It needs a lot of passion (or is it patience?) and lots of love and heart to keep you going. I am however sad to see, people losing love and passion wilting away as time ticks by. The rigours of the profession slowly draining away all the essential emotional energy out of you. What does it mean when you start to do less for the kids? What happens if you just debunk the need to do more because the kids are not helping themselves as much as you tried to help them? What happens if you just don’t want to care about them and leave them on their own…. Just like a non-swimmer thrown to the deep seas and have to learn to float or swim on their own there and then…or just to drown?

I hope not to even arrive at that stage. I love students as much as I love Art. No matter what shape and sizes they are in I still love them. Although Some of look like monsters, some bandits, many have horns and a tail and only a few have wings with that halo on their heads…….i still love them, yes I do…

However that is not the issue – it is how you keep this love going? How long will I last? Will what I see today happen to me someday? God knows but I pray not….. I hope my strength, love, passion lives on…. And on….and on…

I am back. Howdy everyone…or anyone, if there’s even any readers left.

My 2 years stint at NTU has ended and I have long resumed my teaching career.

A new journey has begun, here in new grounds. New people, new kids, new system..all of which is of extreme difference from my previous school. It was difficult in the beginning. Complains are an understatement and comparisons are just inevitable. It took long for me to settle into the culture. But now, I have accepted my fate and I am beginning to feel happy here and most imperative a reason to be here…. To love, care and help the students.

I have two art classes this semester, they are the Caesarians and Diophantusians.. I don’t have their photos yet, am still warming up with them, they are still so camera shy and would just cover their faces everytime I try to snap photos of them. Grrr… frustrating. So let’s just bear with a photo-less entry this time round. I think they don’t know that the ms sha here loves to immortalize moments through photography.

They are a potential bunch but they had not had enough foundation for me to build upon during art lessons. I have to design lessons in such a way that all the necessary foundations are crashed at one go but yet it must be tailored to ignite their inspirations and motivation. Tough.

It’s not easy and it seems the faster students can adapt fast while the weaker ones gets left behind. It was a struggle and still is a struggle hitherto….. but I hope they know, that I do not want them to give up because no matter how hard it has been for me, I am still striving hard for them and am not giving up.

Please know, my dearest artists, there is something special in each of you. There is definitely something you are good at about Art - be it painting, drawing, spray painting, computer graphics, thinking processes etc…. So keep looking out for your own personal style in art and your own identity. Once you discover it, it’ll be a breeze. And I hope you remember I am always here for you.

I hope I can see them grow… all of them…

Don’t disappoint me.

....i'm taking time off to pen something down cause it has been 'moons' since i last updated this site.

its that time of the month again...nope not period.

it's that time of the month where i'm battling with time to meet datelines for the neverending assignments for the unforgiving lecturers. this semester is particularly challenging. Seven modules and all of them requires intensive thinking and writing..... but nonetheless conplaining wont get me far... i'' just have to do it. furthermore, it's less than a month before the semester officially ends.... Graduation is on the way!

This semester, i found myself to be a 'library worm'. Ironically not exactly a bookworm. I found myself travelling to the library often. Almost every other week. The nature of assignments are in such a way that i'll have to excavate for books. in one of those trips there, i found some exciting books. Books that are well packaged and enticing visually.

This book is special. Entitled 'ice cream', it documents a contemporary art exhibition. What i like about it is that shiny and reflective sheen it has. It's multi-coloured depending on the angle that you're viewing it.

here's another one:

a book on andy warhol

the two volumes of the book are packaged in a box. The covers and the box has a 'cardboard' feel about it. What is interesting about it is, it exemplifies warhol's concept of the use and appropriation of everyday objects.

here's another one, it is entitled shadow. The image on the cover is monochromatic and the highlight of this book would be the cutout silhoutte of a girl beside the image of a girl. This is really visually interesting.

After the trip to the library, I headed down to the national museum of Singapore to catch the infamous Greek Sculptures. It is just not right for an artist/art student/ art teacher to miss this show because it is a rare opportunity to see these ancient and 'aged' sculptures 'fly' here.

The crowds was encouraging. How often do you actually see a long queue at the visitor's counter? How often do you actually get to see throngs and throngs of people crowding over the sculptures in a museum? Its really enlightening. Unfortunately, I could not really relish the moments there, appreciate the sculptures and read the annotations that comes with it. there are too many crowd to contend with. Nevertheless, taking photographs is something that I never forget to do wherever I am. So here goes.

I must say the sculptures are marvellous. Carved into an idealized perfection, it speaks alot about the Greek cultures in the medieval times. They are beautiful. I will come back again for sure... on a weekday where there are lesser crowds.

It is my last semester, the final flight before i will get my dream certificate.

It's been a long and winding road. Coping with all school stress, financial stress, wedding stress.. you name it...it has been a tough 2 years. Once all this is over, the amount of satisfaction and gratification is just unimaginable. I will cry... hubby will just be as emotional... he unfortunately suffered as much as me (or perhaps even more). He had to carry by himself, financial burdens of me, our home and the automobile. Not only that, he had absorbed all the stress that i often fail to quell and as a result, he becomes the 'punching bag' at home. He had to simmer down all my anxiety,my angers, my frustration and my unbending temperaments that i shouldn't have brought back home from school. As a man of the house, he is calm and composed, always in control of the situation even when i became a nasty storm in the teacup. He's wonderful and has been my backbone and my pillar of strength...

Unfortunately, the beloved hubby is leaving tomorrow. He has been deployed for duties overseas. No, not too far, just in Muar, Malaysia for the next 3-6months. This means to say that i will get to see him less as he comes home only on his off days viz. i'll see him say 2-3 days in a week. Might not sound so bad but with the rigorous school schedule i'm going through now will unforgivingly lessen that space of 2-3 days into just a few hours of seeing him. It doesn't help that there will be a high possiblity that he will have to leave for another country again, for long term and somewhere even further, after the Muar assignment is done.I will miss him and I'm sure i will be lost without his presence at home.

Hubby, I hope and pray for your safety. May this experience of you going overseas be fulfilling and enrich your expertise and experiences. I promise i will be strong and take good care of our abode...

will miss you like the deserts miss the rains...

Exams have long ended and my holidays have long begun.

These holidays, apart from the mandatory duties of a domestic robot, i found myself spending plenteous amounts of time with the family. Was atleast out thrice a week doing favours for the ibu, ayah, sisters and the nieces. Almost drained me of energy but it was bliss to meet up and spend time with them.

that's daddy-o, mummy-o and the oh-so-notorious nieces. Ayah went for a short holiday to Bangkok with his colleagues. It was a sponsored trip by the company with the exception of shopping expenses of course. With him away for four days, I was given the liberty to 'hijack' his new mitsibushi. But of course there are hidden requests to upkeep it (to clean, to pump and to send it for service).

Shaza was more than happy to have me driving the car. She gets to sit infront and snap silly pictures like the one above. She had set the camera on timer mode and left it on the dashboard. The mitsubishi was a nice drive, cos it's still all new and had not gone all rebellious yet... just give it a few years... Having used to drive manual cars and when suddenly pushed to drive an auto car, i made so many silly reflexes which. Kept wanting to change gears and unnecessarily looking for the clutch which has become habitual.

We spent sometime touring the airport to entertain the kids before and after ayah have checked in. Had a short breakfast at BK, just a light one to keep the stomachs quiet and mostly because the nieces were promised macdonalds, which means we have to make a trip to terminal 2 after ayah have checked in. I shall not describe the nitty-gritty details - let the pictures talk...The following were the recorded moments:

The kids had a terrible fight at MacDonalds, both unforgiving and unbending. They were fighting to sit on Ronald's lap. It was hard to pacify them. But the sweet thing about that day was, every one sent Ayah off... haha,, though it's only a 4-day hols and not 4-years....

After sending the crappy kids home, our day did not end. We have dropped the kids and ibu at kak ina's home..... and the rest of us. to kak ina's school to help her clean and get ready teaching resources for the forthcoming academic year. Noteworthy here school holidays are not afterall really school holidays for the teachers. That's a fallacy! Holidays are the time when teachers could catch up with administrative duties which have been possibly put on hold to attend to other manadatories....you see...there's more to teaching than just teaching...

I drew and painted the above words for her notice board.

How the board looks like...

The notice board at the back of the class has a garden concept. I was instructed to paint a garden setting for it.

Me looking all tired and unkempt for the hard day work. Am preparing number stickers for the 'garden' notice board.

That's the outcome. It has a number trail incorporated in it.. it's a maths room..that's why...

That's another project. Creating fences at the corner of the class. Kak ina has something in store for this area..

whilst i did all the art-related things. Shaza helped out with some menial tasks. Arranging and the labelling of teaching resources, cleaning up, preparing learning packages (cutting, pasting and so forth..)

and that's kak ina, writing the duty list on the whiteboard for us to take note what is to be done for the day.

We came back to kak ina's school more than once. What we have done in total is something that is not possible for kak ina to accomplish alone. She's very grateful to have us. She's definitely is so in love with her maths room now and felt eager and energized to start the new semester.

I ardently believe that a conducive classroom is imperative for both the teachers and the students. It contributes to an effective learning environment for both parties. With proper teaching and learning resources all in place, it puts the teacher at ease to reach out for the necessary resources when needed. And with so many motivating and inspiring visuals, games and rewards system all around the classroom, the students would feel like home and inexorably find learning enjoyable....that's just why i try very much to find time to help her. It gives me some sense of achievement though i am not the one teaching the kids.