tHe JoUrNeY cOnTiNuEs.

* Little angels!!!
Many friends asked me “Fun to teach children right”, “Children very cute right”, “Children very easy to teach right” etc- 50% 50%, good & bad times. When they are nice, they are very fun to be with. But when they are bad, they can really drive you up the wall.
If I have to choose one thing, that be to able to endure children’s noise. One occasion outside school, I was with my friends doing something and there happened to have many children walking & running up and down as is toilet area. One of my friends said, “noisy right, you all want to change place?”. I replied, “noisy mehz?! ok lahz!” Haha… guess my ears numbED.
3yrs in PCF, I came across many children- good ones, na_gh_y ones, cheeky ones, interesting ones, chubby ones, smart ones. Some children so outstanding that they have left a BIG footprint in my life.

(WARNING! below is going to be loooooong! You better stop here before you find yourself zzzing. Haha! No need to read ar, I just want to blog to keep as “memory” so when I grow old, I can read to my grandchildren as bedtime story. Haha! ).

Child A- to me, he is like small adult in the way he talked & behaved. Sad to say, he is not a obedient but quite rebellious (ultimate) and every teachers who taught him before will agreed. He left behind many “bad records” and once I remembered is when he saw his girl classmate talking to her mum at the window, he went to push her head against the wall. When teacher-in-charge brought him to the office to prepare to call his mum, he started crying DRAMAtically- saying his mum pregnant, no one to take care of her if he go “jail” etc! Really can’t describe his “naughtiness”, you just got to see him in action. Even after he went to Pri 1, we heard from his teachers that he is not doing well. Didn’t get to see him since he graduated from our school in 2004 but only like in late 2006, he made a visit to our school on his own, claimed to visit the teachers. I asked him, “You got good boy in your school a not?”. He replied, “Yes but I got caning once before lehz!”

Child B- a child who needed extra coaching & patience as he has some difficulties in speaking & understanding. His condition was quite bad when I first took him in nursery (my first year working), thank God for the experiences in JAMs if not wont know how to handle. Eventhough he attended K2 for 2yrs but throughout the 4yrs, he really changed a lot.
A child who can’t recognize/write numbers to one who can perfectly write and read aloud. A child who can’t colour properly to one who can colour patiently inside a given box. A child who can’t communicate with his friend to one who not only can communicate but even made his friend laughed. A child who is not independently to one who can take of himself and his belonging. This boy successful went on to pri one in 2007, really pray that he can cope. I was thinking if one day I were to see him again, I think I will hug him and “cry in joy” to see another level of change in him.

Child C- Taiwan boy who was in K1 when he came, no nursery experience so he took very long to settle. During early few weeks, either he will come to school crying or with “attitude”! For couple of weeks, he just won’t participate in activities, he will just squat outside the class (as he want to see the clock, to wait for dismissal). When I talk to him, I must squat with him and tried to add Taiwan accent in my speaking. He answered back but some still with “attitude”. He liked to share with me about his life in Taiwan… the train, the building, his family etc.
Slowly he “upgraded” to squatting inside the class but still not participating. It took weeks before he started to feel comfortable with the place and opened up to friends & teachers. From squatting when doing work and playing with his friends, he finally realized that the chair is more comfortable and is willing to join his group. He is very interesting- few occasions, he came to me in his Taiwan accent, “Your school’s clock so ugly!” & “Your school’s toilet so dirty, I am not going to use!”. Haha! A year later when he went K2. Haha! Can you imagine, he can be so cheeky & playful, creating “problem” when he with his boys gang.

Child D- Have you ever saw an old granny trying so hard to grab to control her granddaughter along roadside, to stop her granddaughter from wanting to dash across? Or an old granny chasing after her active & never-say-die granddaughter who dashed to playground straight upon reaching school?
This girl from China, you will often read about her “history” in my blog’s Children Talks. She can let you like and “dislike” her to the core! But she is very clever- the way she work, talk, think & imagine. According to mum, all this is all on her own through media/books as both her parents & grandparents can’t speak good English but this girl not only speak good English, Chinese but also Malay!

Child E- in my entire 3yrs, I must say I never met a boy like this who really drives me up the ceiling! All this just because of a smile! Actually this boy is with slight autism- we brought up the issue to mum and the mum knew about it but no action was taken.
Everything turned upside down, just by a smile! At first when he came and join us in K1, he too has no nursery experience so he gets very shy, very quiet & very timid when he see the teachers. I used to “win” his respect and fear just by opening my eyes BIG but ever since few times I play with him and SMILE at him……… that’s it! Ever since then, think he know I can be play with so then and then, he is no longer afraid of me (really no longer).

During my class, only at mine he will super misbehave. His achievements:
- many timesssss of doing 360degree turns on the floor
- crawl from one side of classroom to another
- jump to step on chairs and partition
- from chair A to chair B, he don’t walk but step across table
- he caused harm to his friends, at times physical pain like pinching, kicking, or beating
(you may think I am exaggerating… but seriously, I am not. wait till you see how he attack his friends, it will really pain you)
- he has no eye contact and can’t reply accordingly to what you asked
- he can cry for 5secs then next moment, you will find him laughing away (really!)
Everyday I will surely take his class, some more twice a day! He is really one student who I must say I got to “surrender” to. In 2007 he should be in K2… wondering how he is doing.