KOTA BELUD TEACHER'S DEBATE 2011

10 of March 2011..

The day of the competition..

Front line:

Nur Zuriaty Zaki

Syaharil (John Smith)

Pathima Ria

Reserve:

Mohd. Hanafi (Me)

Nurul Ros Adira.

All of us debaters are from SMATS, but only one (Syaharil) is from SMK Pekan II.

I did not debate for this round, but I felt nervous too.. Well. I was well aware that if any of the front lines could not make it, either me or Nurul would replace their position in random...that would mean we had to prepare for every position: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gov. or Opposition roles.. I think that was why I felt restless before the debate. We fought against only one opponent from Lahad Datu, and it was a tough debate. After a lot of struggle, the result is...

OUR TEAM WON.

Attention: Syaharil won the Best Debater title!

Thanks to all for such a great opportunity.. I've learnt a lot during our practice..

Credits to Sir Zac for being such a wonderful coach..

Debate Fever

Fever! Just the very word sends fear striking at parent's hearts: Fever! Fevers are bad! Cuz, well, look at the kid! Hot! Uncomfortable! And hot! That has to be bad, right? Oh, and fever can kill! Kids can explode, can get brain damage, whatever. It's just...bad, that fever, right? Bad! Must medicate! Must take Tylenol/Motrin/have an alcohol bath/sponge bath. Must! Because fever = B.A.D.

However, its not that kind of fever. I'm joining a TEACHER'S debate competition.. I don't know whether I will be selected as the front lines or the reserve. But that is not the big matter. All of us will debate, anyway. What scares me most is the unseen mystery that lies ahead. It sends fever through my veins! Is that how we say it? That's a teacher's debate! Of course it's a lil bit more challenging than the one we carry out at school, because all the teachers are there to fight against you.. You will feel that you will be squeezed like a tiny bug. *Giggles*

A debater from another school told me that the official letter from Kota Belud PPD was released this morning.. The debate will be on March 10th.. its a few days away! Funny, we never practiced face to face.. So far, we simply did online discussion and did small meetings. Hopefully, the opponents r not that wild.. Grr.. Rawrr.. I don't know what'll happen to our team on the competition day. My thoughts r in the clouds, I imagine many things already.. *Worries*

In our small meetings, we met our big sifu, Mr. Zach.. He's there to guide us for the debates and talk about the topic in details. We started like we've never been to debates before (I did, but forgot most of it).. and the discussion wasn't that cool.. Mr. Zach already started wrinkling his face when we were stuck in between the definition and the premise for the topic "Teacher Development is the Main Determinant for the National Educational Excellence". Hopefully, next debate will create havoc in the atmosphere!

We will work harder..

Super Teacher SMATS

Time sure flies by so fast.. I didn't realize how much time I've missed to write my blog. Lots and lots of activities and of course, internet connection problem decreased my motivation to write...

For this entry, I'm sure that things turn out to be totally different from my previous posts... it's all about working days!! It's a 360 degree rotation in life. I'm a full time sifu, teaching at SMKA Tun Said, a school at Kota Belud District in Sabah..

And one more thing, SMATS is my ex-school!! Even though I studied there only for 5 months or so, it's long enough for me to learn a lot from those sifus.. I've met a few remaining teachers. They all look completely the same. One of them was Cikgu Hamzah..the most noticeable teacher in SMATS.. Thank you for everything teachers, now that we work together in the office, I feel honored and weird too, hehe.

What I like about the school is the strategic location.. It's an hour drive from and to my hometown and Kota Kinabalu.. It's in the middle! So I could go back home when it requires me to and run away to KK whenever I feel like releasing my stress and stroll down the KK highway...

Living a new teacher's life (notice the word new) feels so different but overexcited at the same time. I couldn't manage myself much with the multiple tasks, especially the one dealing with filing and documenting. I'm a total mess for that part!

SO, IF ANYONE ASKS ME WHERE DID I PUT MY STUDENTS' FILES OR DOCUMENTS, I CAN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION DIRECTLY WITHOUT SEARCHING THROUGH MY DESKS AND DRAWERS. I failed for being an organized and systematic person! I guess I need to be more organized and I should take documenting or filing course. Is that offered?

I have a habit of helping other people. I hope this habit continues even if years passed by. I don't want to lose that helping spirit. (Can we?) We need each other, that's why. I think that 'helping spirit' is very important because up until now, I am what I am because of wonderful people around me who never ceased to help me in every way. When we grow older, we learn and unlearn a lot of things. I hope this habit remains in me all the time. But at the same time, I also have the habit of not helping at all. Then, what that makes me?

My Mitsubihsi car helps me a lot in my school chores. But I'm afraid that one day, due to overuse and constant heavy works, that car's gonna be sick. Recently, I've replaced the alternator and it costed twice as much as my house rent... Since I'm working now, I pay the bills and it takes a lot to realize how much responsibilities that I have to carry out now...

All teachers here are great.. Although it took some time for me to see the school in different perspective! I started from a student's perspective and now to a teacher's perspective. This kind of experience is very unique and weird, too, believe me if you can imagine it yourself. Do you think that is easy to handle? Come on, it's the conflict that you have to face just like when you have to act like a father when you are not even married. Maybe I was just young that is why I felt it was tough. But I believe, I am going to be alright. In my life, this was just a small fragment of difficulty if to be compared to what I've gone through before. Although I did have my experience as a teacher before, but now is the real thing.

That's all for now... There's so many jumbled up ideas inside my head. Don't know how to put it right.. Chow!