Of Marginal Behaviour

Schools often get teacher trainees on Rancangan Orientasi Sekolah or ROS. They will be attached to a school for a week or two to observe how a school is run as part of their coursework. This is to enable them to get a feel of the school environment before they go for their teaching practical a few months down the road.

We recently got 2 young men, undergoing their KPLI. Because of the PPSMI, the MOE sponsored quite a big number of undergraduates to universities in English speaking countries like the UK, Australia to pursue their basic degrees, mainly in the Sciences. So when our Minister says one reason why PPSMI cannot continue is due to competency issues, such teachers would eventually solve that problem. It'll take time though but PPSMI has already been running so many years.

The two young men who came to my school have just come back from the UK. Anyway, they are different from other trainees I've come across in my years as a teacher. For one, these are not young men who come into teaching after a few years of trying their luck outside and finding it hard to find their place. These were plucked fresh from school and given scholarships to pursue a basic degree with the agreement that when they graduate they'll come back for a year of KPLI before becoming teachers. Many of them come from residential schools; meaning, at least their formative environment would have set them apart in terms of attitude. Having spent years abroad would have at least given them the opportunity to see their world from a different perspective. And those stuff would make them different from many....

And we've been seeing rather interesting responses from our marginal people at school these couple of days, marginal behavior which makes one shake head. LOL! First, let me reiterate that these young teachers-to-be still have that boyish enthusiasm, looks.... see the difference? We've been getting to many 'old' male trainee teachers... LOL!

These young men sit opposite me. And for the past few days, traffic at my usually quiet area has gone up a few notches. And I've been seeing really silly behavior up close. One student kept coming up to my colleague to ask questions, and when there were errors to be erased in her book, she even ran back to her classroom to get her eraser. She could have just taken her book back to class! LOL! And as the instruction was going on, I could see her throwing furtive glances at them. And students who never frequent the Staff Room have been coming in, wandering around, pretending to look for something... with this smitten, bowled over, impish grins on their faces. I thought I was seeing all those classic symptoms of a concert crazed audience.... Infatuation deeply scratched into their marginal minds...

Then as I was going back to the staff room, it just so happened that the two young men were in front of me. Sandwiched between us were 4 girls. It was comical just to see them.... adjusting their tudung, slapping each other to spur each other, whispering and giggling.... If I didn't know any better the state of their marginal minds, I should be excused for thinking that they are mad.... madly smitten. Apparently, there are students who await the coming in and going out(s) of these soon-to-be teachers too in the mornings. And more students seem to be offering their services to carry teachers' bags into the staff room.

It seems to when the young men were introduced to the school, teachers saw all kinds of silliness among the students, especially the girls. Marginal minds tend to throw caution to the wind. Marginal minds don't seem quite able to control their actions... I think made even worse by the way we educate our kids today... And I am seeing more brash behavior too, coming to the fore... definitely not our Asian values. LOL! More and more, the young people seem uninhibited. In recent years, I've had students who have had no qualm about baring themselves for photos or even sending out such pics of themselves out to their friends. Exhibitionist tendencies are now seen more. Girls are getting louder, sometimes to the point of seemingly 'kasar'.

I wonder too whether too it's because there is less instructions from the home since many parents work these days. As for these young men... they are nice chaps who seem to have a heart for teaching. I was teasing them to enjoy this movie star adulation and adoration.... In the meantime, up to half of my school population might be swooning for the next 2 weeks...