PT3.... External Internal Exams

That means the questions are set by the Lembaga Peperiksaan but the school teachers mark their own students' scripts. And also the school prints the exam papers. Externally set but internally printed and marked. That's what an external internal exam means.

This is the 3rd year running. Is this better than PMR?

First, from the students perspective. Questions are deemed tougher. Why not? After years of objective questions mostly, kids these days don't take subjective questions very well. I think different sets of grey matter are at work here. For one, you cannot 'agar-agak' your answers any more. Also, after years of prepping students for PMR, I think teachers are also at a loss in getting the students ready. We have been spoon feeding the kids too long that we are finding it hard to figure out how not to spoon feed. And there are the effects of PBS to be reckoned with too, those heady days where everyone was worksheet obsessed cos every skill 'mastered' required recording.

But, then again, kids are able to get these amazing tips for PT3 these days too. For all that is worth, the tips seem to be very accurate. Friends have confirmed that there are special classes carried out on the eve of the PT3 exams. Those kids who attend pay. RM30 ringgit above for those sessions. Were the tips reliable? Well, one only needs to ask around and the answer is quite apparent. Despite all those pledges of secrecy, one has to admit that the whole thing can become rather porous. After all, papers need to be printed... that's one. Then they need to be stapled.. another one. Basically the whole hierarchy of the school is accountable here.

In a school system like ours where we have so many different labelling, the labelling itself might also pose a problem. A school which is in the selected list would be hard pressed to produce sterling results befitting of its listing... Berprestasi Tinggi, Kluster Kecemerlangan. Seems like listing can be bad too. Stiff competition among schools to top the district, state also play a role. In the end, despite being an internal exam which is supposed to be a yardstick for the students to gauge their ability ends up being used as a comparison to other schools. We just cannot stop comparing, it seems. So, it is not hard to imagine that accurate tips can find their way out of the secrecy that they are supposed to be cloaked under to the hands of those intended for assessment.

As for the teachers, their hands are full after the exams. Where once, teachers would spend time organising games or activities, these days they are hard pressed for time to finish marking. A whole year of marking and grading would have taken their toll by now and most would be too drained to concern themselves with any enrichment activities. Students lose out too. There are schools who tell their students not to go to school after their PT3 exams. Seems like the school is just a place for academic pursuits. Whatever happened to it as a fun place too? A place where one grows up? I remember the days when we still had SRP. The post exam days were spent in the classroom playing board games, reading books, chatting with friends and planning activities. We were given the freedom to go to school... or not to. But, some schools don't allow those activities these days. So many restrictions... sigh!

Also, kids are barred from attending school in some schools. So, they get an extended holiday thrust down their throats. Kids don't get a chance to spend time with their friends. They get locked out from their school, which is such a sad thing.

As for the PT3 exam. Who would expect that an internal exam would become a business opportunity too? It is and apparently has great potential. Accurate tip givers can make a killing. The desperation to score would see to that. Parting with RM30 or RM50 is cheap for the number of A(s) that it can buy.

Another curtain is coming to a close. Another year ending. Time flies when one is busy. And when one is busy, one forgets sometimes to stop and smell the roses. That is not good too. There is more to life than just work.

Perspectives

So, what actually is the real thing. The killings in the name of religion, the execution of laws in the name of justice, or just simple every day according to mores, norms and culture. What actually is right?

To 52% of the Brits, Brexit is about preserving their way of life. To the remaining 48%, the 52% are stupid. Then those who claim that others who are not of the same faith as them are infidels. Yet to those labelled as such, those who label them are infidels too. In a patriarchal society, the men are the heads of the nuclear units, yet to a few matriarchal societies, the males pay inconsequential roles. So, who is right?

In the Bible, there is this story of the Israelites who asked God to give them a king. God told them that they'd be tied to his will. Now up to that point, the Israelites had only the priests to lead them. It was the time of prophet Samuel. He had grown old and his sons who had taken over from him did not follow his ways. And so the people demanded for a king so that they could be like the others and lead them and go out before them and fight their battles. So, Samuel went to God. He was told to tell the Israelites that the king who reign over the Israelites will claim them as his rights: their sons and daughters will serve the kind. They have to give the best of their produce to the king. They will have to give the king their flock and they themselves will be slaves to the king. And there will come a time when the people will cry out for relief from the king they have chosen, but God will not answer them in that day.

So, did the people listen? Nope! They insisted on a king... to lead them and to go out before them and fight their battles.

Interesting isn't it? We all want someone to fight our battles, do things for us. In other words, settle things for us. We want someone to hold the fort for us while we go out and work. I think if you look long and hard enough, you will find that everywhere.

The Israelites had the priests to lead them. But like the kings too, these priests were human. Today, we have kings and clergy. And because both feel that they are mandated, one by the people, the other by the heavens, they dictate. Their will, their perspectives rule.

A flock needs its shepherd so they say, a country needs a king or a president, a company needs its CEO, a damsel in distress needs to be rescued, a woman needs a man to protect her... the list goes on. But at the end of this very short list only two things stand out. One takes and one has to give.

Equality.... probably not. Balance perhaps???

Google Classroom

This is still ongoing. My colleague and I have been at this for 4 months. Right at the end of last year, we were asked to go for a meeting regarding our school portal. I jumped at the opportunity as I have been trying to start my Google Classroom since it was launched. I even bought a domain name thinking that it would be sufficient. A few tens of ringgit poorer later, I discovered that I could not carry it out as I did not have an education website. I did try it for a while though, learned my way around it a bit. And that was that! I left it as it was for a whole year... For me, I learned most of my stuff by reading up on my own because there are so few around me who share the same interest or passion.

At the meeting, I asked for the portal admin password reset. And there in our hands were the keys to our Classrooms! School was already about to start by then and as soon as it did, both of us went into a frenzy of creating email ids for our students. There were hundreds to be created. But we did it in a record time, on top of other things that we had to do... new lessons for the new year, new classes, a new digital signage in the works and the usual paperwork.

It's been 4 months of running a digital classroom alongside the school prescribed one, which is the VLE Frog. And I have this to say... Google Classroom is a great tool.

The thing I like most about Google Classroom is it has made me even more efficient. I measure efficiency by the amount of time saved in class for what I consider as 'time-wasting but necessary activities' such as copying from the board. Consider this... I was able to finish my Form 3 literature component in slightly over 2 months. And students did plenty of work on it too. Every chapter was accompanied by an edited video which I chopped from an actual movie. The novel went digital and the Classroom is where I placed my digital copy for download. Questions were put up there... and I have figured out ways around the work/homework. Also, where Flubaroo can't work its magic, I resorted to manoeuvring my way around with the help of the Google Form and Google Spreadsheet. I started using Doctopus together with Goobric last year and so, they made their appearance in some of my class work too, as my virtual assistants. Have not had much time to reacquaint myself with Socrative or Kahoot, though my friend occasionally still uses Socrative. I picked up all these from the educational websites. One thing I think the MOE fails to grasp is if teachers are motivated, a lot can be achieved.

Sometime last month, I attended a Google Educator Group seminar, organised by the JPN. After attending it, I kinda got the impression that my friend and I perhaps make up a very small number of teachers in country using the Classroom. The Google people could not provide support for me for Classroom because they were not familiar with it yet. Also, Google Classroom didn't quite catch on because schools need an education domain for it to be able to work. The MOE should actually just look into this than spend so much on FROG classroom.

I like the Classroom for its simplicity to use. The learning curve for it is relatively manageable, as long as one has an understanding of the digital learning environment structure. Some tenacity and persistence go a long way too. And of course, having at least one other teacher who is just passionate as you about embracing change goes a very super long way too!

So what do I do in my digital classroom? This is where I put most of my school work for the kids. They no longer use exercise books for their work. Some work is done in the digital realm. Other work still gets done the traditional way, with a pen and paper. So, they keep a file to keep the 'paperwork'. I have been able to cut down paper usage quite substantially. And there will be no exercise book wasted at the end of this academic year. The management files can be recycled next year. So, yeah, my classes have gone at least a third digital. Comprehension passages are printed on paper but questions are put up in Classroom. Time is saved when Flubaroo does the work for me for the objective questions.

I scanned the Sejarah textbooks for all forms 2 years ago and the Classroom is now a very good platform for me to put them up for my students to download into their phones.

Accessibility is the next problem which many will point out. My friend and I are fortunate. We are in a school where almost 100 percent of our students have at least a smartphone. And that is all we need for them to do their work and read stuff which we put up or asked. Almost all of them have access to internet connections too.

And this year too, I can claim my Nilam project to be quite authentic. All my students read the same books. And they write their own reviews. I have used materials from different sites and put up my own ebooks for them to read. And so, this year, from simple readers like those from Reading A to Z, my students read 'I Am Malala'. Next will be one of my favourite comics from childhood... Asterix!!! And all these can be put up in Classroom.

What are some of the surprises? Somedays I would still be at school after the bell rings for dismissal. And I get had many pleasant surprises in that I see work completed not even 45 minutes after the students left the school compound. This is Gen Z. They are the social media generation. Their communicative devices are like an extension of themselves. Put your work there and it is bound to get response from most of them. Of course, the usual 'threats' of fines for work not done have something to do as well, but it's relegated quite a bit down the list.

But generally, my experience with Classroom has been quite good. I did try Edmodo but it was too much hassle. I read up other LMS platforms. We have the VLE Frog programme too, but when the issuance of user id is not efficiently managed, very often you are left with students who cannot remember their id or not have one. And that is when, even with one left out, you cannot have that everyone in the 'same room' rule working. And it spells failure as some will be left out. With Classroom, the teacher has full control as long as he/she is made a user with some administrative rights in the school website. That is the beauty of Google Classroom.... well, at least for me.

With my iPads and AppleTVs still my main tools for instruction in class (this is the third year that I have not used the chalk board), having Google Classroom is a super added plus point. The education field is still changing. The last few years have been very exciting for me. From iPad and its many amazing apps to AppleTV for ease of projection and Google Classroom for that complete experience.... I have been more fortunate than many to be able to experiment and use them extensively in my classes.

More to come.... I hope.

Tired

I think that is the most apt word to sum up most days now. A woman wears many hats these days... too many, I think. In the morning, I am at work. At work, well... everything runs like what a work place should. Classes to teach, papers to grade, students to see, things to look into... basically a typical work schedule that comes with the scope of a job.

After school hours means another new hat... no... it feels more like donning a few hats. I was having a conversation with my students just recently and I told them that being a student is fun. Cos that's all you need to be...A STUDENT. Everything else, there are parents to see to. I'd trade places with them if I could. 8)

A mother, housekeeper, cook, handywoman.... there are just so many things to see to. The mind is in a constant whir. In between classes would be spend grading, planning and in between those things, menu planning, chores-to-do list, etc.

And that is where I think social conditioning must change. Everything we do, think, assume and even perceive... they are the products of our social conditioning. I guess nothing is really ours. And that is where I think things should change.

Conversations with others in my generation and those in the same boat. The same issues seem to be cropping up. Partnerships built on equality... they are hard to come by. Husbands and menfolk who throw in their equal weight in child rearing and housekeeping. While there are probably more men who are more involved, I think in our Asian society, it is still dismally low. Unless the womenfolk push for more involvement, most men would prefer to have their own time, either in their dens or out with their friends. The bottom line seems to remain this... much of the family work continues to fall on the shoulder of the women.

It's Qing Ming season now. It is not uncommon to see the women making preparations; folding the hell money (beats me why they call it that. It's like an admission that everyone goes to hell), getting the food ready for the prayers at the grave... they all seem to fall on the women too. And the irony is, the souls of the departed are not even from the same bloodline. They are only relatives by marriage! And so you have this... the one who lead the prayers for the deceased sharing the same name with the deceased. Needless to say, the ones who toil to prepare the stuff needed... well, they are the womenfolk who are 'outside family'.

Ancestral worship is a Confucian teaching. Confucius teaches filial piety. So, shouldn't the filial sons do all the preparations? Yet many husbands would expect (or even demand) that their wives be filial to the people who played no part in raising them! And so we go back to this same merry-go-round... Everything we do, think, assume and even perceive... they are the products of our social conditioning. A couple of thousand years worth of social conditioning here, I guess.

These are thoughts gathered from a rambling session with a friend of mine. We belong to the same generation although the age gap is quite significant. The same is heard most of the time... The menfolks continue to refuse to acknowledge the need for them to put in their weight in everything that makes a house run.

Son recently started to manage a house. After barely 2 months... in one of our conversations. He passed this remark that a house is a lot of work. Yup! and Yup! A house is a lot of work. But I think many men will just brush it as mere complaints... Ah! After all most things to them can wait. They are more important things to do, they feel.

Bringing in the dough... the days of the man being the sole breadwinner is over. Women do that too these days. But the balance is not struck in the home. Social conditioning over what is perceived as men's domain remains entrenched.

Ramblings on a day when the mind is clouded by a blur of haze...

And in the animal kingdom...

.... mothers love their babies to a fault too.

This is a story of the past 3 weeks plus. And it all began with this.... a nest with 2 eggs. On 14th February, much to our pleasant surprise we discovered these 2 eggs in the forgotten basket that my colleague and I hung outside the computer lab.

The eggs were tiny... not the regular chicken egg size that we are all so used to. They looked so pristine, white. The shell looked soft. It 'hardened' over the next two days.

I had my doubts whether the eggs were a mistake. I felt the mother bird had picked the wrong place to lay her eggs. The basket hung from the metal grille. We put it there for students to throw in the announcements they wanted to make last year. After a couple of months, the announcement papers became a trickle as students warmed up to email as a means of getting the information to us. And so, the basket was left there, forgotten mostly. Once or twice, my friend and I talked about removing it, but basically, we just left it there. Then, came the 2 eggs, all so cute and pretty, yet quite exposed to all the elements and dangers of sorts.

The thing with the possibility of tiny lives is, they have this great ability to tug at your heart strings. We watched with apprehension if the mother bird would come back. She did, much to our relief. And this started our daily routine of checking on the eggs every morning. The first thing I would do every morning is to see if the eggs were there. They were! Every morning until the eggs hatched, the mother bird would be sitting on them. Both my friend and I arrive early every morning.


This time of the year is terribly hot and I began to worry for the mother bird and her eggs. So, one day before going back, together with the kids, we plucked some small branches with leaves all still attached and tried to create some shade for the mother bird. I was worried that it might be scared of me. Much to my surprise, she just 'glared' (am not sure whether she actually did cos you can't really tell what the birds are thinking through their eyes) at me. Her eyes never left me and I made sure I stood within her sight as we tried to rearrange the leaves. The mother bird was always there whenever I came out.


It was though she realised that there were many dangers around and she was guarding her precious eggs. I did not see her away from her eggs. I guess maybe she did all her food hunting while we were not around.

This went on for days. My friend and I talked about bringing food for her. I even left her some bread crumbs but she didn't seem to like it cos they were left uneaten for a few days.

I was thinking that the eggs might not hatch at all until end of last week. The mother was not around but in the tiny nest, there were these 2 littlest birds I had ever seen. Their fur (it didn't look like feathers yet) had this tangled look. It's as though they had just recently emerged from the egg shells. We put more leaves around the basket. The sun was rather merciless and the heat, quite unbearable.

Baby birds grow fast. Within the last few days, they have doubled in size. And today, after I walked past the school pavilion, the worker who cleans the lab every week called out to me and told me they birds will leave soon.

I hurried back to the lab.

And this greeted me. Perched at the edge of the basket, was this grown baby bird. It was flapping its wings. I thought it was going to fly but on closer look, I realised it was not quite ready yet. I approached it. It didn't move. But I could see that it was clinging on for dear life to the basket. I patted its head... and said a goodbye to him. It could he a her. Its siblings was still sitting in the nest, contented not to try anything today. Tomorrow, (or day after), both might probably make their maiden flights and take to the sky. I hope they will be successful and don't falter. There are cats around, always looking for a meal. And this bird would make a good one if it does not take flight. The mother bird was no where around. My girl tells me she has seen how the mommy bird feeds her babies. They eat from her beak.

It's been an amazing experience. Two, three hundred people walk past the birds every school day.
The door to the lab often slam shut with a very loud bang in this windy weather. Any one of the kids could have developed itchy finger and did something to the birds. Yet, none of those stood in the way of the journey of the eggs to these two birds.

If one takes a look at the actual location of the basket that plays host to the nest and its two precious content, the fact that they made it this far is an amazing thing. And for us who have had the opportunity to share these past weeks with the mother bird, it has been a humbling time too. The birds have provided us opportunities for lessons of sorts with students. They have also consolidated a couple of things in me too. 

The mother bird never wavered in her 'love' for her brood. She stayed on, even though, it must have been a very scary time for her, seeing all the two-legged creatures walking past, peering and talking on top of their voices. 

Even in the animal kingdom, the love of a mother for the young takes on a sacrificial dimension, and what more is this reminder too of how, ever so often, our mothers would go through great lengths for their children. The food that they set aside for their children, the comfort that they choose to do without so that their children are more comfortable, the things that they don't get for themselves so that their children can have some of the little luxuries in life, the clothes they iron so that the kids look neat and cared for.... the list goes on. That is perhaps the greatest reminder these past few weeks has been for me. Every single time, I took a peek into the nest, and see the mother bird, I see a bird willing to die because of her babies. She gave all she had, even though she knew that her babies will grow up and leave the nest. 

It's been a while since I visited this blog... Life has been quite rushed and hurried. There so many things to do and so little time every day. So many things to see to, so many students to deal with sometimes and my own one too. But this just needs to be written, so that I can be reminded of the things that my mom used to do for me.

Update 1: One of the babies tried to fly today. It managed to fly all the way upstairs before running out of gas. The workers watched over it, mindful that there is a cat prowling around. Finally one of them picked it up and put it back into the basket. I wonder too whether we should have done that.... But it's nice to see the two little flers safe and sound still.

Update 2: The nest was empty this morning. We thought the birds had left. But when we got upstairs Mother and one baby was perched on the signboard. The second and weaker bird was nestled close to its Mother. The grown baby was snuggling up to its mother. Both were facing the rising sun. To those who do not know they probably just pay a perfunctory glance, and think nothing of them.  I supposed both knew that it was time to go their own ways. And yet the mother gave all, knowing that there was nothing in it for her....

Throughout the remaining day, I took many peeks at the basket. It was decidedly quiet. The nest is empty. Its occupants have flown....

This has been a lesson of many sorts. Of selfless giving and greater sacrifices... and LIFE. That's life.