SMJK Keat Hwa 1: Teacher, Is It Worth It?

   It is the time of the year when results are out or are coming out. This is usually a busy time for me as students will come for chats to explore options. Over the years, this time of the year would be the time when there would be quite a few such impromptu sessions. 

This year, it is different. We to had meet for yumcha sessions instead. Boy! It’s a challenge trying to keep up with the young who feel that 12 midnight is still young like them. Been a long time I even stay out of the house past midnight. Lol!

Anyway, in one of the conversations, a former student asked if it was worth it, 'chasing' the teacher bully and getting transferred out from the school. I told her that I was anticipating it because the Principal didn’t seem to want to do anything about it and I had applied pressure that would make him retaliate. In fact, I had told a teacher in late October that the Principal would do that. At that time, the teacher said that would not happen. Turned out my gut feeling was right. It's not about whether it was worth it. At that time, to those students, it meant something for their voices to be heard.

     Then she asked why I did it. This was because she said many of the students I stood up for didn’t appreciate what I did. I told her, how could I expect any of them to appreciate what I did. Anyway, I wasn’t expecting any. They were teenagers and for 2 years, they had been on the receiving end of verbal curses and intimidation. I told her, if a teacher comes into a class and berates, curses or scolds a student, wouldn’t the rest of the class just sit out quietly, and in their heart, hoping that she will continue with that one particular student and not zoom in on them? 

     Survival instincts would kick in and everyone will just hope that it would not be them who get the showers of verbal assaults. In such kinds of classes too there would also be less cooperation and trust among each other. It will be each person for his own because when ‘attacks’ come, you need to survive.

     It wasn’t the teacher I had issues with. It was her behaviour. Actions and behaviour which were unbecoming of a teacher. And so, there I listed those behaviours as put forward by the students to the Principal in their meeting on the morning of 31/10/18. You find them in 3 sessions of meeting. They are taken from 3 sessions of recordings. 

1. Teacher making the class monitor complete and mark her attendance monthly/daily. Even after being admonished by the Principal, she continued to do it by asking another student to do it because she was angry at the class monitor for going against her. 
2. Using her position as a class teacher to intimidate the students. There have been incidents of previous batches who had their Kelakuan in their Sijil Berhenti bad because she didn’t like them. 
3. There was a case of missing funds (PIBG and magazine) which a student’s parents complained to the school. When the parent insisted that the money be returned, the student became a victim. He failed his BM consecutively during F5 until the trial exam, where he got an exact pass for the paper.
4. The same student had his BM Lisan SPM given a score of below 10 marks. When the external examiner came and pulled his name out for a moderation exercise, he used the same material and the marks given were significantly higher.
5. The students were worried for their siblings in the lower forms because they were worried that this teacher would take it out on them. An example was given where during a PT3 Lisan exam, for no reason, when a candidate entered the room, he was asked whether he was ‘so-and-so’s’ brother. Students talked about their older siblings’ experiences, all of which pointed towards a verbally abusive teacher. 
6. Students talked about the teacher being on her mobile phone during lessons most of the time and not teaching. Apparently she would be scrolling on the phone. 
7. She would also punish them by making them sit outside the class for 1-2 weeks for not completing just one question of a 50 or 100 questions exercise. Those students would sit out of the ‘class lessons’ for that duration of time.

     Now, these were the list of complaints put forward by those students. I asked the student if she would be okay with such kind of behaviour from a teacher. Silence ensued... 

The point is, many seem to think that I went overboard by pushing for a solution from the Principal. She said some students said they joined in the ‘fight’, and was looking for drama. I told her I knew that. You have victims, bystanders and what have you not in any scenario. 

This was a straightforward issue. It was regarding an abusive and unprofessional behaviour of a teacher. How do we condone and tolerate such behaviour? Worse still, apparently too, she had always been like that, for more than a decade in SMJK KH1. Did she become meaner over the years?

A final point... the human mind is myriad of complex mix of emotions and logic. Many said that they learned to deal with her by shutting their ears and minds while she ranted and cursed. That's logic at work. But how many of us ever paused to thank our lucky stars that no one had actually snapped emotionally and mentally because of her abusive behaviour? That is where emotion might have taken over and caused permanent loss? So, what if one day, one kid... perhaps on an emo-roller-coaster…. is in class and the teacher curses her... and something snaps? 

A Form 5 boy from that batch was killed while riding on his motorcycle one night early this year. What if he had been one of those boys who had been cursed? One of her regular curses was “Aku sumpah kamu mati dilanggar lori.” Such curses... they do not belong in the classrooms, what more coming from a teacher. In BM, we can sometimes be melodramatic and use phrases like “Kita yang bergelar Pendidik.” So what if kita yang bergelar Pendidik ini menyumpah anak muridnya mati dilanggar lori.... and it did indeed happen?

So, is it worth it??? I told her I am actually past caring about the transfer. What I may still care about is the shame that I feel because it was allowed to continue... that my former colleagues were divided along racial lines and could not stand as one to stamp out a bad behaviour. The curses of this bully teacher should be on their children too…

What right do we teachers have ... to strut around, some with the canes or heads held high up and say... “Saya cikgu, you kena dengar cakap saya?” We lost our credibility the day we made excuses for all the things listed above….. Kids are sent to us to be shaped and moulded.. but we let them loose as damaged products. 

For a complete picture of the incident:
SMJK Keat Hwa I: Beyond the Facade of Pride 2
SMJK Keat Hwa 1: Kisah Seorang Guru Pembuli
SMJK Keat Hwa 1: Beyond the Facade of Pride 1

Teacher Stories..

I think my teachers were a special breed. They were the know-all people. And we were lucky we had them to inspire us. ACS Sitiawan in those days was the school to be in. Small kampung but we'd produce not just jaguh kampung but world beaters, back in those years, when Michael Jackson's moonwalk used to be one of the crazes. 

I remember Mrs. Tan Kam Thiam, the formidable Add Maths teacher. There is no Add Math question that she could not solve. Try as we did, we never did succeed in finding a question she could not do. It was only much later she told us, there is probably no question that she had not done before. You see, she'd go through any reference books that she could get her hands on and do them all. We never stood the chance of finding one she cannot do. She had done them all.

Then there was the legendary Mrs. P. She has a name but she will always be Mrs. P to us. And when we see her, we still call her that. Last year, she gifted us an avocado tree. It's still in my garden. She was not only the Discipline Mistress but a darn good Biology teacher. She is way into her 70s and she is still writing Bio books. There used to be nothing that she didn’t seem to know. Many were in awe of her. We still are. Garang as she was, many of us, taught or not taught by her would often still enjoy moments of conversations with her. 

There was also Mrs. Wong Tai Meng, my Perdagangan cum English teacher. Small and petite, many of us would look for opportunities to talk to her. I remember cycling on the road, rushing to get back for school, hoping to catch a glimpse of her on her way to school. Never mind that her glasses were really thick. We loved her for some strange reason. But she was an interesting Perdagangan and English teacher.

Mrs. Quay Beng Tiong... and her famous pembetulan. She was strict and firm, no nonsense. Her BM was always correct. I learned to use the language from her. Everyone of us respected her, for the teacher she was. One word - tabik.

I don’t think I can recall any teacher being bad... except maybe for a primary school teacher. This was how I remembered my teachers and this is how we still talk about them even as we enter into our half a century mark. 

Fast forward to the present day. I am still in school but the stories are vastly different now. These are not my stories but the stories of my students...

I used to keep an eye on my friend’s son in school. So, whenever I saw him at the canteen during lesson time, I would ask him why. He and his friend would sheepishly sometimes smile, and with their fingers pointing to the canteen where the teachers sit....”Our teacher is still inside there, eating.” I would later find out that the teacher,  would often be late to class one period cos he would be eating in the canteen. Class time....

Then, there was this "bag/present' teacher. Every year her students must buy her presents. Very often she will ask for bags. There are other presents I supposed. but I am not too sure. Anyway, she dictates and decides the bags that the students buy for her. She calls those gifts, the symbol of their appreciation. Do not know why ladies and their bag penchants. But then again, we have Rosmah and her famous Bijan bag.

Another teacher goes into class. Hardly teaches but many says she used to be a good teacher. Maybe she got lazy or something but in later years, due to competition, her tuition classes dwindled somewhat. So, what she did was to fail and give low scores to the students. In a school where marks seem to mean a world to the students, many buckled and ended up in her tuitions. Not bad eh.. get paid to intimidate students to earn more. Oh ya... when it didn't suit her, students got cursed to die... again and again, the menacing woman she is. Wonder why she did that...

There’s this teacher who runs a tuition centre. To increase flow into the centre, there are certain seasons primed for strikes. These days PT3 exams are school based. Say what they want about it being secured, questions often find their way into the open. Very often, these teachers who run tuition centres, they are the ones who will weave their ways into convenient access of exam papers.  A few intensive classes, a couple of thousand bucks richer... Lucrative...

Another teacher would often feign forgetfulness in entering classes. Or if he entered at all, he would leave shortly. Sometimes students would try to go find him and locate him in the Staff Room, laughing rambunctiously. And when they say, “Sir, your lesson still on.” His response was classic... look at the time and say, “You all go back to class first.” And he would still go MIA.

Yet another, when asked a question, the student tak paham, so asked again. The teacher uses the same method to explain. 5 kali you ask, 5 kali you get the same explanation. Budak dah tak paham.. teacher seemed like lagi tak paham cos he is on a one way track only. These are the 'limited-edition-imagination' teachers. How to encourage creativity if teacher sendiri does not exhibit creativity.

Then there are those, who when asked a difficult question, usually it will be Math, the teacher will say, "Kita letak tanda bunga (or bintang) and we will come back to it." Next lesson, student asked the teacher about the bunga question. Teacher will say, “Oh, saya tak tanya kawan lagi.” It is repeated - oldest trick in the book. Soon students forget and that’s it. Bunga remains with the question, layu with the question dan dibuang terus dari kelas. So easy hor, to be a teacher. Dunno how to do, never mind wan. Just senyum-senyum more and be super duper nice to students, beres semua.

Now for a student to get one teacher like that in a year is bad enough. But if you get 2-3, you are skewed big time. Where once tuitions used to be remedial now it replaces the actual classes. So why even go waste time in school?

In Malaysia, many of us like to talk halal and haram. But if we go by these stories, it would be ambil gaji which is actually tak halal. Then as if that is not enough, we sugar coat our kaki busuk by being extra nice to the the students. We cover our shortcomings by being nice. And students who don't know any better, termakan habis-habis. We make them forget why they go to school. But these days, apparently everything can be made kosher (or halal)... just the intention baik can d... (our political leaders say so)

So, what plagues our schools? Well, the answer is all in the school. In religious schools, you will get teachers who will go into excessive physical punishments. In national and (now) national-type schools, you see an erosion of dedication and commitment of what it entails to be a teacher. A country built on 100% sound moral values would most probably be impossible. But that should not be an excuse not to try to build that little utopia in this broken world. The thing is... our very fallen nature will always make us do the opposite. 

So, how many of the above can you relate to? 

By the way, if you are student reading this. You should know your rights as a student. Never short change yourself by allowing your teachers to get away with not teaching y'all. Hold them accountable as teachers. 

If you are teacher reading this. Ask yourself why you became a teacher. If you are in for the extra money from tuition or just for the easy life, then ask yourself if you would like the same to be given to your own children or grandchildren. 

SMJK Keat Hwa: Memories of Paid Concerts On School Day Relived

Just saw a promo about a concert in SMJK Keat Hwa 1. Tomorrow the school is having a paid concert during school hours. Can schools do that? Not everyone can pay the RM12 or RM18 tickets leh. Thought schools are supposed to be a place where everyone is supposed to get treated same. But they are having a paid concert.

So how can we have so many strata in the school student population for tomorrow... RM12 paying students, RM18 VIP paying students, students who didn’t buy the tickets stay in class while the ones who can pay get to sit in the multi-million air conditioned hall??? Or will those students who are not paying for the concert be given the opportunity to watch the basketball tournament which is on now.

There was a  Hari Ko-Kurikulum earlier this year but not all students were allowed to participate in it.  Only the AJK members were allowed to be in the Hari Kokurikulum. The rest of the students had to stay in the class cos lessons were supposed to run as usual. That is rather strange, it being a Hari Kokurilum.

Seriously, can we consider this an exploitation? Cos if you were to have this as a CNY celebration, shouldn’t it be free? Later in April or May, when they have the Hari Anugerah Cemerlang (HAC), the prize winners will get the watch another concert free. Then after the HAC, in previous years another paying concert is carried out during school hours. Tickets are sold to students to get back the money spent to prepare for the HAC. Winners get to watch free... the non prize winners HAD TO PAY.... go figure. Prize winners are already feted to adulation and praises while the common masses (read that as the ordinary students with non stellar performance) will need to pay to watch the same concert, and that will be during school hours too.

Btw, never did agree with this kind of thing cos there is supposed to be a level playing ground in schools... since I am out.. and I just saw the promo, just remembered this practice in this school.

If the purpose of tomorrow’s concert is t celebrate CNY, make it free for all... don’t take advantage or dangle ticket sales by offering students the chance to get out of class. Then when results come out and if it merosot, the admin will say macam-macam about the need for extra classes la....

Paid concert on a school day.... kids will happily be exploited. 😂😂 Dunno whether adults smart or kids dumb...

SMJK Keat Hwa 1 Beyond the Facade of Pride 2

This post is based on the article, SMJK Keat Hwa: Beyond the Facade of Pride  and SMJK Keat Hwa: Kisah Guru Pembuli which I wrote a while back. After being a whistleblower about a teacher who verbally abused and used her position to intimidate students, I found myself in a spot because kids started telling me about what the teacher had done. What was I to do? Should I just brush it aside and keep quiet about it like most of the teachers had been doing?

The shocking thing was the teacher had been in the school for about 18 years, way longer than me and I do not know how long she actually has been like this. But based on hearsay, former students 27-28 years old said she was a mean teacher. If that is to be believed, then she has been at it for more than 10 years, and getting meaner.

The following is a timeline of the sequence of events which took place. Information is taken from audio recordings of meetings, incidents and telephone conversations. So, here goes... this will be a dual language post. This is kinda like a PAK21 approach in dissecting the whole incident in a timeline for analysis.

The objective of this timeline is to explore how the Principal seemed to renegade on his words and decisions over and over again.

The acronym for the teacher will be CT for class teacher, the teacher who allegedly was bullying, intimidating, etc the kids.

Tarikh	Insiden	Komen
24/10/18	Pelajar meminta pembetulan markah untuk Ujian Bulan Mac dalam Slip Keputusan kerana terdapat kesilapan. Guru Kelas (CT) meminta pelajar berjumpa Penyelia Tingkatan 5.	Pelajar cuba mencari Penyelia Tingkatan 5 tersebut 2 kali tetapi gagal.
25/10/18	Pelajar memaklumkan kepada CT kegagalannya mencari guru tersebut dan telah dimarahi 'bossy', 'sombong'. PK1 dimaklumkan tentang insiden ini kerana cara dia memarahi pelajar tersebut tidak wajar.	Pelajar-pelajar lain mula menceritakan pelbagai tingkah laku lain CT seperti menyumpah, menyindir perawakan pelajar, intimidasi, bertindak keterlaluan dalam menghukum pelajar untuk kerja rumah yang tidak disiapkan.
28/10/18	CT menghantar mesej WeChat kepada Ketua Kelas (KK) menyuruh pelajar tersebut berjumpanya. Satu mesej berunsur ugutan juga dihantar. Pelajar tadi berasa amat gelisah dan ketakutan. Saya telah berjumpa dengan Pengetua berkenaan mesej berkenaan.	PK1 juga berada di Pejabat semasa saya berjumpa dengan Pengetua. Saya telah memaklumkan kepada Pengetua, seseorang guru tidak seharusnya menghantar mesej berbentuk demikian. Apatah lagi, perkara yang mencetuskan ini berlaku kerana CT sendiri yang tidak konsisten dalam pengendalian kertas ujian/peperiksaan.
30/10/18	Waktu pagi di kantin, saya telah berjumpa dengan PK1 di kantin. Di situ, guru lain telah bercakap panjang lebar tentang sikap pembengis CT dalam kelas. Pada waktu rehat, Ketua Kelas memaklumkan kepada CT pelajar tersebut tidak mahu membuat pembetulan markah lagi. CT telah meluru naik ke kelas dan memarahi pelajar itu sekali lagi. Kemudian, CT telah memarahi Ketua Kelas (KK) kerana menurutnya, KK telah menyusahkannya dengan meletakkan mesej 'ugutan' tersebut dalam WeChat kelas.	Waktu CT meluru naik ke kelas adalah sejurus selepas rehat. Waktu tersebut merupakan waktu guru lain.
31/10/18	7.10 pagi, waris pelajar menelefon Pengetua kerana pelajar (anaknya) telah menunjukkan tekanan emosi di rumah. Waris bertanya apakah tindakan seterusnya. Pengetua mengatakan beliau sedang menunggu arahan dari PPD. Pengetua meminta waris berjumpa dengannya. 7.15 pg, Pengetua masuk ke kelas dan telah bertanya kepada beberapa orang pelajar yang ada dalam kelas pada masa itu samada mereka ada apa-apa aduan tentang CT. Dalam keadaan tergesa-gesa, beliau telah meminta seorang pelajar menjadi saksi tiada aduan. Dalam situasi itu, seorang pelajar telah bangun dan mengadakan dia ada aduan. 7.20 pg, pelajar-pelajar diminta turun ke Pejabat. Barisan pentadbir lain juga telah diminta ke Pejabat. Pelajar-pelajar telah menceritakan apa yang telah dilakukan oleh CT sepanjang 2 tahun menjadi guru kelas dan sabjek mereka. 8.00 pg, perjumpaan di antara waris, Pengetua dan Barisan Pentadbir. Waris telah mengingatkan sekolah, buli secara lisan juga boleh membawa kesan yang amat negatif. Sekolah seharusnya merupakan tempat yang selamat. Waris bertanya apakah tindakan yang akan diambil. 10.40 pg, KK dan penolongnya masuk ke bilik saya. Kedua-duanya kelihatan tertekan. Mereka memaklumkan CT berada dalam kelas. Saya bertanya kepada mereka samada CT memarahi mereka. Jawapan mereka adalah ya. 10.50 -11.40 pg Kelas menjadi amat emosi. Pelajar-pelajar marah dan kebingungan kerana jaminan telah diberi oleh Pengetua dalam perjumpaan pagi. Ada pelajar-pelajar yang marah sehingga nak mencabar Pengetua. Pelajar telah mengulang semula apa yang dikatakan pagi tadi. Semasa Pengetua masuk, seorang pelajar sedang menulis dalam Buku Rekod Kehadiran dan Pengetua telah melihat perkara tersebut.                                                                12.30 tgh, Pelajar-pelajar telah meminta perjumpaan dengan CT setelah keadaan lebih terkawal. Namun sesi perjumpaan dengan CT berakhir dengan pelajar-pelajar berasa tidak puas hati dan terkilan. Dalam sesi ini, pelajar-pelajar telah berterus-terang kepada CT tindak-tanduknya yang telah menyebabkan mereka rasa terluka di hati. Pelajar-pelajar juga memohon maaf dengan harapan CT juga akan berbuat demikian. Namun CT berkata dia tidak bersedia untuk berbuat demikian.	Waris juga telah bertanya samada Pengetua telah berjumpa dengan pelajar-pelajar untuk mendapat gambaran yang sebenarnya. Pelajar-pelajar lain telah berlari ke kantin memanggil rakan-rakan mereka untuk ke Pejabat Pengetua. Pengetua telah memberi jaminan pelajar-pelajar tidak perlu bimbang dan tindakan akan diambil. Persetujuan telah dibuat di depan waris CT tidak perlu lagi memasuki kelas memandangkan tinggal sehari lagi sahaja Cuti Belajar SPM akan bermula. Untuk hari itu, pelajar-pelajar akan ke Bilik Kaunseling untuk sesi kaunseling dengan Kaunselor sekolah semasa waktu CT. Saya telah mengikut mereka ke kelas. CT berada dalam kelas. Saya tidak memasuki kelas, cuma berdiri di luar sahaja. Keadaan agak tegang bila CT melihat saya. Seorang Guru Kanan lalu dan saya memintanya untuk memerhatikan keadaan sementara saya turun ke Pejabat mencari Pengetua. Orang yang pertama saya temui di Pejabat ialah PK HEM dan beliau terkejut bila diberitahu pelajar diminta berada dalam kelas. Pengetua telah mengarahkan pelajar yang berada di Bilik Kaunseling untuk kembali ke kelas mereka. Kaunselor telah menelefon Pengetua meminta penjelasan dan kaunselor diberitahu ia sememangnya arahannya.
3/11/18	Waris telah menelefon ke PPD tentang kes tersebut. Namun dari rekod panggilan telefon tersebut, didapati pihak PPD seperti tidak ketahuan. Pegawai telah meminta sedikit masa untuk mendapat kepastian.	Urusan dengan pihak PPD menunjukkan cara walaupun skop tugas pegawai dinyatakan, namun cara operasi adalah amat kucar-kacir sekali.
4/11/18	Saya ditemani oleh seorang rakan dan 2 waris telah ke PPD dengan surat aduan. Kami juga menjelaskan kepada kedua pegawai di PPD kejadian yang telah berlaku. Kami diberi jaminan PPD akan membuat siasatan.	Pegawai PPD cuma berjumpa dengan CT. Mereka langsung tidak berjumpa dengan pelajar. Bagaimanakah keadilan akan dilaksanakan jika siasatan cuma di satu pihak sahaja?
27/12/18	Mesyuarat Guru telah diadakan dan kami langsung tidak tahu kami bakal ditukarkan. CT tidak hadir dalam mesyuarat tersebut kerana dikhabarkan sedang bercuti di Turki.	Persoalan di sini, bolehkan guru-guru mengambil cuti pada hal tarikh mesyuarat guru telah ditetapkan awal-awal lagi?
30/12/18	Panggilan telefon dari Pejabat Sekolah meminta kami mengambil Surat Penempatan Semula. Saya telah memaklumkan kerani saya akan mengambil surat kemudian kerana ingin membuat aduan ke KPM. Kerani itu kemudian telah berkata saya sendiri yang mencari pasal kerana kes CT marah adalah perkara yang amat kecil sahaja. Saya cuba menerangkan ia bukan perkara kecil kerana melibatkan seorang guru menyumpah pelajar untuk mati, bukan sekali tetapi hampir setiap minggu. Dia tidak percaya CT menyumpah budak.	Apakah yang menyebabkan kerani memberi reaksi sedemikian pada hal saya jarang berinteraksi dengannya kecuali untuk urusan rasmi sahaja?
31/12/18	Saya telah ke JPN dan kami berjumpa dengan Pengarah. Kes kami diserahkan kepada seorang pegawai. Semua bahan telah saya serahkan kepada pegawai tersebut. Sudah lebih dari sebulan, setiap kali saya mesej pegawai tersebut, beliau tidak menjawab. Dari perbualan juga, nampak seperti pihak PPD dan JPN 'segan' bertindak kerana SMJK Keat Hwa adalah sebuah sekolah conforming.	Konklusinya, seorang guru adalah bebas untuk bertindak sesuka hatinya asalkan tidak melakukan kecederaan fizikal dan mengikut apa jua arahan dari pihak atasan. Dari peringkat sekolah ke PPD sampailah ke JPN, tindakan guru menyumpah adalah sesuatu yang remeh. Guru yang melapor ditukarkan sebagai pertukaran untuk guru yang membuli untuk bertukar. Sesuatu lagi, CT telah mesej dalam WhatsApp Sekolah dan juga WhatApp Panitia BM mengatakan dirinya telah dianiayai oleh saya. Dia telah menyebarkan mesej dalam group WhatsApp Geng Keat Hwa saya telah bercakap bohong mengatakan dia menyuruh budak mengisi Buku Rekod Kedatangan. Sebenarnya amat menghairankan tuduhannya kerana pelajar-pelajar sendiri yang menceritakan kepada Pengetua perkara ini. Satu lagi, semasa Pengetua masuk ke kelas dalam insiden 31/10/18, seorang pelajarnya sedang menulis dalam Buku Rekod Kedatangan. CT telah melenting mungkin kerana telah dinasihati oleh Pengetua, namun dia seolah-olah tidak boleh menerima teguran dan telah menggunakan platform WhatsApp Geng Keat Hwa untuk menyebar pelbagai versinya sendiri dan juga mendapat sokongan dari rakan gurunya yang lain.

Timelining... that's something that I picked up from teaching history. I found that when we are able to put things in their places in a timeline, we will be able to infer and make many conclusions, and see the bigger picture. Most of the time, when we look at events/incidents in isolation and only have hearsay(s) as our source, things become muddled up. Doubt and falsehood creep in. In this case, there are audio recordings and screenshots of messages to fall back on for more details.

There are many inferences that can be made from the timeline. There are many questions which can be asked. One of them is the inconsistencies in the Principal's way of dealing with things and the words he say. For example, the parent calling him on 31/10/18 to ask him what the school was going to do. There is a recording of the conversation and it is interesting to note that he said that he had informed the PPD and was awaiting them to instruct him what do. So what does a Principal actually do at school?

Also, when the parent called the PPD on 3/11/18, the records seem to show that the PPD seemed to be in the dark. A call later, the certainty of the PPD in the know seemed still not to be there.

In the subsequent meeting between the parent and Principal (and admin), a decision was reached that the students need not see the teachers again. Again the Principal renegaded on his words and sent the students back to their class. The incident after that was one which would have been avoided had he just kept to the decision made.

So many decisions were made, and so many promises made too... all broken by the same man who made them. It seems that he will change his mind like the wind. Whoever is doing the blowing, he will oblige.

The lie that makes a man shapes the institution that he leads. And that institution is SMJK Keat Hwa 1, shaped after the image of this Principal. Words are but like clanging cymbals in this institution. Autocracy, patronage, favouritism, fear, racism..... are schools now the breeding grounds of these? If so, then we will be going the way of Zimbabwe, Venezuela.... and by then, most of us will not be spared....

PAK21 - Where do we go from here?

There is so much talk going on about PAK21 or Pembelajaran Abad Ke-21. As usual, when there is something new, changes are expected. It was the same with the implementation of PPSMI in 2003 which was then reversed in 2012. I think 2020 marks the last batch of PPSMI for those schools still teaching Math and Science in English. Soon after we had our MBMBI and then the DUAL Program. All in all, our Malaysian education is generally in a very confused state, having gone through many flip flops over the years. This flip-flopping is also a reflection of our nation's inability to grab the bull by its horn and move forward. 

But, now, with the Industrial Revolution 4.0's effects knocking on our shores, we basically do not have much choice but to bring in changes into our education system. Else we will be gobbled up by the waves of changes. While PPSMI is dead, there is the DUAL Program. In essence it is the same thing like PPSMI, only difference being not all schools are carrying it out. And so, there we have it, instead of our education system uniting and providing an equal platform, we now continue to build another new divide between the haves and the haves-not. 

In all this confusion, enters the PAK21. To me this is more of a pedagogical change rather than a systemic one. PAK21 is to prepare us for the challenges of this century. The challenges to come are going to be way different, so they say. Reason is because we will be up against machine learning. AI is going to change the way things work it. Changes are now happening at a dizzying pace and catching up comes with a whole new set of catch phrases these days.

And so, you have teachers the most confused lot as usual. Some are attaching PAK21 to gadgets. I think that is a mistake. Some are saying that we are already doing PAK21 and there is no need for fancy gadgets because most schools don't have them. They are wrong too, I believe. Yup, there is no need for fancy gadgets but I think gadgets like projectors (or smart tv screens) and tablets/computers should be making their way into the classrooms.

So what is this PAK21? PAK21 is about the skills that we need to get our students to have before they enter the job market, so that they can be the engine of growth to our country's economy.

And so what are those skills that they need? The usual list will include critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, leadership, initiative, productivity and social skills. What many sometimes forget are the following: media literacy, technology literacy, information literacy and flexibility. I might have missed out a few others. These are the other skills that we need to catch up with the world. Digitalisation has entered our lives and it has entered big time. And it is changing the landscape of jobs.

However, the point is this. For those who insist that PAK21 can go on without the gadgets, they are wrong. The workplaces of this century has changed. Computer literacy is a must these days and an educational institution fails if it cannot incorporate that into its classrooms. Computer literacy is necessary for media, information and technology literacy. And the latter are required so that the flexibility to adapt to the constant changes around us will be functional. But the gadgets and tools are just a part of the PAK21, a smaller part.

The bigger or more important part remains the skills - critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, etc. To train that is the main challenge because for that to take place we need people who can show the way to the students. Those would be the teachers. 

The bigger question would be this. Are the teachers able to cope?

In today's fast changing landscape, a teacher who teaches from the textbook is archaic. A teacher who does not have the linguistic skills (read that as English, in Malaysia) is also a katak di bawah tempurung because that teacher will find it hard to relate to many things as Malaysia cannot seem to churn out enough materials of substance in BM. Also, a teacher who doesn't read is also ineffective because things are constantly evolving. 

Teacher quality will remain the greatest challenge in the success of PAK21 and we have an uphill task because for a long time, many of those who entered the teaching profession in Malaysia, especially from the late 1990s to the early 2000s were basically those who could not find employment elsewhere. The teaching profession became a haven of refuge for many of these people... correct me if I am wrong. Over the years many have been comfortably entrenched... 

Many of our teachers have been conditioned by our exam oriented system too.Many teachers today are unable to bring the world into the the classroom because they, themselves don't read. Their comfort zones are so wide that many happily exist like the proverbial ostriches with their heads in the sand. Many teach without inspiring. All they aim for is just the A(s). Students are no longer challenge to think for themselves. Tuition classes prep students to answer exam type questions so much so that simple 'thinking questions' often baffle them. All you need to do is just take a look at the quality of answers of our students for the why and how questions and it will be painfully glaring how our students don't seem to be able to think much these days. 

Those who can be pushed continue to score the A(s) but many leave without the necessary skills. Those who cannot be pushed get bored to death in class and these become the lost numbers in our system. This group is getting bigger because they see no relevance in the lessons carried out in the classrooms. Relevance... most teachers are finding it hard to relate relevance to what is taught in class and it is boring kids to death.

So, PAK21. If we are serious about maintaining our place even just in Southeast Asia and not have 'newcomers' like Vietnam leapfrogging us, we really have to look seriously into proper allocation for equipment procurement and teacher training and continuous professional development.

My two sen for today... 

SMJK Keat Hwa 1... Stories Graduating Batch 2014/18. 2017/18

Every year since 2016, when I was given the task to see to the presentations for the Graduation Ceremony of the Fifth and Sixth Formers, I'd try to come out with something memorable.... With the help of a colleague who believed as strongly that it can be a very good thing for the kids (to remember the school by) and also to include those kids who do not take Chinese and are not allowed to attend the graduation ceremony, we would spend a lot of our free time working on this. Much time is required to search for the suitable shots. Over the years we developed the discipline of meticulously filing up our videos and photos. Then there would be the countless hours of editing. Then coming out with the story... that requires inspiration and a feel for what gives it a good feel. Though sometimes we’d whine as we worked on it, the looks on the faces of the students never failed to make us forget all that. 

The first of such videos started in 2016 when I was tasked for the first time to prepare the presentations. I decided to make an extra video from the school dedicated to the graduating kids, blessing them and wishing them the best as they move on in their lives because I truly believed then that if a school does its job well, the students will rise above the bar.... just as my alma mater had done for me. I will always remember the dedication of my teachers which inspired and made me feel that they cared enough. That was the legacy that I had been given and when I decided to be a teacher, that was the legacy I felt should be passed on. 

The joke was, being a Chinese school, everything was very mechanical, structured and a practice run must be done for every event. The Discipline Master, Mr. Lim originally insisted that the video be shown so that the kids do not talk or misbehave during the graduation ceremony. I had a hard time convincing him that if the videos/presentations were meaningful and relevant to them, they would respond in kind. There was no need to show them.

Suffice to say, on that day, the kids were more focused on the screen than being disruptive. Meaning... I learned a long time ago that when you are able to to give meaning, the responses will always be positive. The problem with many of us today is we do things without much thought. We just want to complete a task more to satisfy our conscience than anything. And that is why there is so much brokenness. We have lost much of our community spirit in that sense. 

This video is more poignant for one reason. I would be part of the story because I would leave the school too, though I did not know it at that time. However, the circumstances in which I was made to leave left a very bad taste in the mouth as well as a deep disappointment in the system that I am in... in that I had been let down even though I stood up for the kids over a teacher who verbally abused kids and used her position to intimidate the students. Till this day, I cannot understand why a teacher needs to show that kind of 'power' over her students. And to make it worse, the Principal, 'the man in black in the video" had no courage to do the right thing. 

So this particular video will have meaning in part that both of us (my colleague and I) are part of the stories. Because in the ordinary, I discovered gems of extraordinary in those of our students. Many of my own former and some, whom I did not teach reached out to me and made our story even more extraordinary and hopeful. We found the extraordinary in the courage shown by students to voice their support and anger at what they perceived as injustice. We found comfort from those who messaged us privately to express their thanks. These will be among the stories that we will bring with us... and this is also why I will continue to plod on.

And a special word of thanks to Lim Chun Ming and Ahh Jie (Ah Black... and dunno what other nicknames he has ... 8)) For the last few years of working together... these kids were at this since they were in F3. 

Apologies for abrupt ending of the music... I was working on it from my iPad and there seemed not to be a fade off function... so the music got chopped... Had to remove the original music scores due to copyright issues. So, I had to change it...

As to the graduating batches, may each of you find your place in life... The best is always yet to come if we work towards that... 

SMJK KEAT HWA 1 - Kisah Guru Pembuli

Seorang guru (dan seorang lagi rakan guru yang memberi sokongan moral) memberi tekanan kepada pengetua untuk melakukan sesuatu agar tindakan seorang guru pembuli dihentikan. Namun, entah apa yang berlaku, guru pembuli pula mendakwa dirinya difitnah oleh guru tesebut. Guru pembuli tersebut kemudiannya juga mendakwa dirinya telah meminta untuk ditukarkan antara sebabnya, kerana fitnah tersebut. Namun kedua-dua guru yang cuba melindungi pelajar-pelajar daripada dibuli secara berterusan telah ditukarkan ke sekolah lain. 

Persoalannya:

1. Adakah pertukaran mereka sesuatu yang wajar? Seorang merupakan guru BI/Sej dan seorang lagi merupakan guru BM/Sej. Ketiga-tiga sabjek tidak mengalami lebihan guru. Malahan untuk Sejarah, berlaku kekurangan. 
2. Adakah Pengetua telah meyalahgunakan kedudukannya untuk menukarkan guru kerana memberi tekanan kepadanya untuk menghentikan tindakan membeli ?
3. Pengetua kemudiannya telah menyebarkan khabar kononnya kedua-dua guru itu telah meminta untuk ditukarkan. Mengapakah Pengetua telah berbohong tentang pertukaran kedua-dua guru tersebut?

Ini merupakan poster yang telah ditampalkan di setiap kelas selepas satu perhimpunan khas untuk memberi kesedaran tentang kes buli di sekolah pada away tahun ini.

Kebiasaannya, apabila terdapat sesuatu isu yang ingin diketengahkan atau kempen yang ingin dilancarkan   oleh Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM) Perhimpunan Sekolah akan menjadi tempat untuk ia diwara-warakan. Poster ini diperolehi dari salah sebuah sekolah yang mana pelajar-pelajar telah diberi penjelasan yang panjang lebar tentang isu membuli. Di SMJK Keat Hwa 1, setakat ini, tidak pasti samada ia telah dilakukan dalam Perhimpunan Mingguannya.

Namun poster ini cuma mengandungi maklumat tentang buli di antara pelajar sahaja. Poster memberi rujukan atau tempat aduan untuk mangsa sebagai rakan, guru/guru kaunseling dan ibu bapa. 

Sekolah ialah tempat di mana seseorang pelajar menghabiskan masa yang amat panjang. Oleh itu, keselamatan persekitarannya amat penting. Yang memegang amanah memelihara kesejahteraan pelajar ialah para guru dan Pengetua  merupakan orang yang dipertanggungjawabkan secara keseluruhan.

Berita tentang guru membuli pelajar jarang dijumpai dalam media massa. Yang didapati kebanyakannya adalah berkenaan dengan isu guru hilang kawalan terhadap emosi atau situasi dan bertindak keterlaluan seperti menampar atau merotan tanpa kawalan. Ini kerana pembuli biasanya merupakan seorang yang boleh membawa kemudaratan fizikal dan mental yang berpanjangan.

Buli oleh guru adalah sukar diterima dan dipercayai kerana guru ialah seorang yang dihormati dan dipercayai oleh masyarakat. Jadi siapakah itu guru pembuli? Kebiasaannya, guru pembuli juga akan menunjukkan sikap-sikap yang tertentu. Sikap pertama yang nyata merupakan sifat pembengis tertentu terhadap kelompok yang tertentu. Kebengisan mereka dapat dilihat dari cara percakapan mereka seperti nada. Ia juga boleh dilihat daripada frasa-frasa yang digunakan. Mereka ini biasanya cuba menonjolkan diri, misalnya menerusi pakaian atau barang kemas yang keterlaluan. Mereka ini juga mempunyai kepetahan bercakap yang seringkali digunakan untuk menjauhkan diri mereka  daripada tuduhan. Kebolehan mereka bermain dengan kata-kata sering menyebabkan orang di sekitar mereka mempercayai mereka secara taksub. Pembuli merupakan seorang yang tidak boleh ditegur kerana sentiasa beranggapan merekalah yang betul. 

Seorang guru pembuli di sekolah menengah biasanya membuli dengan menggunakan kata-kata yang akan mewujudkan penyiksaan mental dalam pelajar. Ia juga akan meninggalkan kesan psikologi dan emosi ke atas pelajar-pelajar. Di sekolah rendah, ia mungkin melibatkan buli fizikal.

Persoalan di sini, apakah yang seharusnya dilakukan jika pembuli merupakan seorang guru. Di sekolah, guru merupakan seorang yang mempunyai banyak kuasa terhadap anak murid mereka, terutama sekali jika pelajar-pelajar sekolah amat mementingkan markah mereka. Jika guru kelas pula, gred kelakuan boleh dijadikan satu bentuk ugutan. Ini kerana gred yang buruk mempunyai implikasi yang berpanjangan ke atas seorang pelajar.

Dan jika guru merupakan pembuli, siapakah yang seharusnya melindungi anak murid yang menjadi mangsa? Adakah menjadi tanggungjawab guru lain atau para pentadbir atau pengetua? Apakah yang harus dilakukan untuk melindungi para pelajar?

Tujuan artikel ini dan juga artikel-artikel yang akan datang adalah untuk menunjukkan bagaimana kepincangan dalam pengurusan oleh seseorang pengetua membawa kepada pertukaran guru-guru yang bertindak memberi tekanan kepadanya untuk mengambil tindakan membanteras amalan membuli oleh seorang guru pembuli di SMJK Keat Hwa 1, Jln Kuala Kedah. 

Tindakan yang tegas dan semerta seharusnya boleh menghentikan amalan tersebut dan mewujudkan persekitaran yang selamat semula. Namun, tindakan-tindakan yang diambil (atau tidak diambil) telah menyebabkan keadaan menjadi melarat. 

Oh ya! KPM mencanangkan pelancaran Program Ziarah Cakna. Apa gunanya program ziarah ini jika pihak sekolah tidak dapat menjamin keselamatan mental yang cakna di sekolah? Dan ziarah yang dilakukan oleh seorang guru pembuli?

SMJK KEAT HWA... BEYOND THE FACADE OF PRIDE