Last week and even in the early parts of this week, I was quite prepared to write a detailed analysis of Monday’s Student Council elections….However, this has been a volatile race and what seemed uncertain not too long ago now is a race with a definite front runner….Slow and steady wins the race and the tortoise approach has definitely worked….As the current once and future front runner once remarked “I’M NOT STUBBORN….I’M CLEVER!” or as it sounded CCCLLLEEEVVAAAHH.
Seriously, this has been a very exciting race with enough drama and changes in fortune for five presidential elections….There’s been the solid and consistent front runner, the dangerous and unpredictable challenger who came out of nowhere, the flashy candidate, and others who could have easily jumped into the spotlight at any given time given the right opportunity….The public speeches and debates were also very interesting.
In the end (and this is high school after all), it all boils down to who is the most popular but there was a period of volatility in the race towards the end of the first week that was genuinely exciting to watch….Congratulations to whoever wins….You deserve it!
The Ipoh International School’s Annual Production is coming up in a few short weeks (too short in my opinion. The time spent practicing is really not enough this year)…. This year I am attempting to put together my own number – A version of the Schoolhouse Rock song “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here”….It might not happen due to any number of chaotic elements but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Anyway, I hope it’s better than last year’s experience as I had a frustrating time with my first production….I couldn’t actually do a number with a class as I was relatively new to the school then and had just become a home room teacher….There was no time….So I was assigned to the general production committee instead….My duties consisted of auditioning actors (most of which had been nudged by me into auditioning in the first place) with the other committee members for the lead roles and co-writing the script although truth be told I wrote or re-wrote most of it especially the dialogue.
The frustration came at the end….I was removed from the committee five days before production to became an assistant to the principal….This was ok as I didn’t have to do much….However, everything else I did seemed to have been forgotten….At a staff meeting, one of the other committee members got to his feet and thanked everyone in the committee by name except for me….This oversight occurred a few other places as well as a number of people were thanked publicly but never me….A the end of the production, everyone involved in the production (teachers, staff, etc.) were called on stage at the end by name except for me….Even people who didn’t do as much work as I did were called.
I guess I was kind of the invisible man last year….Anyway, I’m not a credit hog….I just hope things will be fairer this year.
Today we had a half-day training and it was a well organized lesson on communication in the classroom and different styles and methods a teacher can use albeit very basic in its level….There was nothing I had not heard many times before
As I went through this training as well as watched the video of a teacher we were supposed to critique, it brought to mind one fact….You can have the best lesson plan in the world but if you are unable to engage the students due to your manner, accent, tone of your voice, appearance, attitude etc. then you have still failed because the student will not learn and retain what they are supposed to out of the lesson.
I thought it was great that we were given time to critique the trainer’s communication skills….I commend him heartily for allowing us to do that….Many participants had comments including myself….I found the slow very ponderous tones of his voice sleep inducing….It might be cultural but a little more drama and using the voice as a tool for emphasis (rising and falling for importance as points are explained and also speeding up and slowing down the pace) would help his presentation greatly.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment