Lobo's Lessons

The semester has drawn to a close, and as always the students feel a need to celebrate after completing their final paper. It is a time of joy and happiness. A time where they get to know that their sleepless nights studying and completing assignments has paid off. Here I am, at the KFC in Jusco here in Taman Universiti, with a group of my First Year TESL students, having the time of my life talking with them about how the semester had been for them. We all joke about and tell funny stories, recollecting the good and the not so good times we had during the semester... And then to wrap things up, they ask me to make a formal speech. Everyone pipes down and focuses their attention to me. I look around the table, focus on each smiling face, and suddenly feel myself transported to the times when I was in class with them... They were a mixed bunch, some very good, some good, some not so, and some quite bad in terms of language proficiency and ability to analyse literature. I rem...

Every journey has a beginning, and an ending... And thus, my wonderful journey that I embarked on as a lecturer to my first Drama in Education cohort is almost coming to an end... I remember seeing them all, one by one, their faces eager to learn, but shying away in the beginning, all reserved in the small cocoons of their own little worlds... And when they opened up, one by one, I saw in them different, beautiful personalities, each unique in their own way... each finding a place in my affections...and eventually each finding a place in my heart. Yesterday night was a special night that marked the ending of this journey with them, on the one hand a sense of overwhelming pride that I had directly played a part in their journeys as teachers, building the very foundation of our nation, and even more so, as human beings, being the very essence of who they were and what they became... To commemorate this night, I sang for them... A tune that they all knew and loved... A tune that we shared...

If there is one thing that I have observed about student teachers (trainee teachers on teaching practice), it is that many become a nervous wreck when we the supervisors drop in on them to observe them teaching. Why is that? Is it because they are afraid they will mess up? Is it because they are afraid they will not live up the standards and expectations of their supervisors? Is it because they are afraid of getting low marks, even in the initial stages of teaching practice? To be fair, I do remember the times when myself was a trainee teacher... Those were good days... The excitement of being a teacher, able to be in touch with the students, shaping their minds... It was really exciting... And then the supervisor decides to drop by... But the strange thing is, I don't think I was ever really that nervous of being observed... This was simply because I try to treat each and every lesson the same - make your students enjoy what they are learning, and make sure they learn something! A...

Words fail me as I look as the images of Language Camp 2008, beautifully planned and executed by my very own students... Each smiling face a bright splash of colour in the tapestry of my life... I remember the first time I ever set my eyes on each and every one of them...All so young and full of life...So full of hope... So full of ready smiles... And watched them grow throughout the semester, gaining strength upon strength, slowly but surely becoming the educators they are destined to be... Dedicated, knowledgeable, serious in their work but at the same time able to have fun, enjoying their work...In fact this element is central in what I teach my students - Know your stuff but never, ever forget to have fun...Remember that, and you will be teachers that your students will remember until end of their days... My gaze drifts from image to image...Some of my students...Some of their students... Each one with a such a strong sense of life in their eyes... My...

KJ: It seems that a complaint was made about you by your TESL students. Me: Really? What was it about? KJ: The complaint was that you just let the class rep give the marks... What's that about? Me: Errr... I think they may have got it wrong... The class rep does not give the marks... I give the marks, but i refer the class rep because as the director he would be in the best position to know what goes on... KJ: You've really got to be careful... Students nowadays have no qualms about going up to the very top to voice their complaints... You're still new... It would be a shame if anything were to happen... Me: (nodding) I understand...

A whole semester seems like a lifetime at the start, but passes by so quickly it seems but like a dream... A speck of dust in the sands of time... And so it comes to a close.. A semester of fun and laughter .. A semester of learning and exploration... We sure had fun didn't we guys? :) I hope you take the knowledge that you gained from me and use it to light the way for the future generations ahead... Share the passion... Share the joy... Share the gift... Make every lesson in your future careers a lesson to remember! Make me proud! TESL: We Hit The Ground Running!