Sunday, August 30, 2009

Seorang Cikgu

atau tutor in my case.
Today, I want to write in Malay today, but you will find some English words here and there.

Begini kisah saye menjadi cikgu...atau tutor Saye dah menjadi tutor sejak umur 16. Awal-awalnya, saye mengajar Geografi kepada 2 pelajar Tingkatan 3. Alhamdulillah mereka dapat cemerlang dalam PMR. Sangat laa happy time tu. Ye lah, anak murid dapat result bagus :) Ini kot perasaan mana-mana cikgu. Then after that, banyak kot tutor kawan seorang dalam macam subjek lain: Chemistry and Add Math, for most of the time. Lain - lain subjek maybe ade ajar sekali kot. Pastu, dah tak mengajar sebab dah pegi Canada. Then summer tahun ini, mengajar Math semula untuk seorang pelajar Grade 11 kat sini. Fuhhh, giler mencabar dowh, due to the language AND dah berkarat dongggg. Then now, mengajar orang English untuk pelajar-pelajar ESL. Itu saye punye kisah. Semua orang pun tahu jadi cikgu sangat mulia. Lebih mulia kot dari pekerjaan2 macam Ahli Geologi. Haha. Tapi ramai sangat ke yang nak jadi cikgu ni? Tapi to me, soalan yang lebih wajar untuk ditanyakan ialah, layakkah setiap orang untuk jadi cikgu. One thing untuk ade cita-cita tu, tapi kalau takde character untuk pekerjaan itu, saye rase macam kurang bertepatan lah. Saye rase cikgu kene penyabar. Kenape? Sebab sabar itu separuh dari Iman. Pastu, bukan senang nak menerangkan pada seseorang tentang sesuatu yang baru kepadanya, kesabaran sangat diperlukan dalam hal ni. Saye sabar ke? Macam kurang je.

Saye yang sememangnye tak segan silu ingin memberitahu, saye adelah panas baran orangnya dan kekadang ade gak rase mcm nak cakap "takkan ni pon tak tahu", tapi tak bertamadun laa kalau cakap macam tu dan kadang-kadang gayanya seperti saye sorang je yang "pandai". Saye selalunya cuba utk push orang ini supaya die dapat jawapan itu dengan sendiri...tapi, kadang-kadang terkeluar juga ayat seperti "kite dah buat banyak kali dah perkara ni, kamu dah patut tahu". Mungkin saat ini, intonasi suaraku dah berubah kepada sarcastic bercampur geram. Tapi, selalunya saye cepat tersedar akan situasi ini dan cuba ubah ayat-ayat berikutnye supaya tak terkantoi tengah geram. Keadaan ini lagi teruk apabila saye mengajar bahasa. Sesungguhnya, mengajar kimia or math (even add maths) tak sesusah mengajar bahasa. Ditambah pula kalau kami berbeza bahasa, maka sangat susah bile nak terangkan sesuatu. Contohnye tadi apabila saye cube menerangkan adjective adelah perkataan menerangkan sesuatu, maka kene ade noun selepas word itu...namun beliau hanya menjawab "I don't know". Namun, saye berkeras untuk tidak memberikan jawapan kerana nanti die tak belajar. Saye boleh nampak dari raut wajahnye yang seperti mengatakan, "ape kate kau bagitahu je ape jawapannya". Maaflah, there is no free answer. Saye dengan sengajanye push beliau supaya die sendiri yang fikirkan perkataan itu dimana akhirnya beliau berjaya. Yippee! So my point is, saye tak penyabar dan cepat naik geram bile orang tak dapat. Maybe tak sangat kot dgn math or kimia.

Tapi hakikatnye, banyak lagi kriteria untuk jadi cikgu. Mungkin yang paling penting, kene ade minat untuk mengajar dan juga, minat untuk mencurahkan bakti untuk mengajar anak bangsa. Untuk saye, saye berminat untuk berkongsi ilmu yang saye ade. Again, takde laa nak berkata saye tahu semua perkara. Tapi, asasnya, bile kite mengajar mungkin ade juga perkara2 baru yang kite sendiri belajar. Seperti sekarang saye mengajar bahasa. Dalam pada itu, saye perlu membaca artikel2 yang mereka perlu buat. Banyak artikel2 yang diberikan sangat berkualiti isinya dan saye sangat gembire untuk belajar. Dan dalam masa yang same, bila mengajar subjek seperti math, saye dapat polish or recall balek segala apa yang dah belajar supaya ilmu itu tak berkarat dalam otak saye. Susah juge bile tahun ni kene ajar Math. Memang google habes semua term2 math, especially cause mase belajar dulu dalam Melayu and now mengajar in English. Alhamdulillah die beritahu saye, she did great in her exam.

Kamu tahu, perasaan seorang cikgu or tutor, in my case, bile pelajar itu just got it. Like you can see from his/her face yang die dah faham and sesungguhnya everything from that point ialah smooth belaka. I felt that JOY. And I know you would too. Sangat happy. Dan bile seseorang just come to me to tell how he/she did in the exam/quiz/presentation/essay, it feels even better and then when they say thank you to you, that alone makes all the geram and stress, pointless. But again, sometimes you have to push someone for them to know their own potential and that they can do it, but just need a little reminder.

I don't have any plans yet to have a career as a teacher, but if somebody asks for my help to explain things, I would totally do it. Sometimes I have this bad attitude of complaining about it, but in the end of the day, I will still do it, 'cause helping people is one of the best thing a human can do.

ps: saye cukup tak suka bile orang cakap, education kat Malaysia spoon fed pelajar. saye rase ramai orang berjaya atas usaha mereka sambil dibimbing oleh cikgu. banyak kes saye kat sini, tak best pon rase sy rase. ni bukan bias. pendapat je.


Later gators,
-FZ

Thursday, August 20, 2009

I got a Jazzy feeling

I called my mom today and the first thing I got to listen to was her bebelan about how I didn't call her for more than 3 weeks. Hehe. Bad kid! Sorry Mommy.

Well, after all that, I got to know that all of them (except my dad) went to Ikea to get some new things for the house. Yeay! Finally, the house is almost done. Although I'm not there to suffer the agony of house renovation, but from the stories I heard...I can only pity them from afar! What's best is of course redecorating the house. I don't know how my parents will decorate the house, but I hope it is somewhat along my imagination. It kills me not to be able to be the advisor cause they always listen to me :) and of course, that would mean I'll get the things I wanted. Haha. Teruk punye budak. This time is different then! Geez. My sister just told me they bought a new washing machine and a stove. OMG! Really? It's okay it's okay, those two things are not my biggest concern. I'm more concern about the fridge. Haha. Hopefully they will get it later so that I can choose. Other than that, my sister told me they got things for her room and my brother's; as well as book shelves for my dad. Cool. Again, none for my concern. Lol. I'm desperately asking my sister to send me pictures of my bathroom!

Okay. Now, the bathroom is MY BIGGEST CONCERN! Guess what? For almost all the years we moved to that house (since I was 8), I used only 1 bathroom - the biggest bathroom. And I don't share it with anybody, unless it's an emergency on their behalf. Whatever, the point is...I'm very particular about it! Although, I have to admit, I don't like to clean it. Haha, I still leave it to my mom to do it. The most I would do is, clean the sink. Hik hik hik. Pemalas #1. At times, I just don't get it, why the 4 of them would only use that one small bathroom, when mine has the bathtub, a freaking huge mirror, a nice counter top and of course, hot and cold shower. I can't explain. Now that my house is under a major renovation, I told my parents, I want a nice shower place - honestly, I don't know the proper name...so, lets call it a shower place - so that the floor does not get wet. Cool, they got it for me!! Weeee! Wait, I googled it and it's called shower screen.
Heh. Well, don't get all too excited and call me a spoil brat...my parents took the big bathroom for themselves and gave me the small one :( and now, my new room does not even have a door to connect to the bathroom; I have to walk out of my room to use the bathroom. Really sad. It's okay...I have my private bathroom for more than 10 years, I don't mind sharing it now with my sister, brother and possibly some guests. Ahhhh! At least, my mom keep it my style...with pink tiles. Haha. I'm very excited to get some bathroom accessories for my new bathroom! Weeeeee!!!

The other best thing is, MY ROOM! Since I was so dumb to paint it all pink...I have to work with it. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure my dad will be mad. The pink I had was a very serious bright pink! To still make it cool, rather than girly girl, I'm gonna keep the colour scheme to just pink, black and white. Heh. Hope that will do the trick. I don't feel like revealing my plans for my room yet, just in case I don't have the budget for it...but one thing I know, the room will not be girlish!!

Maka, that's it.
I'm off to Toronto tomorrow. I left some stuff at Nadiah's place last week.
Ouh, check out my Obama-inspired picture on the left. Nice eh? Go get it yourself at http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/entries/new.html

Hummmm, I want to show you something. It's my drawings for my new room at London Hall. Yippee! Not the best, but I'm proud of them all.


It will be a Jazz themed room with an edge. Perasan.
I hope to post some pictures of my room later on.

For now, toodles gators.

FZ

Monday, August 17, 2009

Kawan kan dah lama...or baru

I'm back from my trip. A little bit tired, but it's okay. Right now, I'm suffering from stupid bed bugs bites and lack of interesting things to do (I have tonnes of laundry to do, lol). Everyday I would go through my pictures and just smile at some silly pictures I took. Seriously, the best part of traveling this time is the OLD and NEW friends I met along the way. They made my journey a lot more fun and worthwhile :)
So, I've compiled some of my favourite pictures of "the geng"

Friends for 15 years now. She's now in NYC, so we have to meet every chance we have.
Picture: We met in Montreal :)


Ashrul telah dilantik menjadi Sidekick saye. He will be my extra eyes and ears... hehe


My kind of advanture
(Picture credit: Harun)


When two cultures met :)


kami seperti pendatang tanpa izin...Khamsani terasa too cool to squat like us

Mu'min in my sunglasses! Kawan dah lama tak jmpe....
(Picture credit: Ariff)

Annas, Ariff and Me. Drop dead wet at Maid of the Mist ride. Ariff tak berada dekat dgn sy...ilusi perspektif sahaja...

Khalis! A new face for me :)

Yati! Another new face :) Super cheerful girl, I like!

There they are. Tapi I'm missing a few: Nadiah, Safwan, Arif, Lukman. Semua pon budak2 TO, tak sempat kot ambil gambar diorang :(

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Almost a month now

Ah! My one-month-trip is coming to an end this Saturday :(
Currently, I'm at my last destination which is Niagara Falls. So, I will try to update with some stories and pictures, plus an announcement on a project I will be working on. Hehe.

Take care korang!

*esok pegi Journey Behind the Falls*

FZ