开学第5天！

（English translation below)

今天是开学第5 天。其实还有6个小时才正式起床上班。在这个新的学期里，我负责教1D，1F，1H，3F/G， 及4D，而我也负责学生警察的课外活动职务。最令我遗憾的是无法继续在2B班执教，但我告诉他们只要有缘，我们一定能在他们中三时再见！这次的班级最有挑战性的自然是中三的普通班，因为他们绝对不普通。哈哈。说真的，只是与他们接触两天，我已经能深深体会到新加坡教育制度下，一群被“遗弃”孩子的感受。因此我新的座右铭是：天底下没有教不好的学生，也没有坏学生，只有不能教好学生的老师。我希望我在教育界的日子里，能一直秉持这个座右铭，并且希望能“挽救”一些面对问题的学生。我发现其实中三的这群学生知道他们自己要什么，只是他们已经被“遗忘”了太久，没有人尝试去接触他们，去启发他们，去触碰他们的心灵。

可能我是个“怪胎”，喜欢享受与学生接触的时间，也喜欢陶醉于与他们欢笑。有个学生在MSN上告诉我，在这个假期会来后，发现我比较开朗，比较多笑容，希望我能继续保持如此。哈哈。可能多笑能让我显得更年轻吧！有位中四的学生说我讲话时比较紧张，好像没有准备。其实我要告诉她，这正是现在很多新加坡的华文老师所面对的一个问题。表面上，我们似乎是双语“精英”，但其实很多时候，我们说话时都会“词穷”，意思是想不到恰当的词语来表达我们想说的。为什么会这样呢？因为我们也是这个不完美的教育制度下的产物。其实，当我们在面对朋友时，常常在言语中中英混杂，甚至加入一些新加坡式英语（Singlish）。在面对学生时，要顾及到言语上的妥当性，及正确性，有时学过的知识一时无法显现在脑海中，因此说话时会有一些迟缓。因此，我很庆幸学生再次举出了我这个缺点，我也希望长时间的磨练下，能够逐渐适应这样的环境。

再者，有几位2B的学生都问我为什么没有教他们，也向我诉苦，发牢骚。我很高兴他们期盼我再去教他们，但事与愿违，但我还是希望他们能够继续用功学习。

其实在实习的日子里，我得到了“Credit”（分级为 Pass， Credit， Distinction），已经算是很不错了，因为我整班37位同学中，只有一位取得 Distinction（特优），因此我很满意了。但，由于我在教育学院（NIE）时，实在对他们的“硬邦邦”的授课方式不感兴趣，因此也没有多下苦功，取得了个及格而已。心中虽然有一些遗憾，但我认为我的使命在两年前已经不是在读书而是在启发人，因此我在2007年刚进入NIE 时，就接下了本地社区服务（Gesl）及海外社区服务的领队职务（Leader）。在这段期间，我很惭愧地称自己为NIE中文班的班长，因为我真的象是没什么贡献，除了举办一些庆生活动和卡拉OK时光外，也不是个很好的榜样。哈哈。在此，要感谢我的搭档，忆雅，为班上付出了不少努力。今年初，在我的实习期间，我又得准备及率领一队30人的国大学生到柬埔寨去当了22天的义工,因此我很高兴在学校里的表现没有受到太大的影响。可能这也是我为何在班上笑不出来的原因吧！其实，有很多朋友质疑我为何当老师，因为我太喜欢开玩笑了，不像会认真和严肃。哈哈。其实他们也是开玩笑的啦。至此，我两年来的4趟海外义工服务，也算是告一段落了。

接下来，我只希望能举办多一些到海外学习的义工学生团，让他们更能珍惜自己的人生。因此经过了这一些日子，我也得出一个结论：我不一定是一个最好的语文老师，但我要做到一个能让学生记得的老师，记得我曾经教导他们如何走自己人生的道路，就像在多个老师中，我印象最深刻的还是我的中学华文老师。希望我能达到这个目标。我也很高兴我得学生有抽空时时来看看我是否有新的帖子。谢谢你们的支持。我一定会继续在博客上分享我的心得，敬请留意。我看我明天再翻译为英语吧！好累啊！

English Translation:

Today is the 5th day of school, actually it is another 6 hours more before I wake up. In this new term, I am in charge of teaching classes Sec 1D, 1F, 1H, 3F/G, and 4 D, and am also in charge of NPCC as my CCA. The most regretful thing is not being able to continue teaching class 2B, but I have to tell them that if fate decrees, we will meet again next year in Sec 3. The most challenging class assigned to me would be the Sec 3 normal academic class, because they are really not "normal" kids. haha, seriously speaking, just 2 days of interaction with them, have made me realize under the current education system, how a bunch of "rejected" kids feel. Henceforth, my new resolution is: There are no unteachable or bad students, there are only teachers who cannot teach their students well. I hope that in my days as a teacher, I can continue to pursue this resolution and fulfil this calling to help as many "problem" kids out there. I realize that this bunch of Sec 3 students under me know what they want, it is just that they have been "forgotten" for too long, as not many tried to interact with them, inspire them or even touch their hearts.

Maybe I am a "freak", cos I enjoy the interaction time with students and like to indulge in having fun with them. A student told me on MSN that after the holidays, I looked happier with more laughters and smiles, and she hoped that I can maintain this look. haha, maybe laughing out more can make me look younger. A Sec 4 student told me that I seem nervous when I speak, and sounded like I did not prepare my work. In fact, I want to tell her that this is one of the serious problems faced by Singaporean Chinese Teachers (Locally born and bred teachers). On the surface, we may seem like bilingual elites, but at times, when we speak, we are actually stuck at certain phrases, and need to think of suitable sentences, or words before we deliver what we want to say. In short, we take a longer time to think and process what we need to say as compared to teachers from China. Why is it the case? Actually, if you notice, when we speak to friends, we mix English and Chinese, and at times, Singlish. But when we are facing and talking to students, we need to gauge the appropriateness, and the correctness of the things we say, and sometimes, the knowledge that has been learnt just doesn't pop up in your brain, so we pause more often when we speak. Hence I am very happy that my students pointed out this flaw of mine, and I hope that in time to come, I can gradually adapt to the chinese speaking environment and speak more fluently.

Next, a few students from 2B has asked me why I wasn't teaching them, and complained to me. I am glad to know that they had wished that I could continue teaching them, but since it is not heaven's will that we meet this term, I can only hope that they continue to work hard and strive for better results.

Actually, I got a "Credit" (Grades are Pass, Credit, Distinction) for my practicum, and I am very happy with this results, because among my whole class of 37 NIE batchmates, only 1 got distinction, hence I am grateful for this grade. But, because I really could not get used to the "boring" teaching methods in the courses, hence I did not really put in a lot of effort to study, thus only getting an overall pass for my NIE life. Though there are some regrets in my heart, but I thought that since my resolution since 2 years ago has changed from studying to excel in academics to nurturing and inspiring people, when I entered NIE in 2007, I took on the leader's role for a local community project under NIE - GESL, and also led a team to an overseas community trip. In my NIE life, I feel ashamed to call myself the class representative of my class, cos I really did not seem to have made any contributions, other than organising some birthday parties and Karaoke Sessions, and I was not a good example in class. Haha, hence, I would like to thank my partner, Yiya, for contributing her efforts for the class. Without her, we would have missed out a lot. Once again, thank you. At the beginning of 2008, when I was on practicum, I had to juggle with leading a team of 30 NUS students with my buddy, over to Cambodia to fulfil 22 days of community service work, hence I am also glad that this has not affected much in my overall performance in school. Maybe this was also one of the reasons why I had not been able to smile or laugh out in class in the last term. Actually many friends questioned about me being a teacher, because I really love to joke and crap around, and don't look like the serious type who can teach in class. haha, actually they are also joking lar. Henceforth until now, my 2 years of 4 overseas expeditions have finally come to an end as I embark on a new journey in teaching.

In the following days, I hope to lead more teams of students overseas, to let them learn about others and cherish or appreciate their life more. Hence, after all these time, I also came to a conclusion: I may not be the best Chinese language teacher, but I must be a teacher that will be remembered by students, remembered for how I used to guide them in their lives, just like in the many teachers that I used to have, the one that left a lasting impression was still my Chinese teacher.I hope I can attain this goal. I am also very happy to know that my students still take time to check out my blog. Tks for all your support, and I will continue to share my thoughts online. Do keep a lookout, and I will do the translation tomorrow. So tired. ( In fact, today is already saturday. haha)