- Sending off Sharon at Amirah's Grill
Went to Amirah's Grill on Tuesday to give Sharon a send off treat. It's a nice place - I espcially liked the kebab and mixed grill. Halal restaurant. It's a cozy place especially nice to hang out. They provide DVD of plenty of movies (good to hang out in - we watched A tale of unfortunate events, but didn't manage to finish through the movie) and the food is good. I booked a private room on the second floor and it's styled Middle-East, Mediterranean type and it's a good departure from the usual run-of-mill events.
Next year events
I am very surprised that I could continue thus far. I could still recall the anxiety and panic that I had when I first began teaching. Now, I am actually able to pull people into teaching. That's quite a big difference from when I first began.
Next year, I will be taking on a HA class which allows me to pull out my full bag of surprises. I am looking through my old old NIE notes and realized that there are just so many things that I have yet to try out. I will probably want to model after my first batch of P6 pupils which I think was a really interesting and successful year of teaching. But I am very glad - I finally managed to get a HA class after all these years. I wonder why I never plucked up the courage to do it the first time round.
Involvement wise, next year will also be a busy year for me. There is a lot of movement going around. As I reflect on what I am doing, I realized that in the end, God is really the pillar for me. I mean, things aren't really going very well in school - I have difficult people to work with and pupils in school are really very naughty at times. My friends, sometimes they are just so busy. My wife, . . .sometimes, she is just so busy too. And when I have nobody to turn to in my downness, I realized that He has always there for me.
Speaking of this, one of the latest reflection I got forms the heading of this blog. Sad to say, I realized that I feel closest to God in the most troubled times. Hmm . . .probably I am taking Him as a person whom I can go to in times of trouble only.
(From the book of James 1)
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
This is one of the passage that spoke deeply to me. I realized that I need to preserve on. Actually, I have been running a good race but the past two years has been a slow down for me. I guess I got misled along the way. But taking on a HA class - I better pull up my socks and do a good job. I mean, I won't want to let the HA pupils down in any way. If I can stretch them in all possible ways, I better do so and do a good job out of it. I mean, these pupils are the likely leaders of the future Singapore.
I am especially touched by the words italized - that if I lack wisdom, I can ask from God and He will give it to me. I mean, what do I really need? I think I want wise, pondered works. I don't want to trouble my colleagues with burdensome, unnecessary work. Neither do I want to give people ideas with worldly values and unwholesome attitudes.
9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
One of the things that greatly saddens me is that Social Studies in my school is a very small department. Small in size and small in importance. But to me, SS is a very important thing. Actually, so is Science, another subject that I am interested in. But SS is the foundation of what I began teaching in. Geography, National Education, thinking about spatial awareness and national boundaries. All these appeals to me. I think I got a wake up call during the Humanities Education seminar I attended recently. It is just so much more interesting. Geography, NE, SS - it's about the people around us. It's about the world we live in. But every time we plan out the plans for next year, SS has always been a small player in the school. I pray that God will bless me with a prayerful and pondering heart to bless the SS environment in my school. I hope to do more but I want to do it with God's wisdom so that it blesses the school and it blesses God.
As for Basketball, my next little pet peeves in the school, I need to continue to stabilize the team. Right now, it's actually very scattered as I am without a coach. But once I can stabilize it, I will hope to do more things. Actually, I did well in the 1st semester. But somewhere along the line in the second semester, things slowed down tremendously when the coach resigned. My plans is to really get the players built up and be strong true-blue basketball players. I also hope to have an active Basketball community in the school - because seriously, I won't be able to make it for competitions in the next two years.
