STONES, PAPER AND A KID UNDER THE TABLE.

i was tasked to observe a class the other day, as part of evaluative measures to develop and enhance programmes that we have. by chance, i bumped into the teacher (his name is KH) i was supposed to observe, when i got off at pasir ris mrt station. we talked a bit and then looked for the bus terminal. a few more minutes and we were riding bus358. it's the first time i was working with KH, so i interviewed him a bit. he told me he taught drama full-time in another school at bedok, where he lives. he got married last year, at the age of 40. he was into film and poetry, and had no kids.

we got off the bus after two stops, and walked toward the school. at the gate, we got visitor's IDs from the guard and went straight to the general office. there, we had to surrender the visitor's IDs and got another set of IDs for people who were allowed to go around campus. the lady in the office explained the reason why, and KH and i just smiled and nodded (weird lady; why did she have to explain? hehe)

KH and i came into the room, and started setting up. we had another teacher setting up in the i-mac lab on the third floor (it was crazy. they had around 40 i-mac units for the kids to use, and by kids, i mean 6-12yo kids). at around 11:15am, the kids started coming in, and the teachers asked them to sit on the floor near KH.

during the class, these were the most memorable quotes i heard from our teacher and the teachers-in-charge:

"take that piece of paper away or i'll shove it into your mouth."

"you have the memory of a goldfish."

"use that little brain of yours and keep working on your answers."

"very clever..so you know more than just talking."

(pointing to the kids) "you shut up.. you shut up... you shut up too."

"i am talking... and when i talk, you all should shut up and listen."

KH went on with the lesson, telling kids to answer and flip through the pages of the modules which we gave the kids. a little over an hour of the session, he turned off the lights and asked the kids to watch two video clips about kids who liked sports. afterwards, he asked them to answer questions on the module that asked for values which the video portrayed, all the while not asking whether the kids truly understood what they watched.

i was also amused at how one kid hid under the table while the names were being called one by one for attendance. the kid named ADAM, looked like he was anxious about being in the class in the first place. he was a shy 11yo boy who liked basketball, but didn't want to talk about it (part of the class introduction, which was setup like a recitation, was to tell KH which sports and give 3 reasons why).

i went home reminded of my first grade teacher who pinched my ear twice when i was young. the educational approach is top-down, which is ironic because teachers expected students to learn to speak their mind and present themselves with vigor and confidence, and yet all they do is yell at the kids, ask them to be quiet, and pay attention like automatons. where is creative learning there? hehe that's where my job comes in.

darn it. it's going to be a bumpy ride though LOL
still here. hey