Bits & Pieces of Me

                  She was 11 years old when I knew her. I was her class teacher then. She had curly hair, round chubby face .One thing I noticed the first day I saw her, she had scabies on her arms and legs.She spent most of her time scratching here and there.Kesian tengok.            I bought her some cream from the farmacy.She was ok for a little while.Then something happened that brought us even closer. She came to school with bruises on her face and arms.When I kept asking her she told it was done by her mum.It was real sad to see such thin long arms to be bitten to such an extent.             With a friend accompanying me , we went to search for her house. Her mother came out ,dengan muka masam mencuka. I knew she must have guessed I knew what happened.             Before I could...

     Pertandingan liga remaja kreatif 2011. Temanya Merdeka dan ICT. Suhail and gang ,( his good 1 Malaysia friends : Keong, Kevin and Daeng ) all form 5 students from Sek Men Keb Derma were so tempted to enter.      After a few times I sent him to school..he said for practice, at last the video was ready.Thanx to his ICT teacher and most of all Mr Dahasry for his " dare to challenge" persuasion that made my boy and his best friends all set to accept the big thing..      Their additional math teacher Madam Koh agreed to act out as the mother of Keong junior. Suhail showed me the finished product after that, long after the video was sent for judging.      The result was out later.Came out to everybody's surprise. Although they were so shallow in experience, they got 7th place out of 1280 entries from other schools in Malaysia... I was so proud, and so were their teachers and the other boys' parents. ...

        I was sitting in one corner of the classroom,leaning my back against the wall. Three periods of English with a new topic that day left me exhausted..Adoi, the pupils were all downstairs having their recess.It was so quiet.Normally I would be in the staffroom during recess, but because the next period after recess  I would be in the next class, so I would rather stayed there and relax for a while.        Suddenly Noni ( not her real name)  came into the class.She did not see me.Maybe she never expect me there.I saw her looked into a few drawers. Then she opened someone's bag, then closed back.Opened another bag and pick a pencil and an eraser.Went to her bag and put the items inside.        I held my breath. My heart was running wild.She opened another bag, then picked up something and repeated the same action.        I stood up and called her name. ...

         Once a year my school will have this camping programme.Be it around the school compound or outside at any camping ground chosen.When I was fresh from college, ( puluhan tahun dulu) ,of course single teachers will have to spend the night with the pupils in the tent.Usually teachers will sleep in separate tents.But sometimes we teachers love to share being in the same tent with the pupils.This was the time where we could really share stories and jokes with the pupils.          Ada sekali tu, I spent the night with some girls (3 of them) in one tent. We had a good time sembang and chatting away sampai lewat malam.                   Before falling asleep I asked if any of them have lice in their hair.No one .           " Sure kamu tak dak kutu? "           All answered at once."Tak dak teacher" ...

          "Today I would like to tell you a story that I read long ago when I was a small girl .Maybe this is just a fairy tale.But the story was a very touchy one that I still remember until now."           All of them sat up straight.Faces look so eager to listen.           " Ok , once upon a time there was a young mother who lived in a small village with her baby girl .Mother loved her girl very much.Although she was very poor, she always tried her best to fulfill her every wish.."          They lived happily.Mother went to work at the chief's house everyday taking her daughter with her.She cleaned the house, and did other house chores too.In the evening they went home with some food given by the chief's wife.              One night there was a thunders...

                                     One day we were discussing about the topic "My mother". Everyone has to stand up and tell about his or her mother to the class.To make things easier for them I did a mind map on the board, so that they will have some guidelines as what to touch on.                    One boy refused to tell about his mother.                    " Teacher I want to tell about my friend"                    "No Azim, today you have to tell the class about your mother"              ...

            One evening many2 years ago I was singing in a small district in Kedah.The show that night was for the villagers.I was with my group including the dancers.           I was wearing my black dress.soft and flowing matched with a really high heel shoes. When it was my turn to sing , I walked up the stage. It was a stage made by the kampung folks, where they used planks of wood as the stage floor.          Adoi, tiba-tiba I nampak ruang antara papan tu berlubang-lubang, which was not really suitable for my heels..My spirit plunged low.macamana nak bergerak ni? nanti accident tumit kasut masuk lubang ? tak ke malu..dah siap cantik2 .         I was thinking fast. So to be safe., I just stood like a statue and sang.Tried to smile to everyone like usual.Luckily it was a slow number made popular by Salamiah Hassan.  ...

                                       Post sekali ni teringin la pula nak cakap Melayu.Mana la tau kot2 ada tok wan ke tok mana2 nak baca post ni yang mungkin depa suka tiba2 speaking pula. kesian depa kan?                       My Tok mula makan sirih sejak azali.Ingat2 saya sejak muda kot.Sentiasa ada dalam mulut je sirih ni.Makanan macam snek le zaman dulu.Snek orang tua2.                       Sirh tak payah beli, tanam tepi rumah ja, pokok pinang pun sama , ada tepi bumbung dapur.nak guna kait ja.kalau malas tunggu luruh.Sama juga.          ...

                              When I entered the classroom, one pupil, ( a girl ) was crying real loud,blabbering something which I couldnt understand. Two boys were laughing at the top of their voice.           Then somebody shouted," Wei teacher Maznah. ! ! "            Everybody stumbled to their seats.Muka buat2 serious.            " Apa bising2 ni.Amalia awat dok teriak ni ? "            "Depa dok panggil ayah saya Man Kambing"            I tried very hard not to laugh out loud.            " Psai apa depa panggil ayah awak lagu tu ? "   ...

      I was just fresh from college then. Was teaching the pupils in standard two. A fat cute boy was one of them.      He was mummy's boy, manja and spoilt. many times he refused to write or did his homework.So the most natural thing to do to a pupil that age is to get close to him. And thats what I did.        I would be by his side to coach and guide him. held his hand and let him hold the pencil if he refused to write.Joke with him, and so on and so forth..        Then to everybody's surprised he changed.He did his work, never forget his homework, he became active in class and suddenly English became his favourite subject. I was tremendously happy.         One morning he came to school late.Accompanied by his mother even...He came into the classroom with his eyes swollen.In fact he was still sobbing when he entered the room.I asked him why, ...