WEEK 2: IMPROVE MORE (11/9 - 15/9)

    Assalamualaikum and how's it going you lot. It's been a few days since my last post and quite early for my weekly journal but what can I do, school days ended early on Friday.😏So, I hope you readers are in a healthy condition, and may Allah bless you all. This is my second week of practicum at Sekolah Kebangsaan Serdang and I shall share with you my experiences. TOODALOOO😉

    My first day in the second week of practicum starts with the weekly assembly and I also become one of the teachers on duty for the whole week.  So, on Monday I was tasked to watch the students at gate A which I had done in the morning but later on I found out that I was tasked to watch the students when the school ended. When I heard the news I was like, OUHH. Welp, it was a great experience greeting the students in the morning and I would love to do it again. Later that day, I watched the students return home at gate A. Moreover, I was also tasked with being the teacher on watch at the canteen. There were many situations that happened such as students running around, calling me to see a dead crab which I don't know where it came from and students who are clumsy with their money. It was quite a wild experience watching the students have recess.😵

Second school assembly in my practicum journey.

RECESS

    Moving on, I had classes with 4 Kenanga on Monday and Tuesday. The topic that my mentor told me to teach was Topic 8 Amazing Animals. So I planned my classes as best as I could. I printed some pictures for the class, prepared some candies as prizes for the games that will be conducted and I also revised the comparative adjective. When I taught them, I realised that I had to simplify my teachings and slow down a little. Furthermore, I found that some of the students were not able to understand what I was teaching in English. I had to mix some Bahasa Melayu words in the class so that the students could understand and grasp what I wanted to teach them. My mentor also advised me to prepare a worksheet for the students so that I can know whether the students understand what is taught in the classroom.

Materials for class

    On Wednesday and Thursday, I have classes with year 3 Dahlia but for this week I only entered once which is on Thursday. The reason is that my mentor exchanged her class with mine on Wednesday and she said that she had to go to the hospital. The preparation of the materials for this class is quite similar to how I prepared for class 4 Kenanga. During my interactions with the students in this class, I can say that my classroom management skill is improving slowly which is good news.

    The co-curriculum for this week was sports club. I was assigned to the handball club which was a sport that I had minimal knowledge and I must say, it is quite an interesting sport. On Wednesday evening, I became a referee for a game that was held at the school field. While I observed the students playing the sport, there were many funny reactions in the match that made me laugh many times. Some were just barging in to get the ball, some were avoiding the ball, and some just ran here and there. This experience became one of the moments that was unique to me.

On the field to play handball

    A fire drill was conducted at the school on Wednesday morning. The teachers were alerted earlier about the fire drill while the students were unaware of it because the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia or commonly known as 'bomba', wanted to record the time taken for everyone to gather at the emergency place. The result of the time taken for everyone to gather at the emergency place is, well, I did not hear clearly the answer given by the person in charge. Moving on, a speech was given by one of the firefighters about safety and things related to it. Also, a fire extinguishing demonstration was conducted for the students to see and know what to do during a fire emergency and how to handle a fire extinguisher.

Fire demonstration

SWOT ANALYSIS 

CO-CURRICULUM

1. STRENGTH

        - Contribution to the holistic development of students such as leadership and teamwork.

        - Can boost students' self-esteem and confidence.

2. WEAKNESS

        - Time constraints.

        - The availability of qualified teachers or advisors to oversee activities.

3. OPPORTUNITIES

        - Skill development.

        - Establish clear evaluation criteria.

4. THREATS

        - Declining participation.

        - External pressures from society or parents.

CLASSROOM TEACHING

1. STRENGTH

        - Passion for teaching.

        - Building positive relationships with students.

2. WEAKNESS

        - Lack of resources.

        - Time constraints.

        - Classroom management challenges.

3. OPPORTUNITIES

        - Student-centered learning.

        - Professional development.

4. THREATS

        - Classroom disruptions.

        - Standardised testing pressure.

    To sum up, week 2 is where I discovered the reality of handling students and the challenges of teaching. Classroom management is important in any situation. Without it, the class will be in chaos and no activities can be conducted. Here is a quote that I find very inspiring 'There is no failure. Only feedback.' by Robert Allen. 

Thank you for reading and see you next week. TATA.😎