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COVER STORY
EDUCATION, SUNDAY 11 APRIL 2010
Whether it is the annoying expressions of teachers or the pranks of incorrigible students, such behaviour is bound to distract the class and bring lessons to a halt. By ALYCIA LIM educate@thestar.com.my
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EMEMBER the time when you were so hungry in class that you just had to get that bar of chocolate into your mouth? Or the time you tried so hard to focus on what your teacher was saying, but couldn’t, because she kept touching that big black mole on her face? What about that lecturer who was convinced that the assignment you submitted was yours, when in fact, it was a copy of what your friend had earlier submitted? We’ve all been there before. Although classrooms may have improved aesthetically and learning conditions have changed, some habits remain. Senior teacher Goh Say Eng has had his fair share of students — good, bad and annoying. He takes most of their antics in his stride, but what upsets him most is when students start talking during a lesson. “It is very distracting for the teacher and the rest of the class when some students talk during lessons. It makes us teachers feel that students are unappreciative of the effort we put in.” He says that in situations like this, he usually stops teaching and stares until the students end their conversation. “If they continue talking, I usually reprimand them and advise them after class. I also remind such students about their purpose of coming to school.” But the ultimate factor for Goh is mutual respect. “I show my students respect by greeting them when we meet along the corridors. Even though I am the teacher, I sometimes greet them first. That way, we become friends and when I teach them in class, they tend to show more respect.” He adds that after having taught some of the naughtiest pupils, he is able to gauge and tackle student problems better. “They come from different social backgrounds and need to be dealt with individually.”
“If there is mutual respect between the teacher and student, half the battle is won,” he adds. Teacher T. Vanitha agrees, adding that students in the Klang Valley school she teaches, have little respect for their teachers. “The noise level at my school is so bad that I have to turn the volume up, when I watch television at home!” She says it can sometimes take up to almost 30 minutes of a 40-minute lesson just trying to get a class settled and to start a lesson. “My students have actually come up to me and asked me to pergi mampus (go die) when I reprimand them!” Going to class is a living nightmare for her as many of her students threaten to use their connections with gangsters, if she is strict with them. Students in the rural school she taught previously were no better – they had warned her that they could resort to black magic! Vanitha says that she had never been exposed to such culture, and was shocked that students were capable of dabbling in the supernatural. She says that teachers in her school would foot the bill for printing photocopies of exercises and notes only to see them on the floor with shoe prints or end up as paper aeroplanes. “My heart aches when they (students) don’t appreciate the work we do for them.” She adds that there are always a group of students who are more focused than others. “However even in such groups, a smaller group will go astray as they are influenced by their peers, and will eventually drop out or lose interest in their studies.” She says that she and her colleagues keep their spirits high by talking to each other. “We have our support group ... we share our experiences, console each other because we are in the same boat. “People are of the view that teaching is a highly respected profession,” but Vanitha disagrees saying that gone are the days when students eagerly came
EDUCATION, SUNDAY 11 APRIL 2010
COVER STORY
E11
Classroom quirks
Some lecturers have an annoying habit of scratching their back. This is a posed shot taken at IACT College.
Flying without wings: A student throwing a paper aeroplane to his classmate during a Mathematics lesson. forward to help teachers carry their books and bags to the staffroom or to the car. “While there are teachers willing to help students and get them connected to school activities, it is impossible as their whole outlook towards learning is totally different,” she says. While some teachers get the short end
Time to talk: These girls seem to be in a world of their own while the rest of the class listen intently to their teacher.
of the stick, others, like secondary school teacher S. Rajeswari says that students are generally well-behaved and follow the ground rules. However, she admits that students today are smart. “Some students go for tuition and tell us they’ve already learnt the material we teach in class. But we, as teachers, have to focus on the entire class.” Form Five student Nette Teoh says that while she is generally attentive in class, there is one teacher whom she finds distractive because of her facial expressions. “This teacher who puts on a really funny face every time she realises she has made a mistake, and tends to exaggerate her expressions and that is totally distracting to her students!” Nette explains that her teacher’s exaggerated expressions, although unintentional, were distracting because the class would be completely thrown off the topic of discussion. “Once it happens, we’ll just be looking at her and waiting for the next time she makes another face!” For Nur Baina Baharudin, 17, she becomes inattentive when teachers have an unexciting way of teaching. “My teachers can be very monotonous. I would love to have a teacher who jokes or makes things more interesting in our classroom.” Asked if she has committed any “classroom crime”, Nur Baina admits that she talks in class but “that’s about the only thing I do,” she adds. Her classmate V. Thinakaran says it is hard not to talk when one is in a class full of friends. He adds that an issue that upsets him is when teachers take sides or have favourite students. “I think sometimes, teachers pick on students they don’t like, and when
it comes to homework, they are more forgiving with their favourite students, while others get penalised.” He cheekily adds that he used to have a teacher who would always laugh at her own jokes. “Even though it was not funny, we would pretend to laugh just to make her happy.” It can also be annoying sometimes when a teacher tries too hard to please every student. Angelina Jong, 17, says: “When a classmate goes up to my teacher to ask a question, the teacher will immediately focus all her attention on that one student and forgets about the rest of us!” In college, however, the classroom scene seems to be much less conventional.
Tertiary truths College student S. Satesh, 19, expressed his concerns about his lecturer likening her mood swings to that of a roller coaster. “If she’s in a good mood, her lessons will run smoothly, otherwise we can expect to get brickbats throughout the lesson, though it is no fault of ours.” He cited an example of the time when his lecturer was in a bad mood, and that resulted in the class ending an hour early. His friends have claimed that such arbitrary decisions could land the lecturer in trouble since they are are all paying students in a private institution. “There have also been times where she talks about her personal life and instead of lecturing on the subject, she will nag us on how to become better students.” Toh Chun Kit, 18, says that he resorts to text messaging his classmates during a boring lesson. “Our messages are about why the lecturer can’t bring on some cheer and
life into her voice and general disposition. You can’t blame us for resorting to such things (text messaging),” he shares adding that some of his classmates actually fall asleep during certain lectures. Doris Heng, 19, has a complaint about her lecturer who speaks softly. “She is barely audible and we can’t hear her from the back of the room. The problem is, she gets angry when we don’t listen, but it’s really not our fault that she can’t project her voice!” She adds that some lecturers also like to pry into her personal life, which is intrusive. “I don’t like the way some lecturers comment about my friends, or my boyfriend, and say that they are a bad influence.” She is quick to add that there have been times when she and her friends have disobeyed the rules. “We play our PSP (PlayStation Portable), listen to our iPods, and sometimes, we even play games on our laptop during class.” She admits that she and her friends were cornered once. “My friends and I wrote ‘class is boring’ on our Facebook wall, and after the break in between class, our lecturer replied ‘why is my class boring?’ to that Facebook message! “After that, we pretended as if nothing happened.” As if that isn’t enough, the 19-year-old says that she and her friends sometimes eat in class, although they are not allowed to. “ I think our teachers know about it because we are not as discreet but they just close an eye and let us be.” ■ All photos in this story are posed shots by teachers and students.
This teacher often bites her pen when deep in thought, which can be a distraction to her students.
Of teachers good, bad and ... TEACHERS play a big role and are often held in high esteem for imparting knowledge and in moulding their young charges. However, there are students who in their adulthood, cannot seem to shed off the unpleasant memories of school because of teachers who have been unkind, impersonal and insensitive.
Yasmin Rose, 28 My Calculus teacher walked into class, wrote on the whiteboard in black marker and when the board was full, rewrote on the existing formulas with red marker. She would then walk out
of class without uttering a word after the 45-minute class. Needless to say, I had to resit the subject.
Chung Shou Farn, 24 Our English teacher was called Leonard Chan and we called him “two oranges” in Cantonese. He refused to let us drink during his lessons. So we seized the opportunity to drink from our water bottles, the moment he stepped out of class. It was sweet victory to challenge him like that.
Tan Shu Qing, 26 My English teacher used to call us all ‘monkeys’.
You may think it was rude but she thought it was an “affectionate” term.
Filionxo Golden Lee Jian, 24 We used to play “conquer” on our Math exercise book when the teacher was teaching because it was the only game that made us look like we were taking notes!
Mahendran Bala, 24 My primary school discipline teacher would take us (offenders) to a room and would allow us the ‘privilege’ of picking the right rod from a selection of five
canes for the beating that was to follow.
Nadia Mahmud, 24 My Chemistry teacher blinked a lot. We called her Ms Blinky.
Rowena Chua, 26 I remember a teacher who spoke with saliva lining the corners of her mouth ... it was awful! There was yet another teacher who used to stare at us with his eyes almost popping out, whenever we were inattentive in class. I also remember him breaking a wooden ruler just to show his displeasure at our behaviour.