Not your everyday modern lady...

BIG PROJECT....

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:05:21 GMT

Sorry for disappearing like that for so long but things just get really hectic this summer with the early school closure and my trip to UK with my students, the start of my Master programme and work, and last but not least... a December wedding.

Don't worry, I am not getting married! My firend is, and she didn't tell us until two weeks ago, so I have been spending any free time I have to make her a special wedding present. Thankfully, it's almost finished...

~ Calbee

Candy Dolls for the end of the term!

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:36:02 GMT

Since it is very likely that the school suspension for primary schools would be extended, it's now unofficially summer holidays already, while at the same time, I have marked and recorded all the students' grades for report card... I have nothing to do now. Hence, I turn to making candy dolls again. ^^

I have passed my PGDE!!!

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:53:11 GMT

It sure is a roller coaster day in Hong Kong today. First we have the suspension of the schools starting from tomorrow, and then I finally got the last of my PGDE grades!

I have got a B for Educational Studies last year, and a B for my Literature Elective this year. And today, I went to pick up my grades for my research project and my teaching practicum. I got a D for the research project and a C for the teaching practicum.

They are pretty low marks, but with her threatening to fail me in both these modules, I am very happy that I passed no mater what the grades. I have to say a big thank you to the second examiner for my teaching practicum, whom I know had fought for the higher grade that I was not expecting. Thank you, Winnie!

Well, I passed all my modules... So... it's GOODBYE HKU and HELLO POLYU! I am really happy to have got my PGDE finally, and I can finally move forward for my language master degree in POLYU!

Back to the suspension of the schools. Because of the outbreak in one of the secondary schools in HK, all primary schools, special education schools and kindergartens are suspended for 14 days. That means that the UK trip in August with the students could be cancelled. Well, fingers-crossed, it is not going to be cancelled. If not, I can always use the whole summer to lose more weight. LOL!

~ Calbee

Good AND bad news

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:28:28 GMT

Last Friday I got my Literature Elective assignment back, and I got a B. YAY!

However, because of the irresponsibility of my MM tutor, we were told that the grade would be released today instead of last Friday because she hadn't finished marking them. And guess what? she sent us a email last night that because her daughter is ill and she is not in the mood to do any serious marking, so she will have to delay it until further notice. WHAT THE ****!

I might sound very petty for not considering the impact of her daughter's illness on her mood, but we handed in the assignment to her as requested at the end of April, which is a month earlier than we should have, and she is telling us she still hasn't finished marking our work?! This is absurd and not fair to us as we need to rush our assignments while the other classes don't need to. AND this is NOT the first time that she couldn't meet the deadline.

*huff* I am so not going back to HKU for anything once this is over.

~ Calbee

Good or bad news?

Tue, 26 May 2009 13:04:01 GMT

Well, I got my contract renewed today. I didn't get promoted to teacher next academic year although I had a payrise of HK$2000.

I have to say that I am both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Relieved because I am still not sure if I can handle being both a subject teacher and a class teacher, and then disappointed because I thought I am more than qualified to be a teacher.

I talked to my dad about it, and he said they might be two reasons. One, the school has no extra resources to make me a teacher, and two, maybe my headteacher didn't want to make my workload too heavy because I am starting a new master degree this fall.

Of the three colleagues whom I talked to about my contract, they all said I should look for another teacher job, but with the economy like this, I dare not risk looking for another job right now. I had done some research in the past months discreetly, and it doesn't look good. There are posts for primary English teachers, but they are either too far away from where I live, or they didn't say what school it is recruiting teachers. I'd rather stay put right now than risking it all.

Am I being stupid to renew the contract and stay put?

~ Calbee

Is the brand really important, or am I more naive than I believed myself to be?

Sat, 16 May 2009 16:21:00 GMT

Last night, I went out for dinner with two of my PGDE classmates to celebrate the end of our PGDE, and some pretty interesting conversation came about.

As I might have mentioned before, in order for me to be a registered teacher of English, I need to have a PGDE, a pass in the LPAT and a subject knowledge degree. Since i am ot really young anymore, my goal is to meet the requirements before I turn 30, which is only a few years away. So far, if everything goes as planned, the only thing left for me to get is the subject degree, which i had accepted an offer from Polytechnic University to do their MA in English Language Studies.

Last night, we talked about that, and I felt a little bit belittled by my classmates. I know they might not have done it on purpose, but still I am a little bit upset about it, though I didn't let it show on my face. As I said before, I idn't have a good time studying in HKU for various reasons, so I did not apply to HKU this tme. One of my classmates asked about it during dinner and my other classmate said she is staying in HKU for the language degree, while I said I am going to PolyU for it instead, and that. Then we, or they started discuss how it's better to stay in HKU for it, and how I should have ground my teeth and apply to HKU instead of PolyU. They were even more displeased when I expressed that I originally chose to go to Hong Kong Institute for Education (HKIED) for my PGDE, since HKIED was not a university.

I told them clearly that I made my choices according to the course details and not the school name, especially that at the end of the day, a PGDE is still a PGDE, and a Master is still a Master, whether it is awarded from a college or university. Well, they thought that i am crazy. Well, not crazy, but they couldn't seem to get my view, and from the way they said it, they made me feel like I had lowered my standard. They gave me the feeling that since we are all overseas graduates, we should have the most prestigious name and not the quality of learning or learning that fits for our needs for teaching the children.

It seems petty that I am still upset over this, but what is so wrong about attending a course by a less prestigious school that can give me a wider scope of knowledge for work? Why is it right to attend a course by a prestigious school which gives you very limited help with dealing with your everyday teaching? I couldn't get this out of my mind. I didn't talk to my dad about this, because he would say that my classmates were the unreasonable ones, but are they really?

This is not the first time that the word 'naive' flashed in my mind since I came back to Hong Kong. I would not say I am wise beyond my years, but I pride myself on being relatively open-minded and more mature than those of the same age as me. Still I wonder if I had the wrong perception of myself and I am the one who is naive here?

~ Calbee

Quick update!

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:38:21 GMT

I'll write a bit more later tonight, but just let me rejoice in FINISHING MY RESEARCH PROJECT!!!

This is the last assignment I need to hand in for my PGDE, and I just got it done this morning. I couldn't believe how thick it is, with all the samples of my student's work. Think about it. The report itself is 8 pages long (about 3500 words), but the rest is all the samples of work, pre and post activity!

I am handing it in this evening, which is also the deadline. >_< This is the first time I hand in an assignment so neeeeear the deadline. Eeeek! Still, it's done and i would rejoice to have this course over and done with.

I am not sure when i would get the result back if i pass the course or not, but i am not going to think about it. It's out of hands anyway. I have tried my best.

Tonight, I could finally clear out those messy notes and useless reference books!!! I have my room back finally!

~ Calbee

WHAT A MONTH!

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:20:42 GMT

WHAT A MONTH! Although it was insanely busy the last 3 weeks, but it is worth it. Give me a FIVE!

Comprehensive Review

This is similar to what other government schools called External School Review. Since my school is a directly subsidized school, we have Comprehensive Review instead.</p>

I was absolutely terrified that the people from the CR would observe me in my English lessons, but luckily they din’t. Just when I thought I escaped observation and needed to buy everyone dinner (it was a bet inside the staffroom that whoever didn’t get observed would need to buy everyone dinner), one of the people in the CR team approache my colleague an asked if she could visit our Film Appreciation Elective.

*heart attack* Well, officially, it is my colleague who teaches the class, but in reality, I am the brain behind the course AND I help out in the lesson too. My colleague couldn’t say no to that, so I got observed, sort off.

Luckily, the boys didn't misbehave too much during the prep part of the lesson before playing the movie, but I was scared shitless and I went a little geeky over some film theories which I simplified for the boys to understand.

After the CR people left, my colleague and I could finally breathe like normal again. When I told her that I was so scared that I practically felt myself shaking, she replied, “Really? I didn’t notice. I think you looked very professional and knowledgeable for the boys to understand what you were saying. I thought I was the one shaking.” Well, if one as senior as my colleague, who has taught for over 5 years, said that, I guessed I am okay.

We got a brief report of our performance at the end of two weeks, and it was a good one. The head of the CR people said that it had been a long time since he could give a good report like ours. Hurray!

Open House 2009

Every academic year, we have one Sunday which we set as Open House. On this day, we will prepare classrooms to showcase student’s works and also their extra-curricular achievements, so people from outside i.e. the public, could see how good the school is doing for the students.

This year, I am helping in the classroom which I teach English this year. A lot of my students came back for a visit with their family.

Oscar, Wallace, Lester's gorgeous sister and Lester.

Mark, Walby and Sunny

Alastair, Louis' extremely cute sister and Louis.

Chinese Culture Days 2009

Chinese Culture Days always happen right after Open House, so it is always hectic as the two go together. Still, it was fun for the two days as the students would dress up in Chinese Costume, play games related to Chinese Culture, mostly to do with Chinese New Year, and also special talks. This year we had someone coming in to introduce the boys to Cantonese Opera. The boys AND us teachers were invite to go on stage to try as well!

Aladdin the Musical

THIS is the finale of the most hectic month I have ever had in my two and a half years of teaching. Basically, we the teachers need to train the boys for a public, ticket-selling performance to celebrate the fifth year anniversary of the Primary Division, and the one hundred and fortieth anniversary for the Secondary Division. If I said CR is SCARY, this is even more so. The problem being…

… our boys have a nasty habit of not being serious during rehearsals or practices and perform extremely well during real performances. Well, normally. Seeing them in rehearsal would make you want to kill yourself in order to save you from absolute embarrassment. Everyone was really tense on the night of the first performance, and surprise surprise, they did miraculously well. One of the boys’ parents who had seen both the rehearsal and the opening night performance said,

“Well, it’s clear that DBS boys are able to do exceptionally well, but could they be a bit more serious during rehearsal? It’s no fun to the parents AND teachers if they do this every time. Surely, someone would get a full head of grey hair from the worry, and if not, heart attack sooner or later!”

That is exactly my thought, and I was on the receiving ends of this tendancy of theirs at least twice a term. Still, it’s brilliant that they performed this well that our Art Director (our English Panel Chair) and our Stage Manager (our English Subject Head) both burst into tears after their first performance. I might burst into tears as well if I wasn't in charge of the dressing rooms and see their performance on stage in person.

Both Brett an PJ had poured God knows how much more than they were supposed to into training the boys, and they deserved the success of the show more than anyone else. Still, we could help but teased them a little about it afterwards. LOL!

During Rehearsal



Waiting to go on stage



The little TV which we watched the show in the dressing rooms underneath the stage. On the right is one of the dressing rooms.

This is the common area in the dressing rooms where we sit and watch the performance on the small TV.



On the left is the Sultan and the right is Jafar. Looks impressive, right? LOL!

The Genie, putting on make-up and tidying his costume. Looks good!

The Carpet, Aladdin, Genie and Iago the parrot. Good work, boys!



Of course, there are girls as well. The bellydancers on the top and the left, and Princess Jasmine on the right. Well, no one would believe they are boys in reality, especially Jasmine! LOL!


I am relieved that I don't have to see them for a long time until after the Chinese New Years Holidays.
From left to right, Sean (Sultan from Cast A), Michael (Razoul from Cast A), Colin (Jafar from Cast B) and Nicklaus (Jafar from Cast A).
They are good actors and bright boys too, but they are such a hanful when not in rehearsal!

That's it for this month. So, I'll sit back and relax for the next few days, and then I'll be back to working during the holidays again!

~ Calbee

Last entry of 2008

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:40:25 GMT

Haven't updated here for a long time, but then it IS a busy year and luckily all the madness would be over by February 2009.

First of all, I am so glad about the students I have this year. I cannot stress enough on how cute they are, and how better behaved they are comparing to my last year's students. However, last year's students are special because they are my first students in this school. For this year's students, I know some of them quite well from last year, but it feels a little bit strange now that I am teaching them, like they are more my friends when I knew them last year, and now they are my students.

Some fun on Halloween. See how creative they were in front of the camera!

Edwin on the left and Wesley on the right. Wesley is one of my students who would follow me around. My personal little stalker!

Wallace on the left and Mark of the right. I already know Wallace before I teach him this year. Very sweet but also very stubborn. See the ring on my finger? He made it for me. He especially made it in blue and silver because he remembered that my favourite colours are blue and silver!

Mark is very very very sweet too, but I want to kill him at times. Toooooooo naieve and too forgetful/forgivable as a student. Personality-wise, he is a good boy. Reminds me a little of Amber from Clamp's Wish at times.

My last year's students. Heywood, Angus, Ronnie, Horace, ToTo and Terrence. They are the few who have 'matured' this year, but still, you can see they are mischievious if they want to.

On the home front, my dad is now fine, but at times, I wondered who is having more problems, Mum or Dad. Dad would mope around a little at times when he is bored or upset, which is normal for him even before his illness. Then Mum would throw a tantrum (because of my da moping) so big that I would literally lock myself in my room. I want to help my dad against mum, but... my mum is SCARY when she throws a tantrum. I guess my mum is still not used to my dad's retirement time at home.

On a side note, my dad mentioned once that why did I not inherit some of my mum's tantrum temper so I could royally scare my boys/students into behaving... in front of me AND mum... Well, things went flying about at my dad's poor attempt at humour... *sweat drop* it would be alright with me since I inherited my dad's weird sense of humour, but not mum... She is very sensitive at anyone commenting about her temper.

For the new year 2009, I have the following goals which I hope would come true...

1. Lose 20 lbs by July so I cam fit into something nice for my PGDE Graduation!
2. Get all my research materials scanned and filed in some sort of order.
3. Try not to get sick too many times (I was sick for at least 8 times in 2008).
4. Get started on MA English Language Studies (fingers crossed, they are going to take me on for the programme)!

I might add more to it, but that's about it for now.

Happy New Year everyone!

~ Calbee

P.S. Some photos of how the malls in Hong Kong had decorated for Christmas 2008.

Grade 2s are so cute... and exhausted...

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:37:45 GMT

I couldn't believe that it is already two months since the start of the new school year. How time flies.

My PGDE course is going as fine as you could expect, and fingers crossed, I should be able to pass my assignments this year.

As for school, the boys are extremely... cute! They are good boys and also bad boys. Still, they are only 7 years old, no matter how bad they are they have no way of outwitting me. Mhahahaha!

As for the good boys, they are so sweet that I sometimes feel embarrassed about it. Once when I went on duty in the hopscptch area, the boys (about 5 or 6 of them) in my English class followed me around in the Hopscotch area. I asked them why didn't they go play, and they said they liked to stay here with me. Awwwww.

One of the boys, Oscar, even wrote in his moral education booklet that "I love you to teach us English".

Also, I think I have a few poets in my classes this year. One of the boys, Janson, wrote this for me.

Halloween Night

It is Halloween night!
Dark with monsters in the night!
Witches, black cats everywhere,
Walking pumpkins, scary ghosts.
I will scare you with my look,
Only if you treat me good!

Cute, isn't it? Bearing in mind, he is only 7 years old whose English is not on native level (actually his academic results are in the lower half of the class).

I'll try to snap a photo of them and show them to you. They are just so cute!!!!!!!

~ Calbee

I got B!!!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:23:04 GMT

Just a quick word, since I have a lesson in 10 mins.

I just checked my grade for my 1st year PGDE, and I got a B!

I got a B- and C+ for my two assignments, but aomehow I got B overall. I guess like my colleague said before, my two tutors are rather harsh markers, so now I get an upgrade in my final result.

YAY!!!!!!!!!

~ Calbee

Ten years ago... Ten years later

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:49:11 GMT

After reading gryferin's entry, it makes me thinking too.

I have no regret about or sad about the past either. If you tell me ten years ago that I would be a teacher... Well, I am sure that my response would not be at all eager. At 17, I wanted to be a writer or photographer. I wanted to make a living with my pen. And now ten years later, I am extremely happy where I am, and even if I am offered to be a writer or photographer, I don't think I will jump at the offer.

I have my up and downs, happy and sad times in the last ten years, but I won't give it up for the world or anything else. What didn't kill you makes you stronger, and in my opinion, makes you look at life differently, and you would appreciate everything around you better, for better or for worse.

It is just so hilarious that you want one thing at one time and then to realize later that it might not be the one thing you really want. Sure, I like writing and taking photos, but after ten years, I come to the understanding that I could do those things as well as being a teacher at the same time.

I am absolutely happy with my choice even if it has its hazards from time to time. Nothing is going to turn me away from being a teacher now. Well... maybe until I get fed up with irresponsible and unreasonable parents... or the boys render my vocal cords useless... *wink* Still, it would be a long time before that happens.

HUGE pay rise and promotion

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:05:44 GMT

Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am freaking out right now, and please please please bear with me. I would seriously go crazy if I don't get this out of my chest now.

I just went in to see my Headteacher. She is a very nice lady, but sometimes I wonder if she is touched in the head. Or it is me who is touched in head. I guess you could say she is sometimes like female version of Dumbledore.

She first congratulated me on my passing LPAT (Language Proficiency Assessment Test for teachers who want to teach English), and then she told me that because of some unforeseen reasons/ situations, next year I would not be teaching General Studies. I would be teaching 2 Grade 2 English classes instead. As one more class of English is considered a heavy load on top of my Drama club duties and my own teaching and studies, I am going to be awarded the salary of a registered teacher for do this.

*hyperventilating*

I am not sure if I should be happy or not, as I like teaching General Studies, but I know the boys in Grade 4 next year are more than a handful. Teaching ONLY English would be a new experience for sure.

And the pay rise.... I will be earning around HK$2000 (£130) more per month. Seriously a shock to my system. If I am really getting that pay scale, I would be able to save at least HK$5000 (£300) a month!

One thing is for sure though. It is not going to be boring next year!

A little something for my Korea trip

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:24:37 GMT

Since it's confirmed that I am going to Korea with my colleagues, I couldn't help but made some candydolls for the trip. Here they are.

End of PGDE Year 1 and first day of exam for my students

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:45:19 GMT

So, it's the first day of the Final Exam for my students and also the day that I get my Educational Studies 2 result.

I was a little bit nervous today. Not just because they are having their English Exam, but also because I will be getting my own assignment results too.

Back to my boys first. It is a big surprise gift they give me today. Most of them have improved although they still make some sort of careless mistakes (which I would drill them about it when reviewing the paper with them). Last time, five of them had marks higher than 90, and this time seven of them get marks higher than 90. Most of the rest get between 70 to 89, with one or two 60 something. Even My two weakest students V and H passed the exam. H even gets 79.5marks! Last time, he got 64.5 marks! Such a big jump!

As for my own assignment result, I got a B, which is out of my expectation. This tutor of mine is quite hard to please, so I never would expect to get a B from him. Also, concerning my other English Major assignments... We didn't get our assignments back today, but we were just told today that regardless of the grades we get for our assignments, we are going to go into 2nd Year English PGDE... I guess you could say that's a relief, but still strange. In a way, that also marks the end of my first year PGDE studies.

P.S. The South Korea trip is set. I am leaving on the night of 6th August, so we would be there in Korea bright next morning ready for the trip.

~ Calbee

Good good good news!

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:58:54 GMT

Right. A lot of things happened since the last time I updated, so let me start with a list of news.

Yes. I have having 3 summer trips this year. I didn't expect it either to tell the truth.

My colleagues have asked me to go on a trip with them for ages, but because of my father's illness, I turned them down every time. Now that my father is all well, I can finally go with them. At first we planned to go to Taiwan for 4 days, but with the earthquake in China, we were worried that there might be earthquake in Taiwan as well (since the two areas are both in the quake sections), so we decided to go to South Korea instead. I told my mum, and she said that as long as I promised to go with her and dad and my grandparents to Japan for a few days, I can go with my colleagues. I accepted. And so naive of me to accept it.

Turns out the 'few' days is in fact 6 days. And it just so happens that my mum set the date of coming back to HK as 3rd August, and I was supposed to go to Korea on 4th August. *swearing*

Of course I complained to my mum, and then my dad complained that he didn't want to go, and then even my grandparents refused to go. As usual, Mum exploded, and in the end, we had to compromise. We are now still going, but the date has been changed from 26th to 31st July, rather than 29th to 3rd August.

Yes yes yes! I did it, I did it, I did it! I passed my last LPAT paper on Speaking!

A lot of you might be shocked that I failed my Speaking paper the last time, but if you remember, the Speaking Test last year was in fact a test on my academic knowledge on English Language rather than my English speaking ability, so... *shrug* I failed last time. This year, they changed the syllabus, and test me on my speaking (finally) and my knowledge on what is happening in education in Hong Kong. Piece of cake. I didn't get the high grade overall though because they gave me one lower grade in the part about reading aloud, about not having enough movements etc. Still, I passed it! That means I am now really qualified to teach English. Maybe not a registered teacher since I am still doing my PGDE, but still qualified none the less.

Well, it still feels a little scary, now that I think about it.

Since I have now passed the LPAT, I have to notify the school about it. My Headteacher was not around as she was on study leave, so I told my Deputy Headteacher and Subject Head about it, and some other colleagues in the English Department. Funny thing is, all of them said something like "Do you REALLY think you are not going to pass it?" Well, it's sort of good to know everyone thinks so high of me.

Anyway, the next day, my Deputy Headteacher kept reminding me to update my school folder with the qualifications and also tell my senior teacher about it. I found it a bit strange, since even if I update it now, it won't show up on the school website (there is a webpage in the school website where all the teaching staff's qualifications are shown and listed according to these qualifications and seniority) until next academic year. Anyway, since I didn't have the result slip with me that day, I promised to remember to do it the next day.

The next day, I did as I was told, and when I got home, I told my dad about it, how strange my Deputy Head was as she kept urging me to update my record asap. My dad, I am not joking here, practically jumped up from the sofa and 'ordered' me to check the webpage. I checked, and surprise, my record was already updated, and even a bigger surprise, I have been moved to top of the list for teachers-in-training.

Someone's going to hit me over the head, but I am really really scared right now. Never in my wildest dream would I think I could be top of a list, and I am really worried if I can live up to it. *sigh* Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

My mum is so absolutely funny though. She heard about the 'promotion' and she asked, "So, does it mean you are going to have a real promotion?" Ha. Not bloody likely since I still haven't got my teacher certificate.

P.S. If anyone would like a postcard from Japan, South Korea or Macau, drop me a note or send me a email.

~ Calbee

Teaching duties for next year

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:54:27 GMT

Well, I just got word about my next year teaching duties.

As most of you know, I am teaching 19 lessons plus afterschool drama classes per week this year, and it is seriously stretching my time on top of my studies.

Apparently, there will be no afterschool drama classes next year because we will be doing a musical i.e. I don't have to be in charge of the whole thing on my own. Also, they have cut back my lessons to 16 per week. Hurray! I just hope that this new schedule is not implying that the musical would be a pain in the ass to do.

Fingers crossed.

P.S. Headteacher is very happy with my performance this year. Yay!

~ Calbee

Defeat...

Sun, 04 May 2008 08:14:04 GMT

I don't want to be a drama queen (which at times I feel I am), but I am now admitting defeat, or something like that.

Don't worry, I am not hinting on anything like suicide, but merely... I am giving up hope of my last year's PGDE studies. Even if I do pass this first year (although I think there is a very very slim chance for that), I am seriously considering and seeking to transfer to another university for the rest of my studies.

Granted, juggling work and studies are hard work and I admit that I am not as hardworking as I used to be when I was in full-time education, still the kind of hard work I managed to put in and the pressure I am under really make me think if it's worth staying in this so-called prestigious university.

Even though I am learning, it just seems that it is not helping my teaching and the tutors are not considerable to understand that with the school I am teaching in, I am not facing the same problems or questions as my fellow classmates have i.e. my assignments are quite different to that of my classmates because of the high quality of my students. I cannot teach them the way they requested me to because those methods are unsuitable for them, and if I do use their methods, the students' parents would have my head. I am not learning what I could teach in reality.

I still have 3 weeks befor the deadline for my assignments and another 2 weeks before I know their verdict if I pass the first year.

Should I or should I not transfer if I pass this year?

~ Calbee

So... it pays to be brave?

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:49:48 GMT

It's been ages since I write here, but with Chinese New Year and my PGDE assignments, I think that's expected.

Anyway, I got my assignment back yesterday, and I got a C for it.

Frankly, I am happy to get that mark, coz, I more than passed the module (the passing mark is a D), but I am a little bit disappointed if not expected.

The assignment asked me to write about what I learnt from the module, and/or what kind of new ideas you got from the module and you work in school. Well, I have to say, I said quite a bit of controversial ideas i.e. 1)Gifted Education being a kind of streaming; and 2)integrated education is not working in schools because of the lack of training for teachers in this area.

My tutor, whom my classmates believe that she likes me very much and considers me her star student, told me in the feedback session that she thought the essay was good, and "you are not afraid to speak my mind but that made you off-task". Well, shocking, isn't it? Even more shocking was my classmates' response when they see my grade --- "C". All of them said no way since I presented myself so well during class and my thoughts were so thorough as well.

However, when they heard what I wrote about in the essay, most of them said more or less the same thing with my tutor "being too bold", and my mum, who heard about it as well, said, which strangely I took it as a compliment, "You are just like your dad. Always say the things that people don't want to hear (even though you are right)."

WEll, what I can I say? The assignment asked me to do a reflection on my studies, how it interacts with my work and/or the teaching beliefs I am developing. So I did as it said. What's wrong with doing it like that? It's not my fault that I didn't do it the way that all my classmates did --- writing about the norm and writing a self-reflection like an academic science paper. (No offense to all you science majors out there, but you know what I mean.)Speaking my mind and back it up with theories and case studies is what the assignment asked me to do.

*sigh* I respect my tutor. I really do. However, I wonder at times if I am too trustful of everything written on paper, and ignore the norm of what my classmates were doing with their assignments?

P.S. I took my LPAT Speaking paper yesterday, and I think it went well. I might not get a high mark, but I believe a passing mark should be of no problem. Fingers crossed.

~ Calbee

Sad, hurt and a little bit frustrated...

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:09:54 GMT

Well, as you all know I love my students, especially my Grade 2s, though my new Grade 4s are now rivaling them, still, I like my Grade 2s a little bit more. however, something happened today that near to breaking my heart though.

*sigh* Well, it could be insecurities on my part, which some of you might be scolding me about blaming myself once you heard my story out. Still, it makes me wonder if there is no innocence or too much of it in schools.

My precious Grade 2s have called me fat. Yes, you hear right. Fat. Granted I have never been ashamed of my figure, and frankly, I am chubby, and FAT comparing to my fellow colleagues. Still having to hear it from my student's mouth is still very hard.

I won't bore you with the details. I was going to a class a little late because I was carrying my student's workbooks for their lesson (save them the trip to go to the homework shelf to pick them up themselves), and one of them started moaning at me for being late, and suddenly one shot his hand up and claimed that another classmate called Ms Ho i.e. me, fat. The prefect who was watching them for me before I arrived was still there, and his face showed absolute horror. And even more so when the accused one was one of my favourite, brightest but also one of the most troublesome students, H.

I saw red, no pun intended.

I got them into the classroom, gave them a down right scold, about discrimination and how they should behave in school. Basically, I scolded them for: 1)whether I am fat or not doesn't make any difference about me as their teacher; 2)what's wrong with me for being that; 3) I don't give a damn if you say that in private, but if you did let me know you said that, it is extremely impolite to the teacher; 4) they are lucky to be get caught by me, as if it were a stranger and you pointed your hand out and said 'he's so fat, ha ha', they will be in much more trouble then just a recess detention.

Okay, after that, most students knew they were wrong and tried their best to pay attention in class ( I can't expect them to be totally attentive. They are afterall only 7 years old.), but H. made no attempt to do so. He didn't bring his textbook and workbook. He didn't tell me that his classmate wouldn't share his textbooks with H. and worst of all, he didn't pay attention in class because of that and proceeded to interrupting his classmates sitting around him.

*sigh* By this point, I was near losing it. So instead of dealing with him myself on my own, I asked the school social worker, Ms. Leung, to help me out. And let me tell you, H. was still not scared or felt he had done anything wrong. Me and Ms. Leung played a little of angel and devil on him, but still, he hadn't got a care of the world. He was still smiling when being scolded seriously by some other teachers who knew about the situation, and boy, aren't they furious.

Can somebody help me please?

~ Calbee

Me? Katharine Hepburn?

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:56:07 GMT

My score on The Classic Dames Test:

Katharine Hepburn

(You scored 23% grit, 33% wit, 38% flair, and 28% class!)

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the
Classic Leading Man Test.

Link: The Classic Dames Test
(OkCupid Free Online Dating)

Is face really that important?

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:39:56 GMT

I met with an old friend yesterday, and we had a great time.

It has been a long time since the two of us met, so we have a lot to catch up on. and one of the things we talked about was meeting up with old schoolmates etc.

As some of you know that I didn't have a good time while studying in the local Catholic girls' school, and my self-confidence was nonexistent until I transferred to international school, and I could say I owe a lot of who I am now to the teachers in that international school.

As I am now confident of who I am and what I have chosen as my career, I want to prove to my old classmates in the girls' school that I am not a pushover. Anyway, that was why I bought one of those school anniversary dinner tickets, and wish I could call it even with my old classmates and schoolmates. You know, like a little revenge.

Anyway, none of the ones from my year attended the celebration but others from the years above or below me, and let's just say they were not friendly towards me, and the worst was two of those people who were sitting at the same table as me, actually knew me, and watched me grew up (but lost contact after I transferred to international school), were trying to belittle me all through the dinner. Basically they were being snobbish and all, and once they knew I was now teacher, they kept saying things which implied that being teacher was rubbish, well, maybe a bit exaggerated but you know what I mean.

And interestingly, I had a much much nicer time talking and laughing with my past teachers (my godmother was my teacher in primary school), and one of my godmother's new colleague asked for my opinion on sending her son to Directly Subsidize School especially the school I am teaching in now, and at the end of that chat, she turned to my godmother and said, "Denise, no wonder she is your favourite and goddaughter. She is good." ^_^ i am so proud of myself. However, I couldn't sit with them because of stupid management about students and alumni cannot sit with the teachers.

Anyway, my friend also mentioned something similar. She went this reunion thing and her best friend was worried for her that she would look bad as my friend still hadn't got a job at the time since she only just graduated from university. She had this prep-talk with her about what to say and what no to say so my friend wouldn't be embarrassed. I found it totally ridiculous, since she just graduated, and did she really think jobs lined up themselves for you to choose? Anyway, by the end of the night of the reunion, after her best friend left, her old classmates were saying that how bad her best friend flaunting about her career as a lawyer.

*sigh* I guess I am still very naive about these things. I just don't understand what is up with these people. So maybe I don't earn as much at the moment like they do as lawyers or bankers, but I will get there slowly, and I am proud of my job. So what right do they have to criticize me?! Why do people care about face that much? Or is it just me for not caring about pride and stuff? A job is a job, and at the end of the day, the most important to me is I love this job and it paid my bills. I would tell people what I do as loud even if I am just a clerk or sales!

So what the heck is their bloody problem with belittling people all the time?!

~ Calbee

A review of my first year back home and work

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:25:07 GMT

Actually this post is long overdue.

I have now been back home for a year and three months now, and I think it is time to review what has happened so far.

It is a bit weird to be living a home after being on my own studying in UK for almost 6 years. I have to accommodate to my mum's habit as well as her temper. I guess the base problem is that she still couldn't see me as an individual, and that since Dad has let her do whatever she wants within reasons while I was in UK, she has difficulty to get used to having one more person n the house. I guess this is the traditional Chinese mother mentality --- mother owns her children.

Currently, my short-term goal is stay away from her if things look remotely turning bad, and I'll be moving out as soon as I get the next promotion on my job (it would take one year for the quick way, or two years for my comfort) and my salary to hit HK$18,000 (around US$2300 or £1160) a month, which should ensure that I could move out and pay for the mortgage of a small flat. Fingers-crossed, just two more years.

My dad's cancer is the biggest shock on the home front, but the worst, to me anyway, has passed. The surgery went exceptionally well, as the doctors/ surgents/ oncologists were more than happy about his progress. According to my mum, who is a nurse, and knows more about the medical side of things, said as long as my dad recieves and stands all the chemotherapy, it is very likely that my dad could have more than 10 years after full recovery (well, my dad is now over 60, so the doctors all believe that 10 years should not be a problem for him). So far, all the test reports are quite good with no sign of any spread of the cancer.

All that's left to do is for my dad to realize how lucky it is that his cancer was discovered just in time. Actually, the doctors are now doing a case study on him since no one has ever discovered one's esophagus cancer at such an early stage. So they are using my dad as case study, and doing the best and the most argressive treatment to make sure he fully recovers. The only problem is for my dad to know that he is indeed lucky in all these unluckiness.

Workwise, I have been very fortunate this year. A good job with lots of potentials, good bosses and mentors, some not so good colleagues, exhausting but cute and intelligent students. There is not much I would complain there.

These are some of my star students in my drama class. They could be a handful at times, but they are good kids and very bright.

These are some of my grade one students. Don't get fooled by their serious standing facade. They could give the Weasley twins a run for their money.

Two of my colleagues whom I could call friends and two of my more naughty students.

Well, he's definitely one of my favourites and whom also let me hug him taking the photo.

Let's hope it is going to be as good for me this coming year.

~ Calbee

My LPAT results are here!

Tue, 08 May 2007 12:53:03 GMT

Well, my results were here this afternoon when I got home, and I guess it is mostly good news.

In order to attain the proficiency requirement needed to teach English as a teacher, I have to pass all 5 papers (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking and Classroom Language Assessment). For each paper I need a mark of 3 or above in order to pass. (The full mark is 5.) And obtaining an overall mark of 4 or above for each paper would be one of the qualifications needed to be subject head for English.

In the end I failed only one, and as ironical as it is, it's the Speaking paper that I failed.

YUP. I am not joking here. Instead of the Writing and Listening papers which I feared I would fail, I failed the Speaking paper.

So far I had talked to one of my mentors at work, my godmother who is also a teacher (who had passed her proficiency test two years ago) and my dad about it, and they all have different responses.

My dad was obviously disappointed that I didn’t pass all 5 papers. Well, like I said in the last entry, I would be very happy if I don’t fail all five papers, and in the end I only failed one, which really is a problem of inexperience and lack of academic knowledge about English Language AND unluckiness.

My mentor at work, Jackie, and my godmother both said I am mad to take all 5 papers at the same time, and in the end I get a 3 for Writing, 4 for Reading and Listening, and 4.5 for Classroom Language Assessment. They are all very thrilled for me, but shocked as well that I failed the Speaking paper. According to my results notice, I mainly failed in Interacting with peers and Explaining language matters to peers. According to both Jackie and godmother, it is most likely that I was the weak link (my lack of academic knowledge of English Language and Grammar) during the group discussion of the Speaking paper, and resulting in me failing it. Well, it’s partly my fault I guess since there is no way I could devour a English Grammar book as thick as a telephone book a month before the test, and the other being plain unlucky enough to get paired up with two stronger opponents.

They also suggested that I should ask for the papers rechecked for Classroom Language Assessment (CLA) and Speaking. In both papers, there are two criteria which are the same: - 1) Pronunciation, stress and intonation and 2) Grammatical accuracy. Well, the marks for both differed largely in marks. I get 4.5 and 4.5 respectively for CLA, while 3 and 3 respectively for Speaking. A bit of a big difference, isn’t it? Anyway, I am considering for a rechecking, though I am not sure how helpful could it be.

I am going to tell Ms Lo, my headteacher tomorrow, and I hope she will be happy about it! She, like my dad, believes that I should go through it with ease. Ah well, relatively ease, just one paper to retake. XP

~ Calbee

Happy Birthday to me!

Sun, 06 May 2007 16:10:33 GMT

Hahaha! How is everyone?

Yes, it is my birthday tomorrow and I am glad to tell you all things are finally looking up.

My dad had finished his first round of chemotherapy for his esophagus last week, and he's going to finish his radiotherapy this coming week. He is doing better than the doctors expected, so fingers crossed. He'll be having his next round of chemo for his large intestines, but according to my mum, it's not anything to be worried about since my dad got through his first chemo for his esophagus, he should have no problem with this next round, especially he isn't doing it once a week for this one. It will be once every three weeks until November, depending on how much my dad could take.

I just had my interview on Friday with the headteacher and subject heads about renewing my contract next year, and I was absolutely thrilled that I would be offered the post of TTA (teacher teaching assistant) instead of teacher because I still haven't got my PGDE yet, and it seemed my headteacher was worried that I would not be happy about the offer. How wrong to she to think that!

I will be studying for my PGDE next year, and I'd rather have less salary than having to be a teacher and class teacher at that! Leave me a bit more them to deal with my future studies. ^_^

Anyway, the interview only took about 5 mins, but once I got out of it, I went straight to discuss with two outsourced drama tutors about the upcoming school play in the meeting room, so I had no clue that all my close colleagues (i.e. Jacky, Winnie, Pauline etc.) were in fact waiting for me to come back in the staffroom to see how my interview went. So you can imagine the slight scolding I got when I finally arrived back in staffroom 30 mins later, with them thinking something had gone wrong with the interview, like my contract was not going to be renewed etc. Still, I appreciated their support and concern.

On the other head, being offered the two-years' contract of TTA means that I have got myself a promotion AND a huge payrise from September onwards! And gues how much a payrise? A 30%payrise! YAYYYYYY!!!

Now all I have left to wait for is my LPAT results. Let's hope I didn't faill all four papers. ^_^

P.S. I told my friend about the payrise and work stuff, and somehow we got talking about dream career, and she said she could see me being a teacher even before I showed any interest in it. Mind you, we met way back during first year in university, and I have to say I was still not exactly clear at that time if I want to be a teacher. I wonder how she figured that out before I did.

~ Calbee