Hi All,
So tomorrow starts the 2nd year of my teaching career. Yes, the 2nd year sure isn't greeted with as much fanfare as the 1st year I know but there is still a lot of excitement in the air.
For one thing, now that I've been back in Macau for a week, and had a chance to get to know the new teaching team at TIS, there's even more reason to hope for a great year. First year definitely brought it's challenges with me having to do just about everything from scratch but 2nd year brings the challenges of leadership. Everything from planning and leading a pack of 50+ teenagers on a week long trip to a foreign country (alright, I'll just say we're going to Taiwan again for experience week), to hosting the staff dinner club (don't laugh, I take that position seriously... but not THAT seriously), the 2nd year should prove to be as exciting and rewarding as the first year was.
Let's not forget that I'll have my hands-full with another batch of grade 7s. For the first time in a long time, I don't feel particularly nervous about the first day of school. Part of the reason is probably because I'm in exactly the same position as the year before, the other part of the reason might be because I'm already done lesson planning for a full 2 weeks :). I'm sure that the nerves will kick in a bit tomorrow once I'm in front of 22 pairs of eyes. Having already taught a full year also gives me the satisfaction of seeing my grade 7s from last year advanced to the next grade level. Sure, while it might not be the biggest accomplishments in any of their lives, as a teacher I can't help feeling a sometimes overwhelming sense of pride and excitement to see the people I've poured so much of myself into move onto bigger and better things.
Every school year will have repetitive elements, so to break new ground with the blog, I am aiming to change the format to make the posts more frequently, often covering some interesting daily happenings or "philosophical" ramblings of my experiences. Granted should any significant happenings occur, you can expect a full recounting of the details. I liken what I'm doing to a new year's resolution; I'm hopeful this will work well but things might just revert back to the old ways before long (such a pessimist).
An early morning awaits, so it's time to find the bed and be ready for another amazing adventure tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Jason
P.S. Apologies for the lack of pictures, my SLR is still in Canada for repairs. I not a big fan of uploading the crummy point and shoot camera pictures if I can help it at all. The good news is that I should be getting the SLR back in October!
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Friday, 17 August 2012
An Intriguing Start
Hi All,
Well I didn't really expect my second year in Macau to start off this way but who could possibly expect this kind of a start. I'll preface this short entry by telling you that I am sharing the same apartment I had last year with a new TIS staff and that my trip over to Macau was mostly uneventful other than the fact that I was on the same flight as 2 other teachers from TIS and that their luggage mysterious was lost in transit.
What I really wanted to write about was the first words my roommate said to me when I got to the apartment. No he didn't greet me with a welcome, otherwise there wouldn't be a point in writing this entry. He said, "our apartment's been broken into." Yes, our apartment had been broken into that very same day, as I was coming to Macau and he was at new staff orientation. We didn't get robbed clean, for that matter almost nothing of mine was taken other than some Taiwanese money. My roommate wasn't as fortunate. Gone was his laptop, a couple of watches, and other little electronic goods.
The rest of the day was spent contacting our landlord, and dragging the police investigation team to our apartment to check out the crime scene. The police brought in 2 divisions, dusted for prints, checked IDs, snapped photos, asked us questions, and did a few other things that made it feel like a scene out of CSI, minus the gruesome murders. It just a lot to take in mere hours after arriving in Macau.
Not the best first day back but hopefully over the next few days we can make some headway into this situation and maybe even recover the lost items. Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed for us!
Well I didn't really expect my second year in Macau to start off this way but who could possibly expect this kind of a start. I'll preface this short entry by telling you that I am sharing the same apartment I had last year with a new TIS staff and that my trip over to Macau was mostly uneventful other than the fact that I was on the same flight as 2 other teachers from TIS and that their luggage mysterious was lost in transit.
What I really wanted to write about was the first words my roommate said to me when I got to the apartment. No he didn't greet me with a welcome, otherwise there wouldn't be a point in writing this entry. He said, "our apartment's been broken into." Yes, our apartment had been broken into that very same day, as I was coming to Macau and he was at new staff orientation. We didn't get robbed clean, for that matter almost nothing of mine was taken other than some Taiwanese money. My roommate wasn't as fortunate. Gone was his laptop, a couple of watches, and other little electronic goods.
The rest of the day was spent contacting our landlord, and dragging the police investigation team to our apartment to check out the crime scene. The police brought in 2 divisions, dusted for prints, checked IDs, snapped photos, asked us questions, and did a few other things that made it feel like a scene out of CSI, minus the gruesome murders. It just a lot to take in mere hours after arriving in Macau.
Not the best first day back but hopefully over the next few days we can make some headway into this situation and maybe even recover the lost items. Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed for us!
Friday, 29 June 2012
The End of the Beginning
Hi All,
Oops, I haven't posted on the blog in months it seems and for that I apologize. I had expected the end of the school year to be smooth sailing in a manner similar to how students seem to just "get by" during the home stretch of any school year. It turns out not to be the case, especially when I have to write 2 brand new exams on my own from scratch, mark those exams, prepare the final set of report cards, and deal with all the year end business.
As I expect this to be a long entry, let me just do a quick rundown of all that's happened since the last update:
If you believe that there is a right road to take in life, this definitely would constitute as the right road for me. While initially, it was tough saying goodbye to the people and life I had in Canada, I found myself developing a comfortable niche here. On the personal side, it really helped me grow an appreciation of both sides of my Chinese-Canadian heritage. I've never accepted myself as being "Asian cultured" but now I feel as though I have a bit of that eastern culture within me. A testament to this, has been a slightly improved ability but a significantly improved confidence in my Mandarin speaking and listening skills. I even managed go through an entire parent-teacher interview in Mandarin!
From a teaching standpoint, I've been challenged and rewarded equally in my first year as a teacher. There are some very polar viewpoints about value of teachers, with some of the general public scoffing at our lengthy summer breaks and ease of work, against the most idealistic of teachers (of whom I once was) who lament about the effort they put into their craft to ensure all of their students are independent, capable leaders of the future. Passing through my first year of teaching, I might not be the idealist I once was but in no way can I ever buy into the idea that my job can ever be considered "easy". My personal take on teaching is simply this, for a teacher who is truly committed to his/her work, being a teacher is simultaneously the most fulfilling yet frustrating career in existence. You will have days, lessons, and experiences that will catalyze your students to becoming the amazing people that they someday will become. Yet on those same days, you might still have frustrations that keep you awake at night. Sometimes, you'll want your students to improve even more than they themselves want to improve, and unfortunately no amount of support can overcome an absence of determination to improve on a student's part.
As I've said before, the most reassuring thing about whether I'm doing the right thing in life is the fact that at no point this year have I felt like teaching has been work in the traditional sense of the word. At no point this year have I told myself that getting paid was the justification for why I chose to get into teaching. I teach because I love knowing that the things I do can have a significant impact on the lives of my students in the future. Certainly my first year of teaching has not be free of mistakes and practices that can be improved upon. I am also willing to accept that it might take me many more years to teach to a completely satisfactory level. But the other part of the reason I love teaching is that the students and demands of the position will always challenge me to be a better role model than I currently am for my students.
This year has definitely been one to remember and I'm excited to make next year just as memorable. But for now, I'm really exhausted from a hard year's work. Everyone says the first year of teaching is always the toughest but I'm not sure I fully buy into that. I'm sure next year will be less of doing everything from scratch, but next year will pose it's own new set of challenges. I'm excited to see many familiar faces this summer and I thank each and every person who has read this blog and supported me on this journey. This is only the end of the beginning and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next chapter holds.
Jason
Oops, I haven't posted on the blog in months it seems and for that I apologize. I had expected the end of the school year to be smooth sailing in a manner similar to how students seem to just "get by" during the home stretch of any school year. It turns out not to be the case, especially when I have to write 2 brand new exams on my own from scratch, mark those exams, prepare the final set of report cards, and deal with all the year end business.
As I expect this to be a long entry, let me just do a quick rundown of all that's happened since the last update:
- TIS hosted an international middle school basketball tournament. While it meant that I basically had to work the weekend as well, it was a tremendous well coordinated affair, with local television coverage, a packed gym (by essentially the whole school) for a few of the games, use of a jumbotron, and well though out social activities for the coaches and players. The icing on the cake was the great results TIS got from the tournament, with the boys finishing as repeat champions (on last second basket to seal the win) and the girls gutting out a 2nd place finish despite a 3rd of the team being injured.
- The student councils hosted a benefit concert and a group of teachers rocked the final act. I could describe it to you, but I think you'll be much more interested in seeing the performance for yourself here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh3AJBJByME&feature=youtu.be
- A friend from back home in Canada came to visit and we hit up some of the popular attractions around Macau. Finally redeemed my set of free tickets to the House of Dancing Water show. In a word, the show was spectacular. Definitely worth checking out if you're ever in Macau.
- We had a swap day for the grade 6s and 7s towards the end of the year. It is primarily for the grade 6 students to get a taste of what secondary school life is like. The jump from 6 to 7 is a significant one as many of you will have remembered and we organized something to help the grade 6s feel more at ease when they get here next year. I told my homeroom students, that they would find recess a waste of time in their time revisiting elementary school. Indeed the grade 7s came back feeling like they didn't belong in elementary school (despite their initial rampant excitement for one last taste of recess) anymore. I used this as an opportunity to show them how much they had grown in their time with me.
- The 2012 edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix Volleyball Tournament rolled around to Macau again (but not the finals). One of the teacher's at the school had connections with the organizers and we got to take our junior girls volleyball team to check out Team China's practice. When the event started we took the girls to check out the games and the Puerto Rican and Argentinian players were nice enough to take pictures with and sign autographs for our girls. I neat treat for me, was that my mom happened to be around and it was the perfect venue for her to come with our team and see my interactions as a teacher with students.
- The end of the year brings along a lot of reflection and celebrations. In the final few weeks we held the athletics banquet, the academics awards ceremony, and end of year staff party. With the student events, it was really great see some really deserving kids get recognized for their hard work in athletics and academics. The staff party was great time but bittersweet as well when considering it as the unofficial send-off the some of the staff leaving the school.
- I will still be teaching exactly the same classes that I've taught this year (Grade 7 Science and Math) in the exact same classroom
- I will most likely not be living on my own next year or if not that, I will definitely not be living in the same apartment. Rent in Macau is getting ludicrously expensive and even with a substantial increase in our rent supplement payments, I can no longer afford living solo in a 3 bedroom apartment. I am currently cultivating a few roommate options for next year and I'll keep you posted on the situation.
- In the span of one year, I turn from rookie teacher into the grade team leader. I will be the only Grade 7 homeroom teacher left behind from this past year. In a highly juxtaposed position, I will be responsible for showing the incoming new (but still more experienced) teachers the ways of TIS middle school. I will also be responsible for planning the Grade 7 experience week trip. Taiwan, here I come again!
- I'll also be leading the youth group program at my church in the coming year. Despite an initial PD conflict of interest crisis (since so many of those kids are my students), and I've come to love every single moment of youth group and sharing in fellowship with some amazing young adults. Despite the added bit of work, I'm really looking forward to the position next year.
- My coaching duties for next year have changed, but only slightly. The length of the volleyball season is growing so that we'll have to start practices basically right from the beginning of the year. This means I will not longer be coaching tennis next year. Instead of one mini-tournament and the Taiwan tournament, next year we'll be playing in the local Macau school league (regular season format) as well as 3 full scale tournaments. I told our athletic director that I still wanted to be assistant coach for the junior girls if nothing else because we definitely have some unfinished business, and as ridiculous as it sounds, I would be bothered not to have the chance to bring the girls back to the finals again next year and hopefully win gold this time. I was also asked if I could head coach one of the new under 12 volleyball teams next year. As of right now, I've said yes and it is only a matter of figuring out whether I'll be coaching the boys or girls U12 team.
If you believe that there is a right road to take in life, this definitely would constitute as the right road for me. While initially, it was tough saying goodbye to the people and life I had in Canada, I found myself developing a comfortable niche here. On the personal side, it really helped me grow an appreciation of both sides of my Chinese-Canadian heritage. I've never accepted myself as being "Asian cultured" but now I feel as though I have a bit of that eastern culture within me. A testament to this, has been a slightly improved ability but a significantly improved confidence in my Mandarin speaking and listening skills. I even managed go through an entire parent-teacher interview in Mandarin!
From a teaching standpoint, I've been challenged and rewarded equally in my first year as a teacher. There are some very polar viewpoints about value of teachers, with some of the general public scoffing at our lengthy summer breaks and ease of work, against the most idealistic of teachers (of whom I once was) who lament about the effort they put into their craft to ensure all of their students are independent, capable leaders of the future. Passing through my first year of teaching, I might not be the idealist I once was but in no way can I ever buy into the idea that my job can ever be considered "easy". My personal take on teaching is simply this, for a teacher who is truly committed to his/her work, being a teacher is simultaneously the most fulfilling yet frustrating career in existence. You will have days, lessons, and experiences that will catalyze your students to becoming the amazing people that they someday will become. Yet on those same days, you might still have frustrations that keep you awake at night. Sometimes, you'll want your students to improve even more than they themselves want to improve, and unfortunately no amount of support can overcome an absence of determination to improve on a student's part.
As I've said before, the most reassuring thing about whether I'm doing the right thing in life is the fact that at no point this year have I felt like teaching has been work in the traditional sense of the word. At no point this year have I told myself that getting paid was the justification for why I chose to get into teaching. I teach because I love knowing that the things I do can have a significant impact on the lives of my students in the future. Certainly my first year of teaching has not be free of mistakes and practices that can be improved upon. I am also willing to accept that it might take me many more years to teach to a completely satisfactory level. But the other part of the reason I love teaching is that the students and demands of the position will always challenge me to be a better role model than I currently am for my students.
This year has definitely been one to remember and I'm excited to make next year just as memorable. But for now, I'm really exhausted from a hard year's work. Everyone says the first year of teaching is always the toughest but I'm not sure I fully buy into that. I'm sure next year will be less of doing everything from scratch, but next year will pose it's own new set of challenges. I'm excited to see many familiar faces this summer and I thank each and every person who has read this blog and supported me on this journey. This is only the end of the beginning and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next chapter holds.
Jason
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| The SCISAC basketball tournament with a packed house |
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| The Opening Ceremonies of the World Grand Prix of Volleyball |
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| Yeah the girls were super excited to meet professional volleyball players. |
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| Puerto Rico's player posing for a picture |
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| While our girls might not have known the players by name, they sure were excited to get the autographs |
.jpg) |
| My homeroom class |
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| The tennis team |
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| The junior girls volleyball team |
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Quick Update
Hi Everybody,
Well it has been some time since my last post and but the last few weeks really haven't been tremendously eventful outside of school related stuff. School has been a handful though, the end of the year is always filled with a cool amount of chaos and I am really embracing the day-to-day adventures that comes with being a teacher. I'll put together a more thorough post sometime within the next few weeks but in the meantime, let me leave you with a bit of a teaser from our TIS Benefit Concert:
http://youtu.be/Zh3AJBJByME
Well it has been some time since my last post and but the last few weeks really haven't been tremendously eventful outside of school related stuff. School has been a handful though, the end of the year is always filled with a cool amount of chaos and I am really embracing the day-to-day adventures that comes with being a teacher. I'll put together a more thorough post sometime within the next few weeks but in the meantime, let me leave you with a bit of a teaser from our TIS Benefit Concert:
http://youtu.be/Zh3AJBJByME
Monday, 16 April 2012
A Country Hoping Lifestyle
Hey Everyone,
So things have been pretty eventful the last few weeks. Spring break almost seems a distance memory already but it was definitely a great week away from school, hanging out in the Perhentian islands in Malaysia.
After an overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur, we flew out to Kota Bharu. A bus and boat ride later, we has a picturesque view of the amazing tropical island for just about a full week. The intent of our group was to receive our scuba diving open water certification and enjoy the sand and surf while at the islands.
The scuba diving course, was an interesting mix of traditional course work and hands on diving experience. I was dreading the course work part (after all, we were on vacation) but it actually turned out to be very informative and had a lot of scientific ties which I always enjoy. As for scuba diving itself, it does take some getting used to and it was a little nerve-racking at first being underwater for such a length of time. But once I got the hang of things, it was an incredible experience. The underwater world is nothing quite like anything on land and is a serene, harmonious natural environment. Whether you like the adventure of diving deep underwater or like exploring fantastic and richly diverse environments, I recommend giving scuba diving a try, maybe even get certification which I am proud to say I managed to get before the end of our time at the Perhentians.
Other then diving, what else is there to do other than kick back and soak the relaxation that comes with living on a tropical island. It was really refreshing simply living each day on a whim, and doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like doing it. Unfortunately, real life had to kick in eventually and before we would have liked, we found ourselves traveling back to KL and spending an overnight actually in KL this time.
Almost immediately upon arrival back in Macau, my parents were schedule to be in town for a week-long visit. Timing wise, it couldn't have been at a more hectic time. We had report cards to complete that same week and things felt very chaotic. I did manage to make time to show my parents around Macau a bit. During this past weekend, we crossed many territorial borders in heading up to Zhuhai, China, as well as a day visit to Hong Kong. It was really a strange perspective to have that realization that I live here; my parents were full-on tourists here, checking out the attractions, whereas I almost served as a tour guide as I knew how to get around all these "local" places.
I suppose I could give you more details about a busy last 2 weeks but I think pictures tell a better story so I'll leave you with those. Little do I actively think about it, but in about 2 months and a bit, I'll have finished my first year of teaching and I'll be back in Canada for the summer. What an amazing year it is been so far and I'm sure there will be a few more adventures between now and then.
So things have been pretty eventful the last few weeks. Spring break almost seems a distance memory already but it was definitely a great week away from school, hanging out in the Perhentian islands in Malaysia.
After an overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur, we flew out to Kota Bharu. A bus and boat ride later, we has a picturesque view of the amazing tropical island for just about a full week. The intent of our group was to receive our scuba diving open water certification and enjoy the sand and surf while at the islands.
The scuba diving course, was an interesting mix of traditional course work and hands on diving experience. I was dreading the course work part (after all, we were on vacation) but it actually turned out to be very informative and had a lot of scientific ties which I always enjoy. As for scuba diving itself, it does take some getting used to and it was a little nerve-racking at first being underwater for such a length of time. But once I got the hang of things, it was an incredible experience. The underwater world is nothing quite like anything on land and is a serene, harmonious natural environment. Whether you like the adventure of diving deep underwater or like exploring fantastic and richly diverse environments, I recommend giving scuba diving a try, maybe even get certification which I am proud to say I managed to get before the end of our time at the Perhentians.
Other then diving, what else is there to do other than kick back and soak the relaxation that comes with living on a tropical island. It was really refreshing simply living each day on a whim, and doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like doing it. Unfortunately, real life had to kick in eventually and before we would have liked, we found ourselves traveling back to KL and spending an overnight actually in KL this time.
Almost immediately upon arrival back in Macau, my parents were schedule to be in town for a week-long visit. Timing wise, it couldn't have been at a more hectic time. We had report cards to complete that same week and things felt very chaotic. I did manage to make time to show my parents around Macau a bit. During this past weekend, we crossed many territorial borders in heading up to Zhuhai, China, as well as a day visit to Hong Kong. It was really a strange perspective to have that realization that I live here; my parents were full-on tourists here, checking out the attractions, whereas I almost served as a tour guide as I knew how to get around all these "local" places.
I suppose I could give you more details about a busy last 2 weeks but I think pictures tell a better story so I'll leave you with those. Little do I actively think about it, but in about 2 months and a bit, I'll have finished my first year of teaching and I'll be back in Canada for the summer. What an amazing year it is been so far and I'm sure there will be a few more adventures between now and then.
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| Our lodgings on the Perhentian islands |
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| Feet in the sand |
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| Welcome to Palau Perhentian! |
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| Looks like a feral chicken! |
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| Local bird |
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| Yes there were even monkeys |
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| What an adorable napping cat. |
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| Long beach on the small island of the Perhentians |
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| Mmm.... |
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| Jewelry at a market in KL |
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| Wind chimes at Central Market KL |
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| The Petronas Towers |
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| Weird row of objects |
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| A very long skywalk |
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| Pavilion Mall |
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| The gang's relaxing on the beach. |
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| Newly certified divers! |
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| Ready for an underwater adventure |
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| Off to the dive site |
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| Clownfish or as everyone else likes to call them... Nemo! |
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| Perhaps the most graceful swimming animal. |
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| Rawr its a lion... its a fish... its a lionfish! |
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| Lovers Rd in Zhuhai looking into Macau |
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| A seafood market street in Zhuhai |
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| I love seafood! |
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| Landmark Macau building, the Grand Lisboa |
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| A long way down... from the Peak in Hong Kong |
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| The visit to Hong Kong |
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| In the director's seat at the Avenue of Stars in Kowloon, Hong Kong |
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| Black-headed swan in Kowloon Park |
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| Flamingos too?! |
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Another Break? If you insist!
Fresh back from a second trip to Taiwan, yet another school break looms. In a week, it will be Easter break, which means a week and a day away away from school. Except this time, it really is a week away from school in the full sense, as I won't have to be looking after students during the week.
The past week has been one of adventure sharing, as students and staff alike were eager to find out about some of the other experience week trips. My students were a little rowdy at the start of the week due to having to settle back into the normal school routine. But soon enough we were right back to it with a new unit in science and a test that all the students were unnecessarily panicked about.
*** New ***
So I have no idea what happened to the second half of my post. Anyways though, with the end of another 2 weeks of school, we're right back at it with another trip. The upcoming trip is to the Pehrentian islands in Malaysia. A small group of us are heading down to the Pehrentian islands for a scuba diving trip. We're planning on obtaining our open water diving certification and then checking out Kuala Lumpur on the way back at the end of the week. Stay tuned, I might post some pictures while on the trip.
The past week has been one of adventure sharing, as students and staff alike were eager to find out about some of the other experience week trips. My students were a little rowdy at the start of the week due to having to settle back into the normal school routine. But soon enough we were right back to it with a new unit in science and a test that all the students were unnecessarily panicked about.
*** New ***
So I have no idea what happened to the second half of my post. Anyways though, with the end of another 2 weeks of school, we're right back at it with another trip. The upcoming trip is to the Pehrentian islands in Malaysia. A small group of us are heading down to the Pehrentian islands for a scuba diving trip. We're planning on obtaining our open water diving certification and then checking out Kuala Lumpur on the way back at the end of the week. Stay tuned, I might post some pictures while on the trip.
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| Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall |
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| Mini memorial hall |
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| What a great view |
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| Vertigo? |
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| Coolest looking restaurant I've ever been to. |
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| I love stinking tofu, no really! |
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| What happened you ask, an earthquake happened. |
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| The power of the Earth |
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| The Gr. 7s at Sun Moon Lake |
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| Paper factory |
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| Ten Drum Cultural Village |
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| Butterfly conservation area |
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| Liuhe Night Market in Kaohsiung |
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| Trinkets |
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| Another picture of stinking tofu? Yes! |
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| Kaohsiung coastline |
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| Dragon and Phoenix |
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