I survived a very hectic week

Last week I was asked by the school authority to act as Penyelia Petang for a week since our Penyelia Petang went for his PTK course in Miri. Oh Boy!! it is a tough week for me because on top of looking after the overall discipline of the whole afternoon session, I still have my own full load of lessons to teach. I personally found that it is so much more difficult to control the students now then it was 4 years ago when I acted as Penyelia Petang for a year and half.

The most dreaded part is the afternoon assembly where all the students were to gather in the school stadium to read story books while waiting for the morning classes to dismiss since there is serious classroom shortage in our school .

The BIG problem is students nowadays love to shout and boo at every single comments and happenings around them . As a zero tolerance being, I just can't take those shouting and "booings". During those 4 days of assembly I did away with singing patriotic songs and even praying. I personally think that if there is no discipline: singing 1001 patriotic songs and praying 101 prayers is just down the drains. I prefer the students to sit down after reading and then dismiss them orderly class by class. On the first day, I warned them not to shout or boo while going out...One of the 2G students tried me by shouting on the way out, I caught him and walloped him up in front of his class and after that for 3 days he had to sit right in front of the stadium and then left the stadium together with me after assembly.

Second day another group of 2D boys tried me out by shouting loudly when they were outside the stadium. These group was caught and identified too and walloped up in their class right after assembly. Third day and fourth day the students knew that I really meant business and kept quiet and walked out of the stadium quietly and orderly after the assembly.

Last Monday there was this heavy rain after school hence on Tuesday a big group of students wore slippers to school on the excuse that their shoes are wet. As the school rules say that students should wear white shoes as part of their school uniform. I gave them 2 choices:

1. rang up their parents to send their white shoes over OR
2. leave the slippers in the staffroom to go bare footed for the day

I know it sounds a bit cruel but it works because the second day (even though it rains in Tuesday after school too) all came in white shoes and no more slippers!!

Over the years, I also found out that the best way to punish noisy and naughty class is to detain them after school ( of course we need to warn them first before detaining them) No need to detain them for long.. 5 - 10 minutes after school is enough to see the effects at least for the next few days or so...

Another interesting incident was, on Friday 2 students from 2F class came to report that one of the students in the class brought Game boy to school. I went in the class and asked the boys to surrender the Game Boy to me. He denied that that he had the Game boy. To Kingdom come he denied and denied . I searched his bag, his good friend's bag but couldn't find any Game Boy with him. At that time my mind was working fast...very fast on how to make him to surrender that Game Boy to me since the whole incident was happening in front of his class and I didn't want to give up searching.

Then it struck me to ask him to surrender to me then I will give him back next Monday ( after confiscating it for the weekend) then ta...ta straight away he said "true kah teacher ? "

And you know where he hid the Game Boy...in the front part of his school pants which he knew very well that I would never touch when I checked him...

Personally I really dread to deal with the overall discipline like this. it is not good for health especially my blood pressure and even the sugar level....I guess all these readings do go up super high when we are angry...but when orders come... we just have to obey and carry out our duties.....