MY7THLIFE.NET

I learn every time I bleed

Thank you for the congratulatory messages, everyone! (My mom, being the uri ((roughly, a worrywart)) in this family, said that I shouldn’t be telling people just yet because I haven’t even signed anything. But I was too happy not to share the good news. And it was too late anyway, so I’m not telling her that I posted the good news online. Hehe.)

I bought four DVDs tonight, three of them thrillers. Turistas, Hostel 2, The Invisible, and Transformers. I’m going to watch them after sahur.

Then I’m going for a haircut and facial at 2PM tomorrow, if the salon is open. (The salon I’m talking about is the one I’ve gone to for over 8 years now.)

So looking forward to doing all these things before I start working. Hee.

Anyway! I’ve been tagged! (Usually it takes weeks before someone tags me with these memes. LOL.)

Name, age and occupation.
Tina, 22, and part-time radio DJ. Can I throw in ‘analyst’?

Which schools did you go to - since kindergarten up till your current/last educational institution?
Kindergarten 1: Nusa Laila Puteri school. Kindergarten 2 until primary school: PGGMB ((Persekutuan Guru-Guru Melayu Brunei)) School Telepok (moved to Sungai Akar in 1996, my final year.) Secondary school: STPRI ((Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri)). Sixth form: Maktab Duli PMAMB ((Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah)). Tertiary school: ITB ((Institut Teknologi Brunei)).

Favourite subjects [throughout the span of your education, e.g. you can include what you enjoyed in high school, college, AND university]. Why?
I had a knack for:

• English Language, I don’t know why, but I do. I think it’s fun.
• Mathematics, because I thoroughly enjoy doing equations and solving problems. This passion, however, faded in upper and sixth form.
• Biology.. loved the lessons, hated the exams. Every time I come out of a Biology lesson, I literally feel like I know more about the world.
• Java programming, because my lecturer was perfect and I loved using my logic to figure things and problems out.
• Interface Design Principles, because I was doing something I enjoy, and consider a past time.

Favourite teachers? Why?
I have a LOT! Let me start chronologically. Teachers and lecturers, however, are in no particular order. (You might want to skip this question, I have a feeling it’ll get really long.)

Mrs. Marsh, English teacher, PGGMB. She is the best. I love her. My whole family loves her. When my dad was alive, and he was picking up my sister, Mrs. Marsh would ask about me, and how I was doing. She still remembers how I look like, and, she still calls me “Tina Turner”. And I don’t even mind.

Cikgu Roseliza, Mathematics teacher, STPRI. I hope I get her name right, because I have a feeling I’ve gotten it wrong. But I loved her. She doesn’t rely on textbooks, she makes her own and photocopies them for her students. Every chapter had different covers on them. She taught me up until form 3.

Miss Tan, Biology teacher. She is very witty, and she’s the one who realized that there’s a ‘rat’ in my name. (Full name, mind.)

In Maktab Duli PMAMB, all my teachers who taught all the four subjects I had taken up, Mr. Ian Franklin a.k.a. Md. Yusuf (Business Studies), Miss Salwa (General Paper), Cikgu Munah (Biology), and Cikgu Masni (Mathematics) were my favourites. Why? They treated me like I was their friend, and they didn’t talk down to me. I love that in a teacher.

Dr. Sophiana, Advanced Programming lecturer, ITB. She doesn’t stop until I understand how such a code works.. she is like a miracle worker. She interacts well with us, the students. She relates real-life situations with Java! I know right!

Sir Idham, Interface Design Principles lecturer, ITB. His lessons are always fun and interactive. It doesn’t get too static. He has a good sense of humour, and is a good sport.

Ms. Wida, Introduction to Computer Communications lecturer, ITB. She is fun to talk to, and I can talk to her about anything under the sun. Very friendly, and practices the open door concept. Plus, she’s Osh’s sister!

Sir Irwan, Systems Analysis & Design, ITB. He knows his stuff! He’s just like Dr. Sophiana, he doesn’t stop explaining until you get it right in your head.

Well, basically all my lecturers during my years in ITB were my favourites. They were cool in their own way. And some of them read my blog too.

What qualities do you feel should a good teacher have?
I believe that a good teacher should earn respect instead of demanding it, easy to talk to, patient, and never, ever talk down to their students.

What are/were the impacts teachers have/had on you?
Here are the bad ones: I remember when I was in lower form, a particular Commerce teacher had said to my face that I will never pass my Commerce paper in my PMB. A Chemistry teacher in upper form had called me a ‘loser’, and a ‘liar’ to my face, and in front of my other classmates. (These, by the way, are what good teachers should not do!) I ended up hating Commerce (and anything business-related) and Chemistry. I do not wholly blame my insecurity based on these experiences, but they are hugely a part of it.

Also, based on these experiences, I am determined not to become an educator because I am impatient and I might hurt my students the way one or two from my past did.

The good ones, however, was when I crawled out of my high school life, my lecturers took me under their wings and sing praises.. They are tiny ones, like when you tell others about it, they may seem like they don’t matter. But, as always, it is the littlest things. This made me more confident as a person, and they made me feel like I can do anything, as long as you have the will to do it.

I actually had a plan to become a lecturer, if everything else doesn’t work out for me. Yes, I am still scared I might not be a good teacher.

There was also this one time where Mr. Franklin, Business Studies tutor in MD, said that, “Why on earth do you want to have a job which you dread to wake up to in the morning?” He inspired me to do what I want after MD. Technically, he’s saying “follow your heart”, but in a cooler way.

Describe the most memorable moment/s you’ve shared with a teacher/teachers?
This. Enough said.

Have you ever thought of becoming a teacher? Yes or no? Elaborate on your answer.
Yes and no. Please refer to the previous question on impacts/effects teachers have on me.

If you’re working, are you still in contact with any of your teachers? Why/why not?
With some of them, yes. And these ’some’ are all lecturers from ITB. I told you they were cool. I might be seeing them for a sungkai gathering with the rest of the CIS20 gang, but we’ll see.

I would really love to read what these five have to say:

1. Shasha
2. F
3. Faz
4. Ani
5. War

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 29th, 2007 at 1:41AM and is filed under Daily, ITB, Life, Meme, Personal, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.