Tuesday: The Tension Remains

Assalaamu'alaikum. Today, the tension that arouse yesterday seems to be remaining. There were more ideas that Mr. Principal and the rest of us (mainly Ms. Vice-Principal and a Coordinator) disagree on. It was about the target of Tilawati. It seems that Mr. Principal cannot think deeply and therefore is unable to grasp every bit of information that he reads.

So, this morning, he informed us that the target of Tilawati learning should be finished by the end of grade 2. Meanwhile, in reality, it is totally impossible to make that happen. Not only the students, even worse, the teachers would also find that hard to achieve. Teaching Tilawati needs strong foundation of the Hijaiyyah alphabets recitation. And in fact, not all teachers are certified Tilawati teachers. Some homeroom teachers do teach Tilawati, but it is based on the level they are allowed to teach according to the Tilawati teachers' test. I myself am only allowed to teach level 3 and below. 

This reality depends on teachers' basic skills of Qur'an recitation. Those who went to Islamic boarding schools usually have better skills, and the opposite. Therefore, that information was quite a big shocked for us. The Coordinator felt desperate and stated her willingness to quit working here if the rule being informed will be applied. In the end, Mr. Principal stated his willingness to discuss it further and find the win-win solution. 

This story is only a piece of our journey after the Principal was changed. The new Principal has a totally different mindset from us though in fact he frequently said that he agrees with us on several things. I hope that he learns to adapt to our values and rules therefore there wont be any tension again among us. Bringing things to make changes is acceptable, but one needs to make sure to respect the developed values and rules.

Colored by that tension, I have done several things as follow:

1. Printing English worksheets as Ms. Tara suggested
2. Uploading the worksheets on 5 Ali & 5 Umar's google classrooms
3. Finding and uploading videos of Pitik Tukung and Jaranan on google classrooms to remind students of geguritan
4. Finding and printing a worksheet for English Matrix tomorrow
5. Texting Miss Nawang about the SLC proposal
6. Downloading term 3 Rubric to start drafting term 3 rubric of 2022/2023 academic year
7. Informing students about Book Days 2023
8. Finding a game to play in the English Matrix class on: https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/10-best-games-esl-teachers#paragraph-item-41707 

     The Mime

Miming is an excellent way for students to practice their tenses and their verbs. It's also great for teachers with minimal resources or planning time, or teachers who want to break up a longer lesson with something more interactive. It's adaptable to almost any language point that you might be focusing on.

This game works with any age group, although you will find that adults tire of this far quicker than children. To keep them engaged, relate what they will be miming to your groups' personal interests as best as possible.

• Why use it? Vocabulary; Speaking
• Who it's best for: All ages; best with young learners

Play Video

HOW TO PLAY:

• Before the class, write out some actions - like washing the dishes - and put them in a bag.
• Split the class into two teams.
• Bring one student from each team to the front of the class and one of them choose an action from the bag.
• Have both students mime the action to their team.
• The first team to shout the correct answer wins a point.
• Repeat this until all students have mimed at least one action.

=====

At the end of the day, the tension remains but with lower intensity. I bet we got tired already. I am not expecting that things are going to be totally resolved tomorrow, but at least everyone tried to be true with themselves. Wassalaamu'alaikum.