The Mission

i believe that in life, everything happens to us for a reason.

when i was first posted to tok jiring, my sister in-law poked fun at me "haa you're going to be an ustazah!". back then i was young, and with all my rebellion (because i had to turn down the offer of being a journalist) i didn't see what i was supposed to have learned until much later. but now i know that a religious school was what i needed for my first posting, so that some of the islamic culture would be ingrained in me.

when i was in SS, i was exposed to a new set of students, and a very different atmosphere. tok jiring was quite relaxed in the sense that they only focused on academic achievement, but in SS, extra curricular activities and academic excellence are equally important. i was overwhelmed during my first year there, because there were so many activities and i just couldn't keep up. but after my 1st year, it went smoothly, and i embraced the "business" of being an SS teacher. SS taught me to be confident, especially being confident in teaching good students. and i'm proud of being an SS teacher, despite my incessant "when i was in Seri Puteri..." lecture.

now, being at the new school, i'm beginning to feel relaxed, although i know that i can't expect life there to be a bed of roses. as i blogged earlier, the students are weak, that i can't help but feel pity for them - for their ignorance, that i feel a moral obligation towards them to teach them so that they can break free from the chains and feel liberated. seven students from my own form 1 class are almost illiterate. it's painful for me to see a boy struggling to spell his father's name or my form 2 girl who doesnt know the word "kick" or simple present tense and simple past tense.

yes, i realised that God has put me in this school so that i can help to change these students' lives. this is the toughest task for me so far. believe me, it's easier to teach good students, just because they're already good and you're there just to polish them; it's the weak students who really test your capability as a teacher.

i don't know if i can help to improve their literacy, but i'll try my best to do so. a just cause.