Teachers’ Christian Fellowship MalaysiaKeeping Christian Educators InformedIN STEPVolume 16 Issue 3 PP6303/11/2004

EDITEDITEDITEDITEDITORIAL COORDINAORIAL COORDINAORIAL COORDINAORIAL COORDINAORIAL COORDINATTTTTORSORSORSORSORSGoh Hai Bee

Yap Kok Keong

EDITEDITEDITEDITEDITORIAL COMMITTEEORIAL COMMITTEEORIAL COMMITTEEORIAL COMMITTEEORIAL COMMITTEEDaniel Gan

Indyrany KannaiyaLeow Lee Lin

Liew Nyuk LanTan Juat Ngoh

LALALALALAYYYYYOUT / DESIGNOUT / DESIGNOUT / DESIGNOUT / DESIGNOUT / DESIGNTan Nguk Lim

ILLILLILLILLILLUSUSUSUSUSTRATRATRATRATRATTTTTORORORORORDavina Chan

TCF OFFICETCF OFFICETCF OFFICETCF OFFICETCF OFFICEC10-0-05

Subang Perdana Goodyear Court 347610 Subang Jaya

Selangor, MalaysiaTel/Fax : 03-56375623

E-mail : tcfmy@pd.jaring.my

PRINTERPRINTERPRINTERPRINTERPRINTERPrintmate Sdn Bhd

16 Jalan Industri P.B. P 7Taman Industri

Pusat Bandar Puchong47100 Puchong

Selangor

IN STEP IN STEP IN STEP IN STEP IN STEP is a non-profitChristian newsletterpublished four times a yearby the Teachers’ ChristianFellowship Malaysia (TCF).It is dedicated to Christianeducators and issued FREEto TCF members. For moreinformation, please contactthe address above.

VIEWS EXPRESSED ARETHE WRITERS’ AND DO NOTNECESSARILY REPRESENTTHOSE OF TCF.

- 2 -

Contents

Editorial .............................. 3

The Big Book of Miracles .............................. 4

Back to School ............................... 7

West Timur, Here We Come .............................. 10

Singapore, O Singapore! ............................... 12

The Bangsar Blogs .............................. 14

Sibu Teachers’ Day ............................. 19

In Partnership ........................... 24

- 3 -

Why are we teachers? Most of us have probably forgottenwhy, our minds being bogged down with student problemsand mountains of paperwork. Indeed, for some of us, theschool day starts with a drag and we just can’t wait for thelast bell. We can’t wait for Fridays and we can’t wait for theholidays. If we survive the week, it is because our con-science tells us to just do the job. We become mechanicalrobots going through the routine of school.

Most of us did not just wander into teaching. We chose to be teachersand we enjoyed it; the first few years at least. What went wrong then?We had ideals and we had dreams. We had a mission and we loved ourstudents. Just as Christians should regain their first love for Christ,teachers should rekindle their first love for teaching. They need to.

Funny, the grass outside always looks greener than our school padang;we don’t realise how blessed we are that we have secure jobs. Funnythat we suffer from short term memory loss; we can hardly recall any ofthe great times we had as teachers, but can quite readily rattle off awhole list of laments. Funny that we constantly need dose after dose ofencouragement to keep us on course in our life mission as teachers.

In this issue of In Step, may each of us be reminded of our ‘first love’ forteaching. A teacher trainee shares his experiences at practical teachingand helps us recall our first days of teaching. A full-time worker goes ona 5 month teaching stint and shares her thoughts with us. Then, wehave gems of advice gleaned from a recent TCF seminar to inspire us.Finally, a teacher couple with their sights set on a bigger mission fieldshare their vision with us. We hope you will be recharged once more forGod and for teaching.

Daniel Gan

Editorial

- 4 -

August 7, 2004. KualaLumpur. Saturday.. Just an-other ordinary Saturday… No!Not for some eighty teachersfrom different parts of the coun-try who were gathered at theImpiana Hotel that morning.For them, it was to be an ex-traordinary Saturday.

The Big Book of MiraclesReported by Pang Ngan Yue

They were the participants of the “TheBig Book of Miracles” seminar, whichwas conducted by Mrs. Chua YenChing, Principal of the ShuqunSecondary School in Singapore.(Those of you who have been keepingup with “In Step” might remember herbetter as Mrs. Bean – a la Mr. Bean.).

The framework of the seminar wasstructured into three sessions:

· Session One: “Calling to be ateacher,” where Mrs. Chua shared hertestimony on why she joined theteaching profession and how Godguided her along the way.

· Session Two: “Teaching – amission and not a vocation,” where sheshared how she was called to serveas a Principal and in the Headquartersof the Ministry of Education(Singapore)

· Session Three: “Back toSchool,” where she shared the reasonwhy she requested to serve in aneighbourhood school, and thegratification she felt in being able to

- 5 -

implement some of the policies andprogrammes which she had a hand informing.

Through numerous real life examples,anecdotes and object lessons with afew magic tricks thrown in for effect,Mrs. Chua took her audience along animpassioned journey of desiring,seeking, discovering, learning andpracticing what it takes for one to bethe kind of teacher God intended: Themiracle believing and miracle workingteacher.

What does it take to be that? Theanswer is two-fold, like two sides of acoin.

To elaborate, one side of the coinrequires the teacher to look withinhimself or herself and ask: How do Ibecome the leader I want to be?

The other side of the coin requires theteacher to look at the students,especially those with special needsand ask: How do I motivate(challenging) children?

Why was it named the “BigBook of Miracles” seminar,you may ask. The namewas inspired by Mrs.Chua’s A3 sized (hence,big) “scrapbook” (as sheherself calls it, and mindyou, she has a few volumesof “scrapbooks”). In it shehas compiled letters,cards, newspaper cuttingsand various memorabilia toreflect on how studentshave had an impact on herlife and vice versa. And theimpact is nothing short ofmiraculous (hence,miracles). In short, thecontents of Mrs. Chua’s“scrapbooks” reflect real-life miracles performed byteachers on their studentswhose lives they touch,nurture and inspire.Miracles that transform astruggling, challenged foalof a student into a stallion.And a chrysalis of adelinquent into a butterfly.

In practical terms, both sides of the coinrequire a dynamic review of one’s mentalmodel as that can influence theresponses and ultimately, the results oneachieves. When this coin is held in thehands of a teacher with a desire to makea difference for the better, and awillingness to lead, miracles start tohappen...

For a person who said she just wanted tobe “part of the furniture” – and she couldhave easily become that given her slightframe coupled with her placid demeanourand manner of speech – her conduct ofthe seminar and delivery of messageshowed her up to be a real shining star.Brimming with energy and ‘fire’, Mrs. Chuakept the participants engaged and spell-bound for over six hours. And that, to useher expression, is “very powerful.” Or, howabout, “Awesome!”

In conclusion, judging by the energizedbuzz amongst the participants, theseminar was a success. Armed withpersonal notes from the seminar and somenewly learned magic tricks, with batteriesrecharged, the participants were ready totake on their calling as teachers withrenewed vigour and vision. The challengesthey face ahead are best summed up bythe “dash” and the “pencil” … And that, isanother story.

Mental Model: Your mentalmodel can influence theresponses and ultimately,the results you achieve.Take the example given byMrs. Chua of a ‘regular’ late-comer. Acting from themental model that thestudent is ill disciplined, theteacher’s response was topunish her for her lateness,which had no effect. Shecontinued to be late(result). But when theteacher changed her mentalmodel, and viewed thestudent as someone whomight be in need of help, theteacher’s response was tocare enough to find out whythe student was always late.It turned out that the studenthad to stay at home tosupervise her youngersiblings until the motherreturned from the night shift,before she could leave forschool. To cut a long storyshort, the teacher workedout a plan that enabled thestudent to be on time(result).

- 6 -

- 7 -

Last June, I completed my 6-year service contract with Scrip-ture Union. According to SUpolicy, upon completion of thecontract, the staff could apply forsabbatical leave.

Why teaching?Generally, most SU staff will spendtheir leave resting or furthering theirstudies. However, there has alwaysbeen a calling in my mind to teach inschool. During my 6-year service inScripture Union, my job required meto constantly deal with primary schoolchildren and teachers. Whencommunicating with the teachers, Ifaced difficulties in understanding theirhappiness and sadness in theirteaching life. I always felt the comfortingand encouraging words that I could offerthe teachers were too theoretical andimpossible to reach to the bottom oftheir hearts. How do I challenge and

Back to Schoolby Wang Lee Fang

encourage the teachers to continueserving as ‘soul engineers’ for the‘naughty kids’ and ‘demandingsuperiors’? Wang Lee Fang still hasa long way to go before she is qualified!

Teaching daysOn June 9th 2003, I officially reportedfor duty at Han Ming Chinese PrimarySchool, Puchong. For the first 2months, I was assigned to be thesubstitute class teacher for 2 classes.Then, when the original class teachersreturned from their maternity leave, Ibecame the subject teacher. Nomatter whether I was the class or thesubject teacher, I was still able to seethe students I had taught beforearound the school compound and ourrelationship did not fade. When Ioccasionally passed by their classesor computer labs, or during libraryhours, they would shout out my name

- 8 -

at the top of their voices. At first, I wastouched and delighted. However, astime went by, I felt embarrassed and alittle bit annoyed. Now I know that whenthe little friends get too friendly, it mightbecome uncomfortable for theteachers.

Stepping into the e-generation, in orderto fulfill contemporary needs, theeducation system has been gearedtowards providing knowledge-basededucation. The system is so focusedtowards increasing students’knowledge that moral and characterbuilding is ignored. How sad...

The heavy coursework and exercisesmake the students’ lives difficult, justlike living in a pressure cooker. To weakstudents, it could be a nightmare. Aseries of side-effects can be seen:telling lies when they are unable tofinish homework, cheating, copying,purposely throwing away their exercisebooks pretending they have lost them,not having enough time to solvehomework problems and relying onteachers to provide the answers.

To be a student living in the e-generation is difficult. However, to be ateacher is even tougher. Teachers arenever able to finish marking books.

They often have to bring their exercisebooks back home, which meansovertime! The education ministry willnever be able to comprehend all these.

Another struggle would be themarking of exam papers. If there isany mistake, the parents will complainto the school authorities. Teachersalso face pressure if they cannot finishthe syllabus with the year-end examsapproaching. Sometimes, in order tofinish marking and completing thesyllabus on time, the teachers willprovide the answers for the studentsto copy regardless of whether theyunderstand or not.

Handling naughty students is anothermajor headache for teachers. Manyof these students do not pay attentionto their studies and keep interruptingthe class. Caning is no longer asolution to all these problems as theyare not afraid of punishment anymore.

There is a lot of pressure working asa teacher today, pressure fromprincipals, parents, students … andsometimes, even the school bus driver.Once, I retained a class of naughtystudents after school hours. The busdriver came to me and spoke angrily:

“If you don’t let the students go, youwill have to send them back yourself!”.I was shocked and did not know howto reply. Where is the respect forteachers?

Without God’s love and mission, this5-month teaching stint would havebeen very difficult for me. I am gratefulthat I recognized my weaknesses andevery time before I stepped into class,I would pray. I would pray for my willto be changed according to God’s andto be revived spiritually. Then, I wouldbe joyful and filled with passion to enterthe class.

IntrospectionWhat does the Bible tell teachersworking under such an environment?How can God’s Word be applied tothe students and how practical is it?How can I help these students andteachers?

Although I had many opportunities toshare the gospel, I preferred living itout, which I think, was more practicalcompared to just telling. I believeteachers have more influence onstudents than fulltime workers inchildren’s ministry, as the teachersdeal with the students everyday.

Primary school students are soinnocent. The teachers only need tooffer a little encouragement, care andlove in order to gain the students’friendship and trust. Once I gained that,they paid attention to what I taught andworked hard on that particular subjecttoo!

Taking our responsibilities seriouslyand providing help when it is needed,is also a part of witnessing. It couldjust be helping the teachers in theirmarking or exchanging classes withthem so that they could fetch their kidsearlier after school. By providing theseconveniences, we can have a closerrelationship with the teachers.

As I think it over, teaching is no easytask, but if we are willing to let Godparticipate in our teaching life,everything becomes easy, and we canbe happier and more cheerful!

Five months of teaching is the greatestgift from God for my Sabbatical leave.Not only did I enjoy my teaching life, Ialso made many new friends, amongthe teachers and students. And I hadthe chance to share with them theabundant life that God has given me.May all glory belong to God!

- 9 -

- 10 -

In this article, we introduce twoformer TCFers on their nextassignment from God.

Q: How did you meet?

We met in 1994 in Taman Negara ona TCF camping trip. The following year,we got married and I moved toKemaman.

Q: Could you tell us about yourteaching background?

Both Timothy and I were trained asESL teachers. Timothy started histeaching career in 1991 in Kemaman,Terengganu while I started mine in 1992in Segamat, Johore.

Q: What made you decide toleave teaching?

At Camp Wycliffe (Malaysia) in 1995,

Timothy and I felt God’s call to serveHim in the Bible Translation ministry.Looking back, both of us felt that theLord had been preparing us for this evenbefore we knew Him.

Timothy was drawn to the literacy workthat goes hand in hand with Bibletranslation when he attended campWycliffe in 1995.

As for me, I felt called to the Bibletranslation ministry when I was inuniversity. Giving people the Word ofGod in their own language made a lotof sense to me. The local churchwould be able to grow being led byindigenous leaders and not bedependent on missionaries. A strongchurch should be grounded in the Wordof God.

We resigned from our teachingpositions in government schools at the

West Timur,

Here We Come

- 11 -

end of 2002 and joined Wycliffe(Malaysia). To prepare us for God’sassignment ahead, we went for a year-long linguistic and literacy training atEQUIP (Equipping for QualityIntercultural Partnerships) inMelbourne.

Q: Why did you choose to go toWest Timor? What would you bedoing there?

We actually didn’t know which countryto serve in until half way through ourtraining in Wycliffe last year. One ofour lecturers, who is Papuan, askedus to join him there. We prayed aboutthis since we speak Bahasa Melayuand are familiar with the culture of theregion. However, Papua didn’t seemto beckon us. So we contacted otherteams in the country. When the Timorteam got our e-mail, they repliedenthusiastically. We had heard of thisteam from our anthropology lecturerand we like the partnership that theteam had with the local church. Severaldenominations in Timor want the TimorTeam to assist them in reaching themany language groups and teach themthe gospel via Bible translation. Thelargest denomination asked the teamto help them to develop scripturematerials that could be used across

the different language groups within thechurch as well as an outreach to thecommunity. Timothy will be involved inthis while I will be involved with thetranslation of the New Testament. Wewill also be helping the church byteaching English at its university inKupang. Q: If there are TCFers who wouldlike to go on a short mission stintto West Timur, what would besome possible avenues of service?

For very short mission trips, we needhelp with scripture in use, children andyouth ministry. We need help inteaching folks how to do Bible study. We find that Timorese are veryinterested in learning English, soEnglish tutors are much in demand. For those who are thinking ofsomething longer, we need teachersat the Christian university. We willkeep TCF informed of the needs whenwe get there and are more informed.

Notes from the Editors:

We pray for God’s providence andguidance all the way to and in WestTimor. Those who would like to be inpartnership with the Chengs, can contactthem at:

E-mail: evelyn-gan@sil.orgH/P No: 012 9327411

The enthusiastic groupOn 25 August, 80 teachers and twoTCF staff members checked into theGirls’ Brigade Headquarters(GBHQ) onUpper Serangoon Road, Singapore,after travelling for many hours fromdifferent parts of Malaysia by bus, trainand plane.

By 3.00 pm, 55 people had arrived anda bonus impromptu visit was made tothe NTUC Childcare Centre in ToaPayoh - much to the disappointmentof those who arrived later! The principalwelcomed us graciously even thoughthere were so many of us and we wereintruding on the children’s nap time.

- 12 -

SINGAPORE, O SINGAPORE!

The amazing Dr LowThis historic trip would not havematerialized without Dr. Low Guat Tinwho spent much time contacting thevarious principals (her former students!)so we could have access to thepreschools. Despite her hecticschedule and a limp due to a tornAchilles tendon, she threw in asumptuous and much-subsidisedeight-course dinner on the firstevening. Then she surprised us with“goody bags” full of interesting gifts,lovingly packed by her sister Soh Tinand their maid! She even bought 82very cute porcelain mugs so that wecould make our own hot drinks atGBHQ. Our cups literally ran over!

- 13 -

they had visual records of the greatideas to be implemented back in theirown schools.

The ecstatic TCFers“The visits to the kindergartens havehelped me so much. The briefings andAVA in the classes were fantastic, andthe competence of the teachers wasmost impressive. There was greatfellowship in the dorms, and I hope tobe able to take my teachers along nexttime.”

Kathleen Ow

“I am most grateful to the organizingcommittee and especially to Dr. Lowwho took so much trouble to makesure we were well fed and cared for.The principals of the variouskindergartens were very helpful andgenerously shared how they managetheir schools.”

Dorothy Ooi

“I had a meeting with my staffyesterday. Those who joined your tripare still so excited! We have startedimplementing many of the new ideaswe learned during the visit. Thank youso much for this great opportunity.”

Amy Chin

And that was not all! Dr. Low was our‘raven’ at GBHQ. She provided us withdaily supplies of mineral water, freshbread, tuna, peanut butter, margarine,coffee sachets, instant noodles,canned curry chicken and fruit.Limping, she would go and buy loavesof bread and packets of fruit and thenmake her nightly appearance at GBto drop off our supplies. We wereoverwhelmed by her labour of love,generosity, sacrifice, kindness andsheer thoughtfulness.

The fantastic preschoolsWe thank God for granting us a mostmeaningful time at the variouspreschools in Singapore. The teacherslearned much and were fascinated byall that they saw and learnt. Theprincipals welcomed us warmly and wewere touched by their hospitality. Theyfreely shared their curriculum,resources and management practices.The conducted tours around thepreschools were the highlights of eachvisit. It was great to sit in while lessonswere going on. We were all soimpressed by the classroomdecorations and teaching aids thatsurrounded us. Gasps of delight andthe clicking of cameras were commonsounds as the Malaysians made sure

- 14 -

THE BANGSAR BLOGS:

A Collection of Thoughts

and Reflectionsby Marcus Khoo Hiok TianTeacher Trainee(22/3/2004 – 28/5/2004)

Bangsar Blogs 1

On my second day here, I had theopportunity to get to know some of thestudents better as I had to transportthem for a debate competition. I tellyou, students will never change onelah. After the competition, they werebegging me to take them out to KLCCso that they could skip classes!Nevertheless we had a good time andnowadays whenever they see me atschool, they begin to get a bit toofriendly. Some of them are even spyingon my every action! But I must confessthat I’m also quite drawn towards them.I wonder sometimes whether a teachershould get too friendly with students.

On a funny note, some students stillhaven’t figured out whether I’m Malay,Chinese, Iban or pariah. Some of the

teachers think I’m from Sabah orSarawak, either because I look like one(???) or because they assume that nosane KL man would want to end upbeing a teacher.

Bangsar Blogs 2

I began relieving classes this weekand as you know, when you relief aclass, it can be a real headache. I trieda few strategies, like making themwrite essays about themselves,conducting a guys vs girls quiz, etcuntil I finally ran out of ideas. Then, Ijust went in to class and told thestudents, “Saya pantang kelas yangbising”, and for the rest of the twoperiods, the entire class was silent,doing their own work. Funny how itworks sometimes. Yesterday, I went to observe a teacher(a guru pakar) in her Form 2 mathclass. She was nothing less than

amazing, in terms of classroommanagement, content knowledge,time management, everything! And shedid this ALL in English, to a poor classas well. She revealed that the key isthe FIRST impression that you giveyour students. By setting a few groundrules, she was able to handle the classwell. Initially some of the studentsdidn’t hand in work given the classbefore, and was punished quiteseverely. Now, every student hands intheir work, complete. And aboutteaching in English, she began fromday 1, so much so that in the end,the students had no choice but to pickit up as well. Of course, she wasn’t asmerciless as all that, she did explaincertain concepts in BM.

Bangsar Blogs 3

A funny incident happened this weektoo. The students know that I go forlunch by myself (yes, poor me!) ifthere’s volleyball practice in theafternoon. So they mustered up thecourage to ask me to join them.Unfortunately, another teacheroverheard. Boy, did I feeluncomfortable! I mean, where’s therespect right? You don’t ask the seniorteachers, but some cili padi fellow whojust came, you ask. I think theteacher was just joking, but

nevertheless I decided not to join them(for now, at least). One day this student said to me,“Teacher, I’m quite impressed that youactually spend time with us. It’s quiteunusual, ‘cos usually teachers don’treally care about us and our problems.”I thought about this for a while, andthen I remembered why I came intothis profession. It’s all about thestudents, and I think while I may notbe able to be there for every one ofthem, to have that impact on some istruly worth it, wouldn’t you say? Sure,we might have our own problems, butour problems sometimes look smallcompared to the problems that thepeople whom we love face, when weput things into perspective.

Bangsar Blogs 4

I’m trying not to fall sick this week.But I tell myself that it happens to thebest of us. There are times when wewould feel tired, and be unwilling to goon, and there will be times when youfeel like you’re going to jump throughthe ceiling, but the point is that whatwe do is something that God has calledus to do. I am getting to know my studentsbetter. I just can’t help but notice what

- 15 -

- 16 -

a broken generation our current oneis. Many of my players come fromsingle parent families, have stepfathersor quarreling parents. Some havefamily members who are involved ingambling, gangsterism or drugs. Someprefer to leave the house early in theday, and return home as late aspossible just so that they needn’t haveto face the reality of a broken homeeach day. All the more I ask myself,what can I do as a teacher? I am onlybut one, in the midst of so much privatepain, how can I help all of them?

Bangsar Blogs 5

Today we had the Hari AnugerahCemerlang and the AGM for the PIBG.My goodness, how BORING it can be.Speech after speech, report afterreport. Argh! I used to think that thebane of a teacher’s life would be thepaperwork. Now I stand corrected. It’sthe SPEECHES we have to sitthrough, half of which are only halftruths, covered with honey to make theschool or its teachers look sweet.Suddenly the school is beautifiedbecause of the arrival of a VIP. Beforethat, nothing seems to be done aboutthe empty notice boards, unkemptgardens etc.

I’ve also been talking to some of theteachers recently, and many of them Ifound, are going to leave the professionor join the private schools. I won’t saymuch about them, but they did get methinking. I mean, our education systemis one that I grew up hating, and nowI’m jumping right back into the system.As a Christian voice, should myreaction be to pray for a change in thesystem or to pray that I won’t fall outof the system as these teachers have? My mom asked me how come I haveso much work or why I work longhours, even though I’m just a trainee.My answer to her was easy enough,“Actually I don’t care, I really like whatI’m doing.” Wonder whether I’d besaying this 30 years down the road.

Bangsar Blogs 6 & 7

The real highlight of the week for mewas the weekend in Dusun Eco Resortin Pahang. Quite a nice place actually,it has flying fox, hanging bridge andobstacle race, and other cool activitieslike abseiling, repelling, jungle trekking.I was given a chalet all to myself(yippee! and I didn’t even have to paya single cent. In fact, I was given RM20 for the chaperoning duty!) I couldn’tresist the urge to play some prankson the kids, including the famous

- 17 -

toothpaste on the face of someonewho’s asleep prank. Through this outing, I really got toknow the 12 people under me muchbetter. How they act, what they think,how they feel, and of course the in-house gossip about each other, whohas a crush on who, who quarreled withwho etc. I guess sometimes as ateacher, you feel like you must dosomething about it, but there’s reallyno point in butting in, right? (unlessit’s a life and death situation, ofcourse.) I guess we can allow peopleto make the same mistakes as we didduring our school days, as long as itisn’t detrimental to the importantthings in life. What say you? After dinner, I had an interestingconversation with one of the girls. Thisgirl lost her father at a very young age.Her mom works as a nurse by day andat McDonald’s by night. The moneythat her mom earns is more thanenough to make ends meet, but thisgirl feels that her mom is spending toomuch on her, and not enough onherself. And because she sees hermother’s sacrifice, she says, “I haveno ambition. All I know is that I mustget a job and earn money back for mymother.” How can I tell her that she

should go all the way to college oruniversity because she can do it, whenthat would take more years and moremoney from her mother? The motherobviously wants success for her, butshe’s ready to deny that success torepay her mother’s sacrifice.

Bangsar Blogs 8

Yesterday, I had the opportunity toattend a talk organised by theMalaysian Christian Schools Council,Teachers’ Christian Fellowship and theCatholic Teachers’ Association. Oneof the things the speaker said thatreally struck me was that our passionshouldn’t be like a BLAZING fire thatconsumes, burns up and eventuallyburns out everything in its way. Ratherit should be like the fire of a candle,small, slow but present andconsistent. It is a sustaining fire thatallows us to savour and find meaning,enjoyment and purpose in what we do,even when it is difficult.

The speaker also quoted ParkerPalmer saying, “We become teachersfor reasons of the heart. But many ofus lose heart as time goes by. Howcan we take heart, alone and together,so that we can give heart to ourstudents and our world - which is what

good teachers do?” Parker goes on tosay that “good teachingcannot7be7reduced to technique...rather it comes from the identity andintegrity of the teacher.” How true it is,that our inner life must be strong sothat we can face the externalchallenges, regardless of what our jobsand responsibilities are.

Bangsar Blogs 9

Remember a few blogs back, when Iwrote about how I worry for studentswho are learning Science andMathematics in English? Well, guesswhat? It only gets worse. I happenedto invigilate the class which I teachScience to, and it was a subjectivepaper. The students were okay withthe objective paper, ‘cos at least thatcould tembak. But with the subjectivepaper??? Some of the students, afteropening the paper, just closed it backwithout even trying. Some, who tried,gave up half an hour into the exam. Atthat moment, I really felt verysaddened by the reality of theimplementation of the educationalpolicies. These people are going tolearn Science and Mathematics inEnglish for the rest of their lives, butto them, English isn’t even a secondlanguage. It is a language totallyFOREIGN to them.

Bangsar Blogs 10

It is finished! I can gladly say that Ihave completed (and survived!) onehuge chapter in my life. Who wouldhave thought a bunch of irritating,immature, loud, crappy and most ofall, LAME, kids could actually melt thishard old heart of mine? Truly, I cannotdeny that I will miss them most afterleaving school.

Yes, I did receive gifts from some ofmy students. But I think the one giftthat really affirmed me was thecertificate given by the school toacknowledge our active participationin the school’s activities. Out of the 9of us, only 3 of us got the certificates,and for that, I can only give all glory toGod. As I looked at the certificate, I’mreminded of the verse in Matthew 5:16- “...that they may see your goodworks, and give glory to God who is inheaven.” Truly, all we have and all thatwe are is from God and should be givenback to God. I don’t think He deservesanything less.

Note:Marcus’ blogs can be accessed fromwww.xanga.com/deformedmodernist

- 18 -

- 19 -

We praise God for the success-ful one-day seminar on 17Julyorganized by the Sibu TCF. Itdrew 170 teachers from Sibuand the neighbouring areas.Our guest speaker was Mr. ChinYean Leong, a man of God aswell as a very experienced anddedicated educationist whohad served as principal andDistrict Education officer.

The Theme TalkThe highlight of the day was the themetalk on “Issues and Challenges ofTeachers Today” by Mr. Chin. Heencouraged teachers to regardteaching as a challenging andmeaningful profession because wecould mould young lives and impart the

love of nature to them. We also couldtouch many lives for eternity.Difficulties were there for a purpose.According to Mr Chin there are fourcategories of teachers:

a) The TrainablesThese are new teachers who care fortheir students but they lack knowledgeand experience. They need to beguided and developed. They aretrainable and can be motivated.

b) The MaintainersThese are teachers who know but donot care. They have a bad attitude.

c) The DeadwoodThese are teachers who lackknowledge and do not care. They havea bad attitude too.

The Master’s Star Teachers

Charles Tiong, Chin Yean Leong and Grace Lim

- 20-

d) The StarsThese are teachers who enjoy teachingand they are excited about theirclasses and students.

They are not easily discouraged andthey care. They are always willing todo extra work.

These four groups can move from oneposition to another. Quoting Romans12:21. “Do not be overcome by evil,but overcome evil with good”, Mr. Chinurged teachers to aim to become starsand not be affected by negativeinfluences around us. As teachers weare to be the “salt of the world” andtherefore be good examples who canexert good influence. We should notbe afraid to be good teachers or beashamed to say that we enjoy ourwork.

Some teachers complain and believethat the grass is greener on the otherside of the fence. Mr. Chin pointed outthe benefits and privileges enjoyed byteachers, quoting real life examples tofurther reassure us. Then he went onto console those who are hurting. Atorn heart needs to be made whole.He encouraged us to pray for healingand restoration. In His time, God willmake us stars!

The Workshopsi) The administratorsEleven school administrators attendedthis workshop with Mr. Chin. He spokeon “Good management andGovernment of Schools.” It waschallenging, refreshing andinvigorating. We were able to sharewith one another some of our invaluableexperiences. ii) The teachersThey discusssed 4 cases:a) Breaking a ring leader in the lastclass of the formb)Changing a notorious ‘unteacheable’student in the schoolc) Giving time for certain so-called‘unteachable’ students to changed) Dealing with two extreme levels ofstudents in a class.

All of us felt refreshed and encouraged.We pray that many more willparticipate in the future. Wedesperately need to get together, atleast once a year, to have our visionrenewed so that we can be moreeffective teachers and be true to ourcalling as teachers.

Reported by Ling Sii Mingand Hii See Ing

- 21 -

and mentor, while cushions becameher ‘mattress’ for two nights. I wasimpressed by the effort she had madein creating a haven away from home.She had installed an air-conditioner,bought a small television set, andinvested in a nice writing table and acomputer. This was for the long haulindeed.

The next morning, just as the threeladies were rushing off to school forco-curricular activities, Mr. HenryWong came with his pastor, Mr. Law,to take me out for breakfast. I wasmeeting them for the first time but bythe end of breakfast we hadestablished mutual contacts and areas

from page 22

of interests. This meeting was thebeginning of firm plans to hold aseminar on the teaching of BibleKnowledge (BK) in Miri next year.

On the flight back, I thanked the Lordfor taking charge of my short trip andrevealing what He wanted me to do forBK teachers in Miri, and how He waslooking after Audrey. And it had all beenso effortless!

“Oh Lord you simply amaze me - timeand time again.” Though physicallyexhausted, I returned homeexhilarated.

In His amazing graceIndy, TCF Staff worker

Audrey Lui, Pastor Law and Henry Wong

While chairing the second day’smeeting, Mr. Yap Don Kiang told usthe story of a 21-year old who soughtMr. Koh Gim Lam’s counsel about hisposting to Sarawak. The young manobeyed Gim Lan’s encouragement togo, but said to himself, “I will serve fiveyears and then I will ask for a transferback”. But the Lord had other plans. Afew years later he fell in love with alocal girl and married her. For the past23 years, this man has joyfully givenhis youth to Sarawak. The ‘young man’was none other than Mr. Yap himself.

As I listened to their stories, my spiritssoared at the way lives had beenenriched by a teaching stint in EastMalaysia. Are there any young men

- 22 -

and women out there who are willingto be blessed by the challenge to “LookEast”?

Miri, 30 Aug – 1 Sept

The day before I flew, the Chairman ofTCF Sarawak, Mr. Tan Ming Tang, toldme that the meeting had beencancelled. The nation had just heardthat the bodies of the passengers inthe Bell copter crash had been found.Many of our Christian teachers in Miriare related to the victims in one wayor another, and the memorial servicewas going to be held on the very dayof the planned meeting.

I went ahead with the trip as I wantedto spend time with our youngest life-member, Audrey Lui, who hails frommy home church in Kuala Terengganu.(I arrived in time to celebrate her firstanniversary in Miri!) I had also madearrangements to hand BibleKnowledge material to Mr. Henry Wongof Grace Methodist Church.

Audrey and friends met me at theairport. She respectfully vacated hersingle bed for her former YF advisor

Yap Don Kiang

cont’d page 21

from page 23

Rev. Dr. Koh Gim Lam challengedteachers to strive for excellence in theworkplace and point others torighteousness by:-

* knowing God* having great energy for God* thinking great thoughts of God* showing great boldness for God* developing great commitment toGod.

The evening dinner cum talk was wellattended by 210 SU and TCF memberswith the renowned “Rubber Band”contributing to the happy atmospherewith evergreen songs from the 80’s. Itwas a time to learn about the Lord’swork in the SU/TCF ministry of

Sarawak, and I was excited to hearthat 13 TCF groups have been set upall over Sarawak.

I also had the joy of renewing ties withold friends, Pang See Nan and his wifeAnne, from Taiping and Penangrespectively, who had been posted toKuching upon graduation in the 1980s.Kuching has been their home for thepast 22 years. They will be retiring in9 years time and I can already sensetheir deep reluctance to leave theiradopted ‘kampung’. And to think thatsome fresh graduates give 24-hours’notice upon hearing that they havebeen posted to East Malaysia!

from page 24

cont’d page 22

Indy, Pang See Nan and Anne

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM TCFIn

Par

tner

ship

cont’d page 23

THE LORD IS MY TRAVEL GUIDE

On three consecutive weekends in July/August I had the privilege offellowshiping with Christian teachers and friends in Sarawak. Ireturned with fond memories of my hosts and friends and their warmhospitality.

Sibu, 17 Jul 2004Full report on page 19-20.

Kuching, 24-25 Jul 20046th Annual TCF FellowshipTheme: Shining Like Stars (Daniel 12:3)Speaker: Rev. Dr. Koh Gim LamVenue: Crown Towers & SMB St.Thomas

Koh Gim Lam andTan Ming Tang