30th May 2007

I can’t wait for this day to come….

I am been waiting in loneliness and solitude for close to 3 weeks….

It will be the day:-

I enjoy the companionship of someone….

I enjoy the presence of someone…

I treasure the time and moment of someone…

I reveal my true self…

I reveal my feelings…

Mixed feelings....

Recently, I have mixed feelings over an interview I had for the MOE teaching award as I am still anxiously waiting for their reply to me. I don’t know how I fared for the interview which determines my suitably for the award. And I suppose the letter will come in somewhere this week since they say they will get back to me at end of the month.

So I presume that I will only receive 1 of the 2 kinds of letter available – either a small one or a big one.

The small one I believe will have a letter saying: “Thank you for your interest in the MOE…..we regret to inform you that…”. This would certainly not be the one that I will be getting. *fingers crossed*

The big one I believe will have a letter too but saying:” We are glad to inform you that you have been offered the MOE….attached herewith is a list of important dates a candidate should know and take note…”. This would be the one that I am praying hard and hope I will get my hands on it.

Every time these days my father comes home with the mails fresh from the mail box, I would take a quick glance whether there are any letters addressed to me, particularly the letter from MOE. I am so eager to learn about whether I am selected for the award which will affect my studies in NUS.

Thinking about the interview, I was sure that I could have did it better with more preparation as I assumed that the interview would be an easy one but I was wrong. Regardless of the result of the interview, it is an experience for me to be interviewed by a panel of 3 person.

Wish me good luck….

Totally defeated....

I was totally caught off-guard by some kind of illness which left me tumbling and struggling for the past few days...

Everything was fine on Sat before I slept. On sat I remembered I was without water the entire afternoon and I was very thirsty. Den it all started with a headache on Sun morning. It went on to become high fever of 39.2 when I see the doctor on Monday. I was feeling terrible all over. Never felt so weak for long time already.

Doctor said it may be due to some sort of virus attack. Things didn't really get better and I went to see another doctor on Wednesday when he told me my illness will take 5 - 7 days to recover.

More than 1 week has past..and my appetite is slowly regaining its conscious...and it's time to eat a lot again!!!

Late night supper...

Yesterday was the second time I had supper way past midnight. First time went to Jalan kayu for roti prata. This time went to Joo Chiat for wanton mee after my badminton game at AES from 8pm to 10pm.

I want to comment that the prata at Jalan Kayu is quite oily and it didn't really trigger my taste buds. The mee at joo chiat is worth eating. Not that it tastes fascinating but the mee is handmade and it tastes different from those I ate before. I going to be a part-time food critic already...

I had 2 bowls of mee while my friends look at my in amazed that I won't get fat even though I eat so much. They really envy me.

On the way back, I was introduced to the term 'cornering'. My friend, zhi wei, who was the driver did a high speed u-turn at about 40km/h. He had his right hand gripping onto something over his head, left hand poised, gripped tightly onto the steering wheel, mind focused and all of a sudden with a incredible clockwise motion of his single lift hand, sent the car skidding while making a u-turn.

He was able to attain that feat because he had his car suspension lowered so that the CG is low, among other modifications. Don't ever try with your car as it will turn turtle.

I look forward to the next late night supper session!!

MOE Teaching Award Interview

It was an interview that I expected; an interview that I took great pains to prepare for; an interview that I strongly regard....

I had a one week stint working as relief teacher in Woodgrove Primary just few months back. I felt that teaching was a career that was challenging as the students themselves had different background to begin with. Furthermore, they had varying attention span and learning abilities. It was a job that is fulfilling and meaningful; I enjoyed the moments interacting with the kids, the moment teaching them. It was sometime I never ever felt before. The kids even missed me when I left them.

The kids may be mischievous and haughty but they are all so willing to learn. My colleagues are also very friendly and helpful, including the principal and vice-principals. My short but valuable time spent in school triggered my thought of considering teaching as a long term career.

Besides applying for the MOE, I also applied to RSAF, PUB, S'pore Power etc. It took me al least 1 month to finalise the draft for the essay which entails about values and beliefs. I even had my friends to vet it. I applied through PSC and they referred me to MOE for consideration.

Last Thursday, I was invited for an interview. My preparation include extracting information from the website, newspaper articles and career books.

On the day of the interview, I reached there 45 mins earlier. I didn't want to go in first and subject myself to the atmosphere that was stressful and tension-gripping. I took a stroll along the corridor, stood by the window panel and stared into the horizon.

It was only about 11.10am that I finally went to register myself. My schedule time was 11.30pm and the interval was 15 mins. I was so nervous then. My heart was pounding hard, against my body, a feeling that I hate and didn't felt before. I tried to calm myself by looking around, but it didn't help much. I took a quick glance at my notes the last time, closed my eyes, took a deep breath in a bid to ease down.

Time flew and it was 11.30am. Anytime now would be my turn..I watched the clock tick as the seconds by seconds passed by. Then, a familiar chime sounded. It signaled for the next candidate to enter the room. It was me.

I picked up my bag, sling to to my right shoulder and proceeded to the entrance of the interview room. I knocked the door, entered the room and saw a panel of 3 interviewers - 2 sec sch principals and 1 human resource personnel. I greeted them and took a seat.

The first question (Why do you want to teach?) was a spot-on which I answered without much hesitation. You must be really careful in what u say as they will use what u say to question u. For example, if you say that u like teaching, they will ask u why u say that and provide examples.

They also asked questions like:-

• What would u change if u are given the chance to go back to your sch?
• How would u tackle the high-end students?
• How would teaching an express student differs from a NA or NT student?
• Why didn't u do relief in sec sch?
• U said you are passionate about teaching and u have not been in other jobs before, how sure are you?
  

I tried to answer all the questions prosed confidently but I feel that I could have done better with more practice and preparation. My mistake was taking things for granted; believing that the interview was a simple one. The results will be out by end of this month.

If u don't see me posting any blog on this issue means I flunked the interview.