i was trying to guide or 'force' my weakest class to memorize short literature essays. This class is the weakest of the lot and i have three boys who could barely read. Yes, read. And nope, many of them can't converse in English.
So, to ask them to write a paragraph that makes sense requires Herculian effort, what more to write an essay.
Since mid-year exam is just around the corner, i whipped up my last 'rescue' plan - instruct them to memorize simple, prepared, really short literature essays and hope that, if they are lucky enough, one of the essay questions would pop up during exam. All they need to do is just regurgitate the three short paragraphs.
i tested them today.
Original phrase: "...Kino could not let go of the big pearl..."
Student's memory bank: "...Kino could not let go of the pig pearl..."
+_O
i think i will be getting gibberish... or blank papers from this class.
Happy marking... to me.
ManaSiok :(
pig pearl??? hahaha I remember Jesus mentioning something about pearls and pigs too in one of his parable...hahaha well whatever pearl it is, it's not a halal one!
ReplyDeleteNow, remind me, why did we become teachers again?
ReplyDeletewini: yeah, i remember too. well, thats the prob with weak students. they really have to copy word for word. i think in the process, she made a mistake and it turned out to be pig. well, big... pig... its hard to differentiate... -_-
ReplyDeletemisz: oh, pls do remind me!!! well, i guess in cases like this which makes us vomit blood, it's a form of 'entertainment'... to compensate for the loss of blood... fair enough! :P
hey!! maybe these kids could be dyslexic! I'm not too sure if you're familiar with dyslexia, but its actually a form of learning disability. And its pretty common! Whats more is that a lot of these kids are actually brilliant and their conditions are rarely detected due to ignorance and the lack of tell-tale signs. I've been doing research and am currently involved with an NGO in a health promotion programme involving dyslexia.
ReplyDeleteIf you want more information, feel free to email me at joelgoh88@gmail.com. Will be more than happy to send you stuff about dyslexia. Btw, Einstein and a lot of other geniuses were actually dyslexic! So, don't give up on your students just yet! :)
hi!! joel. thx. yeah, i know about dyslexia. i had one student in 5A last year.
ReplyDeletebut i don't think this girl has it though. many in the weakest class are just academically poor. some have other forms of learnng disabilities. a few very slow learners. many do not use english and r not motivated to learn. english words don't really make sense to them. and no, i haven't given up on them.
wah... how u've grown!! i rmbr just a few yrs ago u were just a lil boy...XD now u r socially aware, doing yr part in NGOs and all... keep up the good work :)
keep in touch! :P