You are Special - Don't look around, I'm talking about you!

I want to start off by saying a big THANK YOU to all my 4 classes - 1C, 3B, 3J, 6i who made my early teaching career so meaningful and special! You are officially my first full batch of students and its been a tremendous 2 years spent with you. Being the first always brings deeper and lasting memories. In these two fulfilling years, you have been my source of inspiration (besides God) and encouragement.

To my 6i,

Before I even started teaching, my friend who is a secondary school teacher shared with me the things he does for his civics class. I was inspired and I wanted to do the same if not more. I make no apologies by saying that I spent more effort and time with 6i than my other 3 classes. Afterall, I am your civics teacher and you have to go through me in almost any academic and admin matters. I have the burden to make everyone of you to feel that you have a special identity in 6i. Having a burden is one thing but carrying it out requires a lot of effort. I hope that after 2 yrs, you do feel special in 6i.

I experimented many techniques and styles in my teaching. I feel that in some ways, you are unfortunate because all your Physics lessons are at the beginning of the week. As I go through the same lessons with other classes along the week, I always fine-tune and make necessary adjustments. This means that in certain ways, my lessons at the end of the week are always the most improved version.

I feel very blessed to have your class as my civics class. Many teachers have expressed to me that you are very nice and well-behaved students. True enough, you gave me little problems in these 2 years. However, I raised my standards for your class and was particular in certain aspects. I prefer to be the first to give you white slip if you ever commit an offense rather than any other teachers. I hope you do not find me too demanding.

I want to thank all of you for walking with me in these 2 yrs of teaching. Everyone of you is unique and special. I tried to communicate with everyone of you as much as possible. Some responded more to me outwardly, some less. I was really surprised and touched when some of the less expressive ones wrote personal notes to me on teacher's day. To me its an affirmation and encouragement.

Thanks for all the gifts, cards, encouragements, joy... (the list goes on) you've given me. I love all of you.

To my 1C,

You are my most academically strong class. Sometimes, I wonder if I come to class and don't teach well at all, you can still produce good results. But you certainly make me feel important in your class because of your attentiveness, tremendous amount of respect shown to me (and for other teachers) and your fun-loving and yet not rude nature.

Having lessons with your class at the end of the week is like an added incentive to me. It gives me joy and strength after a tiring week of teaching. A student once asked me if teachers pay more attention to stronger students because they produce good results. I forgot my reply but for your class, I rejoice with those of you who consistently produce excellent results but I do feel burdened for those of you who are struggling. It is even more joyful for me to see the weaker ones improve and I can see that happening in your class.

You are the only class that reminds me of my primary school. Almost half of you carry autograph books!!!

Thanks for all the gifts, cards, encouragements, joy... (the list goes on) you've given me. I love all of you.

To my 3B,

Out of my 4 classes, I must say that you are the class that makes my teaching career a challenging one. With no sarcasm intended, your class presented a new dimension to my quiet and peaceful teaching style. I think you are the only class that I tried different strategies almost every week. Starting from breaststroke to forward crawl to butterfly and to freestyle... after Bryan left, I tried from defense to midfield to striker (aggressive style). I remember that towards the end of this year, I almost scolded your class in every lesson. As teachers, we have the skill of scolding without being really angry and I've been doing that. But there is one particular lesson that I was very angry and I scolded you out of anger. That left a mark in my teaching career.

Now you must be wondering. Is 3B my most hated class?

Out of my 4 classes, I've invested the most prayers on you and you are the only class that I've fasted for. I did not give up on you. In every sense, I have treated you equally with my other classes. And amazingly, I am closer to some of you than students from other classes. Off lesson time, you are a great bunch of people to be with. I enjoyed talking with you and 'sadly' it is normally related to non-acad stuff.

As a nurturer, I feel burdened to say this. You are a very smart group of people. I believe you will be someone great in the future. But you must first learn to be responsible and respectful to others. Fun may be important but it should NEVER replace your respect for authority and even friends when there is a need. Be more outward-looking and consider others before self. To be fair, I must really say that I appreciate times when your class were very attentive and well-behaved and those times were not rare.

It is a regret that I did not have time to give a 'thank you' speech to your class on Friday. But I really want to thank all of you for being part of my teaching experience in these 2 years.

To my 3J,

You are my most participative class. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by the number of questions you ask before I even reply the first question! Well, while some showed your attentiveness in class by asking lots of questions, the majority of you showed your involvement by completing your tutorials before lessons. The quality of your questions sometimes reflects your preparations made before my lessons. Nevertheless I appreciate those shooting sessions. It trains my reflexes and my ability to give silly answers to silly questions. Ha... just kidding. You are probably the class that can take the most suaning from me because you are fun loving people with a big heart for such things.

I enjoyed the 'dota' outings with the guys. I forgot to tell you that each time you killed my hero, I minus one mark from your prelims. So its ok if your Physics prelim results are not that fantastic, but do study real hard for your As. We can always 'dota' after the exams but stay focused for this period of time.

Thank you for inviting me to your class for an impromptu 'thank you' speech on Fri. Honestly I was overwhelmed when I entered the class and you started clapping. It nearly brought me to tears and I struggled to hold my emotions. It is really sad that I won't be seeing you that often from now onwards but I am really happy to see that you've grown and ready for graduation after 2 stressful yet fun yrs in RJ.

Thank you to those who took a step further to talk to me outside lesson time. It is nice knowing you better.

To all my classes, God bless you! I will keep you in prayers for your exams. All the best!