My Leadership Students Sem 1, 2012/2013

December 2012

 Hem... well let's see... my opinion about this group... a reserved bunch... that finally 'bloomed'! Now, after going through the course, what does leadership mean to you?

My Dream Vacation

To my dear EOP students (Sem 1, 2012/2013),

You have presented really well (beyond my expectations!) Therefore, I feel the need to preserve your presentations in my blog.  I invite all of you to express yourselves in words - describe the wonderful places that you have enthusiastically  presented in class.
The floor is now yours :)

Testing the Water

Dear readers,

I scribbled this story on a piece of paper two years ago. I kept it because I wanted my daughter to read it someday and remember this moment. Here it goes:

She was eight and it's UPSR time (a major exam for Primary school students in Malaysia).That morning after taking her shower and getting ready to school, my daughter who was in standard two, suddenly looked confused and hesitated. Out came the question,

"Do I have to go to school today?" Puzzled and amazed, I asked "Why dear?"

She quickly responded, "Coz my teacher said, if you are not able to CONTROL yourselves, you better not come to school." (Kalau kamu semua tidak boleh mengawal diri, tidak perlu datang ke sekolah).

She then looked at me with her innocent eyes, "So, do I HAVE to go?"

Instead of being angry and alarmed, I asked her "Can you control yourself then?"
My eight year old girl who is witty and a bit cheeky casually answered " I don't know " (Tak tahu)

Now, the ball is in my court.  Again, I have to decide on her behalf.

"Well, the answer is yes. You definitely have to go."
In that instance, she brushed the issue aside and resumed to the normal state.  I on the other hand, was thinking all the way while driving her to school.  Is this a situation when a mother has to decide what's the best for her child? Or was there any motive behind this conversation?

We finally reached school.
When she stepped out of the car, she looked cheerful and happy as usual.

I quickly stepped out of my car too and asked, "Now, teh, are you able to control yourself?"
She turned around and with a cheeky face answered, "Of course Ibu!" (Mestilah)

Aha! Only then I realized that she was trying to get her way of not going to school. Perhaps, she was just 'testing' me!  Thank God she didn't get away with that!

I winked my eyes and waved at her.  She was only eight and she knew me too well already.  Enthusiastically, she waved back and walked confidently to class. I sighed as I turned back to my car,
"Haha! Fat chance Teh Aisyah...Fat chance!

To my public IFLA students Intake 3,2012

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

Dear Dr.Anisa, Ashhar, Nor, Norulhuda,Shahrul, Suzi,Nadia, Sakinah & Dr.Tuti,
I invite you to share the book you are currently reading for the Book Review session in class. Remember - put your grammar worries aside or whether you can write...Just do one thing - "Start Writing ..hehe" :)

Thank you J Hamzah...

Dear J,

This entry is especially dedicated to you.  When I called you today, I said " You have 5 seconds to guess who is on the line!" ...and wow Masya Allah..before the 5 seconds ended you quickly responded "Of course,  it's Madam Yati!"
Suddenly, the line was cut off. Two minutes later, you returned my call.

You see J, your next question really touched my heart...
"Madam, what happened to your book? Have you published it?"

..Gosh, J.. your question caught me right in my stomach..
and I answered, "The truth is...( and I did tell you the 'whole truth' right?) "

Hem...J..what can I say?...If there is anything you can learn from me, this will be one of it,
 "PLEASE FINISH WHATEVER YOU HAVE STARTED"

I'm a bit mellow tonight after listening to your compliments (which by the way I thank you so much). I don't know whether I deserve them J... I'm NOT sure if I'm a good writer.  That's why I abandoned my writing. Take this blog as an example. I actually dedicated this blog to my students, my children and myself.  But my last entry was way in April! Maintaining this blog is something that I find very challenging as I am NOT a true writer (I think) in a real sense.  In my opinion, a TRUE born writer would not have to drag himself or herself to write. I once read about a writer who said, "I have to write, or I shall feel suffocated." Another writer claimed, "Writing is like breathing the air around me..." There you go J...these people feel at ease when they write whereas for me...well you know better..

Whatever my excuses and reasons are, this entry is not about me.
It's actually about YOU. I want to express my sincere admiration towards your energy and passion in teaching (Now that you are a teacher yourself! Ahah!)
I bet you will be one of the many BEST Maths teachers living on this planet.
But before you are a teacher, you were my student.  So, let me bring you back to memory lane...

I remember the first day I met you in the lecture hall.  You were seated right there - front row.
You had this expression which I called a rare mixture of 'composed  but inquisitive' look which is lately missing in a BIG lecture hall. After I finished throwing my question, you quickly fired an answer which I thought was so COOL ( as I don't get that many answers/responses from my Malaysian students).
Many chose to be oblivious of what they heard (and so I assume).  But, certainly NOT you J.
You always seemed to be alert and engaged. Your eyes were always beaming with excitement which I reckon came from your honest heart which was clearly experiencing the thirst for knowledge.

And my prediction was right all the way.

That you will be one of those Caliphs who will embrace lifelong learning even after the formal education ends.

That you understood what I meant by 'A GOOD attitude and an inquisitive mind will really bring you a long way compared to your CGPA  results'

Thank you for your enthusiasm in class...thank you for asking me those questions in class and most importantly, thank you  for making me proud J.

Break a leg :)

The Pursuit of 'HaPPYNESS' - Section 6 CCLM 2051K

To Alif and the gang. The floor is yours :)

Response to the video 'What is it?'

To my IfLA students intake 1/2012, Aziq, Farihah,Rabiyatun Adawiyah, Su'Atiqah, Syarmin Amna, Nur Fatin and Shafiq. Please comment on the video clip :)

I make grammar mistakes too!

Sometimes when I reread my unedited entries....I realize... wow!I did quite a number of grammar mistakes hehe ( Not to say I'm proud of them). And i x bother to edit them as these entries were mostly written at the spur of the moment.

There you go! If yr teacher can make mistakes, it's not d end of d world if u do too! So pleaseee don't worry. (if u r still worried, u can still get someone to check it out for u hehe).

Our primary reason for visiting this blog is to learn from each other ( and I'm more concerned of your views).

So, write people! Like I mentioned before, these opinions are meant for people like us :0

Give Me a Break

Salam everyone. I have to write this or my chest is going to explode. A long time friend (whom I thought is still my close friend ) was very sensitive over a piece of advice I lent to him regarding his choice of partners in life. You see, we can NEVER judge a book by it's cover. But I always believe that someone's appearance (not physical) is an indicator of what a person's belief in.

For example, if you dress up so openly in public to the extend we can't even differentiate whether you are a Muslim or not - i.e putting on lesser clothes compared to the non-muslim, well that says something about your character- perhaps 'I'm not ready yet to set things straight so let me be' or whatever d rationale is).

And I who am a believer in this (with no intention what-so-ever to hurt anyone's feeling) casually gave my 5 cents worth of advice,
"Look for someone who you feel worth calling "my wife" and perhaps someone who covers her aurah".

To my surprise, he quickly responded by saying he knew what he wanted in life and that I'm wrong to judge this current girl he's going out with (which I have no idea who she is anyway).
When I looked through his current photos (through facebook), I saw a beautiful young woman whom he casually put his arms across her shoulder. She was dressed in a close to spaghetti string shirt and they looked so happy together.

Well to me, that picture doesn't jive with his intention of having a good Muslim wife. But then again I know I might be biased and wrong.
What if this woman turns out to be such a wonderful wife and mother? It would be totally awful to have this kind of judgement! And so I take back my words, apologize and promise not EVER to give any kind of opinion.

Why did I offer him my unsolicited advice? Well, initially I thought, after going through a divorce and having the opportunity to choose a good wife, he should seriously think about his choices. Well, an advice can just be 'an opinion'. You can take it or leave it.

No matter how a person will eventually turn out to be, we marry someone for the ORIGINAL character that he or she has. Throw away the intention of marrying someone to CHANGE him or her. There's a saying "Old habits die hard". And if we are not STRONG enough, it can backfire us one day!

Well, it's a tough decision after all - choosing the right spouse.
Our judgements could be blurred at times.... and that's why we ask for God's help.
And of course the prophet had already advised us on the right criteria... It's for us to seek and understand the list.

As always, it's everyone's dream to marry their 'soul mates'. But, not everyone will get the privileged of marrying one.
There is ONLY one chance to make it right.

By making the right choice.

I rest my case.

Thank you Section 8 :)

Thank you to:

Siti Nurarina,Siti Sarah,Faris,Noor Aini, Nor Shaqiroh, Siti Fatimah, Syuhada Muhamad, Azrin,Munirah,Nurul Syuhada,Nur Fathihah, Nurul Atiqah, Nazrinah,Norsyahida,Nurul Munirah,Radziatul,Siti Hajar,Siti Fatimah,Wan Nur Aqlili, Nurul Hanis,Siti Zaharah,Nur Fazleena,Nik Aqilah,Rabi'atul 'Adawiyah,Naquiah,Nur Syazana, Nur Adlina,Rahmah,Wan Nur Atikah, Nursaadah and Nur Zulaikha.

...for your entries and responses. I have no doubt that all of you know what you want in life:)

Take care