Just Being Me - Sippy: dun read, it's boring

Just Being Me - Sippy

a simple plain jane who believes Jesus is her only saviour. she has an awesome family but in need of salvation. her current addiction is 2pm but shinhwa will always remain as the love of her life.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

dun read, it's boring

Forced myself to wake up early this morning, at around 7:15 to bath and get ready to Batang Melaka.
Some of us called it the Kampung Jus trip, to teach the orang asli kids there English.
This is my 2nd trip there & I saw some familiar kids faces, all beaming happily.
Looking at them, I once again realize how lucky I am, with all the things that were provided to me by GOD.

It's hard to teach the kids to learn English as they dun hv basic.
Some of them have short attention spam & it makes the process even more difficult.
You've got to be patient when dealing with them.
Taught them 2 songs today: The Little Light of mine & Walking in the light of Jesus.
It's hard to get them remember the lyrics of these songs even though taught and pronounced a few times.
However, there are some smart ones which are quick in learning.
There's this girl called Mimi, she's pretty smart, catch up pretty fast compare to the others.
Even though she's 10, she's very small for her size.
The last time I saw her, she had to take care of a child which is not her brother, which makes me respect her a lot, cos I dun think I'm able to learn & take care another kid the same time.

According to Mark, some of these kids weren't even going to school, which explains their inability to read & write.
There is this kid, his name is Miyon. In a sense you could comment him as hyperactive, reckless. He couldn't sit still & write.
He couldn't remember what you taught him.
I taught him the word "It's" a few times but after a while, he couldn't remember how to pronounce it.
He did give ppl headache, climbing walls when the others are following the sing-a-long which Mark conducting, & disturbing Joash when he's playing the guitar.
He's quite greedy, can't wait to eat the biscuits which offer during break.

You might me thinking I'm complaining how much troubles he has caused & how much I disliked him.
If this is your thought, then let me tell you, you're wrong.
I dun dislike him cos I find him funny, interesting even though I do hv the thought hoping in future, my child won't be like him.
Observing him further, I notice he's more of the artistic side, he could draw, can see it inside his exercise book, much better than me.
He could sing, maybe not the lyrics, but he could hum the melodies correctly, much better than many who sing out of tune.
This started me thinking. If he were to grow up in a much provided environment like mine, he actually has great potential to grow even though he might not be consider smart in the context of Malaysian education system.
On the way back, I thought of buying him some art blocks and colour pencils for him to express.
I wonder whether the colour pencil will seen as something luxurious to them.
If it is, then we ought to be shameful if we changes our colour pencils all time without appreciating, taking good care of it.

On the way back, I asked Mark who's going to continue when he goes back Penang. He said Jingle volunteered. However, it will be impossible to find a driver to go there every week. Thus, this project might have to stop once he leaves.
It saddened me for a while cos I know how much these kids need ppl to teach them, guide them.
Before meeting these kids, I tot illiteracy doesn't happen in Malaysia, at least I haven't met anyone that couldn't read or write.
These kids open my eyes, lead me out of my shallowness, my confined comfort zone, telling me that illiteracy is still happening in Malaysia, despite the fact that primary & secondary school education are free.
Ppl neglected the orang asli existence. They forgot the fact that this land belongs to them.
They forgot that they took away their ways of surviving by clearing away the forests & build more buildings.
They forgot these people need to be educated, to be taught of ways to fight for their rights as well.
Gov wouldn't offer help to them unless they fulfill the conditions. The other groups wouldn't help them as well, giving the excuse no time, no fund, no fame.
It gets me wonder what will their future be.
Some of these kids attended the Chinese school nearby but some aren't. For those aren't, how would they get rid of their illiteracy?
What if their parents do not know how to read, write & count simple mathematics?
Who will be teaching these kids then?

From the beginning until this part of the entry, I keep babbling about the important for these kids to have education. However, I did not provide any solution at all.
Frankly speaking, I do not know how. I only know how to complain.
I really do not know how.. Can someone provide me one??

Labels: feeling, lesson

posted by sippy @ 2:37 PM

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