Happiness Journal 24/09/2025
My ex-colleague from my previous school sent me a photo to inform me that my ex-students had made it to the finals of the Spelling Bee this year. One of them was a veteran who had taken part in the Spelling Bee last year. Boy, did I train him hard for the competition. Glad to know that he has maintained his prowess in spelling words.
Another ex-colleague also texted me to say that another ex-student who has been avoiding school for the longest time actually showed up! She even took a photo of him grinning into the camera. I was his form teacher two years ago, so it was heartening to hear that he might be taking small steps to resume his education. I don’t have high hopes, but yes, a flicker of hope has been reignited.
I was happy to learn that my presence matters to these young people at least.
Happiness Journal 25/9/2025
Yesterday, I was enlightening my students about coffee in Southeast Asia, to which a student quipped about bringing me a packet of strawberry coffee.
She did so today. I am touched by how she bothered to remember and executed her intention - particularly when she doesn’t seem the reliable sort to do her homework. I will savor this strawberry coffee.
Another student passed me a nice handwritten note about appreciating my efforts to teach them. What impressed me most was his flawless punctuation. Usually, his punctuation goes haywire when he loses control of his writing. He must have really put in a lot of effort!
Happiness Journal 27/9/25
Teaching as a primary school teacher makes me breathless. Straight after the Sept holis, I spent the whole of T4W1 to arm my students with tips and tricks so that (some of) them might perform at their peak and garner as many marks as possible. Then, snapping at my heels is their Composition exam - directly after Children’s Day. And then, their main paper strangles me by my throat.
But, when time is of the essence, I find that my 小聪明 (sparks of street-smart brilliance) prevails. I began compiling adverbs, phrasal verbs and idioms on three separate sheets of paper - and told my charges how they should use them to study for both Paper 1 and Paper 2. Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.
Of course, as a seasoned veteran, I know that just dishing out notes isn’t enough. This week, I have been teaching them how to incorporate Show Not Tell phrases and idioms into their introductions. Basically, getting them to refer to my cleverly curated notes in the classroom and get used to these foreign phrases/collocations.
I don’t know how many of them will bother to study my notes, but I thrive on trying to beat the system. And 我问心无愧。 (My conscience is clear.)
Happiness Journal 29/9/25
The bane of an English teacher’s life is teaching writing. To combat that feeling of helplessness, I wrote an essay tailored to my 11-year-olds’ needs. This means punchy sentences and simple words because my English teacher used to say, “Keep It Simple, Stupid” and I should listen to his advice.
My stroke of genius was getting five students who are relatively better readers to read each stage of my Story Mountain. Kudos to them for reading loud and expressively. Hence, even if my students weren’t paying full attention, they were aurally bombarded by the important bits. Just the way I had planned it!
It’s examination season, but ironically, I was in a conducive headspace to ask the five of them to take a photograph with me after their ‘performance’. First photo I initiated with this class.
