Every now and then, do something that scares you. Public speaking scares the heck out of me; that’s why I became a writer instead of a politician.
So when old friend Peter de Run emailed asking me if I would speak to his English classes about reviewing books, my kneejerk reaction was “Noooooooo!” But after I calmed down, I thought, “Heck, why not?”
So today was the day. I had some notes to help me along if I get stuck (which I’m prone to in front of crowds). I made those notes just before I left the house because it took me a while to figure out how to explain myself.
My notes turned out to be inadequately short in the first class, so Peter and some of the Year 10 students tossed me some questions.
At one point, I was vaguely aware that my mouth was flapping (*babblebabblebabble*) and I didn’t know where all those words were coming from.
The Year 9 class turned out to be lively. I talked for a few minute, then had to throw away my script because the questions were endless!
I brought a bunch of my books to show. They circulated while I talked in the first class, but it stopped traffic in the second class. XD I don’t remember seeing so much excitement over a pile of books.
The boys from both classes were particularly interested in The Action Hero’s Handbook.
Kecoh in Year 9.
I wish I took a photo of the blackboard in the back where some of the students drew a nice welcome banner for me. Awww, shucks!
Overall, it was fun and I’m glad I said yes. There were a lot of good questions about reviewing, books, working in the media and what else I do with my time.
Now I’m off because it’s my turn to be a student!
Hi Georgette… I was the one sitting in front, the girl with the short hair.
So I took your advice and googled your name, and I was pretty surprised to see your blog, and well, also that you blogged about our Year 9 class so quickly! Yay! Another blog I’ll be keen to read!!
It was REALLY nice to meet you.
Ah.. the good old days in Lodge…
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My parents wanted me to join lodge secondary school but my aunt advised against the idea saying lodge students are bullies and from rich families and spoiled kids. She even commented that school committee are there to suck money away and teachers were over-worked and under paid. Is it true? New teacher needs to pay RM1,000 to join the school, the school must be very good that teachers are willing to pay deposit to get a job there. Please advise.
I won’t know what it’s like to study in Lodge School. If your parents can afford to send you there, your family obviously isn’t poor either. I don’t think teachers have to pay anything to work at the school or we would have heard a lot more about it by now.
I also think that it’s a common assumption that private schools like Lodge and Tunku Putra are full of bullies and/or spoiled. There are bullies and spoiled brats in every school. It probably looks like a bigger problem there because they have fewer students.
I am a student in Lodge International, and I have no idea where these ridiculous rumours are originating from. The international students here, albeit raucous at times, are generally accepting and more open-minded than students from government schools. If you do visit our school for instance, I highly doubt that you’ll see any seething glances or intimidating looks from any Indonesians or Koreans, or whatever the major population of the students are. The main reason why people think we’re snobbish and stuck-up is possibly because we can afford to enroll in an International school – although there is hardly any choice for us in that matter, since the Malaysian government restricts the entry of foreign students into local high schools! I don’t know if the rule still applies now, but that’s basically the story.
Frankly, I don’t see anything showy in the international students here. You don’t see them flaunting high-end expensive branded goods or ride in sleek new BMW’s. In fact, I would go so far as to say that international students are actually the ones who buy cheaper, older cars, due to the fact that they are not residing in their native country; therefore, they do not see the point in flaunting new cars. The national students that have migrated to our school, on the other hand …
In response to the underpaid educators comment that you were so keenly interested about, I do think some teachers are paid less than what they’d like to earn, but everything is decided by the management and is completely out of our hands. In my opinion, however, some teachers dress flamboyantly in our school and drive high-quality cars (eg. Mercedes, BMW), and people who dress like that and drive with that can’t possibly be that broke. They might have some unearned income somewhere, but that’s a different story altogether.
You should come to our school is you want to experience smaller classrooms and friendlier people. I think most students here are unfairly misjudged just because of the select few that may have been stuck-up or snobbish. I seriously encourage you to consider enrolling in either Lodge School or Tunku Putra if you want to further your education overseas or in foreign countries. Who knows – it might be the best decision of your life!
omg….i wish i went to this school….i couldnt enter this school cuz it has limitted space….my dream school…. :(