Well, here's a random rant. I would like to quote the word 'Dungu' and 'Bebal' which our teacher so directed at us, the students of Brunei, which he quoted from someone from the Ministry of Education, also referring to the students of Brunei. The whole thing? Here:

"Dungu, dan Bebal. Begitulah sikap murid-murid di Negara Brunei Darussalam. Mengapa? Apabila cikgu menyoal, mereka diam. Apa sebabnya? Adakah bisu? Adakah bodoh? Tidak boleh menyalahkan guru, tidak boleh menyalahkan buku, cuma masalahnya pada murid-murid. Murid-murid di Brunei tidak pandai bercakap, tidak pandai berbual, cuma pandai berbual kosong, atau 'talking trash' kata orang Barat..."

It goes on and on. Lol, anyways, thats as much as I remember it. Well, I have to disagree a little. Sometimes in class, a teacher picks a student, out of random (or out of pure hatred >_> or just because he/she doesn't know anyone else's name) and directs a question at them. Fail to answer, suffer embarassment, or punishment. Anyways, this happens a lot in class, and the teacher seems to really know how to lower a student's morale and confidence rather than boost it. Instead of being more tactful and more careful with their choices of words, they are being too straightforward. Not that theres any harm in that, but what if you say it to a really sensitive student? I mean, come on, they have feelings too. It may be for our own good, thats understandable. But if you fail one way, don't you think theres more than one possible way to make it work for both your students and you? Come on, theres more than one way a student can learn. Visually, being the most powerful, works for some, some prefer audio learning, that is listening, and some do both, or some go for memorizing. Not all students learn the same way, some are slower than others, some suffer from A.D.D, Attention Deficit Disorder (You pay attention, but somehow, your mind floats away to another universe, and thus, you don't remember what you learn most of the time), some are semi dyslexic, some are have discalculia, and all that. But it does not make them stupid. Be a little more understanding, give them some help, confidence, advice. I am NOT stating that it is all the teacher's fault, because apparently, there are some students who apparently give some or no effort at all, giving tons of excuses on their own to avoid learning or improving. Some do try, so salutations to you. So, whats the problem? The student, or the teacher? I can't tell for sure, but to blame it on one side only is just...lame. Improve the system, open up your minds, cheer up! Some teachers, in class, speak like the undead, some can't even control their own class, some teachers are just hired because they have a diploma, not because they are fully qualified with the experience! Some rarely, or NEVER communicate with their students. Students behave differently in different lessons, for example, in SGS, in Mr.Sim's period, it seems to be more under control, why? Because they fear him, they respect him, and well, he does have a sense of humour. But in Victoriah's period, despite the fact that she is a good teacher, and has been teaching for 10 - 20 years, she still fails to control her class! Even if its only less than half the students around! I admit, some students have no respect, and are just plain hooligans, me being one of them at times. @@" For that bit, I don't really know what else to say, because this has been playing on my mind for a while now...

Also, there is the frequent comparison between the classes, SCIENCE and ARTS. Like, wtf? Both classes have students, both classes have humans, both classes are capable in their own fields of specialty, so why compare who is smarter than the other? It is just a matter of who works harder than the other! Trust me, I've been on both sides, I know what its like. When in the science class, there was already one single teacher who recognized me as an art student and not a science student (not only because I draw a lot, its because I have the art student traits written all over my face >_>) but others keep comparing me to the arts, "Oh, you can't drop down that low, Oh you're better than them" and all that. I admit, I have failed their expectations, and its my fault that I can't work hard enough. I did not chose to be in science, I was selected and put into science, as honored as I am, I did not like it. At the end of 2005, they swapped me over to Arts. And yet, still some teachers make that stupid comparison, "You're ex-science, why don't you come forward and answer all the questions on the board" and all that. Even some of my friends compare me to the science, and themselves to me. Why? I mean, compare fine, but sometimes it gets to the point that its insulting, and its more like an excuse for them to be in Arts and NOT DO WELL in their studies. "Oh, you're ex-science, thats why you do better, Bo pien, Science stream student" and loads more of excuses. Sigh...I guess thats all for tonight..Lol, I'm just tired, and a little stressed, needed to vent some out..so I blogged. Feel free to express your opinion, this is mine, so I'm not going to force it on you to accept it.

it's 10:28 PM now