21 November 2009
Back in Bangkok after 9 Years
Alhamdulillah. Praise be to God.
I am now in Bangkok, Thailand for a 5-day Young Asian Muslim Women Leadership Training Workshop. I got here last night and it feels good to be back here after all these years. I am excited about the Workshop, especially after meeting some of the participants (some haven't arrived yet). It's always nice and interesting to meet young Muslim women who are, in their own way, empowered. We are all so different, yet so much the same.
So far, there are 10 (2 from Iran, 2 from Burma, 2 from Thailand, 1 from Pakistan, 1 from Bangladesh, 1 from Cambodia, and myself) of us who are now here. We are still expecting more. At breakfast, we casually discussed some issues concerning some Asian countries and the West. It was nice and I could see that we are all united in wanting the region to prosper and reach its full potential. There were some sensitive issues that were mentioned and made two of our co-participants a little emotional. I could feel how much both love their respective countries. Actually, I could feel how much each one of us cares for her respective country and people, and Islam, which is the very thing that binds us all as one.
With this kind of passion from people, I am sure that we can come up with some good action plan for the improvement or betterment in the status of Muslim women in our respective communities and Asia as a whole, and eventually the whole world. It has always been the way with many countries that women are considered second class citizens. Many things are deprived of a woman just because of her gender. This does not happen only in Muslim countries. This is something that can be seen all over the world. And, it is high time that we change this. In whatever field we are in, we must show and prove that we can do and achieve things, that we are capable, that we have a very important role. We are women; and, yes, there are some things in which we can never be men's equal, but we are not lesser beings. We are all put here so we can work together, hand in hand.
Another thing that I think we could and should work on is to change the wrong notion or connotation that most of the world assign to the words Muslim and Islam. It's very sad that there are many who claim to be Muslims don't really know what Islam truly is and what's sadder is that some of these people are the only ones seen and heard throughout the world. Their actions, which are, most of the time, un-Islamic, are the ones highlighted by the world media. Thus, making it worse for many of us.
Time and again, a lot of people and organizations have tried and tried to erase the negative connotations of Islam and Muslim or how both words are often wrongly equated with terrorism. Being part of a program which hopes to contribute in this struggle is a great and important opportunity, as well as a big challenge for us. And, knowing that, I will work and do my best to give and get the most out of this program and share everything I will learn from it in every way I can. May God help me and use me as an instrument for peace and understanding. These are but little steps towards the goal. And, with these tiny little steps, we will get there. Insha-Allah.
11/21/2009 11:48:00 AM
07 November 2009
A New Challenge
The new semester officially starts on Monday. Just this afternoon, I had my class masterlists printed. I'm ready to roll!!! :)
I'm hoping my classes will be as interesting, if not more interesting, both for me and my students as the previous semesters. I am handling a major subject for the first time and, while I am a little bit nervous, I can't wait to start. English 150, whose course description is Survey of World Literature, was one of my favorite subjects back in my undergraduate years. I remember how exciting it was for me. We discussed Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy (I remember our reporter almost fainting when she found out that we were to discuss all three books: Paradiso, Purgatorio, and Inferno!), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote and some other famous literary classics of world renown. And, of course, how can I forget my report-- One Thousand and One Nights, or The Arabian Nights as it is known in the English-speaking world.
I remember looking forward to every meeting in that course. There were around 15 of us in class and each one was assigned one work to do a report on. And, I remember having so much fun reading all those works, albeit having headaches caused by some passages I just couldn't get or some situations I just couldn't imagine at the time. It was a wonderful experience for me to be in that class and, now that I'm handling the course, I sure hope I'd be able to give my students the same exciting and wonderful experience I had as a student.
There's one little glitch, though. Back when I took the course, it was relatively easier for us to understand what concept or "ism" the other was talking about because we were all English or Literature majors. There were three Philosophy majors enrolled in that class, too, I remember. They were also quite familiar with the concepts and "isms" discussed. The classes I will be handling, though, will be composed of students taking up Bachelor of Elementary Education, majoring General Education. Their background in Literature, I am told, is lacking compared to their English major colleagues. The only other Literature course they have in their curriculum is English 4, Introduction to Literature.
So, the challenge is to be able to cater to these students. I have to come up with a new reading list, as well as a new course syllabus that is more suitable for them and their needs. In fact, I'm instructed to "simplify" the course. This is not, of course, to underestimate the students, but if they lack the background, adjustment has to be done. Extra effort, too, should be given so as to make the students interested in the literary works. I remember that, as a student, my teacher's excitement in discussing the works would always do wonders in keeping me excited and interested in the discussions. So, I'm thinking, I hope that my own excitement about all the works I can't wait to discuss will also boost my students' interest in our class.
I can do this! My students can do this! Hell, yeah, we can do this!!! :)
11/07/2009 01:09:00 AM
30 October 2009
Nostalgic much?
I was reading some of my old entries as I was looking for a particular entry I needed and I realized how much I miss blogging on a regular basis. Back in the day, I used to blog every week (even twice a week sometimes). Those were the days when many people were so into blogging. I found many blogs of interest that I religiously followed. I made many friends through blogging. At first, we were basically just online buddies, but later on some became my "real" friends. Those were good times, really.
Nowadays, fewer and fewer people are into blogging. Because of all these network sites and busy schedules probably, people have become too lazy to blog or just simply don't have time to blog. And, I also noticed that because of all the status updates and tweeting, readers have also become too lazy to read long entries. I don't know, but I, for one, like reading blog entries more than the short updates that are very much in fashion these days. I enjoy reading the thoughts, opinions, stories, and experiences that people share. I believe people have so much to share and I have so much to learn.
Don't get me wrong, I like tweeting, as well as reading tweets and all these status updates. It's just that I miss "real" blog entries. I miss all the story-telling. I miss all the interaction in comment pages. Most of all, I miss all those brilliant bloggers who used to be so active and whom I used to read regularly. You see, most of them have now stopped blogging and have resorted to just tweeting and updating their statuses. It seems to me that a lot of bloggers have "outgrown" their blogs. At times, when I try to check blogs for new entries, finding that the bloggers haven't updated in months or have shut down their blogs really saddens me. It feels like saying goodbye to an old friend.
That being said, I'd like to say I want to go back to regular blogging. There is so much to write about and share. Blogging does me a lot of good, too. I hope this time I can stick and live up to this, especially with my internet connection at home now fixed. And, I hope to write better entries. :)
10/30/2009 03:27:00 AM
20 October 2009
Thoughts on the Job
Weeee! The semester's officially over! I've submitted my grades yesterday. And, finally, I get to rest and relax! I get two days of rest and Admissions for the next semester starts! Even if I feel so tired, I can't wait for the new semester to start. I don't know. That, I guess, is the irony of my life. I complain I don't get enough rest, but give me more than two days of rest and I can't wait to start working again. Hehe:)
As with every semester that passes, I'll miss all my classes and my students. At the same time, I can't wait to meet the new sets of students in my classes next semester. I can't wait to have interesting class discussions and learn newer and fresher ideas. Those are two of the reasons why teaching is such an enjoyable job. I think I've mentioned in this blog before how people may think or perceive teaching to be a boring job that has you, the teacher, doing exactly the same thing every single day, every single week, every single year. In fact, someone I know once said that if she ever became a teacher, she'd probably die of boredom and the never-changing routine. I could only smile to myself.
Yes, teaching can be routinary in the sense that you go to class everyday to the same classroom at the same scheduled time and face the same set of faces for at least five months. Most of the time, you teach the same topic to different classes. I would admit, that sounds pretty boring. But, once you get past these ideas, I tell you that teaching is, in fact, is so much fun and very interesting! Boring and routinary would be the last adjectives you'd want to use in describing teaching.
As with individuals, no two classes are the same. You don't use the same approach to two different classes even if you teach the same subject. What may work in one class may not work in another. That's one challenge that we, teachers, always have to deal with. Everyday. Each class has a variety of personalities that you have to cater to. Each class has different sensibilities, likes and dislikes. I'd say each class has a culture of its own.
Teaching is so much more than meets the eye. Every single day is a unique day, different from all the rest. Heck, every class session is different from all the rest! People may think teaching is just like reading one and the same book every single day and going back to its pages over and over again all throughout your career as a teacher. It's not like that at all. Teaching is like reading a different book every single day. You meet different kinds of characters and you find yourself caught in different kinds of adventure, no, not everyday, but every class session! Now, isn't that fun?
Another thing is being a teacher makes you a mother/father, sister/brother, friend, actor, writer, critique, police officer, lawyer/judge, engineer, psychiatrist, manager and a lot more all at the same time. But, the best thing about teaching is when you see your students smile and nod in unison as they understand the discussion, when you see that "light bulb" moment in your students telling you that they comprehend the lesson, when you see that smile of thankfulness. No, words aren't needed. You see that "moment," no matter how fleeting, you hold on to that and smile to yourself: "I've done my job today."
10/20/2009 11:48:00 PM
08 October 2009
One, two, three... go!!!
How time flies! The semester is about to end and it feels like it was only a week ago that we started. It's true what they say: the older you get, the faster time flies for you. It's because you have so much to do in so little time so you barely notice how time flies. This has been true to me ever since I graduated from college. And, back then, I used to think I'd have all the time for myself and to do so many things I never got to do when I graduate. Now, I realize that it's the opposite. I had so much more time to spare as a student. After all, I only had my readings, my requirements, my classes and some extra curricular activities here and there to think about.
It's weird how, during this busiest of times for me, I get to blog. I've always been like that, you see. The more things I need to do, the better I function. And, right now, I have so much to do (and that's aside from all the things I usually have to do) I don't know where to start! So, expect that by the end of next week, I'll have been shouting, "I need R-E-S-T right now or else I'll go nuts!"
Meanwhile, I'll try to start now and finish what I can the soonest possible time! This entry is my "green light!" Let's roll, babeh!!! :)
10/08/2009 09:49:00 PM
