Down but not (trying to be) out

It's finally here - the exhaustion of 'teacher work' - it has finally caught up and I'm feeling drained and zombie-like, just floating into classes and mumbling information without much thought or connectivity to the lesson, the students or to my self. I've got stuck in a boring rut with some of my classes/lessons and feel discouraged to get up and do something new and exciting to add necessary zing to the lesson and me. I just wish I need not be there in these lessons to teach - the subject matter is boring, the students indifferent and uninterested. Yet, it is the challenge I must overcome, the Goliath I must slay, the chance to be great which I must embrace . . . I am in the process of becoming an excellent teacher with amazing teaching skills in an amazingly entertaining and mentally stimulating class (how's that for a positive confession - yeah!!!)

Road to Perdition

One of the constant source of frustration, anger and potential destruction of my car is the road leading in to my farm house. It is constantly in bad shape, thanks to our heavy rainfall almost everyday, rough use by big 4X4 wheels of my neighbours car and a badly created 'road'. It usually ends up as a river for the rain water to flow away and a meeting place for mud and sand.

Upon entering the 'road' to my farm house you are greeted by several large holes that just grows deeper and larger by the day.

You then have to turn right uphill facing a slope of slippery mud and again several sink mud-holes. Next its a slope down that is slippery and muddy - does wonders to your car's suspension.

Lastly, its the final stretch to my house through the valley of the rut of mud - beware the rocks may scrape the bottom of the car.

And speaking of car, this is how my car looks like after every trip back home. Thank God it's still in one piece!

Anyone willing to help repair this road? I know it costs a 'bomb' to repair and I suspect you need to know what you are doing if this problem is to be rectified correctly. Till then its drive carefully, pray hard and fill up the holes with whatever stones I can find/buy. Happy driving!

New kid on the farm

A few Sundays ago, just a minute or so after my wife and I arrived at the goat house in our farm, our she goat gave birth to a blonde, cute kid (i.e. baby goat) with birth sac, blood and all (just like in the National Geographic documentaries). My wife has decided to call him (yup, it's a male) Snowy because he has a white patch on his forehead and him being blonde like a 'white man'. Now we have 4 goats on the farm - 3 males and 1 female.

Robbed . . . finally

I guess it was something just waiting to happen sooner or later - my car was broken into today at around 3pm when I was buying something from a supermarket nearby. Strangely, when I stepped out of the car, I felt that it was a suitable target for a break in and so I took a large storybook and covered my portable CD player that was at the back of the car (it was rather obvious) not noticing my wife's handbag on the front passenger seat. You guessed it - the thief (thieves) smashed the front passenger door window, put his hand in (assuming it's a he) and took the bag plus my wife's handphone nearby. That's all that was missing but I'm sure I had it coming. My car is my second home and with so many things in it, it was just a matter of time plus a dropping of my guard and wham! a perfect piece of tantalizing crime bait. Anyway, I'm glad it was only a handbag and handphone. The thieves missed a lot of other valuables littered all over my car (valuable to me I mean). I also have my car and the repairs didn't cost a bomb. So it's okay! For the thief (or thieves) a little prayer commending them to a just God to punish suitably and justly either in this life or the next was made (get what you deserve from God - He's the best avenger!). The crime level in Kuching is rising slowly but surely and I guess this is just another indication of it and a reminder to me to get my car in order and all the stuff I leave in it. How's your car?

Getting them to read

The increasing workload (tons of stuff to read and mark or write) its taking a toll on my mind - feel tight and about to explode; not to mention the headaches and a sense that my mind is shutting off. Even so, I press on and close my eyes to rest when it's too much.

Now to what i really want to write about - how to encourage reading. After scanning through a bunch of articles I collected from the Net, i have discovered 7 ways that seem to work:

1. read aloud books to those you desire to see reading. It seems that when good books are read out well, an interest is created to pick up a book and read it yourself.
2. present books as a treasure worth having. Reveal books true worth and teach 'them' to respect books.
3. make time for reading. Free time for reading makes room for books to be read.
4. pick up books you enjoy and find easy to read. Books must be enjoyable if it is to be read. Ditch those boring tomes you are struggling to overcome.
5. gossip books. Discuss what has been read with others; write reviews and create lists so others will be aware what is available and be tempted to read.
6. make books available. many don't read because the books they want are not available, to expensive to buy or just not within reach. Libraries should be well stocked and programs to give books out for free or recyling read books should be increased.
7. meet the author and have a person behind the book. Authors should make themselves known.

If you have any more ideas or want to build on my list, please do do. By the way, anyone here read a book you like or have a book you want to share?

Books to be read (Part 1)

Inspired by a book I read that encouraged me to visualize what I want and the request for a book list (see previous posting) I find myself looking up book lists (Top Ten, What I've Read, Best Reads, Best Sellers . . . you get the idea) to discover and 'claim' books I would like to own and read. First to be 'visualized' is Elizabeth Gilbert's 'intensely articulate, sensible, moving and funny memoir of self-discovery about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment'. Her book? Eat, Pray, Love.

The next book on my want-to-read list is Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I think the following review reveals why this book would catch my interest: "Laced with drama, danger, romance, and good deeds, Mortenson's story serves as a reminder of the power of a good idea and the strength inherent in one person's passionate determination to persevere against enormous obstacles." Along the same line is this book I must get my hands on: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children by John Wood.

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan would be a book I would like to read because it challenges me to eat what I don't like - greens! The book looks impressive.

What should I read?

One of my students, after making the comment that we share a similar interest when it comes to the books we read, suggested that I write for him a list of books that he could check out. I mulled over the idea and the more I thought about it, the more excited I got. Yes, why not a list - Peter's recommended books to read list. There's just so many books out there and searching for the right one to read can be difficult. Why not get someone who shares a similar interest suggest books they liked or like to have read - the chances of those books being suitable for you will be higher than if you had to rummage through bookshops searching for 'the book' to buy and read. So here it goes, my first list of books I read and I think you would enjoy reading too (if you had a similar interest):

1. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist
2. All of Neil Gaiman's short stories
3. Dean Koontz for action, thrills and some gore
4. Sue Townsend's books on Adrian Mole to put a smile on your face
5. Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First to get your life in order
6. Jeffrey Archer's short stories - the best collection of short stories with surprising and delightful twists at the end of each well crafted tale
7. Mitch Albom's last 3 books to warm your heart and make you aware of what's really important in life
8. Bill Bryson's books that will help you learn about the world while you are laughing

If you are reading this, do post a comment on my list and even send me your list. What would you suggest students in secondary schools read? Happy reading!