Ehem...Announcement....

Dear friends,

My blog is now located at

http://www.cyntasez.com

So, please change my former www.cyntasez.blogspot.com to the link I gave above. Then, jan lupa bookmark and kasi sia link kamu juga ah ;-)

Last but not least...

Happy holidays! Selamat Hari Raya!!

Cynta is on a break.

Bah, I want to take a break from blogging for maybe...one or two weeks, depending on my workload. Plus, CyntaSez is going to be under construction. Been thinking of revamping a bit, but depends lah..I kinda like the petals fallling and the current background.

Bah, till we meet again! Take care all!!

MuahMuahMuah

Special Education

Being a class teacher has many ups and downs. Last year, I had a student named Brian (siou, I have to use a pseudonym) who is special. When I first met him, he seemed normal. But, after I asked him to read a short, simple sentence in their literature book, he can't. He appears to be in his own world most of the time, sometimes he talks and laughs to himself. He has his own repetitive routines, he was able to write his own name, but he was unable to catch up with the curriculum. He's not bonkers, or stupid, he has autism.

I had quite a challenge with him. Once, he ran off to hide under a staircase because a student made fun of him. I didn't realise he was hiding until a student pointed out that he was actually under the staircase, instead of being absent. I went to get him, to coax him gently to enter the class. He ran off and went straight home. But, there are times when he saw me and he would immediately enter the class without any resistance. There are many other events that transpired between Brian, his classmates and me (and other teachers). I recalled one day, he was in a very good mood and he patted everyone at the back. Once, during assembly, he hid in the classroom and as the others sang the national anthem, he was caught dancing and prancing in his own imaginary world. Regardless of that, he was never a nuisance.

I met with the parents last year to discuss about Brian's learning condition. To me and my school bosses, it's better for Brian to be schooled in a special school not because we can't handle him, but it's for his own good. Brian needs an environment where he can learn freely without being subjected to a curriculum that is rigid for a boy with his condition. The students can be mean to him and might trigger an anxiety attack which would lead him to destroy property. He might even injure himself or others if he was continuously provoke. He needs special teachers to cater his needs as an autistic child, and after he has been rehabilitated, he can enter mainstream schools like a normal student. It sounds cruel, but seeing Brian struggling with his learning and environment, I do think that  it is best if he entered a special school. But, for reasons I don't know what, Brian is still in our school and I often hear other teachers expressing concern over his education.

This year, I didn't teach his class and the responsibility of being his class teacher went to another colleague of mine. But, yesterday, his father called me and asked for my help to write a report on his behaviour. I thought it was for medical reasons, as I knew that Brian and his father have been visiting the hospital. But it wasn't. It was because his father wanted to use that report as a valid reason for a transfer.

His father's words still rang in my ears. He told me of his predicament, of how he wanted to bring his family to come with him to his new working place. He went to a school there to ask whether he could register Brian there. This was what the "teacher" told him:

"Kasi biar seja bah anak kau sana. Tu cikgu-cikgu dia tau sudah bah keadaan dia. Bagus lagi dia di sana."

I felt angry hearing those insensitive comments. It sounds like they don't want to be associated with him. To me, as teachers, it is our duty to accept and educate a child, regardless of his or her circumstances. I was moved with pity and together with Brian's new class teacher, we wrote a report about his behaviour.

As we wrote our report, we felt guilty. As each word were typed, we felt as if we were judging him, condemning him for being an autistic. But at the end of the day, this task has to be done - for Brian to continue his education in our school and for his father to be transferred back near his family.

I wonder if Brian would ever be treated for his autism. I want him to be able to learn like the other students. I want him to lead a normal life despite having autism. I guess, for Brian, me and his class teacher, the challenge is still on. This will never stop until the people surrounding Brian be given an education on autism and autistic children.

God, help us.

Gaming Sunday

Now that work is out of the way (well, kinda), it's time for me to unwind. I've been thinking about how I spend my Sundays at home, I was never a girl-about-town anyway. Usually I would read (as most of you are aware, I am quite a bookworm ;-) ), but sometimes, I spend a lot of time in front of my laptop, playing games. I'm not a big fan of PlayStation and/or X-box (although I adore PSPs), I'm more of an Atari girl hehehe...

So, today I want to share with you the PC games that I'd always waste my time with...

#1. The Sims -1,2,3

I would say that the creator of this game is a genius! I can lose myself in this virtual dollhouse for hours. I can create an alter-ego who is 10kg lighter and I can match her with another Sims whose name happens to be Lee Dong-Wook. I can be a millionaire, and basically this game is a good form of escapism. There was one time, after playing Sims for more than 5 hours straight, I went to lectures seeing green diamonds on everyone's head.

 :P

#2. Civilization

I love to play this game because my brothers loved it. Heck, I don't even understand why suddenly I was on war with Cleopatra, etc. There's something about this game that gives me a mysterious sense of fulfillment after beating other civilizations on building a World Wonder or expanding my civilisation's cultural zones. 

#3. Diablo

This is the game that was responsible for making me a silent gamer. Why silent? When I told others that I played this game and eventually "game-d" it, they would say in disbelief, "Macam susah sia mau pecaya ko ni kaki game..." All I can say was, "Bah, looks can be deceiving, kan?hehe."

I basically loved this game because of the intense mouse-clicking action. Plus, the game provides missions for you to accomplish like "See Deckard Caine to identify this item" and despite being a straightforward mission, the game won't let you off that easily. You have to fight minions, demons, etc and the best thing is, you get to fight them in skin tight costumes with awesome powers or extremely accurate bow shots. 

I've played Diablo 1 and 2. Can't wait for the third one!!

#4. NeverWinter Nights

This one is also syok because of its cool graphics and storyline. Although not at par with Diablo, this game deserves to be in my laptop because of the plot and mission. Plus, I can customise the characters into my own liking, from the voice, to the body size, etc (something I wished Diablo would have). NWN 1 is so good but sadly, there are a lot of bugs (the things that made a game "hang" or slow) bugging in NWN 2 (and there goes my RM18 on those cannot be used DVDs). If I got extra money, I might get the original game though ;-).

#5. Diner Dash, Mystery Case Files, Zuma and many others.

Well, siapa tidak minat si Flo and her diner-dashing skills? Hehehe...

Flo is the girl who helped me get through midterms and finals during the looonggggg period of study week at uni. Gosh, I mish Flo...maybe I play Diner Dash after this...

Another fave game is the Mystery Case Files. I love it because I love hidden objects and the puzzles at almost every stage. I think I've played from MCF 1 to MCF: Thirteen Skulls. Best! I remembered having a calculator, a notepad and a pencil everytime I played the MCF installments. I really enjoyed the puzzles because its...well, puzzling. Hehe. Plus, the graphics are soooooooo good!!

Zuma is also one of our craze during uni. There's something addictive about the marbles being shot and seeing a frog firing a coloured marble or hitting a gold coin. 

I've played Revenge of Zuma but still, the old Zuma is still kind of homey. I prefer the old one to the latest one.

So, there you have it. These are the games that makes up most of my Sunday morning (in case you are wondering, I go to Sunset Mass...manatau ada orang tanya napa sia nda pigi church...heheh). So, if you have any games that you want me to review or try playing, just comment kio?

Have a blast! It's Sunday, after all.

Sappy Saturday

Yesterday, before calling it a day at school, one of my students dropped by my table and sheepishly handing to me an A4 sized exercise book.

Before going home, she told me, "Teacher baca ah...*giggles*". So, I thanked her and brought it home with me.

When I opened the book and began reading it, it was not a writing homework nor was it a grammar related exercise. It was actually a work-in-progress, a novel entitled Rapunzel is My Girl. So, I started digesting the book, while waiting for the S(illy)APS programme to reemerged on my screen (only to find that after 10 minutes of successful marks crunching, it went AWOL again). 

The story was about a girl named Rapunzel who had a terminal illness ( I think it's terminal because the character kept fainting at every 2 chapters) who experienced a near death, but eventually was transformed into another girl named Yun. Rapunzel (and Yun) has a childhood guy friend named Keri who had always loved her but didn't know that he actually has feelings for her ever since they were little. So, as Rapunzel and her alter-ego, Yun tried to win Keri's affection (and for Keri to actually realised that he loved Rapunzel), they  embarked on a series of (mis)adventures which finally led to Rapunzel's victory over her illness and Yun (Well, Yun was not actually that evil but she's one sneaky girl). All in all, her work-in-progress is a Dr.Jeckyl meets Jem and of course, there was a mixture of fairy tale happy endings.

I am definitely proud of her. She still needs a few lessons in writing a story but it was a good try nevertheless. I think if motivated and encouraged more, this 15 years old girl will perhaps be our answer to J.K.Rowling. Ohya, did I mention that I was the only teacher allowed to read her work?

(minta puji oh kan si Cynta :P)

Thanks to her, my hours of cursing at the latest insanity called SAPS has dwindled away. It also worked like a miracle charm as I finished reading, the programme went back to normal.

Well, that's all for this week. Have a nice weekend!