INTERVIEW WITH AN EX-STUDENT - PART 3

Another interview was carried out with Miss Mastura, an ex-student who did her teaching practice in SMK Taman Universiti. Let's read what she has to say.

What year did you leave SMKTUN?
2006

What course are you doing now in university?
Majoring in TESL at UTM Skudai.

How did you feel when you were told that you were to carry out your practical teaching here?
I was so excited because I thought it would be a wonderful experience working with people that once taught me but I was scared at the same time. I was afraid that I couldn't fulfill the expectation from the school.

Describe the differences that you could see between the time when you were in school and what you can see now.
The most obvious thing that I noticed was the students' attitude towards teachers. During my time, we always listened to teachers and we hardly disrespected them. However, now I can see that students tend to ignore teachers completely if they dislike the teachers. I had to go through this period during my first few weeks and it was tough. But luckily, I managed to get the students' interest and their attention in class.

What would be the biggest challenge that you had faced as a teacher here?
The biggest challenge that I had to face during my practical teaching is to be creative. I had to admit that all the theories that I've learnt in university are not quite helpful. So each day was a new day for me. I did experiments with students - sometimes it worked,sometimes it didn't.

What is your advice to the students in order to succeed?
They must be independent in learning. I believe that it is time for our students to explore knowledge on their own. Teachers will guide them in the process of learning but they have to be responsible in their own learning. Thus, this will open to more classroom discussions and I do believe that students learn better when they discuss.

If you were given a chance to teach here in the future, will you agree? Why?
I have no problem if i were given a chance to teach in SMKTUN. I love the people and the culture here. Most importantly, I have a lot of many memories in this school. I can see myself growing from a normal high school student to a future educator and SMKTUN has given me a lot of wonderful experiences.

So thanks a lot to Miss Mastura for coming back to school and being able to serve the school and its community even though just for a short while. I wish her all the best in her pursuit as a future teacher/educator and hope to see her again some other time, with her other friends that is.