Wonderful students... :)

Not all teens are rowdy.

Not all teens are materialistic.

Not all teens are self-centred.

Not all teens lack compassion.

Not all teens are ill-disciplined.

Sure, there might be many teens who are the above... we often bump into such youths out there on the streets and other public areas, and for me, at my workplace. But I am really glad that I can make a firm statement about the fact that not all is lost, cos there for several gems out there who still shine through these many dark sheep.

Meet Irene, an ex-student of mine who graduated 2 years ago from secondary school. She was from the Normal Technical Stream and was in a class of kids whom I often had to coax and reward simply to get them to complete the simplest of all assignments/ tasks in class.

She, however, stood out. She was different. In fact, she was one of the best students I could have ever asked for. Self-disciplined and with intrinsic motivation to learn and do her best in even her weakest subjects, Irene was a star in her own right. Now she's studying at ITE, and is one of the most outstanding students there. A few days ago, she visited some of us in school. She just returned from an educational trip to Melbourne and was excitedly sharing her experiences with me. She even bought me a souvenir that had the print of a kangaroo on it, cos she knows that I love animals. :) Such a fine young lady. She might not be the most witty person to be around, but with her positive attitude and sincerity towards others, I believe she will be one who will attain success in life.

And today, I was impressed with yet many more students. I arranged for a class visit to a nursing home in Choa Chu Kang, and my class was involved in lots of activities -- conducting a mass BINGO game for the elderly residents, putting up mini musical performances, and going about shopping for food items to donate to the home before the visit. They did so well today, and we had so much fun at the home. What I was touched by was also the way they handled everything with maturity (amidst hilarious moments of playfulness... sigh, kids will be kids...) and were able to demonstrate patience and care towards the frail, old residents, even those who were less mild-mannered. They showed so much support towards these elderly, cheering and applauding loudly whenever any of them won a BINGO game, and doing the same when some of the residents loved their performances so much that they sang along to the tunes they played. It was such a fulfilling time, and as their form teacher, I was so proud of them. *gush with pride*

I sure look forward to discovering more teens with potential! :)

PS. Am looking forward too to tomorrow... Beebee's coming over with Qing Li to play ping pong in the morning, followed by Guitar Hero most probably. Then we'll all head down to Jurong Point to check out the new Osaka food street there for lunch... heehee. ;P