Hope beyond hope

The hopeful faces of students when I announced another addition to my SPECTRA program this year brighten the morning. I have conducted the SPECTRA for two years whereby if the students can increase their overall percentage from mid year to final by at least 4% they will be awarded a certificate. There are three categories of certificate - bronze, silver and gold, depending on how much they can increase their overall percentage. Not many can get gold certificate because there must be a minimum of 10% increase. There are also certificate for highest increase in each class, highest increase in each form and class with the highest increase of CGPA.

It is during the certificate giving ceremony that you can see the bright faces of students from the smartest to the students from the last class of each form. Nothing is impossible in this program because students are not competing against each other but they are competing against their previous performance. So everyone got a chance to win. You can hear loud clap from the audience when weak students or naughty students coming up to the stage to proudly receive their certificate. Perhaps now the naughty students has found new venues to channel their energy - to increase their performance in school.

The program means a lot to me just as it means a lot to the kids. It is the first time ever they got to be rewarded academically (not just in sport) even though they are weak students. It provide them the hope the self respect they never thought they could attain before. That pride is something that money can't buy. Now they can start to believe in themselves, daring to hope to reach a higher plane. Their bright faces are my reward. And my inner satisfaction. Thank you Allah for choosing me to be the vehicle of hope for these kids.

Today I announced a new dimension to the program. I'm creating a new type of certificate - for 'young teachers'. Smart kids can register to me to guide one to three peers either from the same class or from other classes. They can guide their peers in subjects that they are strong in. It could be one subject or more. Young teachers certificate is awarded to them if their peers' grade are improved. Many students have already taken the form from me today. Some have already submitted their forms, registering to guide three peers that mostly got grade E of G (fail). I can see new hopes and new achievement. May Allah makes it a smooth one for the kids and for me.

May Allah bless us all with wisdom.

Changes

My Aiman when he was small.

A lot of thing has happened lately. Both at school and at home. Changes at the second top post at my school. Suddenly a new person will fill in the second post and the present person will have to go reluctantly. It makes me realize how small we are. We will never know what's in store for us. One moment we are securely in our position, the next moment someone else take that place.

At home, everything is so much quieter. I plan to go out this evening to get some things for the school but I suddenly realized no more daughter to accompany me around. She's in a boarding school slowly adapting to a new hectic lifestyle. I think I will just go tomorrow. My little Aiman is just off to his Qur'an class. Leaving me and my maid in the house.

The most constant thing in this world is changes. Changes happen everyday. Some changes are so drastic that we could not fail but notice it. Some changes happen so smoothly that we didn't realize it is happening. Like growing older. I would like to think of myself as growing wiser, learning from everything that's happening to me and around me. Always trying to be a better person. A better person today compared to yesterday. But at times I got worst for letting my heart rule my head. But once that bout of irrationality is over, I strive not to repeat that same mistake again. Asking Allah to let me be a strong person and a thankful servant. My graph of life might have its ups and downs but the overall graph I hope is on the rise. Closer and closer to get Allah's love.

May Allah bless us all.

With hardship goeth ease

Sometimes our niat or intention will be tested to the limit. Are we sincere enough or are we doing it to be rewarded in one ways or another. Who do we seek pleasure from? Allah or people.

We human being are very vulnerable at times. We err for we are only human. Even Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (p.b.u.h), has had his bad times. After the death of two of his strongest supporter, his wife Khadija and his uncle Abu Thalib, the attack that he received was intensified. He felt so down and Allah sent down Surah Ad-Dhuha to cheer him up.

By the morning hours (1) And by the night when it is stillest, (2) Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee nor doth He hate thee, (3) And verily the latter portion will be better for thee than the former, (4) And verily thy Lord will give unto thee so that thou wilt be content. (5) Did He not find thee an orphan and protect (thee)? (6) Did He not find thee wandering and direct (thee)? (7) Did He not find thee destitute and enrich (thee)? (8) Therefor the orphan oppress not, (9) Therefor the beggar drive not away, (10)Therefor of the bounty of thy Lord be thy discourse. (11)

At times we feel people has let us down but we know that Allah is always by our side. People sometimes will hurt us but Allah will never let us down. We just had to feel Allah's present in our heart.

Allah promise in this surah or verse that as long as we are with Allah, Allah will never let us down. Always protecting us in ways we didn't realize. The end, Allah promise, will be better than the beginning. No love can match Allah's love. Not even a mother's love to her child or a husband's love to his wife. Far, far from it. Is there any room to complaint?

(4) But lo! with hardship goeth ease, (5) Lo! with hardship goeth ease; (Ash-Sharh)

Verily, after every hardship Allah promise us something rosy, fabulous, unexpected reward waiting for us. Think about it. We will not be strong if we do not undergo hardship. So every time we face hardship try to think what's good is coming our way. Later on we will realize that we will never get it without undergoing the hardship first. So always look forward to the good things that come in the package of hardship.

May Allah bless us all.

Lesson of life

My girl is finally in a boarding school as she wish. Her PMR result wasn't as what she expected. She cried on the day she got it. I waited for a few days until until she was emotionally stable to say that she got what she deserved. She didn't work hard enough to get what she aimed for. When I was in school we didn't have any choice but to do what our parents told us to do. No discussion. Today youngsters have a thousand excuses for their parents.

Suddenly she said she wanted to study in a boarding school so that she has no other choice but to study. No TV, no facebook, no long napping during the day. Study, play, study and study. No other choice in a boarding school. So we went around one whole day going from a technical school to two education offices (from two states) hunting for boarding school. My husband got a phone call late yesterday evening from the technical school asking my girl to register today. We bought all the things that she might need in a boarding school last night. She's happy and I'm happy. Finally my girl got to learn how to survive on her own and be responsible for her own self. No more mother to keep on reminding her of what she need and should do.

She just called me asking me when I'm going to visit her. I said we just seen each other this morning before her father took her to register. She hasn't spent one night in hostel yet. Anyway I'll visit her this sunday on my birthday. How could I celebrate my birthday without my loved one?

May Allah bless us all.

post Mortem

What should I have done to make it better? Am I pushing people too much or too little? Was it the best choice or should I chose something better? Have I use my time wisely?

We Muslim should always muhasabah or do post mortem on ourselves. Every night. I know for sure that I have not use my time wisely. Poor time management. especially when I'm in front of the tube/TV and give myself the excuse that I needed some time to rest and ending up spending too much time on it. Sure, I learn a lot especially from documentary programs like Nat Geo but plus all the advertisement and everything I end up spending too much time on it and having inadequate time for more important things. I should improve that this year, 2011.

A teacher is one of the best person to make a new year resolution since every year we are given new set of students and jobs. The challenges we face every year are different. Even the way I teach the same topic every year are different simply because I have different set of students that need different ways of learning the same thing.

Once, when I was asked by a class to teach the topic of locus. It was not one of my maths classes but since I'm a maths teacher they want me to give light on the topic that they find so elusive. I purposely asked them how do they want me to teach the topic - the traditional way where they are taught to read the clues and react accordingly or the 3D right brain method. I guess I was just trying to provoke their mind to think. Of course they choose the second method. I use myself as an example of a locus, a moving point. And I asked them where should I move so that I'm constantly equal distance from the two boys that I chose as the model. That was a great start for them to think in 3D and to use their right brain. So I taught the topic in 2 periods instead of a week. One boy in that class said thanks to me after he got A for his maths in PMR examination for teaching him on that day.

If I say I will do my best to improve on the areas where I'm weak, that's not going to work well. Simply because my resolution is not strong enough. I have to make a check list of the things I must do to improve and always check whether I follow the list. All talk but no action is not going to change anything.

I feel better after writing this article. Now I know how to make sure to keep myself on the right track. I have to go back to the time when every morning I wake up I have a list in my head of what I must do and achieve on that day. I need to spring into actions. Not just making resolutions. I hope this article will help you out there too.

May Allah bless us all.

How to keep your heart healthy

I have long learned not to be bothered too much by the things that I can't do anything about it. Like if your boss is moody and you see him/her to discuss something without being aware of his/her temperament at that point of time. You end up not having a good discussion or even having a bad experience. You just have to learn to read the cues when the time is right. We learn from experience. The point is, don't get too upset over something that you have no control over it. Such experience is bound to happen once in a while.

How does that keep your hearth healthy? By not making your hearth overworked by pumping too much blood in such short time. If you are upset, that what will happen. It can cause high blood pressure without you realizing it.

For muslim, we are always or try to be in the state salimah or peace. We attribute all the bad experience to the test that Allah has given us in order to make us learn something, gain new knowledge or skill, or simply to make us stronger. Never get upset too easily. That's not an attribute of a true muslim. Like the case of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (p.b.u.h). A non muslim female neighbour always throw rubbish at his front door every morning. He never scolded her. And when he noticed that there was no rubbish for a day or two, he wondered what happen to the lady. He gave her a visit and found out that she was sick. He did every thing he can to relieve her of her burden as a good neighbour as though she had never done anything wrong to her. She eventually convert to Islam.

Following Prophet Muhammad's (p.b.u.h) foot steps I did the same thing too. I was scolded once by my junior as though I'm the junior. I was just posted back to my old school after finishing my study leave for two years. She wasn't in that school when I left but I guess now she's more 'senior' than me since I'm just reentering. I accepted some of the points even though I think she misunderstood me but I question her method of conveying her message. Like scolding a school girl, not someone older than you yourself. It was tough meeting her at the corridor after the first few days but I still nodded to her to acknowledge her existence. She was all smiling when she had to come to me for help. I willingly helped her.

I can choose to make foe with her but that's not good for the working environment and for my hearth. I don't want to feel so tighten inside every time I see her. The well being of my hearth is more important than her. I just hope that everyone reading this article will understand this too.

Just be patient. If we are on the right side Allah is always there for us. So why bother about things that you can't control? It'll not change anything anyway. Just concentrate on things that you CAN control like improving your weaknesses, learning from previous mistakes and the such. Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) said a good muslim is someone who is better today than yesterday and better tomorrow than today. Meaning we have to keep on improving ourselves. So don't just brush aside critics cause there could be so truth in it. We can only improve if realize out weaknesses. Weaknesses that others will see better than us ourselves.

Lead a good life. May Allah bless us all.

Maher Zain - Palestine Tomorrow Will Be Free

Every day we tell each other
That this day will be the last
And tomorrow we all can go home free
And all this will finally end
Palestine tomorrow will be free
Palestine tomorrow will be free

No mother no father to wipe away my tears
That’s why I won’t cry
I feel scared but I won’t show my fears
I keep my head high

Deep in my heart I never have any doubt
That Palestine tomorrow will be free
Palestine tomorrow will be free

I saw those rockets and bombs shining in the sky

Like drops of rain in the sun’s light
Taking away everyone dear to my heart
Destroying my dreams in a blink of an eye

What happened to our human rights?
What happened to the sanctity of life?

And all those other lies?
I know that I’m only a child
But is your conscience still alive

I will caress with my bare hands
Every precious grain of sand
Every stone and every tree
‘Cause no matter what they do
They can never hurt you
Coz your soul will always be free

Palestine tomorrow will be free
Palestine tomorrow will be free

Lyrics by Maher Zain