The week that was...

1. The week that was saw disharmony created in what was a usually harmonious situation.  Unkind words were hurled to those who disagreed with the change. The funny thing was, there was no instruction to change anything! It was merely a suggestion! However, two enterprising souls decided to test the change.  And test they did only to be copied by a trail of confused people. In the midst of the mind boggling exercise, the two enterprising souls came to my table and admitted  to not liking the change verbally to me and my colleague. As a matter of fact, one of them frantically asked me to grab the mike (was there one?) and speak to the crowd as she was dead against it. Huh? A level-headed person would not resort to such a thing because I would've unnecessarily embarrassed some people and I certainly didn't want to be rude...Alas, I was horrified to say the least, to witness the change take place ever so quickly. No survey was ever conducted earlier. The survey was done AFTER the change took place to rectify the earlier mistake. Well,  if you ask me the change took place in record time it deserves mention in the Malaysia Book of World Records! Don't get me wrong. I'm not against change if it's reasonable and I'm not a hypocrite. I was the only one who raised my hand (twice) when I knew many more disagreed. I feel sorry for those who couldn't stand up for themselves.

This is my two-cents worth, not that it would change anything now. Change is good if it doesn't cause disharmony and misunderstandings. If an earlier situation doesn't hurt anyone then change is unnecessary. Unfortunately,  ego took control. The change has definitely caused disharmony and it will take some time before it heals. What I've learned from the event is it's hard to find people you can trust and depend on. I have lost all respect for those who said one thing earlier and now say another. Do you really need such people in your life?

You could ask me 'why do I bother?' I could and should be selfish as my little place is not affected (although now some are asking why my row has not complied with the change...now you understand what I mean by having principles and not doing something because the herd did it). Well,  my response to this question is:

I'm just a member who pays my membership fee without fail, I'm just a member who sits in this small place I call my workplace, I'm just a member who dislikes disharmony at the workplace, I'm just one old teacher who appreciates the little privacy and space I have in my quad,  I'm just one of the senior teachers whose opinion was never sought and whose existence was totally ignored.

People, the maths is easy. Which is more comfortable? 4 or 6? I rest my case :)

2. Getting my students to cooperate and do something useful to improve their English is so difficult sometimes. They understood the rational of the project but action was lacking. If they thought they had done a good job with their journals last year, only about fifteen did a good job. Now, I'm giving them the chance to do it online in the comforts of their homes. Last Friday was the culmination of the frustration to get them to do their part! I was very angry and you are not nice when you're angry...you become a M.O.N.S.T.E.R and that time of the month did not help either... This was a terrible week although I enjoyed the workouts at the gym :)

Let's hope for a better week next week!