During the past few days, it had been a tough, painful period for me, experimentally. All of my laboratory works turned out as a total fiasco.
So, today, after another repetitive failure early in the morning, I stayed home and spent my time on something else, trying to forget, regroup myself ,and rethink about my scientific methodology.
Obviously, my emotions were not composed and, a bit, irritated.
So, I turned a movie the Freedom Writers on.... It had been there at the top of our entertainment center for almost a week, and, today, I had to return it at our neighborhood Blockbuster VDO shop.
My wife who watched this movie days before me told me that I must watch it, but I was too preoccupied with my lab works until today....
It was a story of a young female teacher, Ms. G, in a high school in Long Beach, CA. She was appointed to teach English in the worst class in the school. Her students came from a variety of ethnic groups; African American, Hispanic, and Asian. Most of them were gang members and very used to violence. For all racial groups, they did not like each other at all.... They hung out within their specific racial groups.
An atmosphere in the class at the beginning was dreadful and not pleasant.
With Ms. G's devotion and caring, she turned a classroom which looked pretty much like a battle field into a real, friendly classroom by novels, books, stories, and humanity.
The central ideas of her lessons surrounded around the Halocaust, the most notorious hate crime in our modern society.
She used stories in this true human tragedy to help her students to reflect what's truly going on in their real life/environment. She brought her students to a movie, the Schindler's List, and the Halocaust Museum. She also brought her students to a dinner. In the dinner, she invited some Halocaust survivors to talk and exchange their painful stories with the students.
Remarkably, she assigned her students to read and study a book, Anne Frank's Diary. This book is a diary of a Jewish girl living in the Nethelands during the World War II. Anne and her family were living in hiding under a secretive help of a kind Dutch family. However, Anne was captured, sent to a concentration camp, and died in there.
The story impressed the students. They came up with an idea to invite a member of the Dutch family to come over to their school to give them a keynote lecture. They organized a fund raising to raise money for this. And, they did it and they flew the Dutch lady to their school to share her memory about the war and Anne Frank.
These lessons from Ms. G turned these students around, from a gang member who're on the doorstep of lifetime jail to a human being with love and caring for others.
It's a really touching story for me who, one day, will become "a teacher" myself. There is nothing more rewarding than changing a person from this level to a higher one.
If you believe in the value and power of education like I do, I would suggest you to watch this movie... It's a great and inspiring one.
After you've finished the movie, you will have no doubts in it no matter where you stand. And, you may have more hope, inspiration, and effort to further push yourself forward.
I've heard of this movie so many times before. Sounds pretty much like the movie "Dangerous Minds" starring Michelle Pfeiffer several years ago. It's also a good one to watch if you've never seen it before krub. I'll also be sure to pick this one up when I have the opportunity to krub.
My dad was also a teacher most of his life so I have pretty much the idea of how a good teacher should be. It's a hard job, a really difficult task to undertake. But once you've succeed it's sure to be emotionally rewarding. This past year my third year students at Chula made history by achieving the highest average score in the first step of National Medical Licencing Exam (Basic Medical Sciences) and also highest passing percentage among all medical schools. I know I'm just a new teacher and haven't exactly participated that much in the teaching. But I did teach them and I can't help feeling that I was at least a part of this pride that we all cherish. And I can't help feeling so proud of them all, and it gives me tremendous strength to go on and develop myself into a better teacher, so that I can perfectly do the job that I am supposed to do.
I am leaving in exacly one month from now. Feeling a bit empty inside but I'll fight anyway krub!
โดย: the Vicky วันที่: 13 มิถุนายน 2550 เวลา:6:31:19 น.
แล้วจะพยายามใหม่นะคะ ตอนนี้อาจารย์หมอยามียาสูตรไหนบ้างที่จะแก้โรคหัวใจสลายน่ะค่ะ ส่งมาด่วน ไม่งั้นอาจจะไม่ได้เห็นวิคกี้ เพราะอาจจะตายไปก่อนทีจะได้กลับไปไทยก็ได้ค่ะ I may sound funny but it's not funny at all. ธรรมะหรืออะไรก็ได้
โดย: the Vicky วันที่: 14 มิถุนายน 2550 เวลา:5:08:45 น.
What kind of math modelling you are working on? I used to do ODE in my MS. However, I got another MS in OR (Operations Research). Anyway, I got a PhD in Engineering. (Although I got my BS and MS in Pure math ... errrr... It's a veryyyy long story)
The session in Math I wrote in my blog interested me because I am teaching in an undergraduated (actually graduated as well) level and I have encountered my students' weakness in basic math.. so I wrote..
I gather that you are a PhD student in Pharmacy? I might have guessed wrong. Anyhow, let me know if I can be any help on the topics.
Can we use หลังไมค์ instead ka? I try not to use the email for a while. Will wrtie หลังไมค์ to you. Please check.
โดย: the Vicky วันที่: 14 มิถุนายน 2550 เวลา:15:04:58 น.
Many thanks ka. You remedy really helps. I feel better (evenif it might be a short while). It saves me.
No, I never look at people from thier appearance. I always use the perception that I get from him/her ka. You are right about the roses. Next time I will give him (and also myself) a chance but I think normally a person will not give the flowers until he knows for sure that his good attention will not be refused, no? It meant that the guy was very brave.
I am writing an essay (for the final exam). I really need conentration but it seems that everything can distract me from it. Terrible!!!
Well, Have a nice day with your family naka!!
โดย: the Vicky วันที่: 14 มิถุนายน 2550 เวลา:22:19:41 น.
================================= Note: My life has been intertwined with works and many others. New responsibility has emerged, resulting less and less time for my ordinary life. Although, a love to write is still intact... But having less time is related to having less imagination.... Therefore, I could not come up with new writings for quite some times.
It might be a good time for me to leave this forum for moment.... Please take it as Mr. A.T. is having a sabbactatical leave or something like that....
As noted above, my love to write is still the same... and will not be changed. Sometimes somehow, I hope I could come back and give some thoughts in this blog once more.
Cheers, Mr. A.T. June 6th, 2008
=================================
Hello,
My pen-name in Pantip is amatuer translator. Actually, I'm a lousy translator with lame translation. My pen-name is somewhat misleading, I have no background in linguistics what-so-ever. Anyway I love to read, write and communicate with people...
Reading is my most favorite hobby. I read everything from shopping bags to articles in theoretical physics. I do research and teaching for my living. So, reading, writing, thinking and doing research works are my everyday routine.
I would like to define myself as a person who is accepting new ideas and adopting those into my way of life.
I believe in power of knowledge/education. I think every society can be a better society with knowledge. Ignorance can be dispelled by it. Humanity can live sustainably and harmoniously with each other along with its biosphere with understandings in the nature surrounding it.
Apart from my philosophical thoughts reflecting who I am, I can tell you something I like or love in particular;
I love dogs.... Particularly, labradore retrievers.... One day, I would like to spend my time and life with them as a big part of my family.
Zhuge Liang is my hero. With his wisdom and faithfulness, he led a tiny army to a mighty and formidable kingdom. He left his humble residence with a hope to come back. But, sadly, he had never returned and died far far away from home in a horse carriage in a battle field. If I could choose where I would, I would say where-ever my lovely wife was nearby.
I value happiness and my family as my first priority. My profession and my philosophy come in the second. Pursuit in wealth has never been in my desire.
I'm glad to be your friend, and look forward to seeing you around krub.
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