Teacher as Researcher, Symposium, Kuching

The Ranau mentees dressing up!

Iban dancers on the boat

As I wait for my flight to Kota Kinabalu I will try to recap and reflect - Andrew Pollard's catch phrase - on this action packed week. We left K.K. on Tuesday afternoon. bound for the luxurious Hilton in Kuching. Our mentees arrived later on in the evening but by bedtime everyone had been fed and watered and shown to their rooms. The Symposium started straight away at 8 am with workshop and poster presentations. Asmah, was very nervous at the beginning but after a few minutes when she realised everyone was genuinely interested she relaxed and became a pro. about classroom management. Afterwards there was a very grand opening ceremony with very emotive speeches from the Director of the project , VIP's from British Council and the Ministry of Education - there were some people in tears at that stage! Then our key speakers who were Professors Andrew Pollard, Simon Borg and Carol Read all gave very interesting talks and after the tea break in the afternoon it was time for Harianeh’s talk. We were both very nervous even though I hardly had to talk but she managed fine and the 20 people who attended seemed very engaged and asked questions. Anyway at least by Wednesday evening I had two teachers over and only Ruwaida to go. We could definitely relax and celebrate with the free cocktail/beer party in the evening. Thursday was non-stop presentations, workshops etc.. from 8 am - 6pm with of course breaks for lunch and snacks and then only 1 hour to get ready for the river cruise. Everyone had a great time and after the meal the traditional dancing started and we all joined in and some of us were hot and sweaty by the time we docked back in Kuching. The last day came and Friday was Ruwaida’s turn for her workshop. It was supposed to start at 8.00 but attendance started lagging and people were late but despite the late start, she did really well and I think everyone learnt something about “Critical Thinking in Young Learners”.

Asmah

Ruwaida and the puppet theatre

Before we knew it was the closing ceremony and lots of very emotional speeches about the success of the Symposium and I nearly felt that I was going to cry too! The teachers obviously really got a lot out of it and enjoyed the camaraderie and seeing each other’s work and discussing and  exchanging ideas. It was a celebration of the teachers and was a great success and I was so proud of my teachers finding the confidence to present in front of an audience. There was no time for the delicious lunch as I had to be at Kuching airport for my flight to Singapore….

The Ranau District Representatives