I had a queasy feeling every time I was invited by the group to have a sharing session with them. I feel like an impostor. But, I just took my chance to give my best.
So, there were about 20+ academic staff attended this session. I could see familiar faces. I have high regards towards these people. I salute them for having unwavering passion in teaching especially to those who are “otai” with so many years of teaching experience under their belt. I am supposed to learn from them, not the other way around.
Nevertheless, I shared my experience in using Round Robin in my class. Apparently, some of them have already used it but they don’t know it is Round Robin. Indeed. I learn more from them.
Some of them already left when we took this picture
The recent incident about a student who was canned by a teacher because she called him as “aqua” (Translated: effeminate person) has caused an uproar among teachers, students, netizens and whatsnot.
The way I see it if I were the student, I would definitely get “double” from my parents. That’s why I never told them if I was punished by my teachers at school. Their perception is I must have done “something” to make the teachers to punish me. No explanation needed. I would always be the one who have done something wrong, not the other way around. Parents now? Well, they are different. The parents who are like my parents are extinct. This is the reality now.
This was a must dish that I have to prepare if I made Nasi Lemak when I was in Durham (especially, if the PRs requested that I made this). But now, I rarely cook so this is just one of my distant memories.
Fried Prawn (I googled and watched Youtube to get inspiration from Japanese chefs making fried tempura prawn)
– Plain flour (If you don’t have any, you can use premix flour for frying. No need to add paprika, pepper and salt, just mix it with cold water)
– A bit of baking powder
– Paprika (a dash or two)
– Black pepper
– White pepper
– Salt
– Cold water (for better result, water with ice cubes)
Fry it when the oil is hot enough (no measurement)
There are so many things that I did while undergoing my Latihan Ikhtisas. One of the things that I like to do is to create posters. Here are some of the posters that I made. Well, basically, it is grammar and whatsnot. So, being a non-native speaker, of course I have to take the content such as idioms from elsewhere. 😀
The KPIs for university lecturers are not for faint-hearted people. Indeed. But sometimes, there are daredevil ones who would dare to do any and everything to make sure they hit their KPIs with flying colors. Slow professor principle? Definitely not on these peps’ vocabulary. They are one on the Shinkansen mode. Always. So, anything that block their way will be bulldozed indefinitely.
But the reality starts to show that the quantity does not justify the quality. People have started to talk about it. When asked about the practice of individuals who use other people’s students work without their contribution, critical people like Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz does say something spot on.
For me, I believe that we can’t hurry to be “matured”. It is as if you are taking a hormone booster to get old quickly. Does anyone want to get old early? Of course, there are outliers who excel in certain fields at young age and in academia, these people can be exemplified in the way they rise to the social academic ranking faster than the average. Some are really good. But I am not like them. I am a late bloomer. This is what I notice since young. So, I am not pushing myself to be on Shinkansen mode.
The incident that happened to one of my seniors in April 2019 left indelible mark that makes me think to reevaluate and reprioritise my goals in life. Now, I believe that if I improve myself in the way I relate myself to Allah, it will be translated in the way I lead my life as His ‘Abd. Even though in one of the verses in the Qur’an states
Yet, I believe that what is good in this world does not mean or equate with money or social status. Allah Knoweth the best and I pray May He Bless me with the best gladtiding.
He is known as “a killer” lecturer. (Former students still remember him as such). Nobody dares to come later than him. The moment he entered the class, he would lock the door. Late comers? You wouldn’t able to enter the class. Period. No negotiation. Nothing.
At that time, nobody dares to make a complaint to the administrator or the dean. Who dares to make a complaint when the one who locked the door is THE DEAN himself? You make complain to him? Are you crazy? Even the VC is younger than him. He is like Don Corleone. You don’t mess with The Don.
But former students learn values such as punctuality and such. One of my friends who took sociology classes with him would proofread her assignments (the things that we don’t bother to do for another classes). Why? Those with grammatical errors would be publicly shamed once he returned the assignments. He teaches us to be perfectionist and proficient in English. Of course, as students at that time, being young and reckless, some of us didn’t appreciate his style.
I heard the news yesterday that he passed away in his sleep. He was 81 years old. Al-fatihah to Prof. Dr. Mohamed Aris Othman (he is fondly known as Pak Aris even though he has Professorship title).
