Reflection: A lot of Trust in the Second Week

Trust : a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.

Its a powerful belief once you said it out to the universe.

In my case, I said out to the universe AND my students.

I started Week 2 of Sri Aria thinking of strategies to help and guide my students to be more mindful of their surrounding, themselves, and their friends. Being mindful is one of the pillars that makes up the foundation of Sri Arians.

As we were seated down in circle that morning, as the hustle and bustle of my Sri Arians quieten down (well almost), I told each and everyone of my precious that “I trust you to be able to sit and cross your legs. I trust you will be able to keep silence for a minute while respecting your friends’ silence too. I trust you will close your eyes when you’re ready. And we will begin.”

And that morning, was a start to a powerful shift of the dynamics in Sri Aria.   

Week 1 saw us Learning Facilitators trying to set boundaries while laying down the rules and routines. There were power struggles here and there which is normal when rules and routines are being established. We persisted with the rules and routines and now, with Week 2, we put more trust into our students than the first week.

As I mentioned before, with Sri Aria my role as an educator changed so much. I learned that with trust, I am not only giving my students a sense of empowerment but also a sense of accountability and respect towards their own school and their friends.

As I stepped back from the traditional teaching role, I saw more and more of my students abilities and strengths. The possibilities are truly endless. If only I can capture in film and show it to the world. If only adults would just take a step back and give trust to our younger generation.

Some of the powerful shifts that happened were:

1) Our students feeling pride over their school.

“Do we own Sri Aria?”

In a way, yes. But what do you think?

“The school is our responsibility to take care. If we don’t it will be a city dump and we won’t have a place to go anymore. There will be no school like this anymore.”

2) Our students address the issue of FREEDOM some parents so worried about.

“Miss Najmi, I would like to suggest that there should be only 4 people in the Gamer Zone. While waiting for their turn, they will have to do something creative or finish their other task..”

Do you all agree?

“Yes!”

What happens if someone do not follow this rule?

“Oh, they’ll miss a turn. Simple.”


3)…and when we had our trip to the park, some of the boys owned up to their responsibility to take care of the younger girls to the park and back.

“Eh, where did you go? Bahaya. Stay with me OK.”

Yes. Its only two weeks and its all about getting around Sri Aria and learning about their role in Sri Aria. All that can’t happen if we continue to hover over and dictate these students.

Trust : a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.

Read that one more time:

Trust : a firm belief in the reliability, truth, AND the ability of our Sri Arians to take charge of their learning and everyday activities while in school. 

That’s my take for week 2. You really won’t get much from just my post. When you have the chance, meet our Sri Arians and ask them their experience and learning in school. Then you’ll see why Sri Aria School is so important for all children in Malaysia.

Our students deserve our trust and well, three steps back. 

Love, 

Teacher Najmi

#SriAriaJourney

For more info or to register with Sri Aria School:

Call : 03-6262 7092 (Office Hour)

Whatsapp: +601139134562 (Office Hour)

FB & IG: Sri Aria School

Get your invitation to our Parents Briefing this 1st Februari, 230-430PM, Sri Aria School ARA Damansara by filling in and submitting this online form: https://goo.gl/forms/60fti7nMcejQcf2J3

See you soon!

Refection: One Week in Sri Aria School

One week of Sri Aria School and I am in love.

Yes (a massive love and a slight crush).

I have found a deeper understanding about the importance of environment as a teacher and how students’ interact with it. Having the environment ready as a teacher and learning-tool, help students be more independent. Because Students are naturally curious, They’ll navigate their day with this curiosity. If they have high interest in a matter, they will be focused on it and learning happens. If not, they’ll move on. Its also how you’ll get to see where their interest lies and what is it the students want to learn.

But all that can only be seen if you (the Learning Facilitator) has the chance to observe. In Sri Aria School, a lot of observation must be done. I found out my role as a teacher changed so much and there’s little time to “teach” (in the traditional sense). My teaching in Sri Aria School is more meaningful because you can sense that it gets “downloaded” immediately because they are using and also teaching their friends after getting the information from me.

One of the proudest moment (so far) I felt during the first week is when we had our Town Hall Meeting on Friday morning. An issue regarding the Gamer Zone schedule was addressed democratically and peacefully. Immediately, after the meeting, you can see the effects of the discussion and almost everyone was responsible in keeping to the schedule.

It is still our orientation week at Sri Aria School Bandar Sri Damansara. A lot of the things we learned this week is in regards to the school rules and how to make the school work and functional. The students also learn how to plan and keep to their plans so they’ll have a productive day (although this can be subjective but almost each student achieve their goal and they are confident about it).

As a playbased learning advocate, I can see how Sri Aria School will be a great continuation of KinderKaizen graduates. Sri Aria School culture continues to foster the independence, thoughtfulness, respect, and responsibility we introduce in KinderKaizen. The culture continues and deepens; reaffirms the foundation being build in the first 6 to 8 years of our young KinderKaizeners. 

So, Sri Aria School hanya untuk KinderKaizen graduates ke? 

TAK. Like KinderKaizen, Sri Aria School is for all children in Malaysia who are in dire need of change so they can grow into independent and capable adults. 

If you believe As and exams (even school-entry exams) are not the only thing that matters in making up our future leaders of Malaysia, Sri Aria School is for you.

Come join me? 

Massive love (and a slight crush),

Teacher Najmi  

P/S: Sri Aria School ARA DAMANSARA is now open for registration. Call / whatsApp / email to get your application form. Hurry!

Call / WhatsApp : 011 391 34 562
Email : sriariaschool@gmail.com

See you!

#sriariajourney

My job scope: as an ECE practitioner

Early Childhood Education is a growing industry. It continues to develop as more and more research is being done to support the learning and developments of young children. Maybe being a kindergarten teacher back then and now is still the same. Maybe it is different in a lot of ways we are not ready to admit. Here is my take of my role as an Early Childhood Education (ECE) practitioner.

The last thing you want to do as an ECE practitioner is to ASSUME what a child needs/wants. 

What I've learned-- the more you study ECE theories, the more you feel like you don't know. So many insights and probability you need to work on when it comes to children. You can guess and hypothesis, but as an ECE practitioner who reflects and does research, you must not assume what you are doing or giving is the best for the child.

More often than not, children will always show us adults how exactly they are feeling. They'll show it in their behaviour. We miss it because we had already given them instructions, expectations, or rules because we had already assumed what's best for them.

Instead of helping, we are creating more issues that we might not be aware of. 

That's why in our practice, its always best to listen first. 

By listening first, you are accepting the child as he/she is without judgement. 

By listening you are giving the child a chance to explore their own strength and work with themselves from within.

By listening you are empowering them.

An ECE practitioner does not just teach. 

We listen.

As an ECE practitioner, we cannot be looking at children on the surface only. We are not merely teaching anymore. We have a whole lot more to look at. We have to dig deeper and read things, especially the ones below the surface, the not so obvious issues. These issues do and will continue to affect children's learning up until adulthood. 

Personally I think a lot of ECE practitioners are struggling because a lot of underlying, hidden matters are happening within the children. Things that should and must be sorted out at home is not being taken care of. All these comes out in school. The teacher is struggling between teaching and guiding (and sometimes cleaning up the mess).  

Parents (adults) nowadays are struggling with work; struggling with the social economy pressures; struggling with their own upbringing; struggling with the dos and the don'ts; struggling with the lies they are being fed regarding their children's intelligence. Parents nowadays are struggling with their own unmet (childhood) needs (manifested into adulthood) and meeting their children's needs.

It is not easy being a parent. There are challenges and it is a life-long learning process.

I am not trying to start a parents vs teachers argument here (I for one supports parents-teachers positive relationship) but my point is this: ECE practitioners nowadays have to do a whole lot more. We are not merely teaching ABCs and 123s anymore. We need to guide our students how to manage their feelings and how to appropriately express them. Some (unknowingly) are taking up the parenting role too whether they like it or not. We have to equip ourselves with lots more knowledge on Early Childhood Development. Especially on childhood and child psychology. AND at the same time, we need to be able to support parents too. This is looking beneath the surface. This is how we help children nowadays. 

Maybe we can't possibly learn everything and master them, that's why we need to work together with other agencies: Everyone and anyone working closely with children. We all need to work together.

There's truth in the saying: It takes a village to raise a child. Yes, the role of raising a child comes from parents first, but we all need to work together in helping out. In doing our part without stepping in each other's boundaries.

So, serious, Teacher Najmi.

:)

But that's the truth: banyak kerja kita sebenarnya. That's why a lot of early years practitioners are struggling. Torn between paperwork and their students; and the unnecessary pressure from the lies and fake promises that comes from this statement: "Children must be able to read, write, count, and solves the mysteries of life before they turn 6". *roll eyes*

So, do you still think we merely teach ABCs and 123s, sing and dance whole day? That's on the surface. After all the ABCs and 123s, the songs, and the dancing, the real works begin. 

We need to listen to our students. We need to listen to every behaviour (positive and negative). We need to listen to every stories, songs, and even white-lies that comes from them. And to be able to do that without judgement.

In my view, a good practice for us ECE practitioners are:

1. Accepts the children as they are
2. Listen to the child without judgement
3. Reflect on the child's behaviour and sharing and your own ECE practices
4. Research (an ongoing learning process)
5. Work together on solutions (parents, teachers, therapists, social workers, psychologists, government agencies, etc.)
6. Never assume whats best for a child
7. Offer support to child and family

★☆★

In our quest to help our students may we find our kindness and happiness.

Love,

Teacher Najmi

#teachernajmilovesyou

#championingchildhood

#WeTeachWeListen

#teachersdontmerelyteach

#bestjob

Bermain adalah Fitrah anak-anak

Anak-anak memang fitrahnya mahu bermain. Ada yang bermain dengan senyap dan berimiginasi, ada yang bermain sambil gelak ketawa dan jerit-menjerit. Ada yang duduk diam bermain patung, ada yang berguling dan panjat-memanjat. There is no stopping children from playing. FACT.

Itu hakikatnya. Kalau disekat-sekat anak-anak bermain, seumpama kita menyekat kebolehan semulajadi mereka.

It's almost as if when I (an adult) stop YOU (another adult) from eating. Asal nak makan je saya kata jangan. Nak makan je saya tak bagi. Padahal anda sangat lapar.

Aksi yang terlampau kan? Kalau dalam bahasa matsalleh-- inhumane. Orang lapar ni, ada pula disekat-sekat.

Jadi, apa yang menjadi persoalan yang sangat penting bagi saya ialah, bagaimana kita boleh (tanpa rasa bersalah) menghantar anak-anak kita ke sesuatu tempat yang menyekat mereka bermain. Walhal bermain adalah fitrah mereka. Sama seperti makan dan tidur bagi anak-anak kecil. Mana boleh disekat-sekat. Melampaulah kalau disekat-sekat.

Siapa kata anak yang suka bermain nakal dan tak boleh didisiplinkan? Siapa kata anak yang suka bermain nanti tak pandai? Siapa kata anak yang suka bermain nanti tak dengar cakap?

Siapa kata?

Kalau nak ikut orang kata, ikut kata AP Dr. Mastura Badzis. Dia kata kurangnya bermain ada perkaitan yang tinggi dengan peningkatan isu anxiety, depression, and sense of helplessness (buntu) among children and adolescents (remaja) (Gray,2013).

Kalau nak ikut orang kata, ikut kata Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia. Diorang kata anak-anak bawah 9 tahun yang mempunyai mental health issues menunjukkan peratus yang tinggi berbanding anak-anak 10 tahun ke atas (😱😱 horror-nya! What are we doing to our children? 😭).

Kalau nak ikut kata orang, ikut kata Imam Al Ghazali-- If you do not allow children to play, you will kill their soul. Kalau kita tak benarkan anak-anak bermain, kita akan membunuh jiwa mereka (Petikan dari Ihya' Ulumuddin).

Kalau nak ikut orang kata, Teacher Najmi kata-- Bagilah anak-anak bermain kerana bermain itu fitrah mereka. Bila fitrah anak-anak dipenuhi, mereka akan rasa selamat dan gembira. Bila mereka rasa selamat dan gembira, mereka akan lebih senang nak belajar apa-apa. Kalau anak-anak disekat dari bermain, mereka akan rasa tidak selamat (takut kena marah dengan cikgu, susah hati sebab Mak Ayah takde depan mata) dan tak gembira. Bila ini berlaku, nak belajar pun susah. Walhal, kalau dia bermain, belajar terjadi secara spontan dan konsisten!

Carilah tempat-tempat yang benar-benar laksanakan bermain 100% dengan cara yang betul. Bermain tak salah. Yang salahnya cara perlaksanaan bermain tu.

Jangan salah faham ya. Bukan senang-senang ya kita nak adakan sekolah bermain atau play-based learning. Research perlu ada, ilmu haruslah ada. Kalau tempat tu kata dia laksanakan bermain sambil belajar tapi dia bagi workbook, ada homework book kena buat kat rumah, ada expectations itu ini dari staff sekolah, hari-hari cikgu mengajar guna papan tulis, anak-anak kena duduk atas kerusi 90% of the time-- cancel je lah niat nak pergi tempat tu. SCAM je tu.

Anak-anak anda semua bukan untuk scammers.

Anak-anak anda layak dapat apa yang fitrah mereka perlukan.

You and your child deserve better, quality play, and quality time.

Paling best, bermain adalah untuk SEMUA anak-anak. Cara bermain mungkin berbeza. Perlu ada sedikir adaptasi, tapi bermain adalah untuk semua, tidak kira bangsa, agama, mahupun kelebihan atau keupayaan.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For quality play experience, you can whatsApp me at +601120909620
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love,

Teacher Najmi 💐

P/S: Bermain bina perkembangan minda. Bermain bina keyakinan diri. Bermain bantu dalam membentuk sahsiah diri dan kendiri. Hebatkan bermain untuk anak-anak ni?


#teachernajmilovesyou
#hariharibermain
#earlymorningthoughts
#championingchildhood
#letthemplay

An Important Bedtime Story

"You're the most important person here" was all it took. It hit me right at that spot that hurts if something really gets to you.

I am a full grown lady, and those words matters to me.

Imagine the impact on troubled teens, confused young adults, traumatised children, lost souls.

Those words were powerful.

It was a demonstration of how a Play Therapist does their sessions with their clients and I was moved.

I felt like this once before.. feeling like I have to do this. I have to help every children. During my first year of teaching. It felt like me against the world, saving one child at a time. It was never enough to just be their teacher.

Then I mellowed.

I think it was nearly the fourth year of being a teacher that I realised being a teacher was never just about saving every kid. It was more than that. It was about reaching out for help-- reaching out to the parents, other teachers, the community-- to work together for the sake of the children.

This is not a one time thing for me. I am in this for the long run. This is important to me because it matters.

So here I am, reaching out.

To all parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, all adults who have children under your care, take time to play with the children. Even if its not yours because play matters. It really does.

All it takes is 10 minutes, said the Play Therapist. But I am pretty sure we can do better than that.

10 minutes of child directed play. No adult rules or instructions, just your children and your inner child. Let your toddler lead an imaginative play. Allow your 8 year old to create an artistic mess (you can always clean it up together later). Allow your teenager to make a decision for once and follow it through (as long as nobody gets hurt i think you'd be fine). And at the end of it all, hold them, look them in the eyes, and say, "You are the most important person here." Or whisper to them just as they fall asleep.

Play builds up the brain. No play means no brain development, no solid foundation. Mind and body connection is vital for the rest of your life. It is not a throw-away thing that you just use once when you're a kid. Just because we're all grown up that doesn't mean we stop playing; we just call it a different name.

Hope that's worth your bedtime story. Thanks for reading :)

Good night. 

Love,

Teacher Najmi

Teaching Young Children

I saw this quote a while back and I am very grateful for it because it then changes a lot of things in the way I bring about my teaching practices.

Even with my Early Childhood background, the real world is not a bed of roses. I struggled during my first year in a kindergarten. I struggled with my principles and the reality of my teaching environment. I struggled with my emotions and my students' emotions. I struggled with meeting up objectives for my lesson plans and my students' needs-- actual needs. Also, I was overwhelmed.

Siapa kata teaching young children is easy? It is a rewarding job, I can guarantee that, but it is one of the toughest.

Masa first year, kalau tak nangis sebab kerja, sekolah, or budak memang tak sah. Sampailah member kata, "Nams, kau kena buli dengan anak murid kau ke?"

I looked at these angelic faces in front of me and thought "How can all these sweet-things cause so much havoc and heartache within me?"

Then this quote came along. I was in my second year of teaching. I didn't understand it immediately, but because I've mellowed down a bit it was easier for me to accept it. It is not the children, it is not entirely about the system, it is more often than not, me.

Children are children and they have been the same no matter the year or century. They don't come with instruction manuals but they come fully equipped with the knowledge how to learn. Oh, yes they do. They know from the get go, what they need and how to acquire it. They know they need us to manoeuvre the settings/environment and they will show/tell it. Only thing is, are we seeing/listening to them?

I am not saying that we shouldn't teach children (Habeh aku nak cari makan macam mana?) All I am saying is, STOP, put down the lesson plan, OBSERVE, really observe these angelic faces. Lower down your voice, quit the instructions, and LISTEN. CLEAR your judgemental views and all-knowing attitude.

OBSERVE and LISTEN beyond the lesson plans, the super-fun activities, and structural playtime.

OBSERVE and LISTEN as these children go about their daily routine, they'll show/tell us adults the way they learn. And then, you'll know who/what/why/when/where/how to teach them.

If you do not already know, Hi, I am Najmi, an Early Years Practitioner, Children-PLAY Advocate. I still have my struggles and sometimes I do get overwhelmed with work, school, and my students, but, I am still learning and understanding Early Childhood Education. Won't you join me?

Love,

Teacher Najmi.

On Phonics

OK. FB has this thing where they will post up memories on your timeline. They are your old FB posts. So, whenever I see an old post regarding my thoughts on everything ECE appears on my timeline, I will post it here and review it. Do I still share the same sentiment or my views have change or evolve? OK?

Here's one. I was looking for something else but I found this old status along the way. and since in this post I talked about reading, I thought why not post it now, early of the year. This post is dated 21/11/2013: 

Its the forth day of my so called extra reading class with the children and I realised - its awesome that some parents introduced the alphabet to their children from a very young age but here lies the "problem": just knowing the letters will not help as much with developing their reading skills.  

Since reading skill is very much important to some of Malaysian Parents (and seem to think that is a form of intelligence rather than a part of their children's holistic development), here's my suggestion: go on youtube or google and search for phonics or sound of letters. While you're flashing flashcards to your child and saying "A.. this is A for Apple" change your tactics and do this instead .. "this is A.. /a/ /a/ /a/ (the sound of the letters).. "  

soon enough, it'll put your child beyond their age's reading skill once you start to introduce them to words (start with three letter words). *** At this point however, you have to google "How to teach sounds blending". 

please note that this is one way (out of so many theories out there) to kickstart your children's reading skill (key word skill. because the ability to read is a different thing after that - ask me what, if you want to know more).  

plus, it is in our KSPK (national preschool curriculum standard) that by the age 4-5 years old, children are able to grasp basic phonetic to help them to read. It means that almost all preschool in malaysia (coz they have to abide to KSPK) will employ phonetic approach to teach children to read. (this will also help in your child's preparation for school!) 

OK, good luck young parents! have fun with phonics!

My views on how to teach children reading is still the same 2 years back and now.

I really find it helpful to introduce phonics (letter sounds) to children when you are helping them to read.  Yes, as an adult, we'd find it odd to back track because we are familiar with all the letter-sounds and we do not have to put much thought when we read text. 

Like reading the words cat, dog, fish. 

OK, now, try to be aware of your thought process when you try to read these unfamiliar words:

KAKORRHAPHIOPHOBIA

PAUCILOQUENT and

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPUALIDOCIOUS

You segmentised these words according to the sounds that made sense to you, didn't you? 

For example, to read the word kakorrhaphiophobia, your thought process probably went something like this:

kaa...kor..rha...fi...o...fo...bi...a! 

That's you rationalising the word kakorrhafiofobia according to the sounds you are already familiar with, such as KA KOR RHA PHI (FI) O PHO (FO) BI A. 

This is why I think phonics is very helpful for early readers. 

Youtube has an array of video on how to sound the letters correctly according to your preference: British English or American English. My favourite to this day is still JOLLY PHONICS. 

The best thing about phonics for Malaysian children is, the same method can be applied to help your child to read Malay too! And all other language when it is written in romanised lettering. 

Kalau kita belajar mengaji Al Quran pun sama kalau kita guna system belajar membaca melalui Iqra'. Belajar melalui membunyikan huruf-huruf hijaiyah kan? 

So, if you're thinking to help your early readers, phonics is your safest bet to start with. Of course you need to consider their age, and the type of book to use too. But that's for a different post. 

This is all for now.

Love,

Teacher Najmi

Happy New Year

I think it is not too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a great 2015 and is pumped up for 2016!

Have you guys had your New Year's resolution sorted out?

As usual, I have my own list but the top three that I hope to push for this year are:
1. One blog entry per week - usually on Friday night or Saturday morning
2. Two books per month that are non-fiction and non-chic lit, and
3. RMXXX per month for my 2017's Trip

I think they are doable and they meet the SMART technique.

Have you heard about the SMART technique to set goals before? A quick google search will tell you that many self-improvement gurus talk about being SMART when setting your goals.

The article Are You Making a SMART Resolution? comprehensively explains the SMART way to set your goals. The writer explains what S M A R T means and how this technique can be helpful to you.

You know how by March most of us have neglected our New Year's resolution and for whatever reason, by the end of each year, we realised we fail to complete our resolution? You are not alone my friend. Using the SMART technique might be the game-changer for us!

If you already have a list of your New Year's resolution, take a look at it again, and this time, think SMART.

source: http://okathletes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/SMART-Goals.jpg

Now that you have your New Year's resolution sorted out the SMART way, all it takes after this is to stick to it with lots of patiences, perseverance, and reflection. 

I do hope you achieve what you set out to do this 2016. 

Good luck, to you and to me too!

Love,

Teacher Najmi

The First One

Yes. Here we are back at square one. A new blog for the umpteenth time. But I have more hopes for this one.

I know for the longest time that FB status is not the place to put up long essays and I should have kept my old journals/blogs for them. But I never got around to making a new blog.

Truthfully, I never got around to keep them going after the initial post. Heh.

Why should this be any different?

The few reasons that I can think of right now are:

1. I want to share and talk about the things I've read up regarding Early Years Practices
2. I need a place to reflect my learnings and experiences of being part of Early Years industry
3. Most of the teachers I admire have a place for them to share notes, thoughts, and ideas- so, I am following them*
4. This will be a platform for my product: ME!
5. This is my way of practicing what I have learned from my teachers

*One effective way when learning from successful people is by copying them (of course there are certain things you need to consider when copying them but that's for a different blog post)

So, yeah.

Stay tune and enjoy this journey with me.

Love,

Teacher Najmi