Reflection 1st day

Today is my first day at school. I will be in SK Taman Desa for one month for my
first phase practicum. I am together with my practicum mates which are Amani, Hafsah
and Mukmin. This morning, we arrived early at school around 07:00 a.m. We wanted to
show a good impression and our passion to teach towards the school staff and the
teachers there as this is our first experience at school. As we arrived at the school
compound, we were greeted with a pleasant smile from the security guard there. I felt
very happy and blessed as the atmosphere in the school seems to be inviting. Besides,
the school areas look very environmental friendly. Our day started, as we went straight
up to the office to meet the clerk there and hand him the recognition letter. We greeted
the chief clerk politely before he got the chance to introduce himself. His name was Mr.
Isyha. He was a dark tall good looking man. He escorted us into the office and
introduces us to the headmaster, and all the staff there. All of them smiled and
welcomed us with pleasure.
After that, we signed the attendance record book to mark that we are here. As
the assembly finishes, we followed the GPK 1 to the staff room to meet our cooperative
teacher. At first, I felt very nervous as the room are crowded and full with teachers. Now,
I realized that this is only the kick start of our teaching career. In the staff room, we were
place at a corner where we can do our work on our own but at the same time we can
still make ourselves comfortable with the teachers in this school. Mukmin and I met our
cooperating teacher which is Mr. Zulfadhli. He is an English teacher in this school. He
teaches year 5 a few subjects. Meeting him was a good exposure for us at this school.
He gives us a lot of advices and tips on how to handle the students in SK Taman Desa.

After a brief discussion, we agreed to enter his class to observe how he teaches
and handle the class. The class session went on for two periods for about one hour.
Through the observation made, the teacher was seen to be very engaging and very firm
towards the pupils. On the whole the experience was both exciting and rewarding. I
managed to get something out of the teachers teaching and learning conducted in the
classroom. We spent a lot of time in the staff room. I am glad that this school is
culturally friendly and everyone seems to get along very well. On top of that, we were
given the chance to relief the classroom as there were not many teachers in the school
on that day. I was assigned to teach Pendidikan Islam to a Year 3 class. At first, I felt
very nervous and uncertain but then, I was able to put myself together and control the
class well. Based on my observation on the first day, I found that the students here are
quiet noisy and the teacher needs to use loud voice in order to get control of the
classroom and to discipline the students. Hence, we as a teacher trainee needs to apply
and puts in on all the classroom management theories that we have learnt earlier ono
our teaching for this one month of practicum.

(Journal Entry No.1, 14th April, 2015)