“Dealing with Difficulties” by Luke Prodromou and Lindsay Clandfield

Do you like teaching? Are you a teacher? Or do you have desire to be a teacher?

I am a teacher. I have no idea why can I be a teacher due to my lack interest toward “this world”. After I graduated from college, I entered my job proposal in several companies. It was my dream to become a businessman or executive who worked in a company (or has my own corporation someday). But we, as human being, can only do the best and wait for God to do the rest. After several job interviews, there was not even single company who wanted to hire me. I was jobless for about a month. This condition made me desperate because I have to earn money for my wife and my son. Luckily, my wife never lost any faith to me. She always supported me in my hardest time and said that I will get a job someday. Her words became my “second wind”. Suddenly I found extra gusts to find job again. It looked like my luck rose as well as my spirit. My colleague told me that there was a vacancy in an Elementary School. I entered my proposal, and now I am, a teacher.

First week in my school, I thought that teaching children would be piece of cake. But I was wrong, my class turned into chaos. I’ve lost my voice because I have to shout all day long just to control my class and it didn’t work at all. I was frustrated; I poured my sigh to my wife, I have no idea how to deal with children.

The next day, my wife gave me a surprise; she borrowed me a book entitled “Dealing with Difficulties” from library. She said I have to read this book so that I could have background in teaching children (she is so sweet, isn’t it?).

Dealing with Difficulties looks at the typical classroom and teaching management problems facing teachers and students in five main areas: large classes, discipline, mixed-level classes, homework and teaching exam classes.

Front cover of Dealing with Difficulties

I will try to review this book because I find this book is very useful.

Pros:     

1. It covers all the problems which teachers probably faced in their teaching and learning process, like latecomers, disturbers or unfinished homework. 
2.  It offers you solution how to deal with those problems. Interestingly, the solution provided not in form of theory, but in interesting activities. 
3. Although it is by English and Canadian author, but you can apply those activities to any class size and any grades because the content of this is universal. 
4. This book uses simple words, not like any other educational books which use sophisticated words (I don’t even have to open my dictionary to understand this book’s content).

 Cons:

1. Nothing, I love this book very much.

For me, I feel like I find an oasis in the middle of desert. This book becomes my guide throughout my teaching process. I try to practice one of the activities from this book entitled “point card” to control my class, and surprisingly, it is worked.

I recommend this book for everyone who loves teaching because if you can control your class, everything will be fine. You do not have to shout all day long just to muffle the chaos which happen in you class. Trust me, if you read this book, you will one step closer to be a great teacher. Try it, it works. Special thanks for my wife who have borrowed me this book from library (you don’t know how it is so priceless to me).

Arsenal, My Dad and My Life

Hello, this is my first post. Hope you enjoy it.

I still remember this story like it was happened yesterday.

When I was a young boy, in 1998, my father woke me up in the midnight. He said that he wanted to show me something interesting. I had no idea what it was about. I thought it was my birthday and my father wanted to give me surprise. But I was wrong. My father only wanted to show me a football match; it was World Cup 1998 quarter final match, between Netherlands against Argentina. During the match, my father never stooped explaining about football. He said that soccer was the most popular sport in the world. He also told me about how he was crazy about Netherlands because their way of soccer, total football, was so entertaining. My father never stooped supporting Holland team since he was a teenager. 

my father and my mother

For your information, the only competition they had won was Euro 1988. Netherlands was reached final stage up in World Cup 1974, 1978 (at that time). Ironically, they had never win the World Cup competition even for once. That was why people dubbed Holland as “crown less winner”. Back to the match, my father said that the Holland player who wore the 8 jersey, Dennis Bergkamp, was his favorite player. Although I understood nothing about football, I could see that Bergkamp was magnificent player because Holland supporters shouted whenever Bergkamp dribbled the ball. At the end of the match, Bergkamp helped his team to win over Argentina with a goal and an assist from him. Not only in Holland national team, Bergkamp also lethal for his team, Arsenal.

That night changed my world. It looked like I was falling in love with this sport at the first sight. From that moment, I idolized Bergkamp, Netherlands and Arsenal. I always use Arsenal team every time I play games like: Pro Evolution Soccer, Winning Eleven, Championship Manager and Football Manager. My father and I never missed to watch every single Netherlands and Arsenal match. We always support for arsenal although they never win any competition since 2005. But my father always said that do not easily change your faith. It is not because you are great so you can be a winner, but you are great because you can be a winner. He keeps remind me not to desperate whatever happened in your life. How thick the wall in front of you, you can still climb over it. In my hardest time, I always remember what my father said to me. The only thing that I want to say to my father is: “Thank you for being the greatest father in the world. Don’t you know how much I want to reply all your kindness to me?”

But my father has passed away before I can do it. Maybe that is why my tears always dropped whenever I watch Netherlands or Arsenal football match, because I realize that I cannot watch those match with my father again.  

Now I have my own little family, and I hope that I can be a great husband and father for my family, as good as you father…

Me and my happy little family