Whole Numbers

Familiar with the questions above? For Malaysians like me, we get to do this during our Form 1 years or perhaps higher primary level. (Age 11-13)

I tried to do these questions once again in order to build up my teaching ideas, so that I can explain to my students some day in the future.

To be honest, as a teacher or an adult, I found out although these questions are very simple and easy doing; the terrible part was I still made a lot of mistakes like not reading the questions properly and perhaps doing it like an automaton; (not knowing or understanding what I was doing).

In reflecting of my own practice, I can give a rough question that I understood the place value of the numbers, knowing which units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, etc. they belong to. My professor always blasted us that we as teachers should not assume students to understand what we ourselves understood, but look into their perspectives, reach into their minds as we first learning about maths.

Explaining place value. (Usually I receive silly yet innocent questions from students)

Why 16 is in the tens?

I'm not really an expert in explaining and setting good questions, but through how I understood place value, I guess this is how I could help explaining to my kids.

Feel free to comment, how you understand place value, and feel free to correct my thinking as well,
Available teaching resource:
Place Value Worksheet
Place Value Labels (Value Groupings)

Regards,

Mr David 

Read More

The Great Quest

At the loneliest moments in your life you have looked at other men and women and wondered if they too were seeking - something they couldn't describe but knew they wanted and needed. - Billy Graham

I don't know what people around me are thinking, what they are hoping for each day. I always like to assume that people have everything that I don't, thinking they are happy with the things they have right now. I wonder have they found their life purposes or so to say "their dream path".

Each day, I feel insecure, living my life at the very lowest self-esteem. Some days, I depend on God's confidence and grace. Some days, when I screwed things up or being annoyed by worldly circumstances, but most of the time, I always indulged into my past and coveted on the things that I do not possess.

I stood empty before God, almost everyday I ask him: "Who am I and what is my purpose in my life? What do you see in me, that you're still keeping me in the love of Christ each day?"

As life prolongs and increased its tempo, I felt my world is getting tougher and my comfort zone is no longer a returnable place for me to dwell within. I ignore most of my friends and considered them a wavelength that is undetectable, because my frequency and theirs were perhaps too low or too high. I wished to be careless and be innocent like them, but I can't, because of the responsibilities, because of my own story written in a different genre.

I saw things and I experienced the lives of whom I love and considered close. How much they've been through, and how much pain and sinful decision they made, just to keep us fed and surviving. I could ask God why? But in my heart, I just know what He will be answering. 

The only thing that keeps me going was perhaps the strong will to be a hero for my family despite of ill-felt I've been through everyday. Maybe also because of the adorable and awkward affections my kids in my teaching school gave me. I couldn't be their teacher, and they couldn't be my students, for we all know that Mr. David is too young to be a strict looking teacher. They hugged me for no reason, they grabbed my hand or pinched my shirt not allowing me to leave from their side, they called me friend and asked me to gesture with them. The most dearest one is the one who always insisted to call me brother but for professional reasons I shunt them off. My life would be easier, if I could be teachers who cares only about what they teach. 

I still don't know what I'm running for and where am I heading to? Imagining myself pushing away God's hand and run away daftly like a spoiled child, but He have to chase me and pull me back walking with him on that great quest.

Mr. David

Read More

Superhero.

It was a very tough day for me, because my lecturer blasted over my lesson planning being long-ish and complicated for a wave 3 intervention Mathematics approach. (I blame myself for not being part of the class for Day 2, however I have my responsibilities in church anyway)

Eventually the whole class was bombarded with disappointments by my lecturer, because we did not grasp what he expects of us during our presentation. I don't blame him, to be honest, we are teacher trainees and I believe he wants us to produce scholarly work, and I agree that we must.


This feeling haunts me the entire day, it's a feeling that says: "Damn! I thought I got it, but I still have so much to grasp!" I want to be that superhero, who knows everything and use it to protect the young ones. Imagining myself as Megamind (I know he's not charming, but I can relate myself to him), devious and evil towards my children, but sort of have a room for my students, a room to make a difference in their lives.

It seems Megamind also learn how to love, and I guess learning the best requires more heart breaking and disappointed moments. I guess then, I have to call on God to give me strength.

I missed my friends a lot. Each day I felt myself like a stranger towards them. I wish I could have chat more sociably. However, I have a mission, a mission to be a "Superhero" (sort of, evil criminal to superhero, MEGAMIND!~)

Mr. David

Read More

Inner-thoughts

I was watching the movie "Ronal Barbaren" (not a recommended good movie, imo). There was a scene where a Lady Warrior was sharing her feelings or past to Ronal The Barbarian. She felt good and relief after sharing it to Ronal.

To me, I am desperately needing someone to understand what I am going through. I am growing up as an adult, and there are no more home works like I was in college or high school. It is all basically assignments and many out of course researches to be obtained. However, mom and dad still looked at me as their juvenile son. I know it is a good thing that they're treating like me as their son, but  I can't accepting them to look or judge me the way I used to be.

I have so many inner thoughts or inner feelings, I tried to share my troubles, relieving what is inside of me to someone close. However, I am always turned down and not being listened to.

I consider myself mature to a certain extent, because most of the time, I commit my troubles to God. For some reason, as a man, I need a feedback, I need to see a response, I need to see someone nodding with sincere intentions. God is spirit, I know I should connect with him in spirit and truth; but I have this soul that merged from the combination of the spirit and the physical flesh, forming a vacuum needing to see a reality of responses.

Who am I kidding to deny the truth of needing a companion, I desperately need someone to hold me, to hug me, for me to lie on their shoulders and just being sober in comfort. I found one, but the sapien have a great gap in between.

I wouldn't blame anybody for not coming close to me, because I shut myself in a very defensive situation and have doubts to trust anyone with my feelings. Perhaps I should for a little longer for a time that I wish to be sober in comfort once again. When and where, I don't know, but I will not care and let anyone stop me, from getting close to God.

Mr. David

Read More

Ecclesiastes 1

This Post is not dedicated for studies but of personal review.

Ecclesiastes started off saying how bored life really is and immediately I found myself related and understood what the author felt and had written.

cVanity2 of vanities, says athe Preacher,

cvanity of vanities! dAll is vanity (ESV)

"Life is meaningless!" The author said it with convince. Everyday, we live in the same routine, finding ways to keep lives' sane, well fed, well-educated, full economic support. We live through this same repetitive routine until we are all fed up and felt sick of life.

We ask God or any other people: "What is the purpose of Life?"

We have all kinds of convenient technologies, we lived through a planned resolution, we bought many great and usable things. As an old proverb says: " New things come, old things thrown out", but no matter how many things we get, we never will feel a full satisfaction. Why? We feel empty inside.

We even have friends, but all of them will forget about you. Whatever you did for people, people will remember for few hours and then forget you forever.

There's such little or no encouragement living "under the sun", as the sun rises and sets down and it rises up again at its usual point: every thing runs in the same routine.

However, it is claimed that there is hope, that there is grace, that there is great change. There is something new that bring us out in living under the sun but bring us to live in the Son. Who is this Son? Personally, I know is Jesus Christ. I know what he did, I love and felt unworthy of God's work through at the cross.

I want to know who is he! I want to experience the gift he mentions, the rest that he promised in Matthew 11. His spiritual blessings during the time of Pentecost. The Bible says in order to receive this rest and to obtain this peace and hope not living under the sun but living in the Son, I must Fear God and Obey His Commands.

One thing I am not sure of is, What is exactly God's Command? Is it a law or a set of rules to follow; a ritual that I must keep like the worship of Jewish and Muslim rituals. Or is it a spiritual presence or a being that will counsel my every personal steps?

Mr. David

References: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11)

Read More

Just when I wanted to give up.

On Monday morning, My 6G kids was out for Music Lesson. During these times, the kids would be out of the classroom and My Class Teacher, Mr Harold, and I would have the entire classroom for ourselves.

If I can remember we were sorting out all the required printed materials that needed to be given for the students. Of course, while doing some paper works, we both had our "manly/brother to brother" chat. He asked me of how was my weekend, and I told him, I attended a church member's wedding and of course my  usual weekly Sunday Church.

Immediately, like everyone would ask when they heard someone who is eager to go to church every week, He asked me whether before this I was going to be a pastor or a church leaeder in some sort.

I told him my decisions in the past, and my last deciphering after college, and we both ended chatting his part of his career and his younger days.

Later that day, both of us were supporting our students in their work, He and I were working with students on one table, and I overheard them saying: "You know I admire Mr. David, he does not only work hard in school during the weekdays, but on the weekend, He don't just at rest at home but he goes to church every week."

It felt good, when someone is complimenting me to another person. It's like in people's eyes, you know that they trust you and they think you're the dependable one. It's been fun supporting him and assisting him together in 6G. The kids were mischievous, bunch of no good delinquents, but without them, I am bored. (I hate doing paper works, I hate being separated with my kids, and do other things for the school)

School has a lot of politics. There were many power struggle shenanigans between leaders and professors, leading us colleagues and staffs going nowhere but to remain in jumbled boxes of confusion and frustrations. As a new fresh meat in the working world, I feel the same way and I could relate these problems with any other working people! Staffs stabbed one another in the back, getting credits while jeopardizing other colleagues; not to mention, pushing away responsibilities and had others to work for them.


I always mumbled to myself and to my cohorts 4 mates, that this is so unfair. Other colleagues are on the payroll, earning a whole lot more than I do. I only receive RM500 every month, and I already gave that up fully to the school for my University course studies. So technically, I can consider myself as working for free for the school, doing unexpected and many load of things, things that are not stated in the contract or the agreed conditions stated by The University.

My physical strength could not cope to the working rhythm, I came home exhausted and dying for rest everyday. My emotions and common sentimental kindness was degrading in each and every day. I didn't have good moods for my friends, I dislike going to church, I dislike going anywhere which would spoil my weekends of resting. I almost gave up the common sense of knowing the common and spiritual goodness.

From knowing God until a fleshy man.

But,

after hearing what my class teacher said to a student,
I thought no one noticed, no one cares, no one bothers, no one is hearing, but

I went home, at least sat on my knees and prayed,

God, forgive me.
I almost gave up.
I treated my friends, like how my colleagues treated me.
I forgot about love, the unconditional love,
I chose not to forgive, I chose to be skeptical,
I forgave that freedom that I have in you long ago.

But today, I decided In the love of Christ I stand.

Mr.  David

Read More

What Love really means?

Love?

 "Dear God, 

             won't you please send someone who would love me..." (JJ Heller, 2010)

Dear God,

What is love?
Is love a responsibility?
I know is a commitment, but would it be so blind?
I'm afraid of you, yet you are kind.
I tried my best, to give you all that I am.

I do not really have friends, and life's a bore.
Many cared only of what is convenient.
They could not give a hand and reach out my troubles.
I wouldn't blame them, because is my own trouble.
But its strange, because they say my trouble adds into the mystery.
In a reason, I have changed not in their expectation.

I am jealous.
I really am.
Nothing  I say would give an ignition to my peers.
Because I am not good looking or a social expert.
I'm an outsider, always will be.
I am always kind, often too kind.
In the back, I talked nice of them,
and in turn, they were blessed with many friends.
They were blessed, and I was forgotten.

At home, life is like a civilized jungle.
Everyday, I faced competition.
There were never really peace.
Because of the mistakes, my parents made,
I as the eldest and their bloodline, must carry the pain.

Read More