Monday, October 24, 2011

Tokoh Pelajar Interview Session

Today, I was summoned to the Meeting Room for an interview session of the Tokoh Pelajar (some sort like a Student Leader Award) along with four of my friends - three from my class, and another one is a sixth-form student. And just like usual, my surname starts with A, so I'm the first to go in.

http://www.tipinterview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/after_review.jpg

I was so freaking nervous. Probably just brave enough not to whine in front of everyone.

HM = Headmistress, PK = Mr Tiang, CT = Counseling Teacher, ME = Me

HM: OK, introduce yourself.

ME: Good morning! I'm Aik Yin Chien from 5SD. *silence*

*more silence*

HM: Do you have nothing else to say?

ME: *smiles nervously*

HM: We have BM teachers here. Please introduce yourself in BM.

ME: Uh, Okay... Selamat pagi guru-guru, nama saya Aik Yin Chien. Saya merupakan seorang pelajar dari kelas 5SD.

HM: *stares at me incredulously, then averts her attention to the papers on the desk* So, you have good academic results. Where do you intend to further your studies? In college or Form 6?

ME: I applied for Matriculation, so if I get it, I'll go ahead to study that.

HM: What if you don't get it?

ME: Then I'll apply for Form 6.

HM: Will you transfer to ACS for your Form 6?

ME: *blinks*

HM: Many of our good students went to ACS for Form 6. Will you do the same?

ME: I'll see where my interest lies.

HM: What? You haven't find your interest? Aren't you supposed to have a clear idea of what you want to be in the future at this time? You're in Form 5!

ME: Oh, I have a wide range of interests. I have two job options: lawyer or doctor.

PK: Why do you want to study law? Is it because of the influence of your aunt? Or that you can earn a lot of money as a lawyer?

ME: No, money is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that I can learn about what is right and wrong and the things that we can and cannot do. The law is a guideline set by the government, and one should always follow.

HM: *no expression* Okay, so you said you want to be a lawyer. Nowadays many lawyers help prisoners to escape prison. Do you think you'll do that too? I mean, many lawyers are helping bad people to escape the law. Will you do that too?

ME: I think whether or not a lawyer will help a bad guy depends on his or her own moral standards. If you want to get a lot of money, of course you don't mind helping a bad guy. But for me, of course I will help the good guy.

HM: How can you know if the person is good or bad just by looking at him?

ME: Okay, so before you can ask a lawyer to represent you in court, you must tell him everything about your case. I will evaluate the case and determine whether this person who is asking for my assistance is worth helping.

PK: So if a mafia member points a gun at you because you don't want to be his attorney, what would you do?

ME: Hire a bodyguard?

HM: What are your contributions to the school?

ME: I'm the secretary in the prefect's board, and I'm in charge of writing reports and announcements. I also played the piano in the assembly in the past. As a prefect, I carried out my duty as good as possible. I blocked the students who want to take food back to their class and asked them to eat in the canteen. (Actually I'm blabbering right here, because I can't think of anything else.)

HM: Mengapakah kami patut memilih anda sebagai tokoh pelajar? (Why should we choose you as the recipient of the student leader's award?)

ME: Saya seorang yang berdisiplin. Saya juga sangat bertanggungjawab. Saya selalu menyiapkan tugasan yang diberi oleh guru secepat mungkin. Saya mempunyai semangat yang kental. Saya selalu berusaha untuk mencapai kejayaan. (I'm a disciplined person. I'm also a responsible person, I always finish the assignments by my teachers on time. I'm a determined person. I always try my best to achieve the best results in anything I do.)

HM: *looks at other teachers* Any questions?

CT: Menurut pandangan saudari, apakah yang perlu ditambah-baik di sekolah kami? (What aspects do you think should be strengthened in our school?)

ME: I think we should increase our discipline level. Our prefects are not strict enough and the students are not scared of them.

HM: Scared? Are you implementing that we should instill fear in students in order to increase our discipline level?

ME: I think that would be Han Fei Tzu's theory, but I don't think that's suitable for using in our school. I think maybe I picked the wrong word. What I mean is that our prefects must set a good example so that the students can have a role model to look up to. If our prefects are not abiding to the school rules, then we have no rights to ask others to do so. We must start from ourselves by showing a good example to students.

HM: In your opinion, what can be done to increase the discipline level of the students in school?

ME: A lot of teenagers nowadays have rebellious nature. Maybe that's why...

HM: You're not answering my questions. I'm asking you how, not why?

ME: Okay, just as I said just now, we must set good examples for the students to follow. And our prefects have to be stricter in doing their duties. *nods to myself*

HM: Ok, that's all.

ME: Thank you! *sighs with relief and skips out the room*

This was quite a scary but great experience. I was blabbering, agitated and on the verge of crying when the HM shot questions at me like never-ending bullets. My mind was initially blank but later answers began popping up in my mind like pop-up windows and I just uttered anything that crossed my mind. My, was I glad when all of it ended!

Friday, October 7, 2011

In My Mailbox

Three French books arrived in my mailbox today. Great! But there's one teeny-weeny problem. My French is not that good. Initially, I thought I was going to receive one book only, but I discovered three in the package the Paperback Dolls sent me!

Curious about what I got?

The first three books of the FRENCH EDITION of Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series:

Merci beaucoup, Dolls!