Penang Day 14

Today was the full dress rehearsal for the Award Ceremony that will be taking place on Saturday (unfortunately, we will be home by then). Besides awards being given out, there will be cultural dances, modern dances, a storytelling recital, a small play and a fashion show by Kindergarten. As each section is organised by a different teacher, a full dress rehearsal is needed to determine how everything will flow. Erin and I mostly acted as photographers, although we did help a little with hair and makeup for the dancers. Due to some technical issues, the rehearsal ended up going all day, so Erin and I did not teach today. We took lots and lots of photographs of the kids, because they all want their photographs taken!

Girls helping each other get ready.

Applying makeup

Boys watching the preparations

Fully costumed, waiting to perform.

After school, Erin and I were heading over the road to grab a drink. We saw a conglomeration of boys, so stepped in to investigate. It turns out there had been a fight, right in front of the school. We were too late to deal with both parties, as one of the boys was already on a bus, heading out. The other boy, however, was in tears, his shirt was torn, and he had a really nasty cut across his chest. We took him back into the school to wash his face and hands, and ideally grab a teacher. Another boy, however, said a teacher had already been informed. The boy involved in the incident didn’t want to take it any further; it was all I could do to get him to wash. He just wanted to go home. I stopped another teacher on the way out of the school, and although she was concerned that blood had been shed, here in Penang the duty of care ends the moment they step outside the school gate. There seems to be nothing she could do. Erin and I will be speaking individually to our classes tomorrow, not only about fighting, but also about standing around and either encouraging, or not intervening. We will also see whether the school can receive a warning at their next assembly. This has been the most confronting issue of my visit – I hadn’t realised how ingrained the duty of care is, not just educationally, but emotionally and physically; or how important to me it is to prevent issues of bullying as this is likely to have been. Don’t get me wrong - I know it goes on in every single school in Australia. Maybe I’m more shocked that it happened so obviously here, rather than hidden in a back street or a dark corner outside of the sight of the school and teachers.

Actors, waiting to play their part.

The gentle soul who volunteered to help me yesterday.

Friends!

Nearly lost my iPod after school this afternoon – I left it in the RECSAM bus. Luckily I figured it out fairly quickly, but I certainly inconvenienced Basrah, the bus driver, so it was off to Tesco for me to buy a box of thank you chocolates!

Traditional performance

Bollywood performance

Stayed in tonight for lesson planning and other administrative things. I was off printing and laminating, then joined the others directly in the canteen for dinner. This meant that I missed most of the blackout we had in our rooms – no fan, no air conditioning, and no lights. I was just getting ready to have a shower in the dark when it all came back on. I was using my laptop screen for light, and had decided I would be able to read a book on my iPod in bed, so in one way, technology saved the day. In another way, it was the loss of technology that forced me to turn to technology - infinity loop! Brain explosion!

We love Seri Relau. Peace!