On 16 November 2018, my class students had arranged a surprise party in class to celebrate my birthday. That may not mean much to you, but it makes me think about how birthday is celebrated in the classroom. When I was in primary school, if it was a student’s birthday, student would bring gifts (usually cakes or cupcakes) for the whole class to share and we sang, “Selamat Hari Jadi” and the day was very special for a that person. It was a great experience.

Me & My students

Far from the heart of a myself I asked questions about why these students were willing to do surprise parties like this for a new lecturer who just taught them for a 2 months. Then I watched the online arcticle posted from this blog (The Scots College, Sydney Australia),

(Link – https://www.tsc.nsw.edu.au/tscnews/how-to-develop-positive-teacher-student-relationships) which states:

“Successful teachers are those that have the ability to maximise the learning potential of all students in their class. Developing positive relationships between a teacher and student is a fundamental aspect of quality teaching and student learning.”

“Positive teacher-student relationships promote a sense of school belonging and encourage students to participate cooperatively. Students develop confidence to experiment and succeed in an environment where they are not restricted by the fear of failure. Teachers are able to assist students with motivation and goal setting, and students can turn to them for advice and guidance.”

Me & International Students

During the event, I used the “Padlet” app to ask for feedback on why my students held this surprise party for me and the feedback was shocking as the students considered me as an idol because I had influenced them to become an engineers based on my working experiences as Project Engineer in Perodua Rawang. In addition they are also keen to see the success stories of my UMP’s former students who I have shown in Facebook and Instagram apps which I have around 700 former students as me being a lecturer at UMP since 2006.

Me & My Students

At the end of this writing, the sincerity of these students in showing appreciation for me as a lecturer has instilled my commitment to teach UMP students to be a successfully person.

Me & My Students

Just Me