October 17th was an amazing day! It was my last camp and boy was it nearly perfect! I was so proud of my students’ behavior and cooperation. We went to four different stops and had so much fun all along the way. We bought over RM 2,000 worth of over 100 books for the library, ate a tasty lunch in the famous mall in Kelantan where I live, took many selfies along the way, toured a university campus, and had fun all the while!
During June my cohort met all together for mid-year meetings, with all of our stakeholders in KL, giving us reminders for the year. One reminder was that the US Embassy had some funding that we could be eligible for if we can with a solid idea and proposal. I had been hoping to improve the English book collection in my school library so I started brainstorming a way I could swing getting a grant for my school. I did not just want to buy books. I could have fundraised and done that in several ways. I wanted to turn it into a special opportunity for my students to remember too.
Once I had the idea, I went through the process and was approved in plenty of time to nail down the details of the event. I was planning to venture to a few books stores in our state of Kelantan and then take the students to visit a university for a tour and the experience to start “thinking forward” which was our theme for this field trip project. I was going to find partnering bookstores who would host us while we shop or do some book-related activity to find books good for our library. This way I could involve the students in the book selection process (with some guidance of course). I took a day with one of my school secretaries and her niece who was a fill-in practical teacher at my school as well to go store to store where I had called ahead (in some cases) to meet with the manager or arrange a talk in person about my ideas. After-the-fact, two stores agreed and the whole event was a huge success!
The grant money was on the way, I was buying the thank you presents and I had the schedule solidified for the event, the week leading up to the event. For a Malaysian-school event, which can typically be planned the day before depending on the scheduling or day of, I was feeling pretty good about how it was coming together. I had extremely high hopes and expectations for this since it would be one of the lasting moments and last memories with my students for the year. It had been a great year already so I wanted to end on a high with a special last camp for my students. I told myself it would work out for the best but definitely had slight anxiety, hoping to make it the perfect last event of the year. It all worked out much better than I could have expected. Not only was it successful but because the planning worked out as it should, I wasn’t extremely stressed out and living a bit of an out-of-body experience running the event as I usually have with some of my other planning this year. I was able to fully enjoy the event and conversations with my students.
We met early at the school to check in at 7:30am. Many of the students were so excited they came at 7am, which I was luckily there for however there was even an earlier bird crowd who were anxiously waiting my arrival in the morning. Then we left on the bus at 8am with one of the student’s father driving the bus (and who graciously gave us a discount). We arrived at SMO Bookstore in Kubang Kerian near the capital city of Kota Bharu in m state for our first stop. There I had planned a scavenger hunt for students to mix with others in different classes and forms (grades) to work in teams to find books. Then I allocated money for the teams to run the books by me, checking if they matched the clues, and then purchase them themselves. The students who attended camp were a mix of high-academic leaders to lower-achieving students who have never been chosen for an event like this before. Everyone was very eager and took their participation contract I had them sign before the event, very seriously which helped make the event more of a success.
The manager of the bookstore had prepared goodie bags for each of the students and teachers after we purchased the books and then invited the head chairman of the bookstore chain to come meet the students and congratulate us on our event. Everyone was so thrilled they wanted to make this an annual tradition and the bookstore wanted to start partnering with more and more schools for other programs like this. Then we boarded the bus again to head to our second location in the mall, which of course the students were more than excited to pay a visit to, in the city. We called roll in our groups then went into Popular Bookstore in KB Mall for more book shopping. This time I let them have the freedom to explore the English section in their groups with team money to choose books that interest them to add to the school library.
It was so sweet to watch the students light up and ask our teachers and helpers if the book they found was a good choice for our library. They took their role representing the school so seriously. One student came up to me and pitched how their book was perfect for the school. “Miss, how it this book? It looks like something secondary students could like to read. I think many students would like this book. It has many topics inside for many students.” I of course gave my approval and loved watching the students peruse for the hour we allocated in the store. Then we checked out, took a few group photos, and headed to lunch.
The students were so happy they could be trusted with money, pick what they want to eat, and eat with their friends. There were so many highlights of the day, for some that was one of them. Excitedly talking about the books they found, how happy they were to be downtown, and laughing with me while they watched me frantically trying to calculate all of the receipts and keep everything in check. Finally, our last stop was heading to UMK (Universiti Malaysia Kelantan) in Kota Bharu. This was saved for the last but certainly was not the least exciting stop.
We not only had university helpers giving us a tour thanks to the English Language Fellow, my friend Shaheed, from the Embassy connecting us with willing staff and students to help, but also a talk about the importance of English in university life. We got to see a classroom, tour the library, talk to real students, and sit through a Q&A about all aspects of university life for Malaysian students. We talked about how English plays into many aspects of their application, school life, and professional opportunities after they finish their education.
The students were excited to talk even privately afterwards to our volunteers (both those who were already considering university and those who might not have been before today). When I had heard less than 10% of our last year students had exams grades good enough for university, which was also our school average, I knew a goal of mine this year was to expose them to higher education as much as I could, especially those at the age considering their next step. It is not for everyone, especially in my state where a good population stay in state to work for the family or otherwise local business nearby. However, I wanted students to see their options, “thinking forward” to their life ahead to see what might be the best path for them.
The bus ride home was a bittersweet experience. The students were beaming from the day. However, I knew this was one of our last big moments together. My teaching contract was ending and I knew my last week or two left would be a lot of cleaning house with my reporting and otherwise. This was the last camp with my school. My favorite aspect of being an ETA in Malaysia. Though I was sad, it was the best last camp I could have asked for. Even after we got back over the next couple of weeks, the students kept talking about how much fun they had and how excited they were to read all of the new books.
Building Libraries today. New goals and adventures tomorrow!
On My Malay Way 