Fellowship Initiatives (1/6) - Introduction

Memory is the residue of thoughts.

This statement is proposed by Daniel Willingham in his book, "Why Don't Students Like School?" As the statement suggests, we only remember the things we actually put our effort in thinking and processing.

I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. And to help me better remember some of the beautiful moments I experienced during my two years fellowship (January 2017 - December 2018) with Teach For Malaysia, I have decided to create this series of posts. 

I cordially invite you to join me in this reflective journey.

For the past one and a half year, I had been a full time teacher and a part time student. (As most of you know through FB or IG, I graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education in August.)

On top of that, a TFM fellow is also required to run initiatives for the students and the local community to address their needs or to develop their potentials. That being said, I have yet to see any TFM fellows who run projects solely because they are required to. Most of us see an issue in the school and we want to work with the community to tackle it. Or we have something that we are passionate about so we want to share it with the students.

I have been fortunate enough to involve in both types of initiatives - need-based initiatives and passion-driven initiatives. Some of it which I played bigger roles as planning and executing committee, while some I joined as an accompanying teacher.

This series of posts consist of six entries in total. You can access to these entries through the links attached as follow: (I will update the links as I upload the entries.)

Part 1/6: Introduction (this post which you are reading)

Part 2/6: YouthEX

Part 3/6: Accenture Kickstart 

Part 4/6: Local Focal 

Part 5/6: TFM Annual Conference

Part 6/6: Chinese Class

The TFM supporting staff introduced us to the concept of writing redemptive stories, stories which show how struggles and challenges resolved in growth. Redemptive stories are the opposite of contamination stories, which are happy stories tainted with pessimistic ending.

I am not too sure how my stories will be. But be it redemptive or contamination, know that I am still trying to process some of these happenings as I pen down my thoughts. As I am doing so, I shall try my best to be honest with myself, and with you.

With that being said, I hope you will partake in my joy and sorrow as you spend your precious time to read through these entries. Thank you. And welcome aboard!