🌱 Week 23 — A Teacher Is the Master of the Class… and Sometimes the Class Teaches the Teacher Too. 🐢✨
Sunday, July 12, 2026
If I had to give this week a title, it would simply be…
“A Teacher Is the Master of the Class.”
Hahaha… 😄
Not because the teacher controls every learner or because the classroom is always quiet.
Actually… my classroom is rarely quiet! 😂
To me, being the master of the class means creating an environment where learning naturally happens. The teacher doesn’t have to stand in front talking all the time because the learners already know how to learn together. Looking back, I think that was exactly what Allah wanted to teach me this week.
One thing that made me quietly smile was seeing how comfortable my learners were becoming with group work.
Over the past few months, I’ve consistently used pair work, expert groups, discussion groups, Running Reading, matching activities and cooperative games. Sometimes I wondered whether all that effort was actually making a difference.
This week, I finally saw the answer.
It was.
The learners were beginning to depend less on me and more on one another. Instead of immediately asking, “Teacher, what do I do?”, many of them naturally turned to their friends first. They discussed, negotiated, corrected one another and slowly built confidence together.
That was a beautiful sight.
Of course… I still couldn’t resist stirring things up a little. 🤭
I deliberately placed some of the quieter or less popular learners into groups with stronger classmates.
The rolling eyes!
The dramatic sighs!
The looks they gave me! 🤣
But I simply smiled and pretended not to notice.
Sometimes our learners don’t choose the people who help them grow.
Sometimes… their teacher does.
By the end of the lesson, many of those same learners were working together happily. That alone made all those dramatic facial expressions worth it.
If I had to choose one lesson that made me feel proud this week, it would definitely be my Year 5B Present Continuous lesson.
Not because everyone mastered the grammar.
Not because every answer was correct.
But because…
I genuinely enjoyed teaching.
That may sound like a strange achievement, but if you’ve been reading my reflections over the past few months, you’ll understand why.
There were weeks when I felt tired before the lesson even started. Weeks when I questioned my teaching. Weeks when I spent more time managing behaviour than actually teaching.
This week felt different.
I wasn’t angry.
I wasn’t rushing.
Instead, I found myself walking around the classroom, observing discussions, asking questions and quietly smiling.
The learners weren’t only learning grammar.
They were learning how to cooperate.
How to listen.
How to encourage one another.
How their own behaviour affected the success of the entire group.
I realised I had become less of a lecturer and more of a facilitator.
And honestly…
I quite like this version of Teacher Asniem. 🥹
One learner stayed in my thoughts long after the lesson ended.
Hidayat.
When I grouped him together with several hardworking girls, I could tell immediately that he wasn’t impressed.
His face said everything.
“Teacher… why?” 😂
But something beautiful happened.
He stayed.
He accepted their help.
He completed the task.
And he submitted his work on time.
As I reflected on the lesson later that evening, I suddenly realised something.
I had forgotten to tell him how proud I was.
So this week I made sure to do exactly that.
I gave him a hug too.
Sometimes children don’t need another worksheet or another reminder.
Sometimes they simply need an adult to notice that they tried.
Another unexpected blessing from all this group work was that I finally had time to observe my learners.
When I stopped talking so much, I started seeing so much more.
I noticed who naturally became leaders.
Who quietly waited for instructions.
Who encouraged others.
Who struggled silently.
Who needed reassurance.
Perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts of collaborative learning.
It doesn’t only teach the learners.
It teaches the teacher too.
My Year 6 Music class… well…
We’re still negotiating our relationship. 🤣🎵
Some days I secretly hope a few of the more challenging learners are absent.
There, I said it. 😂
Thirty minutes is such a short lesson, and when behaviour starts taking over, it feels as though half the lesson disappears.
But Allah reminded me again this week that every class is an amanah.
Not only the easy ones.
Not only the classes that make me smile.
Every single one.
So we’ll keep trying.
One recorder lesson at a time. 🎼
Perky Piung had a much quieter week.
She didn’t become the star of any lesson this time.
Instead, she simply sat beside me, watching the learners as they worked.
The children are so used to seeing her now that she feels like another member of the class.
This week I even had a new idea.
I’m going to create a Perky Piung Sticker Station where she guards all the reward stickers for early finishers.
Knowing Perky Piung…
I think she’ll enjoy her new job very much. 🐢😂
English Month is slowly coming to an end, and I already know I’m going to miss it.
Looking back, I don’t think I’m most proud of the competitions or the prizes.
I’m proud that my learners participated.
Many of my Z-class learners stepped forward without hesitation whenever I encouraged them to join.
Some parents even messaged me afterwards.
I made sure to thank every one of them because I truly believe language learning becomes much stronger when parents and teachers walk together.
To my amazing English Panel…
Thank you.
We laughed together.
Worked together.
Solved problems together.
And somehow managed to make English Month a joyful celebration for our school.
Alhamdulillah.
Outside school, life continued moving beautifully.
One of my happiest achievements this week was finally completing Episode 1 of my animation! 🎉🎬
Alhamdulillah!
There is still voice-over work waiting for me next week, but seeing the animation finally come together made me incredibly happy.
One small dream…
One small step closer.
At home, life also gave me little moments that I want to remember forever.
My eldest son is still waiting and hoping for a Senior Engineer position at an MNC. I pray that Allah opens the best door for him at exactly the right time.
Then there was Uwais.
Oh, Uwais… 🥹
He came home excited after learning about shadows in Science.
Without anyone asking him to, he found a cardboard box, cut a hole in it, taped a piece of white paper to make a screen, borrowed my reading torch and proudly created his own little wayang kulit theatre.
He even made his own puppets.
Watching him explain how shadows worked made me smile the entire evening.
People often focus on what he finds difficult.
But this reminded me to focus on what Allah has gifted him.
Curiosity.
Creativity.
The courage to explore.
Those are beautiful gifts too.
Physically, this week sat somewhere in the middle.
Not my strongest week.
Not my weakest either.
I managed to work until three o’clock most days, spent my weekends working on animation, attended my Islamic class, enjoyed family time at a rather expensive café (😂), attended a wedding and… somehow managed to lose another kilogram!
Hopefully my cholesterol is slowly waving goodbye too.
Although, let’s be honest…
Blaming perimenopause is still much more entertaining than blaming myself. 🤣
This week Allah taught me something that sounds simple but is actually profound.
Love your family intentionally.
Don’t become so busy serving everyone else that you forget the people Allah entrusted to you first.
Spend time with your husband.
Talk to your children.
Be present.
Listen.
Laugh together.
Those ordinary moments are actually extraordinary blessings.
This week I also realised something that I hope I never forget.
I am able to do many things—not because I suddenly have more hours in the day—but because Allah places barakah in my time whenever I sincerely ask Him.
That thought has stayed with me all week.
When I looked back at Week 17, the week I nearly cried in my classroom, I smiled.
If Week 23 Teacher Asniem could whisper something to that exhausted teacher, I think she would simply say,
“Always remember why you’re doing this.”
Do it for Allah.
Not for praise.
Not for recognition.
Not for perfection.
Just keep showing up.
Keep learning.
Keep loving your learners.
Progress has always been the goal.
Never perfection.
Finally, if my students remember anything about me from this week, I don’t hope they remember the Present Continuous tense.
Or habitat vocabulary.
Or Running Reading.
I hope they remember something much simpler.
That their teacher smiled.
That she believed in them.
That she cared enough to place them in uncomfortable groups because she knew they would grow.
And maybe…
just maybe…
that funny little turtle sitting beside Teacher Asniem every single lesson. 🐢💚
Because sometimes, the smallest things become the biggest memories.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ’Alamin.
All praises belong to Allah. 🤍✨
