The thing about Leaving Certificates and Testimonials

I have finished my markings. Well actually quite long ago. And now I am so buried in writing out testimonials and comments on the leaving certificates for my graduating class.

It is perhaps the most interesting and tedious part of being a teacher, for you have to just think of all the "wonderful" things that the students have done and as another fellow graduating class form teacher said, composed stories a-la-Rowling. In fact we have this silly competition how many short feature stories we can write before school ends. In fact it is always during writing testimonials and leaving certificates ( not that I have written for many years) that I realised how much or how little I knew about this particular student of mine, or how grossly mistaken I was about the student. To my sanity and my integrity, I found that i have at least something good to write about everyone thankful to a wonderful idea from a senior teacher who told his form class to write comments about each other. At least in this way I am not too "off" with my comments.

Nonetheless there will be episodes where I will be just doing this


pondering in front of my laptop which I have been vegetating for the past few days (surprising though very little people have been coming back to ask me about SS or History or A Maths for the matter... I must hav been a great teacher!! :S) where I pondered over the words I need to use and what to say about so and so. At times when my thoughts are inexpressible ( if there is a word for that), I like to, then, take a memory lane where I fast forwarded the things that had happened and zoomed in on the things that I witnessed about the girl, or the few if any conversations I have with her... Then I will replay it in my mind in slo-mo. the memories are.
Sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes hurting, sometimes happy, sometimes hilarious, sometimes just plain. It is then I tried to give my take on the issue and "judge" the girl based on what i remember. Yes it is unfair at times and yes it doesn't really tell a whole story, but I think I have been accurately in most times.

As for my writing style, I try to be not too sacarastic with my comments and of course give a positive spin to the not very pleasant things. Well as all know I am not really fantastic ( I did get a C6 for GP) but you know I am great at coming up with story. ( Come see the next Harry Potter in the making!!) And of course I tried to write the easiest ( ie alot to write about and easiest to write) and leave the "challenging" ones to the last.

Make a wild guess, whose leaving certificate is the first and the last to be written for? Results will be announced in a later post and of course the winner will get a special prize during grad night. Just leave a note on the post...


Your sincerely, Just Kidding Rowling