sounDs kinDa' fiShy in heRe...

What I noticed...
Mr. Sam, the Prof's assistant walked into the computer lab with a posh, biege-coloured, square-shaped, ladies' shoulder handbag and looked quite peculiar. I was curious about the contents of the handbag. Something was kind of funny today. Squeaking sound came out of the bag as the assistant's hands went into the bag. Next thing I knew, the Prof was throwing toy fish around the classroom and I was giggling away while trying my best to avoid being a target - being hit means u need to answer questions!

Inside my head...

"The Day I saw fish flying, I found a better way to live and learn in school." (fish!philosophy)

I decide to do an online searching about the fish philosophy which was mentioned by the Prof. I figured out that it should be something outstanding as it is the reason the Prof. decided that this week there would not be any heavy assignments after we had hand-in our Smartboard lessons. The Prof. was in a vivacious mood today as she let us had some fun by throwing fish around the class, she wore her smile everywhere she went, answered our questions if we had any and lastly, no assignments for the week! How blissful life can get than this? Therefore, the fish philosophy had to be something.

The fact was, the fish philosophy came up from the Pike Place Fish Market which was very popular. Yes, the fish market, a place where they sold fish. Just in case if you were as lagging behind from the talk of the town like me, Pike Place Fish Market was the fish market which adopted the culture of throwing fish around and having fun with the customers which in turn helped tremendously in their fish sales. There were many sites on the internet that talked about the place and the awesome services that it provided to the customers and many brought their philosophy into their work place. One more thing, it even had its own websites where customers could order and buy fish online! This should be on Ripley's Believe it, or not!

I realized that the Prof. was imitating the fish mongers of Pike Place Fish Market. She threw fish around the lab and we were tempted to unleash our childlike innocence by having fun throwing fish to each other. So much fun, attention (despite those who were lost in their own world staring at their screen at the back of the lab), and laughters were generated. However, we felt a bit awkward as sadly, perhaps, it had been so long that we had any fun during lectures. All the class did was glued to the individual places and copy every single word the Prof. said like there was no tomorrow.

If only we could have that much of energy, enthusiasm, passion and fun in the classroom, everyday will be so looked-forward to and memorable for the students and teachers. Students will be unwilling to leave school at the end of their schooling and truancy will be put to nil. I was put into deep thought as the Prof. asked the class: "Could you remember any teacher who was always there for you, who had left a deep impression on you that till now you couldn't forget?" Honestly and sadly speaking, none. When I go to school, I do not wish that I will be the spare entity to be forgotten by students, the one that the students can do without. How sad and hurtful could it be to hear from your students: "Huh? You used to be my teacher?"

The four tenets of fish philosophy:
1. Play: Have fun!
2. Make their day: make people happy!
3. Be there: not necessary physically, mentally is good enough.
4. Choose your attitude: Be nice, don't be a pain in the neck for others.

Notice that the Prof. had accomodated the above points into today's lecture and she had definitely had my heart for her future lessons. In my thoughts, in life as well, one should have the fish philosophy in them. From being a 'toxic' person who always be malancholy, negative, take things too seriously, and practise extreme sarcasm, one should evolve into a 'nourishing' being. Here, being 'nourishing' does not mean that you provide milk for a person till they feel their skin is soft and supple. 'Nourishing' refers to positivity, have fun, take things seriously but do not go overboard, and practise giving motivating remarks. Another observation that I would like to bring in is how niggardly Malaysians can get in giving positive remarks. When someone wears a brand new G-branded dress all they can say was: "New one ar?Where you buy?" or when someone finally got promoted all they will say was: "Finally. I thought you will never got promoted."
Back to the discussion. To me, the fish philosophy is like the carpediam attitude that most English women had during and post World War II in Europe. They lived life to the fullest as they did not know when it was going to end. Live life to the fullest by injecting fun elements into your daily life. When we have the appropriate mindset to do things, things can be done without us knowing it as we have enjoyed so much along the process of completion.

So, start being 'fishy' today. Adopt the fish philosophy into your life as I promise I will in anything I do.

References:
Work that's fun gets done. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2006 from www.grand-blanc.k12.mi.us/qip/fish!%20philosophy.htm