What I Feel As A Young Teacher

Good morning! :) I seldom blog in the morning but my student is having exams today so this is a rare chance to blog at this hour. Don't be happy for me just yet- my weekends are taken this week!  I am a teacher who works odd hours mmm hmm And tonight I have my favourite ENGLISH class. (I like to teach english the best its so fun because I don't need to prepare before class haha) And teaching small kids are very fun so this English class of mine are the youngest group I have so far. 

So, since I've been away almost every single day, sacrificed my blogging and reading hours just for my students, you guys must be wondering what I'm up to. Well, today I'll take you behind the scenes.... 

*open curtains and flashback begins* 

The general act of teaching someone requires patience, compassion and sincerity. If you're not patient, you'll just leave the moment your student forgets something you teach for the gazillion time. You tend to have that feeling " Hey, I thought I just told you that yesterday. Weren't you listening?" Well, i guess you gotta understand that people forget and there's so many things to read and remember. Even tiny things like throwing out the trash or wiping the table. So usually I'll just repeat or show them the exact page so they remember that we've done it before. 

Compassion. You have to love your students. If you don't love them, you'll ask yourself "Why am I doing this? Why am I spending my entire morning, afternoon and evening with them, get exhausted by night then sometimes even have night class?" Well, its simple as I spend more time with them, I develop a bond. And for the students who are my age, I develop friendship. I begin to understand their background, their dreams and their target and how much they want it. I place myself in their position and then back in my position and say to myself "I want to help you." 

Sometimes, when I'm having a bad day or feeling down, I look at my students and think, "Does what I say really make a difference to you?" And when I look at how they look at me and ask me questions, write down exactly what I say (and I'm not exaggerating when I say EXACTLY) I realise that the answer is yes. And the fact that it really does makes me more motivated for the day. It makes we want to do more. 

Hey, who said teaching is not tiring? I have back-to-back classes from 930 up to 5 with a very quick 20-30 min lunch break and 15 min prayer break in between. If I come any later, my students will question me. Sometimes I have lunch alone and at times we have lunch together if its a one day class :) and that's when we talk about non-academic stuff and I get to know them better. Last week, they were selling sushi!! And both my students are a big fan of sushi so we each got a packet. It was 6 for RM10 and when Cindy went to buy, I asked her to get me the one with all orange sushi with the tiny eggs. I think its called ebiko. That's my very very favourite sushi. My mummy bought more for me last Sunday. Cindy got salmon and she said my orange sushi was the last packet! >.<

Sincerity. Yes money makes you motivated but your intentions matter the most. If you're doing a job that you like with good intentions then it will most likely last longer. I have one more month till my senior students (the ones who I see the most) will graduate and have no more classes with me.

As for my English class tonight, I won't be teaching them very long as I'm about to proceed with my tertiary education. We promised to take pictures before I leave and the girls said they were going to dress up tonight ^^ When I end class at 1030 pm, many of my students will salam and thank me. It feels weird at first because I'm thinking in just less than 3 years ago, I was in their position and now I'm the one standing in front with a marker and speaking at top volume. 

I've almost lost my voice twice and got sick a little the entire teaching period. When I ended my A-levels, I had no idea that God had this in plan because my initial plan was to do internship with an oil and gas company. But now that this is almost coming to an end, I have to say this is so so so much better (minus the losing voice part). 

My students, Cindy and Nasha shared with me pictures of their hamsters and cats. Here are a few they sent via watsapp. 

Maxwell

Casper

Before A-levels when i was 18, I had professional teaching experience at an english language centre and that 6 months taught me more than you could imagine. Whenever I teach someone my age or older than me, I recall that time and professionalism hits in ;)

For a long time, I've always stayed with this quote :

To be the best, don't do what the rest do but do what the best do.

And that's my greatest motivation :)) Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!