Sheena’s adventurous journey into teaching...
My journey into choosing teaching as a career wasn’t straight-forward. Upon graduation from polytechnic with a dip in business info tech, I wasn’t sure if I want to pursue a career for the rest of my life in my field of study. I tried working in a translation company as a project manager for about half a year and the dull work routine almost drove me crazy. I knew then that a 9-5 job is not for me.
I went into direct sales, selling over-priced household appliances for close to a year. I got to roam about freely and could talk as much as I like during work and I loved that! However, after some time, I found no satisfaction and sense of purpose in selling things that might be of no use at all. During house visits, I found out that there are many children who have very little parental supervision and support in their schoolwork, especially in less well-to-do families. They can spend the whole evening watching television or playing with their friends at the park or playground. I was horrified when I saw a school workbook that is almost empty even though it was nearing the end of a semester. The first thing I thought of was: the teacher is terrible!!!!! Why isn’t she doing something to help the child????
On one of my cold calls, I got to know a young Chinese teacher who was teaching in a primary school. What my new found friend told me about teaching seemed very exciting and challenging so I decided to try for a place in NIE, with the silly vision of saving children from irresponsible and boring teachers (oops!).
Teaching never came across my mind till I met my teacher friend. My career aspirations include being a cartoonist, cartoon voice-over, zoo-keeper, storybook illustrator and story-teller. During my contract teaching stint, I found out that being a teacher can actually satisfy almost all of my career aspirations! I can read big books to children and pretend that I am a big bad wolf or an old man with croaky voice, decorate the classroom with drawings, teach the students how to make cut-out animals etc.. Without the usual workload of a full-time teacher, teaching was “superbly” enjoyable!! However, my teaching practicum experience gave me a real view of how a full-time teacher with a tight curriculum is like and I must admit that I was disillusioned. On nights when I have to stay up till the wee hours to prepare lesson plans and mark students’ work, I wished that I can strike lottery and pay off my bond.
Many of the students in my practicum school come from broken homes. It was my students who kept me going because many of them remind me of the children I met when I was doing sales. After knowing my students well, I felt the need and urge to make a difference in their lives. I feel very happy when I know that they look forward to coming to school. I am extremely proud of them when they show improvements in their work. I nearly cried when a boy confided in me about his abusive grandfather. To me, teaching is an adventure because there are many possibilities that I can make happen if I want to. There are many ups and downs in teaching due to the heavy workload and students from different background, but no path is perfectly straight and that’s why it’s challenging. Recalling why I want to teach at the different stages of my teaching career revived my passion for teaching at this point in my life. I want to equip myself with more skills, right attitudes and beliefs before I embark on my teaching adventure next year.
P.S so that no one will say “your teacher is terrible!!!” to my students :)
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