Cher, why did you become a Teacher?
The age old question asked by all students to their teachers. Allow me to shed a little light on those who are curious to know, though I am not speaking for the entire teaching community here. People become teachers for various reasons:
1) To share their love/knowledge of the subject they teach.
2) Wanting to communicate with people.
3) Love of children
4) Passion for teaching, wanting to play a part in moulding students
5) Inspired by their own teachers
6) Seeking for a stable job
For me, it was wanting to share my knowledge with future generations and be part of the team to help mould young kids. My reasoning was simple: If I can teach batches of students what I know, then the knowledge can be retained and passed down. If I can start a spark of interest in 1 student out of a batch of 120 students, I would have 10 students to carry on the task in 10 years. Too ideal, some may say, given the constraints and reality. For me, it does not matter THAT much, for every step I take, every move I make, it brings me just a little closer to my goal.
It all began when I was in secondary school. I used to think I would want to be a scientist, as it would mean I am intelligent. But 1 fine day at a family gathering, I was telling Chinese Folk Tales I learnt in my lessons to several younger kids. They were so mesmerised by the stories and commented that I would made a good teacher. I guess it kinda felt good to be appreciated, and it gave some meaning to what I have shared. Next, I was picking up quite a bit of knowledge from my Chinese Literature classes, so I wanted to share with my favourite younger cousin. But it dawned on me that teaching a group would be so much better than just teaching 1 person. Also, I had a great (though with attitude) Chinese Literature teacher in Sec 3. She didn't think much of Singapore students, believing that Chinese standards were dropping and interest in all things Chinese was waning even in the early 90s. She was right to some extent. I saw the signs of decline among my friends, and realised that something had to be done before all was lost. I did not regard myself highly, but at least I felt I should be doing something to stem the tide. Despite for her prejudice, I regarded her as a Chinese Literature Encyclopedia of sorts as her knowledge was vast compared to what I knew back then.
Coincidentally, the 'O' level Mother Tongue Examinations question was about my aspiration. I simply answered that I wanted to be a teacher. Though the oral examiners probably thought I was giving a model answer to score high marks, I was truly speaking my mind then. Even when they posed that teaching was not a well paid job, (yes, salary of teachers wasn't that good those days, and please don't assume I am earning $4k/mth!) I answered as-a-matter-of-factly:“薪水只要足够就好，最重要是敬业乐业。”It didn't helped that both examiners gave the knowing smile, but I was quite convinced I wanted to be a teacher back in 1993/94.
In case you readers are wondering if this post will earn me some year-end bonus or some promotion, I am telling you it won't, as such incentives comes through hard work and opportunities, not through some proclaimation or boast.
Having explained all that, some students will still ask,"Why be a teacher when all my classmates consistently drive you up the wall?" Well, my answer is simple. Teachers who have spent many years in the service continues to do so regardless of:
1) the ever-increasing workload and pressure,
2) changing times and policies,
3) weak and couldn't-be-bothered students
are those dedicated to the calling, just as doctors who try to save patients dying of terminal illnesses. No, that's not saying that students out there are a bad lot, only that we as a profession serve a calling/believe in the purpose of the job. This doesn't mean that those who left the service are not a dedicated lot, but I guess some reasons for teachers who quit are:
1) unable/unwilling to cope with the demands of the job,
2) having problems in their lives and have to quit,
3) not mentally prepared for in teaching (warts & all),
4) disillusioned because dream & reality are poles apart
Bascially, the bottomline is as long as we still see the meaning for teaching our students, we don't give up easily. Hence, if you keep hearing teachers saying they give up on a certain student, do feel sad for the teacher and the student, as it really means that the teacher has really tried but the student continues to disappoint the teacher to the point of hopelessness. It's really heartbreaking at times to hear teachers making such remarks, but in the bottom of my heart, I do know that as long as the student makes a visible effort, most teachers will still try to help the student.
Hopefully this post has somewhat clarified some doubts/satisfied some curious minds out there. I am sure that not all out there would agree to what I have mentioned, but those views are just my personal views only, so they are open to debate and discussion.
1) To share their love/knowledge of the subject they teach.
2) Wanting to communicate with people.
3) Love of children
4) Passion for teaching, wanting to play a part in moulding students
5) Inspired by their own teachers
6) Seeking for a stable job
For me, it was wanting to share my knowledge with future generations and be part of the team to help mould young kids. My reasoning was simple: If I can teach batches of students what I know, then the knowledge can be retained and passed down. If I can start a spark of interest in 1 student out of a batch of 120 students, I would have 10 students to carry on the task in 10 years. Too ideal, some may say, given the constraints and reality. For me, it does not matter THAT much, for every step I take, every move I make, it brings me just a little closer to my goal.
It all began when I was in secondary school. I used to think I would want to be a scientist, as it would mean I am intelligent. But 1 fine day at a family gathering, I was telling Chinese Folk Tales I learnt in my lessons to several younger kids. They were so mesmerised by the stories and commented that I would made a good teacher. I guess it kinda felt good to be appreciated, and it gave some meaning to what I have shared. Next, I was picking up quite a bit of knowledge from my Chinese Literature classes, so I wanted to share with my favourite younger cousin. But it dawned on me that teaching a group would be so much better than just teaching 1 person. Also, I had a great (though with attitude) Chinese Literature teacher in Sec 3. She didn't think much of Singapore students, believing that Chinese standards were dropping and interest in all things Chinese was waning even in the early 90s. She was right to some extent. I saw the signs of decline among my friends, and realised that something had to be done before all was lost. I did not regard myself highly, but at least I felt I should be doing something to stem the tide. Despite for her prejudice, I regarded her as a Chinese Literature Encyclopedia of sorts as her knowledge was vast compared to what I knew back then.
Coincidentally, the 'O' level Mother Tongue Examinations question was about my aspiration. I simply answered that I wanted to be a teacher. Though the oral examiners probably thought I was giving a model answer to score high marks, I was truly speaking my mind then. Even when they posed that teaching was not a well paid job, (yes, salary of teachers wasn't that good those days, and please don't assume I am earning $4k/mth!) I answered as-a-matter-of-factly:“薪水只要足够就好，最重要是敬业乐业。”It didn't helped that both examiners gave the knowing smile, but I was quite convinced I wanted to be a teacher back in 1993/94.
In case you readers are wondering if this post will earn me some year-end bonus or some promotion, I am telling you it won't, as such incentives comes through hard work and opportunities, not through some proclaimation or boast.
Having explained all that, some students will still ask,"Why be a teacher when all my classmates consistently drive you up the wall?" Well, my answer is simple. Teachers who have spent many years in the service continues to do so regardless of:
1) the ever-increasing workload and pressure,
2) changing times and policies,
3) weak and couldn't-be-bothered students
are those dedicated to the calling, just as doctors who try to save patients dying of terminal illnesses. No, that's not saying that students out there are a bad lot, only that we as a profession serve a calling/believe in the purpose of the job. This doesn't mean that those who left the service are not a dedicated lot, but I guess some reasons for teachers who quit are:
1) unable/unwilling to cope with the demands of the job,
2) having problems in their lives and have to quit,
3) not mentally prepared for in teaching (warts & all),
4) disillusioned because dream & reality are poles apart
Bascially, the bottomline is as long as we still see the meaning for teaching our students, we don't give up easily. Hence, if you keep hearing teachers saying they give up on a certain student, do feel sad for the teacher and the student, as it really means that the teacher has really tried but the student continues to disappoint the teacher to the point of hopelessness. It's really heartbreaking at times to hear teachers making such remarks, but in the bottom of my heart, I do know that as long as the student makes a visible effort, most teachers will still try to help the student.
Hopefully this post has somewhat clarified some doubts/satisfied some curious minds out there. I am sure that not all out there would agree to what I have mentioned, but those views are just my personal views only, so they are open to debate and discussion.
posted by Simbul at 11:12 pm
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