Woke up feeling very very fresh and energetic, even though it was at the wee hours of the dawn break. Mom ironed my white blouse meticulously the night before, it was a painstaking task to do, and I appreciate and felt her immense support. Thank you, Mom.
Arriving on time, or 15 mins earlier than the required reporting time is always a good thing to do. It kicked start the day on the right note.
A Small Embarrassment
Well, my day didn't REALLY start on the right note, at least not so according to my pants. After consulting with her neighbor and trying her best to be oblivious to the unsightly opening glaring at her, this girl that sat right under my nose during morning assembly at the school hall finally told me in the best tone she could managed that I've forgotten to zip my pants.
Thank you! That explained the giggles and furtive glances in my direction. It was outrageous! Pants unzipped, what a nice way to self-introduce as a freshie teacher! This blunder should be strictly kept as a secret and no human being should ever ever hear it.
Lessons, lessons and more lessons
It appeared, though, that the little incident was the climax of the day. For that, I have to be a little bit more appreciative that the incident sort of "made my day". As for most part of the remaining time, I went through one lesson after another.
My first subject mentor, Mdm Guan Jing, is a nice and experienced lady. I'm really lucky to be assigned to her, following her around for different classes (she's in charge of 4 classes, one in each level). That exposed me to a wide spectrum of student types, ranging from students of higher caliber and students that are not-so-bright. It was very extreme in terms of abilities in learning and mastery of the Chinese Language, between classes, aside from the fact that they are pegged at different levels and notches. There is noticeable gap even WITHIN the same class. As a result, it was really impressive how Mdm Guan tailored her teaching styles and lesson plans to suit each individual class, even each individual student.
There were nuances in the delivery of lessons, if one is careful enough to pick up the differences in tones and words used. For example, in the Sec 1 Normal Academic class, Mdm Guan was generously tolerant of students' blatant mistakes in reading. Instead of correcting them immediately, she was very generous in giving praises. "That was excellent!" "Among the four of you that have read the passage just now, XX and XX were the loudest, let' give them a round of applause. The rest of you should learn from them". I could tell she was working to build a close rapport with the students, and to create a trustful environment for learning where mistakes will not be penalized. As Mr Foo Meng Cheng has pointed out during the training, such environment is vital in eliciting the questioning minds and creating a conducive platform for the exchange of opinions and knowledge.
When speaking with the 4E students, however, her attention was on pushing the weaker students to catch up with the stronger ones and encouraging them to make a final dash for A levels. The rapport was clearly noticeable as the students felt really comfortable talking to her about their future, several topics where touched on, and I was ignorant enough not to know this Chinese Language Programme offered by Ngee Ann Polytechnic to nurture young Chinese teachers for Primary Schools. The 4E lessons were free and easy, and Mdm Guan gave the exceptionally strong students much autonomy in term of deciding how they would like to spend their lesson time after finishing a piece of worksheet. Before I could go on for more observations, the lesson was interrupted by announcements regarding the release of the O Level results. The class was so excited about tomorrow's day off that it was impossible to gather their attention again and continue the lesson.
As for Kah Yang's E Maths lesson at 3E1, it was a pleasant surprise to see Xie Feng there. One of the biggest lessons I've learnt from Kah Yang's lesson was that, Maths teacher really really need to know how to be calm and cool-headed, and clear and concise in her explanations. Blunders and mistakes are a no no. It should not be tolerated as solutions are black and white,there's no grey area so no room for blunders. Furthermore, students would lose their trust in you after repeated mistakes.
Mistakes
Talking about mistakes, there were several mistakes I've made along the way. The first would be not taking the initiative to offer assistance. Well, I did volunteer to follow Mdm Guan on classes that I'm not assigned to, but it was rather passive as I sat at the back of the classroom jotting down notes. I did a good job by getting some work from Kah Yang to mark, but could have done better by asking Mdm Guan if she needed me to do anything on her side as well.
Another thing was that I was late for Kah Yang's Maths lesson as I've misread the time to be half an hour later. Such blunders were intolerable, once again, as both teachers and students run on a tight schedule and whatever time there is should be fully utilized for effective and constructive learning.
My first day being a teacher has exposed several tendencies in me that needed urgent attention if I want to strive to become a good teacher.
Encouraging words
However, it's only the start of the journey, and I have plenty of opportunities for me to absorb and learn, to adapt and change. Some encouraging quote I've received today:
- Mary Anne Radmacher
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
- John F. Kennedy
The greatest mistake you can make in life
is to be continually fearing you will make one.
- Elbert Hubbard
This above all, to thine own self be true.
- William Shakespeare
The ending note
Wind up at Gary's for an injection of confidence-boosting sense of satisfaction from teaching Gary. I felt totally rejuvenated after a long, tiring day.
Gary, so far still remains my favorite student.
Good night world.
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