I'm 43. I've got truckloads of lessons that I've learned throughout my life.. And I have mountains more that I'm still learning. I've got lessons that I need to relearn and I definitely have a whole bunch of lessons that I'm not aware I need yet so hmmm, tough choice here 😅
But since today I'm missing my classes that were once my everyday, I think I'll share just that 😊
I've always wanted to be a teacher eversince I was a kid. Most of us outgrow the kids-favourite ambition such as being a teacher, a policewoman/man, a soldier, a doctor and so on but I never outgrew this ambition though I hid it deep inside me because of other people's expectations.
That's why, when I suddenly got the oppurtunity to teach while I was doing my postgrad studies, I quickly took it.
At first I taught because I loved to. I'd been teaching my younger siblings how to read and write when I was younger (more like paksa them to be my students 😂) and am proud to say that all could read before they entered kindergarten. I loved being able to see the change in them and knowing I was a part of it.
I thought teaching other people besides my siblings would be just as easy but boy was I wrong..
I learnt that I strived in large classes but I was also sometimes quickly overwhelmed. Yet sometimes, just a simple question from a student would make me calm down and gather my thoughts properly.
I learnt that is no ONE way of teaching therefore just using one method would not be enough. In large classes, even in personal classes, the students are sometimes as different as night and day. One method might suit student A perfectly but it might spell disaster for student B. I had to learn the hard way of how to handle different types of students and till now, I'm still learning.
I learnt that it's okay to make mistakes in teaching and admitting them. When I first taught, I was sure the only way to gain respect from the kids was to never make a mistake in front of them and I was super careful not to. But one day, I did. I was embarassed at first but then I dunno why I burst out loud laughing while apologizing to them. To my suprise, they were okay with it. And not only were they okay with it, they became more involved in class.
I then realized, just like I was afraid of making mistakes, so were they. When they realized it was okay to make mistakes as long as you learned from it, they relaxed and felt brave enough to try hard in class, knowing their mistakes do not define them at all.
They may have felt that I was the one who taught them about not being afraid of making mistakes but as you can see, THEY were the ones who taught me that lesson 🥰
I also learnt it was not an embarassing thing to say, "I don't know". A student came to me with a problem his teacher asked him to ask me. I laughed at first wondering, "Awat cikgu dia suruh tnyaaa ni?" But then realized, at first glance, even I was stuck 😅 I felt a bit of a blow (to my ego je lah kottt 😂) when I had to tell him I didn't know the answer but I guess because we were past the "It's okay to make mistakes stage" he just shrugged his shoulder and smiled. Still tk puas hati, I asked if I could copy the question and try at home so he just gave me the question.
Back home, after a looooong while I finally got the answer. The clue was hidden, almost invisible I'd say but the joy I felt at solving it was priceless. I sent him a text telling him I had gotten the answer and would share with him in the next class. He told me, he had confidence in me that I'd solve it even when I said I didn't know how to. He actually told me I taught him that acknowledging you don't know something is already the first step in finding the answer so that was how he knew I was gonna find it for him.
I was dumbfounded sbb I'm pretty sure I never taught him THAT 😂 In this case, he was the one teaching me that 😅
I also learnt that I should always access the situation before making my move. In large clasess, you have 30+ students with 30+ personalities. Some students strive when you always make sure they know you notice them, others prefer to be invisible as being seen makes them anxious and I understand this so well because this was how I was in school dulu. Then there's a whole mix of other combined personalities in a class. I learnt to listen.. And learnt to try communicate with them they way they are comfortable with. THIS is also still an on-going lesson for me but I love it 😁
I learnt that they are still just kids. Sometimes when it's near the trials, teachers get more serious & strict which in turn makes students antsy. Antsy students are more often than not, a problem to themselves. Some timid students hide deeper in their shells while some suddenly become outspoken or very loud in class (I came to understand this is mostly because they didn't want people to know how panicky they are). Some chatty students become withdrawn while some suddenly refuse to participate in class. I had to learn to at least pretend I am calm and try to not show how anxious I really was. It didn't really work on a small number of students but it definitely worked for most of them. I had to remind myself they didn't need to be constantly reminded of their big exams looming in front of them because, of course, they are well quite aware of it.
I learnt that sometime I didn't just need to teach. Sometime just lending my ears to them could do wonders. Before that, I was always worried that I was wasting class time if I kept listening to them and their worries/frustrations. So normally, I'd just start the class terus. But I got frustrated because on days like this, though I'd be teaching the whole period, we won't be making much progress. So one day, after a few weeks of slow progress, I decided to let this class vent. They only needed 10 minutes of my time before they started smiling and asking me to start the class. We made wayyyyyy more progress in that one class compared to the previous few weeks. I was suprised but after that, I learnt to let them know I'm listening.
I also learnt that showing a bit of concern goes a long way. At first, some were suprised when I asked about their previous results and all. Most won't even want to answer, claiming, "Lupa laaa teacher" 😏 But after a while, they shared everything. We'd talk about their progress, about what they could do differently and all that. I'd try my best to point out their strengths with hopes that would motivate them but we'd also not ignore their weakness and try to find a solution together. I admit, sometimes it got tiring especially since I have around 10 classes but I only see them once a week. And sometimes I DO get confused and overwhelmed but sometimes I think, this is my favourite part of teaching. Learning from them on how to teach better.
I no longer have large classes. Even when I was still teaching at the tuition centre, the number of students who could come back to class after the COViD lockdown decreased dramatically for everyone.
Now I only teach personal classes but I'm still learning something new with every student. I understood more about the saying, "You learn more when you teach" because of my students and for that, I'm grateful ♥️
#30dayswritingchallenge
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