Thinking back, I started to be a part time tuition teacher when I was at the age of 15. I still remember that I had a pair of Primary 1 and Primary 2 students. I taught them English, Malay, Chinese and Maths. Then, after I obtained my Grade 8 Piano at the age of 17, I taught piano. I stopped teaching when I went to University Putra Malaysia for my Degree of Music Technology.
After graduation, I started to teach again from nursery to kindergarten, to tuition center, to adult lesson and finally teaching in my own center. Yup, I love to teach and enjoy teaching, getting close to toddler, to children, to teenager and even to adult makes me feel younger and wiser.
As a teacher, I get to know all types of people. There are really so many kinds of people which is far beyond your imagination. I gained experience on methods of teaching and also how to communicate and how to deal with different types of people, especially those unreasonable people.
I know that there is always stress in every job but stress in the educational line seems to be greater. There are lots of stress that I have to deal with. I have to deal with results, parents, children, competitor, education department, lesson plans, image, reputation and so much on. So much effort I had put on my passion that I had neglected the signal of my body. I always pushing myself beyond the limit and perhaps, I had pushed myself too hard.
When I was sick, I still attended to classes; when the exam is around the corner, I cancelled my trip, giving free extra classes, hoping that the children could get good results. Being a teacher, I wouldn't ask for any returns as this is the passion that keeps me going on. Of course, sometimes I faced disappointment too. When the children get good results, the parents will say that it is all because their children are smart. When the children get bad results, the parents will say "this teacher doesn't know how to teach". Felt so sad over it but I still keep holding on.
At the beginning of the year, I attended a talk about parenting. That lecturer explained that the parents who is working as a teacher, a jeneral or a politician is a DISASTER to children. Without much explanation, I instantly understood the meaning and luckily, I understood this concept years back before I was expecting my first baby. I am still a "mother" at home and I am not a "teacher" at home.
When my body sent out warning signal to me, I knew that it was time for me to go to a doctor for a check-up. My blood pressure is 130/60, mild migraine became serious migraine, shoulder pain had now became hardened and having heavy flow of period. I took from Western medication to traditional Chinese medication. And this is also the time when the Chinese tabib told me that being a teacher is a DISASTER to your health, they often have high blood pressure, hardened muscle, muscle pain, migraine and irregular period(for female teacher). She is the second person who told me that being a teacher is hard.
I was shocked to find that being a teacher could lead to problems, directly or undirectly. I had a sudden feeling of lost, a sudden feeling of emptiness, a mixture feeling. Then, came the day where I met some of my students who had graduated. They are now doctors, engineers, accountants and so on. They are now profession! Those who are not in the professional field lead a stable and healthy life, at the very least, they are not involved in any crime. I taught them not just in academic but also their attitude toward their life, which I put as my priority in teaching. Should I feel contented? Perhaps "SATISFICATION" is a stronger word to use. For all the sacrified time and energy, it's all worthwhile.
Out of the blue, I strongly feel that being a teacher is NOTHING BUT a NOBLE job. I TEACH FOR A BETTER WORLD!
