Just The Wei I Am

I got a job!

*ahem*

I am now a school teacher. For the next five weeks.

It suddenly struck me how significant this is. I always knew this day would come - when the problem student (me) grows up, makes good and becomes a teacher himself. All my teachers who have lost hair over me, they will be so proud, I'm sure.

"Staff room" used to be the place where I had to go see my teachers, it's "their" domain. As of today, for the next five weeks, I have my own desk in the staff room. It's like I stepped over some sort of invisible line over to "the other side".

Poignant musing...

In case any of you think relief teaching is a walk in the park, it's not! First of all, workload wise, it's not lesser than the permanent teachers. I'm taking over a teacher who's resigned, so now I'm teaching all his classes. I'll be seeing a total of 9 classes, from Sec 1 Express to Sec 4 Normal Tech. Was a little incredulous when I realised that I'll be teaching 5 out of 7 of the Sec 1 classes English Literature. I'm teaching 71% of a cohort.

Oh, I have till Monday to read Adrian Mole. =) That's what we'll be covering for Lit.

I think Sec 1 Lit should be fun. It's my Sec 4 classes I worry about. I'll be teaching them English. I can't imagine what they will be like. Hopefully I can control them. Hopefully I can! or I'll lose my rice-bowl. The principal said that he'll fire us if we can't maintain order in the classroom. Challenge...

This is not a vacation internship/attachment centered around us, the undergrad on vacation. This is a school desperately short of teachers, which gives untrained relief teachers (us!) full teaching responsibilities. No walk in the park. They're hiring us to do real work. I even have to be form teacher of a class. 'nuff said?

Joel did try a little to warn me/dissuade me from working at her school, and I was personally hoping to find the "babysitting" sort of relief teaching too. But after she warned me about the "conditions" and even after I realised that it's not a cushy job, I decided to go for it still.

I shouldn't just be looking for an easy job where I'll just get paid and not learn much. I'm seeing this five weeks as an opportunity for experience and exposure. Bad experience is experience too. Subjecting myself to the expectations and stresses of a full-fledged teacher should be quite a learning experience. Working in an environment with bosses and colleagues with their good and bad sides should be a good preview of the 4 decades of life after graduation.

Joel might have tried to dissuade me (for my own good?) but haha, she seems really happy to see me in school. It's when fellowship is hard to come by that makes you treasure it. For those of us in the student ministry who see our brothers and sisters on campus everyday, we might not know what it feels like. When you're out there in the world and suddenly you have someone like-minded join you at the workplace. I believe it's like, yes! Someone to spend the most difficult part of my day with me! Well, she seems really happy. We're trying to see which days we have common lunch slots. =)

Monday will be here before long. Feeling a little afraid, challenged, excited. Just hope I can keep the job (not get fired) so that I can do all those things I said..

zzzz....