Everyone has a unique gift from God, and I guess God has chosen to give me the gift to teach.
Several factors led me to the choice of becoming a teacher. First of all, it was the teachers like Ms Foo and Mr Tang who inspired me to become a teacher. Secondly, the interaction with my soldiers and knowing some of their stories made me want to guide as many youngsters into choosing the right path without any regret later in their lives. Finally, I guess it's a way of paying back to the society after receiving the bursary from the government in my education journey.
After being accepted by Ministry of Education (MOE), I started teaching in a very small school as an untrained teacher. Enrolment of the school was low and majority of the pupils came from middle or low-income families. Some of the pupils came from dysfunction families. Some pupils spent their time at night helping out in their parents' food stall. Teaching in the school brought joy to me as I was able to help these pupils both academically and emotionally. Majority of the pupils and parents appreciated what teachers had done for them.
I remember having a pupil who could not spell a single word at Primary 3. I made her stay behind after school to teach her how to spell and read. After a few months, she was able to spell and even scored full marks for her Spelling! It was that sense of achievement that kept me going.
After a year, I had to leave my first school and attend my two-year teacher training at the National Institute of Education (NIE). The two-year training flew past very quickly and I was posted to my second school. The school was very different from my first school as majority of the pupils came from high-income families. To be honest, I was not very keen to teach in that school. I did not think that I could contribute much in that school as my hearts were with those pupils who were from the lower-income families like me.
I was wrong. I guess God's plan was to put me there to teach these pupils the values they need in life. As these pupils would probably be the nation's leaders and entrepreneurs when they grow up just their their parents, it's very important for them to have the right values from young. I was glad I was given that opportunity, not only as a teacher but also as a Head of Department for Pupil Management which I was soon appointed. With great teachers, great parents and great pupils, I soon grew very attached to the school. It was no longer a school or a workplace to me but rather my family, my home. I even thought that I would just retire there. Where else would I go?
I was wrong, again. God has His plan in making me an even stronger person, just like how he took away my father when I was young.......
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Nothing To Lose
Non-FictionIf we realise that we came to this world with nothing, then perhaps every gain would be sweet and every loss would not be so painful.perhaps that's the secret to happiness.
