Gan-ning for change

AS the eldest of four, I have had to put up with my siblings’ whims and whines, but it turns out that interacting with them offered me a perfect training ground for a bigger “battle” – facing over 30 children and 40 teenagers during my stint as a teacher in a private school in Melaka.

Starting out as a teaching assistant, I imagined myself doing poorly with young children. Surprisingly, I discovered that I was capable of understanding them, even getting through the painstaking experience of guiding them.

Initially, my duty comprised assisting teachers during the art and math classes, and guiding students with examination questions. However, in just a month, I was handed the task of a teacher.

I became a class teacher who taught mathematics, English language and history to primary pupils. My job also included guiding the secondary students in mathematics, English language, science and accounting subjects. It’s a whole load of subjects, isn’t it?

In school, my daily routine was fixed – I would teach the primary children in the morning, go for lunch, continue teaching, have a tea break, and the long day would end at 6pm. On Fridays, the students played sports at a nearby sports centre.

The school organised an event every month. For instance, during Career Month, the primary pupils travelled to KidZania Kuala Lumpur to role-play a variety of jobs in adulthood. In addition, the school organised a Food Fair for the students to gain some experience running a business.

Having received formal education in government schools my whole life, I found it challenging getting used to the international syllabus that I was required to teach. Not just that, I had to do my “homework” well so that I could answer all the questions posed by my pupils.

Unlike the Malaysian syllabus, which introduces new topics every schooling year, the students studying the international syllabus learn all the chapters as their basis, but the depth of knowledge increases by the year.

The subject I enjoyed teaching the most was history, because I got to learn new knowledge while imparting the lessons. In contrast to the local syllabus, which focuses on Malaysian history, the students in the private school learn about world history.

Teaching isn’t easy. It is after my four-month stint that I truly understand the pains and fatigue I’ve put all my teachers through. It was a daily test of my patience and my creativity as I tried to find ways for my students to understand all that I had to convey.

While it was not exactly pleasurable to return home with a throbbing brain, the experience gave me insights into the teaching profession, which I have come to consider as a potential career path for me in the future.

All in all, those four months had been incredible and productive for me, with lessons to prepare and events to facilitate. The experience also gave me the realisation that while I can inspire the world with my words, I can change the mindset and lifestyle of an individual through leading by example.

I enjoyed being addressed “Miss Gan” by my students, and I certainly don’t mind going back to teach again!

This article was published in the Newspaper in Education (NIE) pullout by The Star Newspaper dated 25 September 2019