10 FACTS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN TEACHING: Number One: LIE - You only need to teach and prepare lesson materials. FACT - You will definitely need to do that. Above that you still have your committees, CCAs, ad-hoc school events. REMEDY - Work in teams with other teaching colleagues and create materials for different chapters. That will save each of you uncountable time which you can use for more important stuff. ADVICE - Stop being so naive and gullible. Number Two: LIE- You start work earlier than the rest of Singapore, and therefore it means you should end work earlier than them. FACT- You do start work before any of them, but it does not guarantee that you end work earlier than them. In fact, most teachers bring home their work to complete, which means your office hours are extended. REMEDY - No remedy. ADVICE: Do not bring work home. Number Three: LIE- Its a 5 day work week. You get to enjoy your weekends. FACT- There will be many occasions you get your precious weekends burnt because of CCA (if you are taking Uniform groups) and they wont be compensated back to you. There will be school events. And there will be lots of markings to complete and exam papers to set during weekends. REMEDY - Ask your school leaders for time off for your weekend duties. The really nice ones will allow that. ADVICE - Think before you say yes to Uniform Groups if you arent willing to sacrifice weekends for the students. Number Four: LIE - YOU HAVE LONGER HOLIDAYS. FACT - We are sacrificing weekday evenings and weekends. If you do your maths, we are no different from any of you. REMEDY - None ADVICE - Spend your holidays wisely. You will be back at work before you know it. Number Five: LIE- Things get better as the longer you stay in teaching. FACT- You will get promoted somehow, sometime. And you will be expected to do more and more. Because they believe you should do more work since you are paid more now. You will be STRUGGLING with the mountains of workload. REMEDY - Learn to SAY NO. Keep track of the items on your list of TO-DOs. ADVICE - Doing more may also mean compromising on work quality. You work to live, not live to work. Number Six: LIE- You are being ranked fairly for your work performance. FACT- You are being judged by people who do not really work closely with you enough to know all the silent shit you have been through and how you overcame each of them one by one. And you are surely dead, if your immediate supervisor aint the type who are outspoken. REMEDY - Dont get all worked up because your performance grade isnt what you expected. Life goes on. Convince yourself to believe that you hose time over money. ADVICE - If you want to climb up the ladder, then suck up to your bosses. Number Seven: LIE - Your pay is higher than your friends. FACT- Yes in fact it is, right at the start. After which your peers are likely to catch up and earn more than you do. Considering that you spent a lot of money on rewarding students to motivate them, out of your own tiny pocket. REMEDY - Do tuition. Invest. ADVICE - Dont get caught moonlighting. Number Eight: LIE - You feel young again since you get to interact with the younger generation. FACT - You surely do feel young when you interact with them, provided you do the activities with them. Otherwise you are just acting old. Other than that, I am sure your friends are gonna tell you that you have aged A LOT since you started teaching officially. REMEDY - Do the activities with them. And spend quality Me-Time. ADVICE - Stock up on facial products. And sleep plenty. Number Nine: LIE - the kids are tougher to manage these days FACT - IT IS. But not all of them. There are still nice, respectful kiddos around. REMEDY- But if you are ready to make REAL rapport with them by showing them who you really are and that you care, it will all work out well. ADVICE - Be firm. Be real. Be kind. Number Ten: LIE- Everyone is HOLY in teaching. FACT- We are all humans and we have flaws. Each of us come with different life experiences and baggages. You are gonna have a tough time adapting if you think everyone is gonna be super nice to you. REMEDY - Everyone is in need of appreciation for their hard work. Go out of your comfort zone on random days to shower them with small gifts. Since all of you are on the same boat isnt it? We need each others support to move on. ADVICE - Just be who you are. Isnt it hard to always live like someone else? That sounds scary to me. *RESPECT goes out to all the TEACHERS out there. Remember to be an EDUCATOR. Dont allow the system to transform you into an ADMINSTRATOR.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:22:28 +0000
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