Quotable Quotes about Teaching...

Why I teach?

Being a teacher is not just about teaching. A teacher is one who shapes, creates and mould lives.
It is about breathing life into the pages of textbooks and weaving magic into them everyday.
It is about inspiring curious young minds and recognising raw talent, challenging them to think beyond mere words.
It is about cultivating the thirst for knowledge that may be found in abundance between the covers of books but which can only be brought to life by a teacher.
Teaching is not one job, its many.
In fact, no other career matches the unique opportunities, challenges and satisfaction you will experience as a teacher.
Being a teacher entails being a role-model to his/her students.
Indeed, teachers play an important role in helping to inculcate in their students, sound moral values and strength of character.
Our students learn through participating in co-curricular activties and engaging in social interactions in school, at home and with their friends.
Teachers, together with parents and the community, are all partners in the process of nurturing the younger generation.

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. - Aristotle

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To a mind of flint, the teacher must be iron, and strike sparks.
To the empty pitcher, the teacher becomes a well.
To the fallow mind, a planter of seeds.
To the cluttered mind, a gardener to weed, shape, and clear a space for growing.

To the lens, the teacher is light, and to the mind of light, a lens.
To the sleeper, the teacher is the wake-up call of birds at sunrise.
To clay, the teacher is potter, sculptor, and trainer in self-shaping.
To the wanderer, the teacher is a knowing guide.

To the developed mind, the teacher is colleague, listener, and friend.
To all, the teacher is a mirror that shows not only the self but the path and its choices, the task and its demands -- the difficulties, the joys.
To all and from all, the teacher is a learner, a person -- and a prism through which the ordinary continuously reveals itself to be miraculous.

Gerald Grow

For all Educators

The future of the world is in my classroom today, a future with the potential for good or bad.... Several future presidents are learning from me today; so are the great writers of the next decades, and so are all the so-called ordinary people who will make the decisions in a democracy. I must never forget these same young people could be the thieves and murderers of the future. Only a teacher? Thank God I have a calling to the greatest profession of all! I must be vigilant every day, lest I lose one fragile opportunity to improve tomorrow.

Thy will be done...

In the end, I didn't get the job. The bad news came last Thursday. And the reason that I was given sounded really crappy to me. The HOD told me that she spotted some syntax and grammatical errors in my lesson plan. Otherwise, everything was great and they would have loved to have me join them.

When I heard this, I was so stunned that I didn't know how to react. I dun think I had that many lines in my lesson plan that would highlight major syntax and grammatical errors, causing incoherence in understanding.

Honestly, they dun have to tell me this but I know that the real reason had to do with qualifications. Having being a civil servant for the last 8 years, I dun need to be a rocket scientist to know the importance of paper qualifications in this field. I asked Godma if they would have rejected me if I had an honours degree from NUS or NTU. She admitted no.

I would seriously have preferred to hear the truth (even if it's rubbing salt on wound). It just felt very demeaning. I think that we live in such a politically correct world that the things we say to be politically correct ends up sounding more demeaning or stupid than the hard truth.

Anyway, I was initially quite disappointed. But after a good night's sleep and doses of heavenly wisdom (plus lovely encouraging sms-es from loved ones), I was alright. It is just not in God's will but I'm sure he will have other exciting things lined up for me.

I'm NOT SORRY that my degree came from SIM and I had to do a part-time degree. I admit that I screwed up my life... But I'm very proud of the fact that I picked myself up and I did something great with my life for the last ten years. My degree is the result of juggling heavy work and study achievements so no one can tell me that it wasn't worth it. I am not going to let a lil disappointment get me down.

Godma was worried for me. We made plans to have tea and do some shopping last Friday. When the news came on Thursday afternoon, she asked me if I was alright. Otherwise, we could postpone tea and shopping. I told her that we will go as planned. It was so rare that I had an afternoon off and I was not going to waste my time licking my wounds at home.

So we had a wonderful tea and shopping on Friday. The tea almost didn't happen cos we couldn't get a cab. When I got to her place at 2 pm, I was ready, she was ready but there was no cabs. We tried to 2.30... nothing. 3 pm... nothing. 3.30... nothing. So we finally had to settle for the $45 maxicab which got us to Plaza Singapura at 4 pm. The best thing... we had a $5 discount and even bumped into Audrey (whom we had tea with).

After tea, we had a fruitful shopping trip where we got all the things we wanted under 2 hours... so efficient. Even her maid, Lilik, was impressed that we managed to get everything we need. That's what happens to two gals who never say die!

The highlight of the shopping trip was me getting Godma up the travelator at Carrefour. When I wheeled her up twice, we went backwards and landed up back at the bottom. So we finally worked out a system that worked. I hooked everything on the wheelchair, while she got her hands ready at the brakes. The min the wheels touch the travelator, she would lock the wheels while I support from behind to make sure it does not roll backwards. It worked!

Now, I am going to plan a Teacher's Day treat for Godma. Let's see if I survive taking her out to the Marina area. Hehee...

I survived my lesson observation! As part of the post-lesson observation review, the senior teacher for GP says I show promise. Now must hope and pray for a miracle to happen. :)

I am finally going to teach a GP class next Wednesday... feeling excited yet nervous. The knowledge that everything is hanging on this is kinda scary. Must prepare my materials well this weekend. Thanks God for the long weekend! :)

This whole entire transfer thing is really the hands of God moving in my life.

I finally got an email arranging for the time of the interview on Thursday, 4 pm. However, I won't be able to make it so I went this morning at 9.30 am.

After meeting the vp, she was very frank and told me that they appreciated the fact that I was very keen and earnest. The only concern was the wide gap from primary school to college. They were willing to give me a chance to prove myself by conducting 1 lesson and I would be assessed from there.

At least it was not an outright no. If I can perform during the lesson observation, I would actually make it!

The interesting thing was the vp apologised to me at the end of it cos my application kinda got lost in the flurry of emails that the school gets daily so the clerk did not contact me. VP was also wondering how come I never came for an interview.

When I went for the Poetry Slam on Tuesday night and met the HOD, Godma did tell her about my transfer and we had a short conversation. When I told her that I was waiting for the office to contact me regarding the appointment, the HOD checked with the VP and I got my email on Wednesday.

If this is not divine intervention, I dunno what is... If I had not gone down on Tuesday, I might not have met the HOD and all these things would not have been set in motion.

While I'm still praying for my miracle, I somehow have a deep sense of peace... like God is in control of everything. When He is in control, what else do I fear. Just do my part well and let Him do the rest.