Outrage!

At school, pupils are scared of me. Well, maybe not only at school. Even other people are scared of me. Ahahahahaha I may look very furious but actually I am very friendly once you know me well. As they say, don't judge a book by its cover! :)

However, today I exploded in the classroom. I don't know what happened but I just did. It all started when the kids starting to report every time their peers do something. You know, kids. They report every little little thing.

'Miss Koh, Siti said I am stupid.'

'Miss Koh, Adam mocked me.'

'Miss Koh, Qholis took 10 cent from me.'

'Miss Koh, Imran stick out his tongue.'

'Miss Koh, Fais touched my book.'

Urghhhhh.. it's tiring to hear all that every day, every second of my lesson! Why? Because it always interrupts the flow of my lesson! Ahahahaha then they started making planes out of papers. I do not allow it in the classroom because it disturbs the other pupils. Usually I just had to warn them once or twice but today after so many times warning over and over again, I just exploded. I took the paper plane, I tore the paper into pieces and threw it on the kids' tables. I told them to gather all the pieces and threw it in the bin. They were shaking. Then I realized how terrible I was. I became a monster in front of the kids. I lost my temper. Just because of that little paper planes. I shouldn't have. :(

Honestly, I don't know how long can I stay in the teaching profession. Especially when it comes to teaching kids. I'm not a patient person. I got upset easily (and forget about being angry very easily as well). The thing is, I really love them and I want them to learn well. I mean, why would I be upset if I don't care whether they are learning or not? I can just let them do what they want, right? But because I love them, I care for them. Sigh.. I need to either change my clients (to adult learners) or change my profession right away. Ohh sweet Lord, help me to be more patient! 

5 Humble Advice For Teachers

1) Talkative with limitation
Teachers are naturally talkative. They talk a lot. Maybe because they are used to be the one who always talks so they can't stop. They talk whenever they are given the chance. Well, it's good. I mean they get to express themselves well. They get to express their ideas well. They get to brainstorm ideas well. But there should always be a limit. You shouldn't talk when you're attending a meeting. You shouldn't talk when you're attending an assembly. I mean, you yourself do not like it when your kids start talking in your class. So why do you do it?

2) Show a good example
Children learn from what they see. If you swear in the class, then expect your students to swear too. If you look messy when you go to school, then expect your students to look messy too. If you talk while attending the school assembly, then expect your students to talk in the class too. Most importantly, if you are not standing straight while singing the National Anthem, then expect your students to disrespect you too. See, since I was a kid, I was taught to stand up straight while singing the National Anthem. Up until now, I feel very much guilty if I do not stand straight if I hear the National Anthem played - even if it is played on the radio. To be honest, I don't like my government but I DON'T HAVE TO LOVE MY GOVERNMENT TO LOVE MY COUNTRY. Those two are totally different. Looking at today's generation; where the National Anthem does not mean anything for them, I feel sad. Is it the fault of our teachers?

3) Be ready to fork out your money
This is a bit difficult for some teachers. Well, it is well understood. I mean, the salary was supposed to be the payment of your hard work. You spent an average of 8 hours in the school per day from Monday to Friday (sometimes even on Saturday and Sunday), you spent your night preparing lesson plans and teaching aids for the next day, not to mention when it came to programs that need to be conducted in the school (Parent-Teacher meeting, sports day, canteen day, English month, Bahasa month, Language Camp, Rancangan Integrasi Murid Untuk Perpaduan, Gotong Royong, examinations, monthly test, and th list goes on). You're tired. Physically. Mentally. Still you have to use your own money to prepare almost everything. Even A4 papers for worksheets printing are on you. What can we say, teachers, they sacrifice a lot. Time, family, money, et cetera. Even the Prime Minister didn't sacrifice that much. Oops.

4) Be knowledgeable
Yes, you're an English teacher but that doesn't mean you should only know about English. Children expect you to know everything. When a student ask you a science-related question, you don't brush him off by asking him to ask a Science teacher. If you don't know, search for the answer and get back to him. If you do, that'll be even better. So read up!

5) Be open-minded
Children do not come from the same family background. Every single child has different background. There are Malays, Chinese, Indian, aborigines, Sabahan, Sarawakian, rich, average, poor,good proficiency level, weak proficiency level, rural areas, city areas, Muslims, Christians, Buddhist, Hindus, so many differences. So, be open. Learn their cultures. Learn their abilities. Learn their learning styles. Learn about them.

Now, I am not perfect too. I make mistakes. But let us together brings out the best in each other and try to shape a better generation! Hoyeahhhh!!