In the previous incarnation of my blog, I wrote a list of what makes me “hate” teaching. The quotation marks are there because, seeing that I have been here for 6 years, I guess I don’t really “hate” it all that much.
I realise that post was a little controversial – I’ve seen reactions posts on other blogs and forums castigating me for being so negative and claiming that I must be a horrid teacher since I clearly hate my job. I also read a post suggesting that I failed to consider possible solutions or was looking at things the wrong way. I never replied or responded because these people were clearly operating under limited information plus I didn’t really want to prolong the conversation. It was, at the end of the day, vague ranting and reflections on my part.
Anyway, the post is gone which is quite sad because the comments I received on it were many times better than the actual post. Unfortunately, my backup of my posts got corrupted somehow and it disappeared. Maybe the wayback machine has it but the wayback machine is one of the websites banned by MOE*.
There was a recent news article on how more than 3000 new teachers have been recruited by MOE. I hope a number of them are EL teachers because while there has been a huge influx of maths and science teachers into my school, we are still struggling with too few EL teachers. I also hope these new teachers know what they are in for. MOE says they were “rigorous in its selection, ‘ensuring that only those with the passion, aptitude and commitment’ are chosen”.
In my experience, they determined my passion, aptitude and commitment through a 5 minute interview, which if you think about it must be a pretty good gauge seeing that I am still happily employed as a teacher. Frankly, I am pretty sure that most of these new teachers do believe that they have the passion, aptitude and commitment. I just think that for many of them, this belief hinges on an overly rose-tinted view of the profession.
Watch MOE’s advertisements and you would think that teaching involves cherubic children who just need your love and concern to bloom into great students and good people. You get to do fun and innovative activities that will engage these kids and they would love you for it. You come with lofty ideals to mould and to educate the next generation.
But you don’t see the children who swear at you, who throw chairs at you, who ask you if you want to fight. You don’t see the lack of a lunch break or the banality of canteen food. You don’t see the pressure of getting results from children who are not helping themselves. You don’t see the pain and despair of trying to help children from broken homes or abusive backgrounds. You don’t see how difficult it is to balance a child’s desires and needs with the expectations of their parents. You don’t see the struggle to teach 40 students in a class yet treat them all as individuals. You don’t see the stress that comes from knowing that when you make a mistake, you affect an actual person.
And they come into schools and they are horrified by the reality. Some adjust, cope and learn to enjoy what teaching has to offer. Others crumble in the face of hokkien curses, flying furniture and demanding management, wondering how on earth they thought this would be their dream job. But they are bonded for 3 years, and for 2 years at the school they start out in and suddenly, teaching is a prison. They don’t soar but are dragged down by reality.
All jobs are coated with a layer of romantic myth. Teaching isn’t the only one but sometimes I feel that its layer is a very thick one. One that is constantly being painted over by people who have never been a teacher. Layer 1: Long holidays! Layer 2: Short work days! Layer 3: Iron rice bowl!
I just feel very sorry for the young teachers I see sobbing in the staffroom or desperately working out how to pay off their bond.
* Speaking of banning websites, I have to teach sex education tomorrow so I thought I would google some common sex myths subscribed by teenagers so I could discuss them in class. Bad idea. Guess I will need to do it at home.
thanks for this wonderful post. it speaks of the reality in a balanced manner.
funny how these still happens despite ESE. Wonder if that programme needs some modification.
Frankly, I salute and applaud all teachers.
Being a teacher, is much more then teaching. Making lesson plans, admin work, dealing with student’s problems, planning for school events etc. All these are not inclusive of all the markings they have to do.
Many times, the only reason why they are still there are students/passion.
kudos to you!
As a high school student myself, I feel really grateful to the good teachers I’ve had. Especially already seeing how troublesome, belligerent, or even – I do not exaggerate – dangerous students can be even in what would be classed as a top school (in terms of academics as well as students’ backgrounds). Thank you very much for sharing a little on how much goes into our education!
(For sex education content, I suppose you’ve checked out Scarleteen.com? I find it very useful and informative, especially because of the non-information or gaps in information in our sex ed curriculum. It’s a great site, if you’re not already familiar with it. :D)
Thanks for the link. Will try it when I get home because I suspect it’s probably banned in school. :D
Oh btw, I know it’s probably too late, but wrt to what you wrote:
I can’t speak for myself, but from the people around me – not quite a myth, simply a lot of ignorance about female sexuality. A friend of mine – very well-read, very educated in science, and (as with most teenage guys) having a thoroughly salacious mind – asked what female arousal and vaginal fluids are. Someone else, a religious, conservative, girl, was asking if it’s appropriate for girls to feel sexual desire. So I think there’s a lack of knowledge on this subject. And whether masturbation is natural/acceptable, that’s something else that gets discussed with uncertainty and giggles in teenage circles. But I don’t know how much of this is known by teachers, just thought this would give you some insight.
(The internet is a great leveller. Can’t imagine telling this to an adult, face-to-face; but on the internet, fangirls all, bloggers all, y’know? :x)
i love your posts! stop living in denial, ppl! i’ve learnt to live with the reality. ive made a choice to teach, i’ll push on.
I love your posts. I am one of the 3000 teachers that is being employed by MOE during the recent massive recruitment drive. Initially, yes, I was one of those new teachers who ended up sobbing and getting depressed because of the belligerent classes. Nonetheless, this industry has made me a stronger person. I told myself that I had to change and adapt to the students. One thing for sure, students today have evolved to be more inattentive and outspoken and initially it was a huge challenge for me to communicate. But today, I am always looking forward to debate, joke and interact with my students. My advice to future teachers and new ones like me is…..
1)Stop having romanticised expectations about teaching. Deal and adapt to reality. Only then, do one find satisfaction.
2) Forgive and don’t forget. (I forgive but I do not forget…..in case the same student wants to argue with me…these past incidents are important evidences to cross examine them….hahahahah)
3)You need to have rapport with these kids and at the same time be firm. (i.e. stick to your rules and if need be, be bitchy.)
4)Most importantly, after establishing solid rapport, be dramatic! Being dramatic in class certainly helps for me……..
Thanks for the comment.
What doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger I guess. :D
I am a good teacher and my kids get good marks on standardized tests, but I hate teaching. Everyday I hope I’ll be fired. My husband is a teacher too, and he doesn’t understand because he loves what he’s doing. I want out so badly, but I have no job prospects or ideas. I feel your pain.
I know that I am a good teacher. But I’m pretty sure that I hate it. I have good scores also. I’m also looking at my options. Thank you for posting this. I think people think good teachers are only teachers who are liked by all students and Parents, give lots of A’s, and who love all if their students. I want to challenge my students, give very few get As (but very few fail), not all of my students like me, nor do I always like them. This is still a jOb. I’m tired of working my butt off, students who do not care, students who feel entitled, and people who want to blame me.
Fuck teaching. I’m a fairly new teacher, and I refuse to get used to how exhausted I feel every single night. I feel like I’m in a prison. The kids don’t care. They have so many issues that it’s close to impossible to get them to think about topics other than their personal lives. I can’t be a counselor and an educator at once. I’m done taking piles of work home with me and stressing out over completing task after monotonous task of paperwork for the state. This entire field is complete bullshit. I need to find a way out before the end of the year, but I’m so fucking tired and overwhelmed all the time that I hope to be laid off so I can collect unemployment for a few months while I recuperate enough to job hunt again. This job is abuse.
Kids are getting worse and worse. Some are dumb as stumps. Some are wonderful hard workers. They’re usually not American. The American kids…… I’ll be kind….are the most disrespectful.
Gary