I was on the train to have dinner with a friend. On my way to AMK hub, I overheard two girls standing and talking about how their teachers go clubbing. One of their teachers continues to club today and the other clubbed and met some of his students. One no longer clubbed since she is now married with children.
I sat thinking about this and wondered if my students will think it is cool for me to club. But these girls are underage and I really wonder why the teachers even talk to them about clubbing. What is happening these days to teachers.
I heard of a trainee teacher my friend supervised. This trainee came late to school. Sometimes as late as 10am. Her only excuse was she overslept. She does that at least twice a month. My friend was always so compassionate and thought perhaps she was getting over her late mother. It was only when I told her that I heard from this trainee's good friend that she was late because she was too drunk to get up on time for work. Thank God, the trainee was fired and she had to pay back all the money she owed the institution.
Teachers are no saints. That I know. But I sure won't want my teachers not to even be a good role model. Can we not demand that teachers be role model? We cannot. We have to set examples.
Of course there are those of us teachers who are mean, who for no reason like to yell at the top of our lungs so we get them clear once in a blue moon. We do occasionally decide to be nice and on these rare occasions we can even smile and be happy.
Students though, don't realize that they can make teachers very difficult people. And teachers have to exercise options to react or not to react to the idiosyncrancies of some very interesting characters in the school. My new school is colourful. Most of them are challenging. It is not the foreign students that are reacting to the environment. Some are very lazy. But many are hardworking and working really hard trying to fit into the new system. I feel for my new foreign students. Many are very tolerant to the super incredulous demands made by our local students. But not all the local students are bad. There are many who came because they were fed up with the local school system. They thought they have like minded people and to their surprise, there are those who came to the school because no one else wants them.
Today my colleague has to deal with one that repeatedly challenged her. She asked me what she should do. I gave my two cents worth and told her not to scold. You see, these students have been scolded by so many teachers. At least once a day or more by different teachers is a terrible thing for the child. She sent the boy down to talk to her and I walked into the area where he was seated to see if I got the right guy. He was the right person I was thinking of. I met him outside school on my first day. He was really different. And he is trouble all put together. I shall ask her how the talk with him went. Apparently the boy's father begged the school to take him in because there was nowhere else he could go. Such is the heart of the dad.
In my new school, everyday is never dull. I am still learning and my learning curve has bent backwards.
