Having said that, I agree with Steelwool that it is afterall, the little things done with great love that touch them. I have had trying periods during the course of my teaching career when I undergo self-doubts of my capabilities as a teacher. The education system is occasionally quite unfathomable and in my school, teachers are either ‘busy’ or ‘very busy’. But when my students greet me with so much cheer sometimes, I can only wish I have the personality to respond with similar exuberance and I realise once again, they make the hard work all worthwhile.

A nice post and insightful sharing.

teaching is not for everyone, in the same way that not every job is for anyone. and in the future, should i or any of my colleagues choose to quit, it wouldn’t be matter of hating the job. there can be many factors involved. but when we’re still in the service, we’re contributing what we can.

i qualified that i (only) have a teaching experience of 3 plus years because this what i feel and think at this point of time (therefore a contextualised perspective) and i am distinguishing myself from those who’ve achieved long service awards i.e. i’m not there yet.

i differ from your opinion that most teachers do not connect with their students, or their embittered, or always demoralised. i believe it is the disgruntled ones that make the most noise. the persevering ones who find satisfaction still outweigh in number, they do what they have to do, and make the most out of it. i do not have hard statistics to prove this, perhaps it is just my optimistic perspective, but i do speak from experience and from working very closely with various kinds of teachers.

inspiring the young is a paradox. sometimes, its the little things you do that inspires others. i’ll give teachers more credit to know for themselves whether they’ve taught well or not, whatever “taught well” means to them.

thanks for sharing though.

I had a few friends who taught for longer but ultimately quit the profession. Which I do not think it’s bad because they recognised they can’t give anymore. Worse would be those who lingered on as jaded senior teachers who demoralised students and colleagues alike.

I think it’s fair to recognise that a teacher’s greatest contribution is not just to teach but to connect. I have found this very lacking in most teachers in Singapore. Sometimes, I think the curriculum is too ambitious and the class size is too big.

Most teachers think they have taught well when they have delivered the lessons. It is far from it. It takes more to inspire young minds.

With this, I sincerely wish all teachers a “Happy Teachers Day”.

Cheers