Life as a Temporary Teacher

Life as a Temporary Teacher

After spending money for whole last December, I realized my pocket had nearly gone dry, So I decided to look for a job. The first interview with the Owner of Fuho, Sony retailer and distributer was not very successful. The reason might be I have no experience in dealing with electronic products. After the unsuccessful event, I was grumbling and complaining here and there, this and that. Eventually I got a job out of it. Hehe!

My dad couldn’t stand my grumbling so he ask me to work as a temporary teacher with him in his school. Without much choice for work in addition to depleting cash, I decided to take up the job.

The Environment

SJK Chung Hua Bako is located on a hillside, which is acknowledged having the risk of landslide. It only has 4 small buildings built on a land about the size of Keith’s house.

In the middle of a hill.

Below the school is a river. It landslide ever occur, everyone in the school compound will be buried and rushed into the river.

The place for assembly is here

Every morning, we have to climb up steps to the school; the steps are slippery on rainy days.

Teachers’ transport have to park below the hill.

There is a badminton court, actually the only open space for PJ located between the teachers’ car park and the school.
Besides trees and grass, there are more trees and grasses behind the school.

Dangerous area, landslide can happen any moment.

Higher hill.

One of the thing and maybe one of the very few things I like or in more precisely tolerable is the toilet. It’s probably the cleanest government school toilet in Kuching.

These toilets are the very few that you won’t find any organic fertilizer around or in it. The water tank beside the toilet collects rain water and then a pump will pump the water into the toilet water tank. Notice the bricks in the toilet? I don’t know who designed the toilet, building it so high up that you’ll need bricks to climb up. It’s still ok but then they build the roof so low that even at my height, my head can reach the roof when I’m standing in the toilet. The wall is only until the height of the door. One of my colleagues ever jokes about it saying whether we should greet other teacher when we meet in the toilet.

There is a reason why the toilet are so clean, look below

And that was taken in January, now there’re only 16 left!

Teaching

Well, it is not at all easy to teach a class with 3-4 persons, pupils especially teaching monkey-like pupils.

A combined art class of primary 3 & primary 4.

Sometimes I really wondered if they accidentally swapped their child with monkeys’ That’s why punishment should not be abolished. Even punishing pupils, I have to think of new and creative ones. Look below.
That’s my famous one leg standing punishment. With two hands busy holding his head and leg, his hands can no longer be itchy. Standing on one foot need a lot of concentration on balancing, so he’ll be busy balancing himself and forget about talking, yelling and singing in class.

All in all I’m not satisfy with their academic result, some of them can’t recognize alphabets even though there are already in primary 3. Half of the students (2 out of 4) in primary 3 can't even write their own full name properly!

Art class

There are very very weak in every subject. Don’t know why.

BM, probably the most writing ever occur in their childhood.

I once heard Prof. Anatoli telling us, “I’m sorry to say but you guyz are juzz verry verry veakk. If you want tto do inggineering, you muzz praktizz, praktizz and praktizz. Theris no other way!” We are weak in Physics alraight, but the rural pupils can’t even memorize multiplication table of 2. I had to admit that we use less brain then the Angmoes.

Free Period

Free period means the period when a teacher doesn’t have class. Teachers are required to do teaching planning, teaching preparation and reading materials that will aid their teaching.

I do teaching planning too alright, nothing difficult. It’s very boring because you repeat the same thing all over again when you write teaching planning, the only different is the title.

Talking about teaching preparation, nothing too difficult too, with my BM standard, I don’t need to do much preparation on primary 3 BM. So it’s only art left.

The second week of the school, I had already teach them how to make spaceships can fight with it. I taught them how to make parachutes on the following week. However, only pupils from primary 5 were able to make a working parachute. As for primary 3 & 4, their parachute just won’t open.

Some time I have to make a sample to show them how to color properly.
Coloring is something I did not do since primary 4..

Have to recall back to some 10 years ago..

If you’re done with your teaching work, you can do your own work. We have a clerk that always late for work and go home before office hour ends. That particular person taught me that you can online whenever you are free, play your music with your phone to show off your phone [N70 only bah, show off for what?]. One of the teacher even worst, whenever I walk passes his class, I seldom see him teaching, and he is always drowsy. Heard that he even sleep in classes!
It’s kinda fun when you found out your colleague was once your teacher. The best part is when she doesn’t mind when you tell her you’re not listening in her class all this while.

The only pathway to exit. I guess I’m the only staff who take photos, which most of them are pointless.

Astro that never been used..

If you’re really tired, you can have a nap on your table. I did it before other teachers dare to do so.

Besides having naps, I did a little reading too, Admiral Zheng He’s voyage.

Our perfume, each teacher must have one of these. Every teacher uses different brand, this is mine. I can tell you truly, mosquitoes in Bako are really “Bo Kek Ki” to you. Without this, you’ll be bitten until your mom couldn't recognize you. Don't believe? Look below.

A 6 cm mosquitoe!

After teaching there for two months, I found out most of the staff there are quite friendly, especially my former teacher, present colleague, past secondary and primary school senior, Mdm Phang.

Although I’m not really her junior cause we’re like nine years apart.. I don’t’ really face problem with pupils too as they are quite discipline under canning system.

No matter how good or how bad the situation is, time still goes on. Next week will be my last week teaching there, I have to pack up and prepare for my new semester. It’ll be fun and I’ll be ready for it.

Though I felt a bit sad but feeling more happy cause finally I’m leaving this mosquito heaven towards my career goal.

ll

Credits:

Thanks to my dad for leaving a post for me,

thanks to Mr. Ho who gave me an orange during Chines New Year,

thanks to Ms. Siaw for giving me a lift,

thanks to Ms. Liu who lend me her teaching planner,

thanks to Mr. Hu for inviting me for breakfast during the first day of my work although I have already eaten,

thanks to Ustazah Noraita who give me advise on BM and art teaching and the clerk,

Ms. Sharifah who gave me advise to use the water tank to wash my eating utensils when the water tap inside the office is not working. Although I had washed it with the other water tap outside the office.

and last but not the least, thanks to Mdm Phang for giving me advises all this while. Was my teacher, going to be "once my colleague".

I should not forget Aldrin too, for accompanying me for lunch all this while.
If really everything can be this smooth I’ll be very very grateful. However, sometimes we really face troubles in our life. This trouble thing is really something I can’t actually solve it by myself. This is when P.U.S.H. comes to work. Pray Until Something Happen. Many times God wanted us to overcome these obstacles so we can be stronger. If God want to put obstacle in my life, let it be. I’ll be stronger after that. I believe He will bring me through. The most important is to trust in Him.