Hello, I Rock! :D
Thursday, April 10, 2014; 12:43 AM | 0 Comments



This surprised me in the morning when I turned on the lights in the waiting room.
Doodles done by kids who had their names written and then cancelled away (I could still see it though hahaha), in super attention-seeking font size.

It is really in the simplest things we find joy and strength,
and it heartens me to know that to some kids I really do ROCK. :D

The dear girl who wrote this declaration on the wall used to sigh every time she sees me. J used to follow every teacher's sample, and insist in doing things only in her comfort zone. For example, it was a lesson on distortion and we were drawing buildings and dear J insisted on straight buildings and even drew the lines with the help of a ruler. She's stubborn and extremely difficult to convince or talk around (even up till now). I used to be that 'monster teacher' who came into the classroom, hid the teacher's sample so she wouldn't be able to carbon-copy it, turn off the computer so she wouldn't insist on drawing an exact replica of a photograph, or disallow the use of rulers to draw lines, coins to draw circles. First, I must clarify that J's completely capable of drawing straight lines and circles on her own, she's just crazily perfectionistic and beneath that layer, a little lack of confidence. It was a struggle week after week, to make her believe in her ability, to push her to appreciate the imperfections, and to help her to become more confident. That was, what I felt a teacher should do, even if it meant being the nasty Teacher Anne.

J's definitely a lot more confident now. She has her own ideas, enjoys the process and is more relaxed about the imperfections in her works of art. It's always a joy (most of the time) teaching her now, to see how far she has come, how much she has grown.

So... the objective of this post till this point sounds a lot like a "I'm a great teacher!" kind of post, but no, I'm not so in love with myself, in fact I still see many imperfections in my role as a teacher (but that's for some other time or not to be discussed on a blog hahaha). I'd like to bring you to the point of why J loves me so much now. J says "that's because Teacher Anne's fun, she always laughs, even if I do something wrong" whenever she openly declares her love for me. As I reflect on how far J has come, I realised how far I've come as a teacher as well. Every teacher has a set of principles they live by, the way they educate and discipline, the way they intend to 'bring out the best' in their kids. Back then, I handled J according to my principles, I set rules, did what I could to prevent her from behaving the way she did. But I see myself in class now, relaxed, even when at times her perfectionism strikes, and she insist on doing things her way. I would allow it, like when she ridiculously used a new roll of wrapping paper, holding it up, to draw circles on the paper for her background. But when she got tired, or when she figured it wasn't working out, and when she sought me for help, I laughed, told her "I told you" with a grin and showed her how to draw circles freehand. I'd give in at times, to help her a bit here and there (that was a nono for me in the past), but in that I realised it wasn't so much about giving in but acceptance for who the child is. And with that, I was able to teach her instead of impose a rule on her, encourage her instead of push her and laugh with her instead of struggle through the 75 mins class with her.

Accept the child for who she is, before you show her what she can be.
Ahh, teaching. (:


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