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performance review
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performance review |
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kaile
since 2000-02-06
Posts 5146singapore 
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Oh, I have always had a soft spot for teacher dramas. You know, those like "Dead Poets' Society" in which the teachers melted the frost within their students with their infectious spirit and fervently cajoled them to embrace life. Whenever anyone asked me my rationale to go into teaching, I typically replied, "well, I hope to make a difference". The thing is, I wasn't revealing the whole truth. I knew that I could make a difference. So, I arrived at teaching and the first assignment I got my students to do was to set up a blog and pen a post on "what do you want to do with your life". A profound question for boisterous teenagers, there. One even named his blog, "weilianghatesgp", gp standing for my subject. I dismissed all this resistance with a grin. They would come to realise the urgency of my cause. Fast forward one year and what have I been doing these days? No more showing of movie snippets, in which I could guide my students in order to feel things for themselves. The poignancy of love lost in Before Sunset, the hilarity of certain parts of Bowling for Columbine, the map-cap delight of the cinematography in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. All distant memories as I prep my students for one mind-numbing comprehension passage after another. "Children, highlight this connector after me. The author is switching his direction of argument," even some of my kids can now predict my instructions. Where has my idealism gone? Yet, I know that passion is over-rated. What good is it if my students can't pass the national examinations at the end of two years? And pass they must, because a good grade boosts their university entry score and a good score opens doors of opportunities for prized courses and a prized course allegedly leads to a better life and... If I can't enthuse people, I will at least be responsible. and i will hold the fort and battle with my comprehension passages. Do I regret teaching? you may ask. Nay-as I once revealed to one class in a rather personable manner since that passage about an increased degree of choice allowed me to transmit some insights about life-one can only make the best-informed decision he can and hence, shouldn't carry emotional burden around with him. "Life is too short for unhappiness!" I extolled, feeling a bit awkward since my emotive response contradicted with the mechanical nature of text deconstruction. Haha. The other day, I came across a student's blog, in which he religiously reproduced that statement and attributed it as a quote to me. Apparently, someone remembers! Like how I did when my own English teacher wrote me that line all those years ago when he confessed how he had gone through a divorce. And this student aspires to be a teacher. Perhaps, he will one day relate this line to his own students. Perhaps, my presence serves a purpose, albeit not the one which I had intended. |
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| © Copyright 2008 heng kaile - All Rights Reserved | |||
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beautyincalvary Member
since 2006-07-13
Posts 98 |
This is nice and sweet. There are some typos - make sure you review it completely. "Haha" weakens it. |
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kaile
since 2000-02-06
Posts 5146singapore |
thanks for the feedback. I thought this was error-free. argh. let me review this more critically again. with regard to haha, yup one of my weaknesses. should force myself not to use it anymore. |
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Gaelynsgirl Member
since 2008-07-18
Posts 175Ont. Canada |
Hi Kaile, You are writing here about one of my greatest passions - the teacher-student relationship. I have taught art since 1980 and it was very troubling to have students come to me at the age of eight, with their natural curiosity and creativity stifled. Whatever else you teach them, fortify this! Never stop asking questions and always feed your curiosity. When you ask them questions, their minds enter answer mode, conscious or not. And you as their teacher should honour every answer, not as to whether it is right or wrong but for the courage it took to give that answer in front of their peers. If it is the wrong answer, reform the question so that it leads them in the right direction. When a student finds the answer for themselves, they will remember it. Good grades will follow as night follows day. I will post a poem written to address this topic some years ago. I will post it under the open poetry forum. May you always be a teacher who cares! Lynda |
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fractal007 Senior Member
since 2000-06-01
Posts 1958 |
This was really good. I like that you've allowed yourself to "come down" a little but you haven't just given up on life and become bitter and cynical. I'm glad there are people out there like you, who can withstand the harshness of the world. In my own experience education is something you, as a student, have to want for it to be an enjoyable experience. To be sure, I know next to nothing about education as a subject of its own right, but I shouldn't be surprised if the difficulty one has in changing people other than one's self also occurs in the educational world. |
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kaile
since 2000-02-06
Posts 5146singapore |
Lynda, thanks for your thoughts. a very good reminder, because ancedotal evidence suggests that Asian teachers tend to be rather strict and critical. I will remember how students compel themselves to be brave to answer my questions. Thanks Kevin for saying that I can withstand the harshness of the world. It rather comforted me, since that very question has been weighing in on my mind recently. |
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fractal007 Senior Member
since 2000-06-01
Posts 1958 |
Ironically, Kaile, it is the subject of dealing with the harshness of the world and yet preserving one's creativity and happiness that drove the "aphorisms" piece you commented on. Thanks, btw. I'll have to write a more detailed response to your comments on it. Life's short. Think hard! |
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kaile
since 2000-02-06
Posts 5146singapore |
Kevin, I am flattered! do enlighten me with your explanation. i will be intrigued  |
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