A tiny blip...

it's been a while since i blogged... work. it has taken a lot out of me: time, energy, sometimes even zest in life.

i come back, and all i want to do is to slouch onto my couch and not do anything.

having said that, it's not all that bad. i still have time to play a little badminton (helps that some of my students like playing badminton too... so my excuse for playing is that i'm building rapport with my students...)

the best teacher who has ever taught me told me that teaching is more than a career. it is a calling. i now know what he means. educating students, truly educating them, is not just physically tiring, but emotionally draining too. as if that is not challenging enough, there are so many things that distract one from the actual task of educating one's students: admin work, office politics, senseless meetings, parents, unappreciative students etc. some times, all these other peripheral things add up to disillusion teachers, teachers who just want to teach, but end up doing accounts, filing papers, writing proposals that won't ever see the light of day.

and at the end of the day, very often, teachers' efforts are not recognised. teachers just don't get the respect that we ought to get, not from students, not from parents, not from management. the demands keep increasing, but the recognition doesn't. and it's not just recognising our efforts through pay increases (though that would be most welcome...) but also through other ways. softer ways. perhaps by letting us concentrate on what we really want to do and do best, i.e. teach and educate.

it is no wonder then that so many teachers end up losing the passion to teach. and hence we produce students who do well in exams but have little zest for life.

oh well...

in other news, they now have Adrian Pang as James to attempt to undo the damage that Gurmit Singh did as Phua Chu Kang. but i don't think Parental Guidance will do as well as Phua Chu Kang. precisely because more people can associate with PCK than with James.

right. that's all i have to say for now. not sure when i would be back. but if you are still checking in on this blog, thanks!

:)