The energetic students liven up the covered playground after school. Some of them are playing ball games while some of them chatting with each other. In this clamour of youth, a graceful and elegant lady sitting in front of me smiles at me kindly. She is Sheila Ng, a Chinese teacher at Xing Tan Secondary School.
Sheila has always had a passion for helping others in learning, and choosing teaching as a profession seems fated. She started teaching at the age of ten when she taught her younger siblings Chinese poems and characters. "I enjoy teaching and witnessing students' improvements," she stresses, "I couldn't find a career better than being a secondary teacher." Sheila has been dedicating herself to secondary education for eighteen years.
Teaching jobs are quite mysterious indeed as their responsibilities seem clear, which are teaching and helping students, but the description sounds hollow and vague at the same time. "Actually, the scope of work of a teacher is very wide, wider than your imagination," Sheila explains, "It includes preparing and presenting lessons, maintaining an orderly classroom, developing a clear set of classroom procedures and encouraging students to ask questions. The above are more than our duties during lessons." Without the least hesitation, she continues, "Moreover, offering clear directions, explanations and deadlines is crucial for designing an assignment. After teachers collect the assignment, they have to mark it with transparency and efficiency so a fair grading system is important. Also, explaining the marking scheme to students is vital in present mark-oriented education system as this could help students get a better result in exams." The above explaination provided by Sheila eases our doubts about the responsibilities of teachers. But still, this is not enough to pierce through the veil surrounding this job.
The actual situation of teachers' daily routine seems concealed from the outsiders. What is the truth behind? "Ha! It's not a secret at all!," Sheila laughs then calms down, "In fact, a day at work is another ordinary day. Time passes when we are reviewing lesson plans, preparing lessons and gathering resources. Of course, we have some concerte and solid work to do, grading assignments and recording grades, for instance. For any kinds of intellectually demanding job, encountering administrative work becomes a 'must' in our society. We have to do some paper work such as filling forms, reading and responding to e-mails every day and attending meetings every week." Excluding the part of teaching, a day at work of a teacher is similar to a day at work of an administrative assistant.
Sheila stares at the scenes of covered playground. Sinking in such a jolly atmosphere, she says, "Being a teacher is the greatest blessing given to me by God except the redemption," her eyes glitter in the golden ray of setting sun and she continues with a firm voice, "It's true. The best part of this job is assisting the students to pave the way of life for themselves. Being a teacher, I saw them go astray and guided them back to the right path. It's very satisfying to see students putting effort into study. I think the true duty of a teacher is to applaud the efforts of students." Teachers are the engineers of human soul indeed. They construct our future pillars of society with their lives.
This rewarding career sounds attractive to people who enjoy inter-personal contact. "Good social skills will be an edge when coping with students," Sheila adds. The normal teaching positions in secondary schools require a bachelor degree, a major related to the subject you wish to teach is preferred. Also, having the postgraduate Diploma in Education is mandatory. The pay scale is that of the civil servants in government and government-aided schools.
"Be demanding about work. Be sensitive to feelings" is what Sheila, an experienced teacher wants to say to prospective teachers. "Don't worry whether the students respect you too much because it comes with your passion for teaching. Teaching is a meaningful job. Don't hestitate and realise your dream. "