Five Weeks Teacher

I was once a teacher for five weeks during one of my university's long semester break. I had to take over a standard five class because their teacher was on maternity leave. That school happened to be my primary school and also my mother's, a small sub-urban school where each standard only has one class then. But during my stint as the replacement teacher, the school's much bigger with a new three storey block. I was the first student to score 5A's in Penilaian Examination in the school history. So can anyone imagine the welcome I get on my first day as a teacher?



The headmistress at that time was transferred to the school after I've left the school. She knew me by reputation and also because my younger brothers were also schooling there. On my first day, she introduces me during assembly, singing praises until I don't know where I can hide my face. The first to get 5As, the first to go to a boarding school and now studying in a reputable local university, everyone must follow her example, blablabla... Aiyyooo... so 'segan' lah.



Some of the teachers who taught me years ago also have to call me teacher. It feels funny in the beginning. The first time I teach in class with about 40 rowdy students, they told me I speak too softly. But after several days practising my vocal chords at high decibel, I can compete with the teacher teaching next door and the pupils voices with no problem. Can you imagine when you're trying to teach and the class next door is having a read aloud session. The teacher reads a line and the pupils follow all at once.



Besides being the class teacher for standard five, I also have to teach other classes. I still remember a standard one pupil where I teach Art has a case of hero worship towards me. She always offers to carry my books to the teacher's room or to my other classes. Though I really appreciate her gesture, I don't have the heart to let such a little girl to carry that much weight. She looks so dejected when I decline that I have to let her carry something.



I was also lucky because my 5 weeks as a replacement teacher includes teacher's day so I received many handmade teacher's day cards, flowers and notes from my pupils. I still keep some of them in a shoe box somewhere. And one very proud moment was when I became one of the teachers accompanying the pupils to a choir competition and our school got first place. There's no description of how proud I felt when asking them to line up to get back to the school bus and all the other teachers from other schools are looking at the whole winning group.



Those five weeks teach me a lot about teaching profession. The teacher's job did not end after school hour ends. There are many preparations to do and they have to supervise the co-curriculum activities. I have to do a lot of preparation too considering I don't have any teaching experience and was not trained as a teacher. When I was a pupil in primary school, there's some replacement teacher who didn't do anything but tells the class to do their own work. And I didn't intend to be that kind of replacement teacher. All in all, its a really worth while experience to have.



HAPPY TEACHERS DAY!