Sunday, January 27, 2008
Many people come to me and say that I am rich. Am I really rich? Well, let me put things into perspective for the general public...
In teaching, there is no OT pay. In teaching, we earn a miserable sum for the amount of work we do in school then at home. When you compare what we are getting to the outside world, it's not worth the money! It's never worth the money!
As a mathematics person, let me count the cost for you. An average civil servant draws home $3000 or so. Some may be more due to their better grades in school previously. Maximum, I can cap it is about $5000. In having purely tuition for the hours that I am putting in, say 11 hours a day for 5 days (1 hour for lunch supposedly but many a times, it is only 15minutes). On saturdays, I usually put in 8am-5pm, which is 7hours (1 hour for meal). Total, I work 62 hours a week. In 4 weeks, I work 248 hours. If I base my tuition hours based on that, say $40 (which is very low), it would come up to $9920 in cold hard cash!!! $$$$ Kar-ching!
This is how much money I am losing as a civil servant, in the teaching profession! That amounts to about $5000 a month! Am I rich? No way am I rich in financial terms, especially in Singapore. Then why teach?
Here is why I teach: I have been a naughty student. I have been a student who likes sports and girls more than books. I was a boy who disturbed my teachers. I was a boy who slept in class. I was a boy with gangster friend. I did not smoke nor fight (Thank God for His protection, else I might have)! I found that there is meaning to life, much more than all these things. I found a motive to live, to study - Jesus! I am not apologetic about it.
In going through this journey as a christian, I realised it was God's call to go into the teaching world. To spread His love, His good news. To help the younger generation see that they can make meaning to their lives. That what the world tells them may not always be the truth. There is hope for the hopeless. There is grace for the bad. There are chances to suceed if only they try! Many many people, students are lost...! They need to find the reason why they are studying, not condemned by teachers who scold them and whack them when expectations are not met.
Do not get me wrong. Students must be disciplined. Students must also be nurtured and spoken to positively, not out of trying to inflate their ego and flatter them. It is to help them see things about themselves which they are unable to.
When students change and become better, they are the greatest reward to our lives as teachers. When they do well, it is the reward. Not so much that they remember you but when they do, it touches our hearts! It's these things that makes teaching a rich and rewarding career. There will be heartaches. There will be times that students do not see the light but it is ok! We teachers must never lost sight or passion of the richness of life! To God be the glory!
What Kind of Girl Will You Fall For? | |
 | You will fall for the cutie. You like girls with a personality. She's got to have a nice smile and a sense of humor. Although she doesn't have to be a model, she has to be that girl-next-door. |
| Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com | |
Thanks to all the blogs i referred to (countless) for html code help :) (esp. cyn' and sixseven)
Adobe Photoshop Elements for supernatural abilities
