Run Of The Mill (Part 10)
Life as an educator was definitely not easy for Niv. His education was in a top school and he never had any friends from schools of the neighbourhood. He had heard many horror stories of how neighbourhood school students were like and he wondered if he would be able to handle the students. True that he had lived down the road from the school he was posted to for his entire life but suffice to say, the behavior he had seen of some of the students a couple of years back leaves much to be desired.
After receiving his posting, he contacted the school to ask for arrangements for the first day of school but he received no news. With no way to prepare himself, he did what he could do. Read up on the topics and hope like mad that he still remembered how to do his sums. On the first day of school, with still no news about what his duties are, he arrived at school just as the assembly started. Together with another fellow new educator, Weis, they were both introduced to the school.
From the beginning, it was pretty clear that Niv had trouble assimilating into the culture. On his very first day, he mentioned to Weis that he did not like 2 particular educators. Given that it was the first time that Niv and Weis met each other, it was a really bold statement by Niv to make. Weis did not ask why and Niv never told her. Maybe it was the way they carried themselves, the way their body language were speaking was telling in so loud a volume to Niv that he had to avoid them at all cost. Niv does not usually judge people right away but when he reads bad vibes, he is more often than not exceedingly accurate and has never been proven wrong. Horrors of horrors would befall Niv when he realised that the very 2 ladies that he knew he could never work with would turn out to be his mentors. Argggg!
Through his first half year at the school, he had many run-ins with his mentors. They felt that he was not professional. They felt that he was too lazy. They basically felt that he was just not suitable to be an educator. He had problems adjusting to the needs of the education system as some of the methods taught differed from what he had learnt in his tertiary education. Also, when he tried to bring up examples of different cultures, he was accused of trying to cause racial imbalance. He was really frustrated. It seems that whatever methods he tried just did not meet the acceptance of his mentors. He also had problems handling some of the students as he just did not know what to do with them. This could have been due in part to his background where students truly wanted to learn, no matter how they were and they never disobeyed the educators. He was truly at his wits end. He really wanted to carry on as an educator but the students and his mentors made him feel like an outcast, a pariah.
However, he still loved being an educator and had real passion in mathematics. Later on, he had a discussion with another mentor and was told that he will be given his own group of students to handle and that he will be given more autonomy in his methods. Niv was abit apprehensive initially but he decided to put in his effort and make it work this time. The students under his charge were more receptive to his teachings and he had a great time teaching them the finer aspects of mathematics. He loved the group under his charge and was willing to go the extra mile with them to help them achieve their potential.
Alas, he never seemed to pull off the same charisma and atmosphere during his observations and was told that he had not met the criteria. The very criteria that was set for trained educators, something which places Niv at a disadvantage as he had never been trained. To say that he was not meeting the standard was not being fair to him. He was judged per the requirements of a trained educator while he had never been trained. He was only armed with his passion and the methods used on him previously.
Niv felt that there is something fundamentally wrong here. Is it him or is it the school or is it the system? Weis was constantly at the end of Niv's endless rantings and it was a surprise that she endured them while they were seated next to each other in the staff room. Niv was glad that Weis was willing to put up with him and knew then that this is one friend that he will truly cherish.
There were a couple of good episodes during his first 6 months at the school. He had assisted in the parade segment of the national day celebration. He came in when they had already done up the plan but were still working out the kinks. Niv always loved military parades and had taken part in the official National Day Parade in previous years as a Guard of Honor, no less. In terms of parade experience, Niv had plenty and gladly assisted in outlining the structure of the parade. Unbeknownst to many, he volunteered to the person in charge to allow him to structure the parade. He also worked hard at it with the kids under his CCA and really wanted to pull off a parade of some semblance. When the parade went off, everybody was happy. The students who put in the hard work, and the management who felt that it was one of the better parades for some time. An adult leader even mentioned later to Niv that praises were going around for the well-structured manner of the parade segment. Niv just grinned. He knew that nobody would know the effort he placed in but he was glad that the students were at least given the recognition for their effort put in.
The school year soon came to an end and Niv was once again troubled. He had been told that he would be given a second 6 months to prove himself. With Weis leaving for further studies, he will be on his own and he was thinking if he could prove himself this time round. He needed a break and where better than to his favourite country of all time. New Zealand. He had meant to go with Heng but somehow things just did not workout. It kept on dragging until the very end, Niv thought, "Why don't I bring Mum there?"
After receiving his posting, he contacted the school to ask for arrangements for the first day of school but he received no news. With no way to prepare himself, he did what he could do. Read up on the topics and hope like mad that he still remembered how to do his sums. On the first day of school, with still no news about what his duties are, he arrived at school just as the assembly started. Together with another fellow new educator, Weis, they were both introduced to the school.
From the beginning, it was pretty clear that Niv had trouble assimilating into the culture. On his very first day, he mentioned to Weis that he did not like 2 particular educators. Given that it was the first time that Niv and Weis met each other, it was a really bold statement by Niv to make. Weis did not ask why and Niv never told her. Maybe it was the way they carried themselves, the way their body language were speaking was telling in so loud a volume to Niv that he had to avoid them at all cost. Niv does not usually judge people right away but when he reads bad vibes, he is more often than not exceedingly accurate and has never been proven wrong. Horrors of horrors would befall Niv when he realised that the very 2 ladies that he knew he could never work with would turn out to be his mentors. Argggg!
Through his first half year at the school, he had many run-ins with his mentors. They felt that he was not professional. They felt that he was too lazy. They basically felt that he was just not suitable to be an educator. He had problems adjusting to the needs of the education system as some of the methods taught differed from what he had learnt in his tertiary education. Also, when he tried to bring up examples of different cultures, he was accused of trying to cause racial imbalance. He was really frustrated. It seems that whatever methods he tried just did not meet the acceptance of his mentors. He also had problems handling some of the students as he just did not know what to do with them. This could have been due in part to his background where students truly wanted to learn, no matter how they were and they never disobeyed the educators. He was truly at his wits end. He really wanted to carry on as an educator but the students and his mentors made him feel like an outcast, a pariah.
However, he still loved being an educator and had real passion in mathematics. Later on, he had a discussion with another mentor and was told that he will be given his own group of students to handle and that he will be given more autonomy in his methods. Niv was abit apprehensive initially but he decided to put in his effort and make it work this time. The students under his charge were more receptive to his teachings and he had a great time teaching them the finer aspects of mathematics. He loved the group under his charge and was willing to go the extra mile with them to help them achieve their potential.
Alas, he never seemed to pull off the same charisma and atmosphere during his observations and was told that he had not met the criteria. The very criteria that was set for trained educators, something which places Niv at a disadvantage as he had never been trained. To say that he was not meeting the standard was not being fair to him. He was judged per the requirements of a trained educator while he had never been trained. He was only armed with his passion and the methods used on him previously.
Niv felt that there is something fundamentally wrong here. Is it him or is it the school or is it the system? Weis was constantly at the end of Niv's endless rantings and it was a surprise that she endured them while they were seated next to each other in the staff room. Niv was glad that Weis was willing to put up with him and knew then that this is one friend that he will truly cherish.
There were a couple of good episodes during his first 6 months at the school. He had assisted in the parade segment of the national day celebration. He came in when they had already done up the plan but were still working out the kinks. Niv always loved military parades and had taken part in the official National Day Parade in previous years as a Guard of Honor, no less. In terms of parade experience, Niv had plenty and gladly assisted in outlining the structure of the parade. Unbeknownst to many, he volunteered to the person in charge to allow him to structure the parade. He also worked hard at it with the kids under his CCA and really wanted to pull off a parade of some semblance. When the parade went off, everybody was happy. The students who put in the hard work, and the management who felt that it was one of the better parades for some time. An adult leader even mentioned later to Niv that praises were going around for the well-structured manner of the parade segment. Niv just grinned. He knew that nobody would know the effort he placed in but he was glad that the students were at least given the recognition for their effort put in.
The school year soon came to an end and Niv was once again troubled. He had been told that he would be given a second 6 months to prove himself. With Weis leaving for further studies, he will be on his own and he was thinking if he could prove himself this time round. He needed a break and where better than to his favourite country of all time. New Zealand. He had meant to go with Heng but somehow things just did not workout. It kept on dragging until the very end, Niv thought, "Why don't I bring Mum there?"
posted by Prosage at 5:31 pm
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