Deja Vu

I'm backing teaching at a secondary school.

Unlike teaching in a government school, I am teaching in a mission school (government-aided) this time.

There are some differences in the way the school is run. While the government school lacked certain autonomy in school related matters, the aided school lacked funds (as it depended mostly on the voluntary donations and through fund raising). But one thing remained constant - the learning attitudes of students.

The school isn't a top school - top school have kids with different learning attitudes: extremely motivated or entirely indifferent - and expectedly, most of them lacked motivation.

Discipline is quite an issue at the school. Most of the better classes are rather well behaved but it just takes the few rotten apples to spoil the whole crate. One thing that I am still persplexed about - why do teachers not desist firmly when they spot indiscipline? To me, teachers need to be united against these trouble makers and make life unbearable for them.

However, I don't see that happening. Disciplining, if it takes place, are solitary efforts and it is entirely enervating for me. Why am I fighting a solitary battle against a bunch of monkeys and the other teachers doing the same when we should simply join forces and make the monkey's life sheer purgatory?

One other thing that amuses me - most teachers speak to the class through a portable mic. This is so weird. And in class, they fight noise with noise. Then they told me that I am lucky to have an inbuilt loud speaker in me. I don't have a loud speaker in me. I could be loud but I prefer to desist differently. I use silence and a handsign (meaning stop in hand traffic signals) to get the class to quieten down and give me their attention. Some monkeys, being monkeys, cannot keep still but I do get some semblence of reasonable silence where I can get my lessons going. By and large, a number of girls are well-behaved.

My secondary 4 and secondary 5 classes are extremely nice and well-behaved. Apart from a few fellows with poor learning attitudes - and they are entirely indifferent about it - most are motivated to learn. And the same old trick - I don't understand - has reared its ugly head again. As usual, I corner the child into saying from where the doubts begin. This way, I am able to zero in to the problem. They have also realised that saying "I don't understand everything" cuts no ice with me.

Still, I am enjoying my stint in the school.