When I was a kid, my mom always asked me about my ambition and my answer would always be the same, to be a medical doctor. Ambition is something we really want to have or do but I realized that when I answered my mom’s question, it was more to just answering in order to make her feel glad. It was not the thing I really want to do neither the thing I really want to have.
I had been in confusion for 19 years, living and studying to pass a series of examination with hope to fulfill my mom’s expectation, without discovering my true desire. After I finished my STPM, I worked as a part time teacher in a private kindergarten where majority of the children there were Chinese and Indian. I then began to learn the art of teaching and the beauty of being an educationist. Frankly speaking, I’ve never imagined myself as a teacher and when I was there, standing in front of those adorable children, something inside me began to grow. A genuine ambition started to breed. I then confronted my mom, telling her that I cannot be the gold she wanted to see. From that moment on, I knew that her vision of me with a stethoscope began to fade. She was disappointed yet I knew she understood me well.
Dealing with five-year-old children in the kindergarten really tested me on my patience. I was teaching all subjects from Mathematics, English, Science and many more and I have to admit that it was not an easy job and not all people have credentials for this job. Some of my students were brainy, probably because their parents have taught them the basic knowledge at home while some came with empty-minded. Some of them did not understand a single word in English and I had to use gestures, images and graphics to show them the meaning of certain words. I was frustrated when one of my students could not even read a page from Peter and Jane book even after repeating the same page for a week. This was when, I realized what my teachers felt when their students could not catch up things that had been taught. However, I knew that I shall not give up and quit.
I’ve learnt many things throughout my experience, working as a teacher. I had to resign after working at the Urbantot’s Kindergarten for three months in order to further my study in this teaching field. A week after my resignation, Lakhvinder’s mother called me and told that her son refused to go to school because I was no longer there.I coaxed him by promising that I’ll give him a visit one day. It was a nice feeling to be remembered by my students and at that time, I felt the satisfaction of being a teacher.
Working there for three months might be a very short period yet it leads me to the path which I’ve decided to take for probably the rest of my life. It has wiped away the confusion in me, providing me with a clear vision of my future and ambition. Three months but it leaves a deep permanent experience worth more than gold.
