I have never thought once in my life that I’d decide to be a teacher as one of my career paths. Delivering lesson materials, arranging lesson plans, dealing with children, and being friends with burnouts – some things that later become familiar to me.
However, during my two-year teaching, I realize that despite the unpleasant things, being a teacher has helped me grow up as a person. It has taught me endless values and shifted my perspective as well.
Here are some lessons learned throughout the journey.
Acceptance
As humans, I think it has been our nature to compare one thing to another. We fully understand that comparisons at some point can bring us psychological pain. Nevertheless, we remain to do it anyway. When it comes to teaching life, sometimes teachers can be unaware and make comparisons of their students. It doesn’t mean we don’t care about them, but we’re just unconsciously doing this.
I believe every child was born unique. They have their unique personalities, interests, abilities, needs, and comparing them can be destructive to their academic performance and self-esteem. So, instead of focusing on their differences, I try my best to be mindful. Whenever I feel like going into comparisons, I decide to embrace and accept them just the way they are. I keep doing this repetitively and unwittingly, it helps me practice dealing with the concept of acceptance.
Trust
The second thing that I learned is about trust. Growing older often allows us to feel nervous, anxious, or worried if things occur as expected, but being a teacher won’t let that happen. As I spend more time teaching, I learn to build trust in my students: to take responsibility, to make their own decisions as they progress to improve themselves better. It was hard the first time, but if we don’t trust our students, who else will trust them?
Being a good listener
One of the unmentioned teacher requirements in job postings is ready to learn to be a good listener. Being a teacher always requires us to pay attention to our students, and one of them is by listening to their stories attentively. I used to be a person who listens to replies, but now, I try to be a better listener. I spare my best effort to listen without judgment since every student has struggles, and sometimes challenges they face are just unbearable. Listening to them may not provide instant solutions. But at least it can make them feel that we are all in this together.
Patience
It is undeniable that being a teacher means being the most patient human being in the world because our patience can be tested at any time. Occasionally, students or a class can test our patience more than usual. Our lessons can go off the plans, some students don’t pay attention to our instructions, or any other improper situations. However, these are also the moments that will make me more creative and resourceful as a teacher.
In the end, being a teacher has brought me invaluable lessons that I will never gain in other workplaces. It is simply like riding a rollercoaster through the ups and downs in teaching life.
Thank you for always helping me learn, students.
To me, interacting with students from diverse backgrounds and seeing them grow beautifully have always been fascinating and rewarding at the same time.
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