With around a 3.2 GPA in biological sciences, I knew that I had no hope to try out for med school in Canada. I was in my fourth year of university before I realized that I should have probably switched into another degree that will give me a greater chance of landing a job in the future. With the end so near in sight (graduation), I thought to myself, "David, you really have two choices: 1) Go do my masters OR 2) Do another degree". I didn't enjoy biological sciences as much as I would like, so I knew that I couldn't do a masters program. All that was left really, was to find another degree to do.
Since I been tutoring for the past 10 years (started off with Rapid Calculation, then moved onto regular tutoring), teaching karate for the past 12 years and teaching piano for about 3 years, I immediately thought of education. However, I was hesitant at times since there doesn't seem to be a lot of job postings for teachers in the CBE and that the pay is quite low for an after degree ($45 000 a year I believe when I last checked). At this time, I got suggestions to pursue a MBA since they make much more money than a teacher.
As I entered my first day of Education, I was amazed to see so many other student teachers. At least 400 in my year! I guess you could say that I was feeling cocky on my first day, since I thought that with all my experiences, Education shouldn't be too difficult right? I even thought about dropping out of the program on the FIRST DAY, since I was pretty much set on getting a MBA. I recall even going to talk to the MBA coordinator at the university to see whether or not I could qualify as a candidate for the MBA program. While talking to the coordinator, she recommended that I should finish my education degree before applying since I was too young, so taking her words into consideration, I decided to stick with the program.
Well, was I wrong. There were things that I didn't know, such as using tact in certain situation. Being brought up by asian parents, well all we really know is discipline. I never physically disciplined my students, but I did yell a lot in karate. (Such as telling them to get in line, to stop fooling around, to kiai louder, etc). By using tact, I could enhance a student's growth, rather then just imbuing discipline (which they never truly seem to have lol). I learnt that negative reinforcement should be used, rather than punishment. I learned the importance of a curriculum that should help a student, rather than to produce workers, etc. There were many things that I learnt, that I never learnt before. However, I didn't really care much since I thought, "Well after I'm done my degree, I'm just going to go find a job at an office and work for a bit before applying for the MBA program).
Then in late October, I had my first field practicum. I was placed in Forest Lawn for my first week, and Erin Woods Elementary for my second week. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to working at either schools since they were pretty much in our "ghetto". Well well, was I wrong.
Forest Lawn was indeed an interesting experience. Most of the students I encountered were polite to me and my fellow student teachers. Also, the teachers there seemed to be really engaged with their students. I assumed that teachers wouldn't care about students at Forest Lawn, due to its reputation, but they were as hard working as any teacher I encountered when I went to high school. I had the chance to visit classes ranging from "low achieving" (ie: Science 14) to "high achieving" (ie: Chemistry 30 AP) students. I enjoyed working with the Science 14 students more since the teacher I was with did an excellent job with his class. He encouraged students to think outside the box, and he would celebrate the accomplishments they achieved (such as 2 people, out of 20 handing in their homework on time). I had to say that I was amazed at the resilience the teacher had, for I would probably initially just give up on that class. He gave them tact, thus getting a positive response from his students EVEN though it wouldn't be at a standard set up by a "normal" class.
At Erin Woods, I got the chance to relive my childhood. I saw children full of energy: playing, studying, making friends, etc. I usually don't like teaching little kids since sometimes "full of energy" = "ADHD", but I didn't have that trouble at all during the week. The students were attentive when the teachers were teaching and asked questions when they needed help. They were a pleasure to help, since they would listen to what I had to say and tried to use my advice in their work.
After these two weeks, I have to say that I actually glad that I entered education. I actually do want to work at a school, whether it being an elementary or a secondary school. There's a sense of joy that I get from teaching others, to help them and myself grow as individuals. I will still probably try and pursue an MBA, just in case I do have troubles landing a job, but for now, it won't be the focus of my career.
Well, time for the picture of the day:
A picture of what Forest Lawn looks like. Credits to Wikipedia
As for the song of the day: a song that you know all the words to
Well this is pretty sad. The only song where I know all the words to is this song:
Well I guess that's a lie, since I only know the first verse, but oh well!
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