Thankful for the time and space to take stock of the school year.
BALANCE
One word to encapsulate my experience with my first graduating class: balance.
Balance between worrying and taking action — managing feelings of inadequacy by devoting effort to upskill myself. I thank 2023 me for learning from others how to teach new SBQ skills and how to structure lessons in a more targetted manner, among other sponging activities.
Balance between individual and collaborative learning — knowing when students will benefit from bouncing ideas off their peers, and at what point they should complete the task individually e.g. for formative assessment at certain milestones. I also learnt to be more intentional when assigning students into groups. In an ideal world I should pair students up based on strengths and AFI, such that they can help each other in aspects they require more guidance in, but I've learnt to also take into consideration their friendship dynamics [and try my best to keep myself in the loop of their squabbles and occasional fallouts 😂]. This meant pairing them with people they are comfortable with having intellectual sparrings with, or making mistakes in front of.
Balance between teacher and student effort — showing students that I will be there for them when they need help, as long as they have done their part. [Say no to consultations 1 hour before the exam, where the only question is "which issue is the SBQ going to be on?" 👺]
This also includes knowing when to 'let go' when students are not ready to learn. But I also don't mean the extreme of ignoring them completely. I learnt to make sure that the learning resources are readily available for them [i.e. well-organised online resources - SLS lessons, class google drive], and that I am here when they are ready to begin again.
Balance between work and sanity — reminding myself that teachers are not machines. There were times where I felt like I have expended every last bit of energy and can't move anymore. But we don't have to be 'on' all the time, and not every lesson has to be perfect (not that there is such a thing as a perfect lesson anyway).
It has been an exciting journey with these kiddos, and they've taught me as much as I've taught them. Here's to wishing they find their path in time to come!
IDENTITY
It has also been a year of self-discovery — discovering who Ms Ng is, be it as a form teacher, a subject teacher or a CCA teacher. Ideally they should be all the same person, with the same approach when interacting with students. Not that I am vastly different in my interactions with different groups of students, but I feel that I have learnt to better assert myself as a form teacher and subject teacher. Something I've come to appreciate a lot more this year: firmness and fun is not mutually exclusive.
I am also glad to have worked more closely with parents. It helped me gain deeper understanding of students' context, their motivations and how to better help them. This is a huge step forward from 2022 me, who had greater imposter syndrome as a teacher, and would have to write a full script before making calls to parents. 🫢
Ending this reflection off with this note from a Sec 3 student I taught last year, for days when I find it hard to remember the impact that is created by the sum of my seemingly tiny everyday actions:
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