Conventional Education
This morning, I was made to remember some of the best years of my life, all over again. The catalyst was a little note from one of my former students, from the first batch of young people which I taught through the full O-Level (grades 9-10) course.
Why were those years so good to me? I think it was because I learnt so much and I felt useful. As my former vice-principal Mrs M said to me once, "Always be useful. Work hard because one day when people don't ask you to do things, you'll realise how much you enjoyed working before you became useless."
Those young ladies meant a lot to me, both because they were my students and because I was their teacher. Sometimes it was the other way around; they taught me a lot about how to be fair and how to negotiate the tricky business of being a male teacher in a girls' school. I learnt how to be kinder. I learnt more about sympathy.
What we learn is never enough, and sometimes it is far from sufficient. But we keep learning, in the hope that learning will become practice, and maybe even teaching. That is why we 'learn to learn', and make it a lifetime's work.
For the young ladies I worked with from 1993 to 1995, here are my thanks. They will never be sufficient, but they are heartfelt. I've always wished the best for you, and I am glad to have lived long enough to see some of it come to pass for many of you. Just remember, the best is yet to be — the last of life, for which the first was made.
Why were those years so good to me? I think it was because I learnt so much and I felt useful. As my former vice-principal Mrs M said to me once, "Always be useful. Work hard because one day when people don't ask you to do things, you'll realise how much you enjoyed working before you became useless."
Those young ladies meant a lot to me, both because they were my students and because I was their teacher. Sometimes it was the other way around; they taught me a lot about how to be fair and how to negotiate the tricky business of being a male teacher in a girls' school. I learnt how to be kinder. I learnt more about sympathy.
What we learn is never enough, and sometimes it is far from sufficient. But we keep learning, in the hope that learning will become practice, and maybe even teaching. That is why we 'learn to learn', and make it a lifetime's work.
For the young ladies I worked with from 1993 to 1995, here are my thanks. They will never be sufficient, but they are heartfelt. I've always wished the best for you, and I am glad to have lived long enough to see some of it come to pass for many of you. Just remember, the best is yet to be — the last of life, for which the first was made.
etched with acid at 9:08:00 am
1 Comments:
Having been schooled in an all-girls' convent school during a time when the only men were the caretaker, gardener and the tuckshop vendor, I appreciate your post. While you have learnt from being a male teacher in a girls' school, I think we could have learnt some important lessons if we had some good male teachers. Most of us grew up tough, believing we can do everything ourselves - and then we become too strong. Thankfully, life experiences have taught us that we need each other (women and men) to make life better for everyone all around.
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