Nothing in this world can be likened to teaching children as young as 2 to 3 years old… It is definitely tiring, but also unbelievably gratifying! 10 years ago, I’ve never thought of myself as a teacher… 3 years ago, I would have said no to teaching babies… And about 2 months ago, I would have opted to go back teaching older kids… But now, as fate would have it… I am again trekking the same path as I’ve done in my last year in BWS.
It was not forced upon me… it was just because among the three new Noblesse Early Years teachers, I was the one with the experience. I stepped into the Toddler classroom with 2 bubbly and easy to handle children… After almost 2 months, the Toddler class population catapulted to a whooping 12 students! To add to my growing incredulity, the task seems to get more challenging each day.. 12 different children- all egoistic, territorial, and with vague awareness and compliance to classroom rules! Moreso, being gifted with an enormously sized classroom proved to have its own disadvantages- to them, they have before themselves the crude rendition of a playground where they can run, jump, and play to their hearts’ content!
However, beyond the day-to-day physical exhaustion and endless motivational strategies, I cannot cite any other profession that is as utterly gratifying… The pleasure comes from seeing their faces beam with joy and appreciation after a wonderfully planned activity, laugh like there’s no tomorrow over your clown-like antics, and sing and dance without inhibitions… Wow… dang, I sound like a newbie…
Well, anyways, I am applauding all the noble Preschool Teachers of the world… It takes a great deal of commitment and dedication to engage in this kind of profession.. Regardless of whether the job is a calling or forced upon us (mostly because of the growing unemployment rate)… the rewards are true and the same for all us… more than the financial and material gains.. we leave indelible traces of ourselves to these children… we make them learn while being happy and secure… we give them moments to appreciate the joys of being young and carefree… Hey, having said this, I just realized that they, too, do the same for us… hmmm….
