I was talking to a teacher friend a few days back, and all I can say is thank goodness I got out of the industry! Not to mention getting a bit worried that if this is the kind of person educating the kids, no wonder the younger generation is getting to this state!
Oh, there is nothing wrong with him. He is every bit the icon of a model teacher - studious, caring, kind, passionate about his job. But because he has been teaching for a while, he does nothing but spending days in the classroom, talking down to kids, talking to colleagues, and no time for anything else save marking and preparing lessons. Yes, teachers really have no time to socialise because the work is never-ending and they are tied up even during weekends.
Because he does not really go out much, coupled with the fact that his parents are very simple and not that educated people, he has a rather simplistic view of things. And the things he say, I can hardly believe someone of this age is so naive! The questions he asked me would be more believable if it came from the mouth of a fifteen-year-old, but not from someone more than twice the age! A lot of things are so commonsensical, one need not be a university graduate to know! Even when I was a teacher, I believe I am not that naive as well.
Anyway he happened to catch me at the right time, since I was stuck on the bus which happened to take a very long time to reach my place that day. So we started talking. I was just lamenting that the bus would take at least another hour or so to reach my place, and the first question he said was, "Wow you must really love your job! Otherwise why would you choose a place so far from your home?"
Erh... everywhere is the same actually. Every job is the same. No matter where you work, there will be frustrations. I told him when I was teaching, I was also posted quite far away from my home, but he does not seem to believe it, because he happened to be those lucky ones who managed to get a posting near his place. Of course, if I work in the business district, it will be much better, because I take only twenty minutes to work, but at the end of the day, one just have to see which company one prefers to work in.
So he said he did not know it is so troublesome to look for a job nowadays. Of course! Does he think everything is so simple? It is like choosing a partner - at times you like, but you were not chosen, othertimes it is your second choice but you were chosen. So just have to either take it or leave it. Although in a job it is not much of a choice but for a partner, there is still a choice.
Somehow we went on to talk about housing renovation. I wonder which shell he crept out of, because he never know a house needs renovation! Granted maybe his place does not need any renovation, the most just a re-painting of the block, but if my house was not renovated, it would have crumbled already.
With that he asked if our house was not strong in the first place, why stay in there? Erh... I said a house, no matter how strong and sturdy it is, will still need to be patched up every now and then, because cracks will start showing on the walls, bricks will start to have cracks, etc. Even those stone castles of medieval times need to be patched up a bit here and there, despite being so sturdy, let alone a brick wall!
Then we went on to talk about my aunt's new apartment, about my disappointment over how small the rooms are, and I feel bad for them that they cannot even put a decent bed in the room. I compared that to those flats in the north east area, but he was bewildered that flats are actually that small nowadays. Seriously, I wonder where he has lived all his life?
For some reason, we got on to talking about some house parties my mum and I organised for friends and relatives at our home. It was as if he had never been to a party before, he was so surprised that there was no need for much preparation! He thought it would need three days and nights to prepare!
Well... we were not preparing a big feast! Each time we had a house party, it would be mostly pot luck, buffet or steamboat, so there was hardly any need for preparation. And the house cleaning and setting of table can be done within a couple of hours. So there was no need for any big massive preparation at all! Why would he think as if a house party would be like a restaurant or something?
What really amused me was that my dad called in the middle of the conversation. He wanted to find out if I was still at work, as he thought he could swing by my office once he picked up my mum, so I said I was reaching home. When I told my friend what my dad said, he was so amazed. What is there to be amazed about? It just so happened my dad offered me a lift. That happened to be one of those rare chances, not like he did that all the time!
He said his parents do not drive, so it is very nice of my dad to call and offer to pick me up. Erh... my dad had access to the car, he was going to my mum's office to pick her up, and my office was nearby, so of course he offered to pick me up! Is there anything out of the ordinary for that?
I am not deliberately putting him down, but I am just amused that there are such cute and innocent people around. As I said, if our newer generation is under the care of such people, then it is a cause for worry indeed, because teachers have to be all-encompassing in order to keep up with the times and the kids who are getting smarter and smarter nowadays. It would be a real embarrassment if the kids ask or tell you something and you have no idea what it is.
Oh, there is nothing wrong with him. He is every bit the icon of a model teacher - studious, caring, kind, passionate about his job. But because he has been teaching for a while, he does nothing but spending days in the classroom, talking down to kids, talking to colleagues, and no time for anything else save marking and preparing lessons. Yes, teachers really have no time to socialise because the work is never-ending and they are tied up even during weekends.
Because he does not really go out much, coupled with the fact that his parents are very simple and not that educated people, he has a rather simplistic view of things. And the things he say, I can hardly believe someone of this age is so naive! The questions he asked me would be more believable if it came from the mouth of a fifteen-year-old, but not from someone more than twice the age! A lot of things are so commonsensical, one need not be a university graduate to know! Even when I was a teacher, I believe I am not that naive as well.
Anyway he happened to catch me at the right time, since I was stuck on the bus which happened to take a very long time to reach my place that day. So we started talking. I was just lamenting that the bus would take at least another hour or so to reach my place, and the first question he said was, "Wow you must really love your job! Otherwise why would you choose a place so far from your home?"
Erh... everywhere is the same actually. Every job is the same. No matter where you work, there will be frustrations. I told him when I was teaching, I was also posted quite far away from my home, but he does not seem to believe it, because he happened to be those lucky ones who managed to get a posting near his place. Of course, if I work in the business district, it will be much better, because I take only twenty minutes to work, but at the end of the day, one just have to see which company one prefers to work in.
So he said he did not know it is so troublesome to look for a job nowadays. Of course! Does he think everything is so simple? It is like choosing a partner - at times you like, but you were not chosen, othertimes it is your second choice but you were chosen. So just have to either take it or leave it. Although in a job it is not much of a choice but for a partner, there is still a choice.
Somehow we went on to talk about housing renovation. I wonder which shell he crept out of, because he never know a house needs renovation! Granted maybe his place does not need any renovation, the most just a re-painting of the block, but if my house was not renovated, it would have crumbled already.
With that he asked if our house was not strong in the first place, why stay in there? Erh... I said a house, no matter how strong and sturdy it is, will still need to be patched up every now and then, because cracks will start showing on the walls, bricks will start to have cracks, etc. Even those stone castles of medieval times need to be patched up a bit here and there, despite being so sturdy, let alone a brick wall!
Then we went on to talk about my aunt's new apartment, about my disappointment over how small the rooms are, and I feel bad for them that they cannot even put a decent bed in the room. I compared that to those flats in the north east area, but he was bewildered that flats are actually that small nowadays. Seriously, I wonder where he has lived all his life?
For some reason, we got on to talking about some house parties my mum and I organised for friends and relatives at our home. It was as if he had never been to a party before, he was so surprised that there was no need for much preparation! He thought it would need three days and nights to prepare!
Well... we were not preparing a big feast! Each time we had a house party, it would be mostly pot luck, buffet or steamboat, so there was hardly any need for preparation. And the house cleaning and setting of table can be done within a couple of hours. So there was no need for any big massive preparation at all! Why would he think as if a house party would be like a restaurant or something?
What really amused me was that my dad called in the middle of the conversation. He wanted to find out if I was still at work, as he thought he could swing by my office once he picked up my mum, so I said I was reaching home. When I told my friend what my dad said, he was so amazed. What is there to be amazed about? It just so happened my dad offered me a lift. That happened to be one of those rare chances, not like he did that all the time!
He said his parents do not drive, so it is very nice of my dad to call and offer to pick me up. Erh... my dad had access to the car, he was going to my mum's office to pick her up, and my office was nearby, so of course he offered to pick me up! Is there anything out of the ordinary for that?
I am not deliberately putting him down, but I am just amused that there are such cute and innocent people around. As I said, if our newer generation is under the care of such people, then it is a cause for worry indeed, because teachers have to be all-encompassing in order to keep up with the times and the kids who are getting smarter and smarter nowadays. It would be a real embarrassment if the kids ask or tell you something and you have no idea what it is.
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