Mas Elizawati M Ali
Last Friday marked the end of the 2022/2023 school term. For the government schools, it signalled the first school year which was almost completely conducted physically inside classrooms. In the private sector, classes went completely physical with the option of joining Live class sessions from home. After the Malaysian government changed the country’s status into an endemic state, the ministry of education (MOE) gradually removed restrictions that were in place during the height of the Covid pandemic. The online option was eventually abolished and students must return to school in order to learn.
Wearing masks in public areas was also lifted up last year, thus making it optional for students to wear at school. In private learning institutions such as the kindergarten I work at, the mask-wearing was still observed until the end of the school term. Even though some parents questioned as to why the compulsory mask ruling was still being observed, the higher management must have taken the approach that it is better to err on the side of caution. As a kindergarten teacher, I agree with the decision as younger children tend to be more susceptible to infections and disease compared to their older peers.
With the school year just ended last week, I am reflecting on the events and lessons which have happened throughout the year (and more). Last year with the new school year only beginning in March 2022, I was responsible to teach revision materials for the interim period of January and February 2022 for all five-going-on-six year-olds. In a way, this class served as a transition by helping them prepare for their final class on the kindergarten level. They were around 40 students at the time! To say that I was overwhelmed would be an understatement.
At the beginning of 2021, I was requested to take over one six-year-old class since the class teacher had to take a leave of absence due to personal reasons. I took the sudden decision in stride as I thought I was just a temporary replacement. Oh how wrong I was! I ended up taking over for the whole school period, going from physical class to online and back to physical class again. I learned to tweak my teaching methods (physical-online-physical) as a result of the class assignment and develop a bond with my own gaggle of students.
Actually, my journey to teaching six-year-olds had begun in the second half of 2020 when I was assigned to teach a workable small class of these students. The original pre-pandemic class was split into two smaller classes due to the implementation of the social distancing rule at the time and I was tasked to take over teaching 10 students. To say the least, it was an eye-opening experience and I found myself enjoying teaching the given materials. Despite the strict pandemic ruling, I was eager to teach core subjects that were familiar to me.
Do you know that feeling when you feel gratified from doing something you know? Like a chef knowing her specialty is in pastry, or an artist realising his forte is oil painting. That’s how I felt at the beginning of my journey to becoming a six-year-old class teacher. I could relate to materials and found the syllabus to be up my alley. Prior to that, I had worked for two-and-half years as a teaching assistant attending to nursery (three-year-old) and pre-nursery (four-year-old) kids. In fact, my career in early childhood education started in a four-year-old class.
Back to March 2022, I became a class teacher to a wonderful batch of 20-plus six-year-olds. Sure, there were repeated meltdowns, occasional tantrums and wailing episodes which tested my patience. Yet, they prove, time and again, to be part of the job scope that I need to familiarise. Moreover, the inclusion of some new materials in core subjects like Maths and Science prove to be challenging at first, but became manageable as the time progressed. As the 2022-2023 school year was my first complete year with the students in a physical class setting, I was sad to see them leave following the rite of passage that is their graduation. It was a bittersweet feeling. Some of the students are those who were with me when I was assisting a three-year old class. It was a privilege to see them develop, both physically and academically, in a three-years’ time. I believe an attachment between a teacher and a student will always be there as long as the student forms a lasting bond with the teacher.
Here are some takeaways from my experience handling a physical class for a full school year, for the first time post-pandemic:
(a) While lesson plans are a life-saver, having effective teaching aids will make a vast of difference in the classroom. Students can learn through the fun activities planned out using these teaching aids.
(b) Repeated in-house exercises of the lesson will greatly assist in children’s understanding of a new material. Solving problems on the whiteboard or utilising great teamwork on projects makes students look forward to participate in class activities.
(c) Losing your patience is NOT synonymous with losing your teaching skills. Sometimes, a teacher needs a time-out too when a student continually acts out of line. Breathe in, breathe out.
(d) Troubled students can hone their potentials through the support and attention of an empathetic teacher. Berating them will only backfire as they will protest and refuse to finish the work.
(e) Students will always follow the lead of their main teacher. Instilling good values must be uppermost in a teacher’s mind. A teacher’s words and actions will be observed daily by these young, impressionable students.
(f) Students must be given the opportunity to share and express a gamut of their emotions, without worrying of any backlash. Stifling their emotions will create a classroom atmosphere which is afraid to seek out new things and embrace new experiences. However, a teacher is responsible to correct a student if he or she is out of line.
(g) Always make sure to include everyone in participation. They will feel a sense of belonging for remembering them in every class activity. When their existence matters, they will thrive more in class and consequently have the desire to perform better.
(h) Arts and craft will always win the day! After going through the nitty-gritty of core subjects, some downtime with a paper, colour pencils and other accessories is such a simple crowd-pleaser. Nothing like channeling your creative juices to soothe a tiring day away.
It was a fun and memorable academic year, with its share of ups and downs and everything in between. As much as a teacher wants to impart knowledge to the students, a teacher can also learn wonderful things from her students. From our interactions, I have learned to be more compassionate, more resourceful and more attentive this year. After all, our lives is a lifelong journey of learning and discovery, regardless the age. Salute to all teachers who have made through the storm and come back stronger!
