Teaching in my country isn’t easy. We work harder and experience more stress than our counterparts in many other countries. The data even supports our predicament.
Coupled with the fact that I prefer teaching teenagers to children, I doubt if I will ever fully acclimatize to teaching life in a primary school. So, I feel like a person being pulled by four galloping horses in different directions. Personal and societal factors work against me, and I might just split open.
Nonetheless, I have always tried to maintain gratitude towards my latest stint because the things that I will pick up from now on will help me marshal my children through the intense and competitive educational system. And then, something happened today, which turned out to be the icing on the cake.
Both my children were diagnosed with hand foot mouth disease. Since we had no helper, my wife had to work from home and take care of them simultaneously. She was quite grouchy, her grunts sounding more piercing than usual. Since my mission these days is to make her happy, I left my workplace at 11.45am, had lunch at the nearby food court and reached home an home later.
No other job will allow me to reach home with a full stomach and caffeine addiction placated so soon. It was when I realised that this job has an unique feature that trumps all other considerations.
Proximity.
The flexibility for me to be with my family when the occasion calls for it.
I need to do likewise for the rest of this week. So, my latest career choice has alleviated a lot of stress from my parenting life.
How about you?
I enjoy the people I work with. Plus it is great to have the flexibility to work from home when needed.
That’s great to hear!
Hope you are getting more sleep these days
Thank you. Actually things have started to improve just this week. It is too early to say if things will keep improving but I’m hopeful.
Happy for you, mate
That's nice. Similarly, for me it's the flexibility to take days off when I need to and get caught up later.
Indeed that buffer is empowering n precious
I work from home. I spend all day working from home. The company I work for is in another state.
For me, working from home has been a tremendous blessing. I can help my wife with the kids whenever she needs it, take the oldest to school, and pick him up without rushing.
I can go out and buy something whenever I need it. It's enormous flexibility.
Compared to my previous job, where I left home at 7:30 AM and returned around 6:00 PM, there's no comparison.
In fact, I don't know what my life would be like if I lost this job and had to go back to an office.
I understand you perfectly, being a slave to the office is something horrible, the freedom to share with our families is priceless.
I think I’m somewhat like you. I don’t particularly like socialising with colleagues. I’m just there to get the job done and go home. Focus on giving myself me time to take care of the kids back home haha
I'm a mailman and a chicken farmer. Both jobs, it's just the pay.
If I really had to dig, I'd say that running mail gets me to meet more people than I would have ordinarily, and chicken farming is great exercise.
I think meeting people n broadening your perspective helps keep your spirit light-hearted
I've heard a lot about how education in Asia is more complicated than in the rest of the world. In Latin America, being a teacher is a bit more easy. I'm a salesperson and I can allocate my time however I want, of course, as long as sales are going well.
And what do you sell, Sir?
I sell and market iPhone and smartphone items, my friend.
For me it's definitely flexibility of schedule and intellectual freedom. Along with that, just being able to stay in the community we've grown to be a part of
Interesting to hear that. Singapore is generally held up as an educational role model. Maybe our teachers should work just as hard haha
Well here’s a sampling of the things on my plate:
Which takes time away from me to plan my lessons to help my fifth graders pass their final year exams!
Grateful you shared this. Whats one small ritual you and your wife are building to keep that grouch at bay during sick weeks like this one?
Proximity is not just a perk, its the foundation of legacy. In a world obsessed with output metrics, the jobs that let you blur work and life in service of what matters most are the ones that quietly win the long game. Your story reminds us to audit our calendars not for busyness, but for presence...
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