Ten things why I enjoy teaching at NorthLight #5
- Being a teacher of my calibre, I make sure that my students learn a lot from me. However, at the same time, I learn a lot from them too.
Some of them come from challenging circumstances. Cramped conditions, no father figure, living with extended family (instead of biological parents), many siblings…and the list goes on. They seem to have picked the short end of the straw during life’s lottery draw.
And they are thus expected to take on responsibilities that would be alien to their more fortunate peers. Take their sick grandmother to the doctor. “Outsourced” to take care of their younger cousins. Take their pregnant mother to the hospital.
I wouldn’t say that these teens are sensible and reliable, but what does strike me indelibly is their amazing lack of bitterness towards life. They embed family as part of their psyche and regard their responsibilities as part and parcel of life.
This year, we visited the Bird Paradise, and every student was given $20 to spend. One kid unhesitatingly spent the greater part of his allowance on a stuffed toy for his younger cousin - at the risk of going hungry later. His generous act will remain etched in my mind for a long time.