Since I settled into my apartment earlier this month I’ve spent part of the morning before work sitting on the balcony with my coffee so I can call my mum and watch the sun rise. The sun rises quite late as compared to home, between 7 and 7:30 year round, and I get up far earlier than I normally would to have time for such leisure, but it’s been a very calm, centering way to start each day. Here is what I saw this morning:
A brief conversation took place between a former student (now a freshman in college) and myself on Facebook today. With some editing to protect privacy, it went like this:
Student – The fire alarm would go off right before I decide to go to bed.
Me – Better than right after!
Student – Suddenly a fire alarm before bed doesn’t seem so bad.
This, in a nutshell, is why I teach.
I teach to help young adults understand ideas and concepts that they wouldn’t understand without guidance. I teach to point out different perspective or different methods of examining an issue, question, or problem. I teach to push my students to think in ways that they didn’t know they could. I teach to prove to students that humans are fallible and that, as humans, they are fallible. I teach to help young people find themselves and find where they fit in the world, what they are capable of contributing, and how they can achieve their dreams. Teaching is a pleasure, a joy, and an honor.
Every so often people learn that I’m a high school teacher and tell me, “I couldn’t do what you do!” As I continuously emphasize to my students, we all play to our strengths. I would make a terrible accountant, doctor, engineer, construction worker, cashier, hairdresser, office manager, etc. None of that matters, though, because I have been told by colleagues, parents, and students that I am a “damn good teacher,” which is precisely what I want to be.
No one is good at everything but everyone is good at something. This is an aspect of life that we learn as we get older, when we realize that not everyone will end up on TV, in the movies, on the front of book jackets, or making millions. As we get older and have more experiences, we, as humans, learn to put our efforts where we feel we can be both happy and successful.
I teach in order to help my students feel comfortable with that reality.
This past weekend was my third trip to Singapore. Every time I go, it gets harder and harder to come back. Every time I go, I am more convinced that Mitch and I need this to work. The type of life we could lead in Singapore is what we thought we’d find when we moved to Southeast Asia. We didn’t do nearly enough research about Seremban itself, unfortunately. Some of my friends have given Seremban a funny, accurate, and crude nickname and they’re right. (Hint: Starts with “sh”, ends with “itemban.”)
I don’t have much to show from this weekend in terms of photos because we spent quite a bit of time in museums. We saw an amazing da Vinci exhibit at the ArtScience Museum that included 13 original pages from the Codex Atlanticus, da Vinci’s largest notebooks full of sketches, inventions, mathematical formulas, and notes to himself. The exhibit itself was interactive, too, with challenges to build and think like the great Leonardo. I highly recommend it if it ever comes by wherever you are. We spent a little bit of time afterwards at the Asian Civilisations Museum but we were both pretty tired of standing by that point, so we’ll have to visit again another day. It does a really objective and sensitive job showcasing Asian cultures. I don’t think it’s supposed to be free, but it was! Finally, we happened upon the 2014 World Press Photo Exhibition. It’s true what they say, that a picture’s worth 1000 words. That’s even more true when each picture includes a caption explaining the circumstances behind its taking!
Now onto the few photos I took:
On a very personal note, I love seeing Jewish life in Singapore. It reminds me that there are parts of Southeast Asia where I can be myself.
We’re off to Surabaya, Indonesia this weekend to visit a volcano! I will definitely have pictures of that!
By Rebecca Michelle 