Tag Archives: Teaching

Singapore

Abroad Again

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After leaving Rochester Monday afternoon EST, I arrived in Singapore Wednesday morning (Tuesday night EST). It felt really good to return to a city that I know I love.

In the past 34 hours I have spent 6 sleeping and the rest either worrying about my life here or starting sort out said life. So far, I have a SIM card for my phone, a clean bill of health from the doctor, and an apartment! I’m getting the apartment keys on Monday, at which point I can begin to buy the many, many items that I will need. I didn’t realize that “fully furnished” in Singapore means “only furniture.” In Malaysia, it means literally everything. Had I chosen to do so, school would have paid to ship anything I wanted to Singapore. Had I known what fully furnished means, I would have shipped all of my kitchen items except appliances because the plugs don’t match. Unfortunately, I didn’t know and therefore have nothing.

Consequently, here’s another thing I have learned about teaching overseas: Assume nothing. Ask all questions, even when you think you know the answers.

Between Ikea, everyone’s favorite store, and Mustafa Centre, Singapore’s answer to “where can I find . . .” I’ll be able to buy everything I need without too much trouble. Well, I suppose there’s one trouble: Money. Singapore is expensive! As I’m not being paid until the end of August, I’m watching my purchases rather closely. School is bringing in people from a bank to set up accounts for us next week, after which they should be able to deposit the reimbursement for my flight here. That will make a great deal of difference.

Another strange aspect of living in Singapore, as with any big city, that I’ve never faced is complete reliance on public transportation. It’s going to be a challenge buying everything I need and will require multiple trips, basically because I can’t just dump everything in the car, drive home, and unload it. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the logistics of how much I can buy at once and how to get it all into my apartment. Taxi, I guess. Any urbanites have any advice for me on this one?

Finally, the biggest difficulty that I’m facing is being away from Mitch and from my family. I know myself, and I know that separation from the people I love, even for a predetermined period of time, is going to be a challenge. What helps, though, is the ease of modern communication. I know I’ve written about that before, but it really does make all the difference in the world. When I was in Malaysia, I called home every morning. Now, I’ll either be calling my parents or calling Mitch. Either way, it’s astonishing to me that for just a few dollars, we can talk whenever we want.

Tomorrow there’s a coffee meeting for all interested staff; I’m looking forward to meeting new people! A few of us had breakfast together and, as expected, people are really kind and really interesting. That’s what I love about travel – people have wonderful stories.

If you’re interested, you can read my previous posts about Singapore here, here, here, here, here, and here! Enjoy!

On My Mind

All good things . . .

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. . . must come to an end. (You knew that’s where the title was going, didn’t you? So clever.) Today was my last full day in Rochester, which means that tomorrow I will put myself on a plane and begin the trek to Singapore. I’m more excited than apprehensive (famous last words) and I feel more prepared to move abroad now than I was a year ago.

It’s true that experience is the best teacher. I’ve had a lot of experiences and I know so much more now than I did before spending nearly a year in Malaysia. Ironically, I’m worried (okay, there we go – the truth comes out) about different things than I was before my first big move. Rather than panicking about teaching a new age group, I spent time figuring out areas where I can afford to live, which type of phone plan to buy, which bank to use, where to buy basics like sheets and towels, and which grocery stores and shops are near the hotel where I’ll be staying for a week or so. Mitch helped me map out different restaurants, hawker centers, and bars that we’ve frequented in the past so that I can find them on my own. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve done as much school prep as I can right now.

Most importantly, I’ve decided it’s all going to be okay. One of the biggest challenges that I faced on arrival in Malaysia was uncertainty about how I was going to stay in touch with my family. Topping up cell phone data and FaceTime Audio are old hat now, so that’s all set. I love Singapore and I’m more familiar with it than I was with Malaysia when I first landed, so that’s a huge plus. I know it’ll work out, I know I’ll love living there, and I know I’ll love teaching high school social studies again. It’s kinda fun, this optimism thing.

Spending six weeks at home this summer has definitely recharged my battery. I have been relaxing, seeing friends, spending time with family, making a bit of money on the boat, and enjoying the calm that both summer and home bring. I know that I’m not the easiest person to be friends with right now because I’m so transient, and I really appreciate the efforts of those who have travelled this summer to see me during my short time at home.

Finally, I’m looking forward to returning to a part of the world I have grown to love. If you ever find yourself in Southeast Asia and want to chat, or if you’d like travel suggestions in more detail than I post on this blog, let me know! It’s a big world out there and I’m fortunate to have a job that allows me to explore it.

Education, On My Mind

This is for the Haters

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With my summer at home drawing to a close (leaving in one week!) I’ve been thinking about my role as a teacher, and my responsibility in the lives of young people. I’ve written about why I teach in the past, but I don’t think I’ve touched on some of the experiences that helped me understand that my job is really to shape minds.

The way I see it, one of my responsibilities as an educator is to make sure that my students grow up to be responsible global citizens who are empowered to affect change. I believe that everyone has the power to make some sort of change, either in one’s own life or in the wider world. The way I choose to do that is to help young people realize that such change is possible. I affect change by cultivating my students’ ideas so that they believe in themselves.

Or, at the very least, I try my hardest.

When I was in high school, it used to be cool and slangy to use the phrase “that’s so gay” to describe something obnoxious, irritating, annoying, boring, or simply uncool. (With any luck, I have just dated myself.) That bothered me long before being an ally was an accepted part of society. I felt the same way about the word “retarded”, which was also in vogue amongst my peers, and which also takes on a variety of negative meanings when tossed around by teenagers with pants around their knees (yes, that was also cool at the time, which should say a thing or two about how we’ve all managed to grow up). When I was 17, I finally felt comfortable enough with myself to stand up and say something. I remember looking at my boyfriend, and later at a handful of other friends, and saying, “That’s offensive to me. If you mean “stupid,” just say so. You wouldn’t say “straight” for “cool”, so you shouldn’t use “gay” for “stupid. Please don’t do that around me.”

They rolled their eyes, they scoffed at my attitude, but they listened. I remember my boyfriend giving me a what-the-hell look and then saying to me, “I’ll stop if it really bothers you, but you’ll have to help me.”

And that’s the way it went. It turned out that a lot of people in my social circles back in 2007 had similar feelings but had tossed around slang the way kids toss around slang; without thinking. As a teacher, I try to use language that empowers my students. I vividly remember opening a class discussion my first year teaching about the difference between being ignorant and not knowing. The comment, “I just can’t talk to her! She’s ignorant, she doesn’t know anything!” following a disagreement between two students about race promoted the discussion. We concluded that ignorance is knowing and ignoring, while not knowing is simply not knowing. Rather than blaming one another for being uncertain, or for lack of knowledge, we can teach. I honestly don’t remember the comments made leading to this discussion, but I remember taking my teacher voice out of my pocket and saying, “Stop. We need to back up here.” And both of those students later thanked me for doing it.

As simple as it sounds, the biggest idea I can help my students understand is that if you choose not to act, there will be no results. I’ve heard every excuse for inaction: “But I’m just one person.” “No one will listen.” “Honestly, I have other things to worry about.” “That’s so much work.” “I’m just going to live in a cardboard box and be happy.” “There’s too much hate and too many haters to even bother trying.”

So, haters, here I am calling you out for ignorance.

Haters claim that the world is too big with too many problems so individuals can’t solve them. Haters claim that there’s no point in looking out for others because you never know when someone’s going to stab you in the back. Haters claim that you can’t fix other people so you should only worry about yourself.

Haters are ignorant, because they know better. They have seen change and they know that it comes from people doing exactly those things that are really very hard.

Haters, in short, are wrong.

Wrong because there are people who care, who dream, who believe, who yearn. There are people who look around dissatisfied and are not content to remain dissatisfied. There are people who hope, who watch, who wait and get impatient; instead of giving up, those people act. They do something. Instead of growing increasingly irritated with people with whom they do not agree, they make changes. They work to understand. They surround themselves with like-minded people, and find power in groups.

History is full of groups who acted, groups who fought, groups who won. There is strength in numbers, and I want my students to believe in themselves, join those groups, and make the changes that they, at 14, 15, 16, or 17, represented and endorsed in my classes. If I didn’t believe they could do it, I wouldn’t say so; I would lose all credibility as a teacher, as a mentor.

Haters, I know some people who are going to rock your world. Hold on tightly.