What does success mean to the ordinary person? For Douglas, it meant going after his passion for teaching. For his parents, it meant having a more well-paid job, like a doctor or an engineer. Douglas disagreed with them all the time because of their views on this. They thought being a teacher was not worth his time, as he excelled in other subjects like science. They thought he could be something better than ‘just a teacher’.
Douglas remembered the first time he wanted to become a teacher. He was in the third grade, when he saw Teacher Ruby. She was an exceptionally great teacher, and she not only taught her students good values, but she connected with them as a person. Whenever her students had a problem with something, she would always be there to take care of them. She was the type of person that Douglas wanted to be.
One time during class, Douglas asked Teacher Ruby how she decided to become a teacher. She was very eager to respond, saying:
“When I was volunteering at a public school in the province, I was amazed about the cheerfulness the class had. The teacher really helped the students in times of hardships, and I can sense that she really cared for them. It was at that moment I wanted to become a teacher.”
Teacher Ruby taught for six years in Douglas’ school, and created memories her class will never forget.
Douglas was able to convince his parents to accept his passion to become a teacher after realizing his potential and eagerness to become one. After studying teaching for four years, he was set to become a Science teacher. It seemed everything was going well for Douglas, until the pandemic hit.
As the first class he ever taught started, it was very different from the one that he trained in. Douglas had a hard time teaching because of the new and difficult environment. He didn’t know whether his class was listening to him or even if he was heard correctly. He was a perfectionist when it came to these things, and it caused him so much anxiety that at times, he wasn’t able to sleep properly throughout the whole night.
He got burned out a lot due to his work, but it didn’t really matter to him because he loved what he did. But one weekend, he was feeling very tired and felt like he didn’t want to do anything. It seemed like the fiery passion of teaching was put out. He was scrolling through the chat messages when he found a student who sent a heartwarming message, saying:
“Keep on going, Mr. Douglas! I love the way you teach and help us. You’re the best.”
It may not be much, but that was enough to sink Douglas’ heart. It suddenly reignited the passion of teaching that he once had. He never expected his students to share something sentimental like that, either. The fact that he was able to help his students the way Teacher Ruby did meant a lot to him. It was at that time as well that he felt appreciated, which put him in a great mood.
The sacrifice of teachers may never be enough as they work hard every single day to help us learn something new. Without people like Ruby or Douglas, there would be no doctors, engineers, architects, lawyers, or other professionals. The way a teacher connects with their students plays an important role in shaping a child’s future. Teaching is a profession that should be recognized as great as any other job in the world.
Story by John Raphael Yu