November 24, 2004
Tears from the edge
So, it's true that you don't know what it's like until you are in it yourself. People say that a teacher's greatest sense of achievement and job reward is in the success of the students. Today, I know what that really means as I tried to blink away tears of joy when the announcement was made.
Early in the morning, we held our breath. The sense of anticipation was distracting as we started on our training in Assertive Discipline. 12noon. Our pioneer batch of PSLE boys passed the exams. 'Oh, my God! Really?' Applause. 'Yay!!!' 'Great job!' 'Congrats!' More applause. And a little celebration with pizzas during lunch.
These are not your typical cream of the crop vying for a place in RI or Hwa Chong. These are just over-aged students who have tried so hard yet failed so many times in mainstream school and had to leave and come to my school. They have the ability, they just didn't have the right environment. This is not a school that has all the latest state-of-the-art tech, equipment or even classroom. This is just a school that is barely a year old, dedicating all resources in transforming the educational journey for her students and give them an equal chance to feel part of the bigger society. We don't have much resources to impress, we only have genuine dedication in wanting to impact lives and then, a whole community.
They qualify to go to a mainstream secondary school. But, they and their parents have, without hesitation, decided to stay in Pathlight. Damn wise choice.
I don't teach them but I know these boys. They would greet or talk to me in the common corridors sometimes or show off their excellent drawings to me telling me every single detail that I would have missed out. I can feel their sense of achievement.
I am very proud of them.
Posted by 杏 cy （Jancy） at 17:18