One’s destination is never a place
but a new way of seeing things.
– Henry Miller –
but a new way of seeing things.
– Henry Miller –
Some experiences in life can be so traumatic when it does not turn out to be as expected. It can hit a person so hard that it can be traumatic. But some take it as a lesson learned and move on to be better persons after.
I was an Early Childhood Special Educator in the Philippines for almost 7 years. Probably one of the best, which could be the reason why I was directly hired by this school district where I am now from the Philippines to join the working force of Educators here in the US.
I was ecstatic when I got my petition papers from my school district and the Notice of Action from the Department of Justice of America. The realization of the “American Dream” and the thought of working with the American Educational System, where the Philippines pattern from their Educational System, is a big achievement for me.
I was expecting myself to be in a place or school like in feel-good movies that I watched such as “The Emperor’s Club”. They never showed the reality there. They just made me expect highly of American Schools.
I work in one of the best Middle Schools here in Washington DC and am very thankful for having supportive administrators and a school atmosphere and colleagues that challenge me to be the best neophyte teacher as I can be.
But what frustrates and saddens me is having students who do not value education. These are students who view education as more of a right than a privilege. I wasn’t expecting these students, whom Filipino students look up to, could be so cruel and disrespectful to teachers from a different cultural background. I was disillusioned. As much as I want to be as creative in my teaching styles and to establish rapport with them, they would never give me a chance. It weakens me.
Time will come when another teacher will replace me as a neophyte. Time will come when my students will see me as an authority figure in the halls of the schools. I believe that tough times never last but tough people do.
I was an Early Childhood Special Educator in the Philippines for almost 7 years. Probably one of the best, which could be the reason why I was directly hired by this school district where I am now from the Philippines to join the working force of Educators here in the US.
I was ecstatic when I got my petition papers from my school district and the Notice of Action from the Department of Justice of America. The realization of the “American Dream” and the thought of working with the American Educational System, where the Philippines pattern from their Educational System, is a big achievement for me.
I was expecting myself to be in a place or school like in feel-good movies that I watched such as “The Emperor’s Club”. They never showed the reality there. They just made me expect highly of American Schools.
I work in one of the best Middle Schools here in Washington DC and am very thankful for having supportive administrators and a school atmosphere and colleagues that challenge me to be the best neophyte teacher as I can be.
But what frustrates and saddens me is having students who do not value education. These are students who view education as more of a right than a privilege. I wasn’t expecting these students, whom Filipino students look up to, could be so cruel and disrespectful to teachers from a different cultural background. I was disillusioned. As much as I want to be as creative in my teaching styles and to establish rapport with them, they would never give me a chance. It weakens me.
Time will come when another teacher will replace me as a neophyte. Time will come when my students will see me as an authority figure in the halls of the schools. I believe that tough times never last but tough people do.
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