One Classroom But Two Tutors

Some of my dearest Year Three and Four male pupils showing up

I was late but again?! Oh God, can’t utter a single word. Such silly wrongdoings that I just barely made. Call me ‘idiot’ or ‘fool’ as you please – all I deserved. I was supposed to show up in good time for two so-called appointments:

(1) A friend of mine named Shahrul intended to observe me teaching.

(2) The other one…I couldn’t care less.

In spite of being a late comer, I was practically ‘secured’! I’d asked Shahrul to stay waiting for me at the main gate of Kompleks Belia dan Sukan. Quite uncertain why the hell he wasn’t yet there as soon as I arrived. Time flies. I’m deeply sorry dude, I couldn’t keep on waitin’ for you any longer. Gotta get going! My pupils are waiting for me there. Adios.   

After getting through all to-be-photocopied things, without further ado, I made my way to the class briskly. Teaching should’ve got started! And time is money, indeed.

Without any piece of notes in hand, I was starting to write the topic ‘Adjectives’ down on the whiteboard. Not that I didn’t get prepared enough but I was trying to be professional. Furthermore, I knew all what I was gonna teach, as a matter of fact.

Besides adjectives, my pupils were taught on prepositions as well. I warmed ‘em up by coming out a number of prepositions they might’ve been familiar with. The point is they’d be able to make sense of the topic I was about to teach. Meantime, I got out of the class like a million times to make sure where on earth my friend had got stuck. NO sms. NO calls. Nothing at all! Deep in my heart, I found myself grumbling like someone's losing his child, "What the heck is goin' on?"

He turned up there somehow at last after half an hour. God, what a relief! That’s when I’d have told him, “You should watch me carrying the set induction out because it counts!”

With two cute Year Five and Six male pupils in the class

After a while, all copied worksheets were handed to me in person, meaning that I could simply carry my teaching on. As usual. My ‘lost’ friend was already in. Great!

As bailing my pupils out with their worksheets like a busy bee, I let my friend doing his class observation by himself. Like I used to do, nine times, throughout my 30-day School Orientation Programme (SOP) at SMA Sultan Zainal Abidin Ladang in the last three years.

No excuse to get greedy like the Devil so when having an answers-discussing session with the pupils, my friend got assigned to take over the discussion from me for the rest of the worksheet. This value is called ‘cooperation’.

My comment for his teaching would go, “Frankly, you looked less confident, I’m afraid.” His very first time, should be alright. The males strangely turned out to be much more enthusiastic to raise their hand and give an answer. Good. The class ended after a few minutes. Apparently, one mission accomplished!

I subsequently entered the next class as ever. My friend’s taking a seat on an empty dark blue chair at the back of the class and was sort of starting to do another class observation, I suppose. Distributing all three-page worksheets to every pupil and having them complete the exercise in group. Once again, the value of cooperation was being inculcated.

It was a fun riddle activity. I wanted them to be a critical thinker who’s able to think out of the box! Even so, the pupils, you know...fucking bone idles. Sorry, couldn’t help it.

Most of ‘em got (deliberately) totally perplexed, dizzy, faint or whatever with the riddle question things. They’re suffering pening lalat. Ha! Ha! I’d have said this to them, “Serve you right, people!” Even though I got bloody fed up explainin’ few examples umpteen times already. (Phew!) …since it’s, anyhow, my duty to do the explanation – even for the millionth time – I had to.

Lucky them as I never inquired this, “How come you’re so freaking dumb?” Heehee. Prior to disperse, all answers were successfully discussed. Before they got dismissed, they got compelled to first complete the vocabulary exercise. HAR HAR HAR… Vocab is undoubtedly crucial but then again, ‘Do the pupils ever care, anyway?’

Some of the Year Three & Four female pupils except the little one wearing pink tudung is in Year One

To be perfectly honest, I dunno whether they thoroughly have acquired something from my teaching. I hope so. And I wish they could bring along some knowledge home. Because should that happen, my teaching practically has reached a certain quality. And then I deserve The Most Outstanding Tutor Award. Heehee.

Oh dear, totally forgot to ask my friend’s comment upon my teaching. Who can say? He might’ve his own ideas to keep my teaching improved. Never mind. I’ll hit him up later.

Seeing is believing. Both of us had such a long ‘post-mortem’ after that. Ceh wah. About twenty-five minutes long. Somewhere around the center compound. Near his motorbike where he’d parked it. I asked him once again whether he’s still ON with his decision to become a part-time tutor. Guess what? He's still on!

In fact, he did confess he found it slightly awkward to control the second class. He has the guts! I know he could learn, anyway. Because I bet experience is the ‘original’ teacher of our lives, isn’t it? In that case, he deserves the second chance.

Sharing is caring. I didn’t hesitate to impart a little knowledge upon him so he could picture how the very world of teaching profession is like. Naturally, it’s never as easy as ABC. Seeing that he seemed that enthusiastic to give himself a shot, in order to help him out, I whereupon played my role as the middle person to discuss his part-time tutor job application with my manager, Mr Kamarul.

Alhamdullillah (Praise be to Him), can’t buy it as the application got approved this instant! I wish him the best of luck. I’ll ever be there to give him a helping hand, as best I can, insha-ALLAH (God willing).


Teaching should be fun!