Teaching came as something that began to intrigue me during my teen years. Looking back, I was definitely a handful. Apart from being picked on a lot, I also tend to be a very difficult student to manage or handle simply because something that was being taught never interested me. Call it an epiphany moment, if you must; during this time is when I began observing my teachers' mannerisms and learnt what methods they would deploy to try to engage with their students. I will say that I was blessed with caring and competent teachers especially during my secondary school years. Despite coming from a secondary school of not more than 150 in population, and whilst a large group of students in this school had their own issues (sometimes regarded as second–chance students), I had all the help I needed. Having needed to play a role model a lot of the time in school, it also taught me valuable lessons on empathy and responsibility.

I began helping my friends off and on as soon as I felt that teaching was a calling for me. Having been studious myself, I would often try my best to help those who struggle with what I viewed were my strongpoints. This carried onto my foundation years after school, and consequently throughout my undergrad days. During then, I was an active peer tutor for Mathematical subjects that pertained to CS and IT programs taught at Foundation, Diploma and first year undergrad level. It's also thanks to my constant involvement in this field that I was scouted by some of my own past lecturers to take on my current part-time lecturing job at my alma mater today. If anything, it's also served a great purpose to keep me afloat with my own mental health while I struggled between a toxic household and diminishing interests in my then pursued Master's degree research.

It was one thing to have to adapt to a virtual classroom setting when COVID-19 invaded the globe beginning March 2020, but it was another for me when I had to jump in and start my teaching career this way. Notably, I guess I had the blessing of owning enough equipment and resources to jump start into my first semester of teaching. Throughout the time I've been able to work here at Taylor's College, apart from being able to teach students, I've also been able to design curriculums and lesson material that conform to the expected standards at pre-university level, specifically at Foundation and Diploma levels respectively. Having gone through past experiences myself with some good lecturers too during my pre-university and foundation years, I find myself striving to emulate what I felt was good with their teaching strategies and apply it to my own classes. Redesigning course material felt challenging especially when there were set deadlines for when some classes for a semester are supposed to start. However, from here I've managed to learn a lot myself too and test my own understanding of my own content when teaching – this likely stemmed from feeling responsible to make sure each and every course I facilitate does not feel like a throwaway course, something I felt a few of my undergrad courses were like. Also, having used various other program courses as reference such as those from the Cambridge International AS & A-Level program and Harvard's very own CS101 course among many others has opened me to other standards I hope to elevate my courses to hopefully match a fraction of by quality, content and exposure.

This also came during a time when people's livelihood can be thrown off balance, be it mentally or financially. The pandemic has brought tremendous amounts of uncertainty; while that may have sparked some new beginnings, for many others it meant the requiem of their then flourishing hopes and dreams.. or even worse being their loved ones. My superior during this time I was being hired told me to practice empathy and be approachable while not being too stickler with the rules set without any considerations given. Granted, I think everyone needs all the help they can get, but in my personal opinion it should never come in an expense of simply chasing after someone else's dreams or the lack of awareness of the privilege they have to be given an opportunity to study when such are getting much harder to come by. It really is my own hope that every student who experienced the brunt of studying during a pandemic-striken season know that there may well be those who have a lot more worries or responsibilities to even accept the call (or be given one for that matter) to receiving good quality education.

Opinions of me as their teacher or course facilitator have been mixed - this can be attributed to my own shortcomings in character and in expectations. For one, I can easily tend to be scatterbrained and fail to sense that what I mentioned may not be clear for my students to thoroughly understand. As any good teacher would say, it is always best for us to accept our own faults and make every day living through while making full use of each new opportunity presented to us to constantly better ourselves.. one small step at a time. It's always been a difficult period during which some still expect perfection in their own ways, and those whose reassurance to take care of ourselves slowly morph into messages of prioritizing our own well-being over others, pandemic or no pandemic. One trait I find admirable about good teachers is their willingness to go far and beyond regardless of whether it inconveniences them (being the best case scenario) or not. The sense of selflessness is one I hope to fully embrace and exude in all that I do as an educator - ego and greed should not come as expenses to the way how teachers present themselves to those they are meant to touch.

Every educator's story does not end simply because their term ends. My reflections may change as time progresses, and I imagine I won't be bound to my current workplace forever. One thing will always stand clear – I am forever grateful for each opportunity I get to learn something new from my students each time I'm presented with another to guide them.

Art by  @Orlando_Fox