I would first, like to apologize if I ever gave you the “what kinda silly question is that?”-look after you asked me why I chose to be a teacher. The only reason why I have that look is because I thought it was obvious. I mean, look at me. I’m way too cool to NOT be a teacher. Heh heh. Jokes aside, I actually have something serious to say. I’ve been getting a lot of messages on facebook, emails, twitter both from strangers and people I know mostly asking me the mother of all question for a TFM fellow; “Should I or should I not apply for Teach for Malaysia?” Here’s the truth, toned down a little, because everyone knows that being completely honest on a networking site can be easily misconstrued, and this would also be a completely personal take from a 6-month old teacher, yours truly. If you’re asking that question, I say, go ahead and apply. It is in the application process where you will find out if you actually want it. If you have the answer ready for all the questions asked without much difficulty that means you’re passionate enough for the cause. If all you have is “I was inspired by that story where the teacher cried in the toilet” to why you want to be a fellow, then it’s probably not a good sign. It took me 2 and a half years to finally decide to apply for TFM. I went through final year of college constantly on the TFM website almost every single day trying to understand the cause and making sure that I believed in it. Straight out of college, I went for corporate instead, despite having stalked the website for a whole year. But I went on reading about it, spoke about it, talked to people about it and finally got the guts to do it on the application deadline itself, and it has been one of the wildest, best ride of my life. And it is not about being a fellow, it’s completely about being a teacher. My only regret was that I didn’t get to it sooner. If you don’t think you’re cut out for it, I don’t know any fellow that has ever said, “I was born to do this”…in a serious tone and actually truly believing in the statement (…because I sorta say that all the time in light conversations, like I would go, “I was born to do this! I got this!”, poppin’ my collar and pumpin my fists in the air, but it’s mostly to convince myself, but I digress…). The application process itself is rigorous; so let the recruitment and selection team tell you if you can’t do it. What’s important is that you’ve tried. What’s the worst that can happen? You go back to the job that you spent years at college studying for? That doesn’t sound so bad. And if teaching is what you really want to do, TFM isn’t the only way. Having a teacher name tag and going to a school isn’t the only way to teach. There’re kids all around you that need guidance. If you were truly inspired by that teacher who cried in the toilet, then you’d do anything to teach. Know that it’s gonna be one of the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life, know that it is a full 2 year commitment, know it will be strenuous physically, emotionally and mentally but also know that you knew all this before hand and that question of “should I or should I not apply for Teach for Malaysia?” still lingers. If you really believe in the cause, you’ll somehow find a super human energy to push on, one way or another. So go ahead, apply: tfaforms/257615 Teach For Malaysia
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 11:45:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015