Teacher For A Day

Big Bee's zany classmates!

This is a salute to all teachers, especially primary school teachers. I never knew teaching could be such a draining job until I became a parent volunteer for Big Bee's school yesterday. I reached home and lay flat on the bed after the event, delirious and worn out. I only managed to recover my flagging spirits somewhere around 5pm, but by 10.30pm, I was a lost soul again, having to ask Hubby to help me prepare Little Bee for bedtime and put her to bed. 

I had been a parent volunteer umpteen times in Big Bee's preschool, bringing small little kids out on field trips. Yet, those incidents never made me half as fatigued as yesterday! 

Big Bee's primary school has this wonderful day organised solely by parents, where we take over the entire primary school for one day, so that the teachers can all focus on consolidating their mid year exam results. All activities are planned painstakingly by parents. All child minding and "teaching" on that day are taken charge by mummies and daddies. 

I was being tasked to be a class chaperone, which means that I need to plan for games and activities to keep a class of 30 boisterous 7-year-old kids well entertained and suitably occupied for about 1.5 hour! Quite a challenge, I must say.

Hence, I spent a good part of this week researching for fun games to amuse the girls. Pressure came from Big Bee too. She was elated and excited that I will be her "class teacher" for one day, and kept anticipating for the day to arrive. She warned me to concoct really fun games so that her classmates will not think I am a boring teacher. For she told me they are very critical and brutally honest. This puts more stress on my planning. But she did help significantly by conducting a casual "poll" with her friends and suggesting to me what they would love to play. 

On that morning, she even "censored" my dressing, telling me not to wear "ugly clothes", in her words. *Faint* She finally agreed to a loose dress that I chose, but sadly, 2 of her friends asked her if her mummy is pregnant. Urgh!! 

There were 2 class chaperones - another mummy, G, and me. We decided through emails on the following games to entertain the kids:

1) Draw-a-girl relay game

2) Dance and freeze

3) Hot potato

4) Musical chairs

5) Duck duck goose (suggested by the majority of the girls in high spirits)

When we asked them if they would like to play games, everyone screamed and said "YESSS!!!" Their enthusiasm really spurred the 2 mummies on. 

Girls with so much energy and zest! 

However, as some of these games were competitive in nature, slowly, we saw the nastier and "kiasu" sides of some girls. One girl simply sat on the floor, motionless, pouting and made some kicking actions when we went to ask her what was wrong. I was rather shocked at her behaviour. Another group of girls sulked in a corner and refused to play any more games just because they had been eliminated in the musical chairs game. 

Yet, most of the time, the eliminated girls never failed to argue their case and persuaded us that they sat in the chair first, or was not the last one with the hot potato. My goodness! What happened to the meek, submissive pupils who were us many decades ago, when arguing back to a figure of authority is tantamount to immediate punishment!? 

Cheeky but delightful kiddos

Throughout the class activity session, G and I had to mediate fights between the girls, listened with sympathy and empathy when some girls said who-and-who scolded them for what-and-what, calmed down crying girls and tried to talk sense to the more domineering, stubborn ones. But everything was worth it when a little girl, Teri, walked to me and softly handed me an origami with some drawing on it, smiled to me and said, "Teacher, this is for you." I gave her a tight, thankful hug.

Wow! Now I know why teachers need to be firm and fierce! It really is a jungle of survival of the fittest in primary school! There was really so much group dynamics going on at such a young age! 

However, I am glad to notice that Big Bee was a very accommodating person, very giving and helpful. It warms my heart to see her so well-liked by many girls, both the domineering and the more subdued girls. 

That being said, I had fantastic fun, leading a group of 9 girls which include Big Bee, through a taxing race a la Amazing Race after the class activities, where we had to rush between different stations, overcoming different challenges and obstacles under the hot noon sun! 

Exhausted but happy girls after a highly challenging game "Alien Attack" where the whole group had to cross from point A to B with only 5 legs!

We were ALL elated when their class won the Amazing Race-like competition! To see Big Bee jumping high in mid air and screaming with joy with her classmates when their class was announced as the champions made my heart swell - seeing her imbued with a strong community spirit, knowing that she has a little world outside the warm cosmos in our home. 

With Elsie after they had been awarded the first prize! 

Yet, those pleased little glances and quiet proud looks when her friends milled around me, telling me "Aunty, this" and "Aunty, that" made me so glad I could spend lovely time like this with her in her social world. No matter how tired I felt, I guess I should be volunteering for this event every year :)