The Story of Little Miss C, My Ex-Student
"I was a kindergarten teacher."
No matter how often I mentioned that some people still think that is so bizarre. "You don't like children, aren't you?" And yes, I often think that children are revolting, I don't want to have them myself, so how in the hell I actually took care of others' kids? I came to the realization of this quite early, you could blame my horrific childhood or abuses that I received in my young age, I just believe children aren't for everyone, and especially not for me.
But I was indeed a kindergarten teacher for 2 years in my mid-twenty. I conducted both preschool and kindergarten classes during that period of time. That means: I potty trained and taught small children to read, not only 1-2 kids, but perhaps like dozen of them. I took that job because I needed the money, and I thought it wasn't going to be that hard since the class only lasted for 3 hours per day. But of course, I was wrong, it was in fact the hardest job I've ever done in my whole life.
Let's not talk about how dreadful it was because I can just ramble about it for hours (parents complained because their 4yo kid can't read, blamed by the headmistress because on swimming day a 3 yo student put his head under the water, a spoiled-angry-kid bit you and hurt you physically, being pooped and peed on, are just some of the example). In this chance, I would actually share with you one of my sources of joy in that job, and it was my student, (let's call her) C.
Since the school that I taught at was a semi-international school, of course, all of my students were coming from upper-class families. But if you imagine that all wealthy kids appear 'wealthy', then you're wrong. C father was a successful contractor and her mother worked in the health sector. She had 3 brothers (with a very close age gap) and was basically raised by her driver. Yes, her parents were barely at home and always were so busy with work, so unlike other children who came to school dolled up super cute by their mother, C often seen with mismatch articles of clothing and un-brushed hair (because apparently, she taken care of her own self in the morning). But despite all of those things, she was the one I like the most.
She was the most mature 5-year-old girl I've ever encountered. Remember fighting over toys with your friend in your early life? It never happened with C, she was just so so sensible! If a friend seized a toy she was playing with, she would say things like, "Okay you can borrow that but please give it back to me later, okay?" And she always found another 'exciting' things to do while waiting for her friend to gave her toy back. She was also super smart, she taught herself to read (she made mistakes obviously, but she was able to remember all the corrections I gave her and didn't repeat the same mistakes again and again). She also spoke English really well, her accent was very American (thanks to the TV show she watched haha), and she actually never said any Indonesian word at school (we used English as the main language at school, but many children were commonly just mixed the 2 languages).
She wasn't the most outgoing girl, she didn't speak that much except for the time she needed to, and that's actually was one of the most amazing qualities I like from her. Even for an adult, sometimes it's hard for them to realize when to talk and when to keep it quiet, and finding it in a 5-year-old girl was super refreshing. She was the most humble yet well-spoken student that I had, I was so head over heel for her, and my coworkers knew that very well. I used to brush her hair every day and made her hair, I often drew together on playtime with her, taught them how to draw certain things (she loved drawing) or told her stories. I tried to be fair to everyone, but as a human, I think it's normal to have a favorite, and C was my cherry-picked!
I know that most people don't have the best memories of their kindergarten teacher, but I secretly wished that C would remember me for as long as she could. I hope that one day when I google her name, I could find her and check on how she's doing and what great stuff she has done. Knowing her made my teaching-year amazing, and I am forever thankful to her for giving me that feeling.
I hope you're doing well, C.
Love from your ex-teacher,
Miss L
No matter how often I mentioned that some people still think that is so bizarre. "You don't like children, aren't you?" And yes, I often think that children are revolting, I don't want to have them myself, so how in the hell I actually took care of others' kids? I came to the realization of this quite early, you could blame my horrific childhood or abuses that I received in my young age, I just believe children aren't for everyone, and especially not for me.
 |
| My Class-Room Situation |
But I was indeed a kindergarten teacher for 2 years in my mid-twenty. I conducted both preschool and kindergarten classes during that period of time. That means: I potty trained and taught small children to read, not only 1-2 kids, but perhaps like dozen of them. I took that job because I needed the money, and I thought it wasn't going to be that hard since the class only lasted for 3 hours per day. But of course, I was wrong, it was in fact the hardest job I've ever done in my whole life.
Let's not talk about how dreadful it was because I can just ramble about it for hours (parents complained because their 4yo kid can't read, blamed by the headmistress because on swimming day a 3 yo student put his head under the water, a spoiled-angry-kid bit you and hurt you physically, being pooped and peed on, are just some of the example). In this chance, I would actually share with you one of my sources of joy in that job, and it was my student, (let's call her) C.
Since the school that I taught at was a semi-international school, of course, all of my students were coming from upper-class families. But if you imagine that all wealthy kids appear 'wealthy', then you're wrong. C father was a successful contractor and her mother worked in the health sector. She had 3 brothers (with a very close age gap) and was basically raised by her driver. Yes, her parents were barely at home and always were so busy with work, so unlike other children who came to school dolled up super cute by their mother, C often seen with mismatch articles of clothing and un-brushed hair (because apparently, she taken care of her own self in the morning). But despite all of those things, she was the one I like the most.
She was the most mature 5-year-old girl I've ever encountered. Remember fighting over toys with your friend in your early life? It never happened with C, she was just so so sensible! If a friend seized a toy she was playing with, she would say things like, "Okay you can borrow that but please give it back to me later, okay?" And she always found another 'exciting' things to do while waiting for her friend to gave her toy back. She was also super smart, she taught herself to read (she made mistakes obviously, but she was able to remember all the corrections I gave her and didn't repeat the same mistakes again and again). She also spoke English really well, her accent was very American (thanks to the TV show she watched haha), and she actually never said any Indonesian word at school (we used English as the main language at school, but many children were commonly just mixed the 2 languages).
She wasn't the most outgoing girl, she didn't speak that much except for the time she needed to, and that's actually was one of the most amazing qualities I like from her. Even for an adult, sometimes it's hard for them to realize when to talk and when to keep it quiet, and finding it in a 5-year-old girl was super refreshing. She was the most humble yet well-spoken student that I had, I was so head over heel for her, and my coworkers knew that very well. I used to brush her hair every day and made her hair, I often drew together on playtime with her, taught them how to draw certain things (she loved drawing) or told her stories. I tried to be fair to everyone, but as a human, I think it's normal to have a favorite, and C was my cherry-picked!
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| C, after I brushed her hair. |
I hope you're doing well, C.
Love from your ex-teacher,
Miss L
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