Since I started this profession, I always try to bond with the students. I play, joke, rest, and pray together with them until we form a deep bond. Such approach makes it easier for the student to understand the lessons I teach them.
Before becoming a civil servant candidate, I was a non-permanent teacher. It was not easy because I had a lot of work, but the pay was low—very unreasonable. The salary for a non-permanent teacher in Bantul was around 300,000 rupiahs per month ($20), far below the regional minimum wage, and was not commensurate with the time, effort, and cost required to obtain a bachelor's degree.
In my opinion, a teacher must have these three key elements: competence, creativity in teaching, and sincerity to lead their students to success. Competence is obtained in college, and one should already have the sincerity quality when deciding to pursue the teaching profession to educate the future generation.
I've been through a lot for the past three years as a teacher. As a beginning teacher who still lacks experience, I am often underestimated or belittled by others, including the students' parents who are mostly older than me. So, how do I deal with this?
Being a non-permanent teacher is not easy, especially when burdened with heavy workload, high standard of professionalism, and time-consuming administrative tasks. Such circumstances often lead to a heavy heart, bring out the urge to quit and switch to other professions that offer better welfare.
As a teacher, I must be able to teach and educate students. Teaching is related to providing or transferring knowledge to students. Educating is related to providing values and norms (character education) to students, commonly called the transfer of value.
Beginning teachers are often seen as creative, innovative teachers who are good at using the latest technologies. Such assumptions are sometimes true, and sometimes they are not. Due to these assumptions, beginning teachers have to keep on learning to become quality teachers. High hopes are resting on these young teachers' shoulders.
Most beginning teachers are generally overburdened with tasks. I currently work as a primary school teacher, and I also feel overburdened. Being a beginning teacher, I feel that the challenges of educating children in this digital age are innumerable and tough.
People say the older the teak, the more expensive it will be. The same goes for beginning teachers, who take years before becoming quality teachers. As a beginning teacher, I recognise the lengthy process I have to undergo. I have many cases to solve and many students to understand.
My greatest challenge as a teacher is teaching a student with special needs. In my class, there is one student with special needs whom I call a special child. Every day, the child scribbles on his notebook. He would sometimes come out of the class and run around the school, passing other classes. When teachers reprimanded him, he threw a tantrum and ran again.