The Footsteps of a Teacher - Teacher Margaret from R.E.A.L. Kids Kajang Prima

“Be a kindergarten teacher if you really love children and finance is not the main goal. This is the first time for a child to learn social skills and it can be frightening for them but it is important.” – Teacher Margaret

Have you ever wondered what is it like being a kindergarten teacher? Is it all just fun and games with cute little children? What are the challenges involved in this career? Many people think that a kindergarten teacher has fun all the time with adorable little children but how much truth is in that assumption? Let us ask someone who has been in the education industry for 7 years!

Teacher Margaret has been with R.E.A.L Kids Kajang Prima for 7 years now and she is familiar with all the ins and outs of being a kindergarten teacher. She is someone who is always smiling and joyful. She generally tends to stay out of others’ personal matters as she feels it is not her place to interfere but sometimes this makes her come across as unfriendly. After working so many years alongside her colleagues, they've come to see that she’s far from unfriendly and really enjoy her company. We had the opportunity to talk to teacher Margaret and get to know her a little better. Ms Margaret is someone who exhibits strength and courage because of the challenges she had to go through in life. We could see the devastation in her eyes as she told us about her late husband and the struggles she went through finding ways to support her children who were still in school at that time. She managed to pass through 3 levels of interview for a bank call centre but later on declined the job offer despite the good pay because of the unsuitable work schedule that would not enable her to care for her children. That was the beginning of Ms Margaret’s journey with us at R.E.A.L Kids.

Ever since then, teacher Margaret has told us that she has no regrets about the decision to work in R.E.A.L Kids. She tells us about all the interesting and fun things that go on at the Kajang Prima centre but the most outstanding story is about their annual concert. Teacher Margaret had on the biggest smile on her face as she told us in detail about the concert. She would teach her students to sing and perform. She told us about how last year she taught 2 girls to perform the song “let it go” and how well they did! Teacher Margaret loves to sing and believes in the use of music to be creative in conducting her lessons. She would come up with catchy tunes, which we had the privilege of having a preview, to teach her children. She tells us that its creative methods like these that help engage the students better and effectively. So it is not just the children that have fun in class, but so does the teacher!  

Teaching children sounds like fun! Whoa whoa.. hold your horses. There are challenges as well in this line of career.

We asked teacher Margaret what are some challenges being in this line of work and she looked at us with a small smile on her face. “Our daily lives are already challenging. Waking up at 5.30am to beat the traffic jam from Semenyih to Kajang is a challenge. Life is always full of challenges.” Wise words from a kindergarten teacher. She continues sharing with us about how it is sometimes challenging to prepare homework for the children, marking books, preparing for classes the next day and juggling all this with the limited time there is in a day.  Even with all that pressure, you still see the joy in teacher Margaret’s eyes telling you that she is not beaten down by the challenges in this career line but she is in fact made stronger through all these.

“I remember in one of my classes, I assigned a student of mine to do extra homework by colouring in a drawing of a face even though the instructions on the book clearly stated that colouring was not necessary. His parents came back the next day to ask why did I give extra work to their child and I told them that it was because I wanted him to practice his grip on his pencil.”

                Teacher Margaret isn't a teacher who would simply just follow the guidelines of the book but would go the extra mile in teaching her students. You could see how dedicated and passionate she is about her work and children. She always has the best interest of her students in mind and will be on the lookout of methods to help improve their learning. While having fun too of course! She would tell her students’ parents “I need to be a little bit more firm with your children so that they can be a little bit better.” The dedication portrayed by teacher Margaret is something that is amazing. Being a kindergarten teacher should not be taken lightly. It is a huge responsibility and it requires hard work. However seeing teachers like teacher Margaret talk with such a burning passion about her work, it truly inspired us. 

Eunice Loh - Teaching Preschoolers as a Second Career

From Left: Kenny, Esther, Eunice, Selvi, Sooria & Rachel during R.E.A.L Long Service Award 2015, 15th Jan 2015 in HQ.

10 years with R.E.A.L Kids Wangsa Melawati. Teacher Eunice is a lovely teacher who joined us back in 2004 as an Assistant Teacher in R.E.A.L Kids Wangsa Melawati, better known as CEC back then. She was formerly a professional working in the field of Quantity Surveying, a lucrative and competitive career with hectic deadlines. She never knew teaching preschoolers was her calling. It was a fine day she walked in to our center and everything changed from then on. By chance she would say, she was there to enroll her son in the kindergarten and she realized how much she would love to work with children than with buildings.

In her own words, Eunice said, "Children had given me a lot. Every year, I see new faces. They are cute and I don't feel we're old. A lot of opportunities were given to me to advance my career with R.E.A.L Kids. From Assistant Teacher to Class Teacher to HoD for 5-year-old classes. I later took up a Diploma in Early Childhood from Institute CECE  to better equip myself with the industry's standard. Good times and bad, during my term with R.E.A.L Kids, the Center Manager Esther guided and taught me some important lessons before too." But it's all good today, resigning as an Assistant Supervisor, Eunice has decided to migrate to another country with her family and we wish her all the best.

Some additional Q&A with Eunice post award:
1. It is definitely not easy to decide to resign from a lucrative QS (Quantity Survey) career to join R.E.A.L Kids as an Assistant Teacher. Can you share with us, how did you battle that huge change?

"Career, family, money. It came a time I had to decide what I really wanted in life as a mother. Quantity Surveyor was a really competitive career. I had to do tender, do the quantity surveying jobs and rush for deadlines every time there's a project to deliver. I made a lot of money but I had no time to spend the money. We are all answerable to ourselves. What we believe in. You can't please everyone but you yourself must be aware what's worth your time. What makes you happy and what satisfies you. My son was 5 years old that time and I was in my thirties."

2. Any regrets for the drastic career change?
 "If there was any regret, I regretted I did not take up Education that time." 

3. Were your family members supportive of that decision?
"Not really. But I was answerable to myself. I was lucky my husband made sufficient to support our family."

4. What's your plan moving forward? Will you pursue Early Childhood when you're in Australia?
"Maybe. Perhaps in Special Needs, but nothing is firm as of now."


 

Professional Working Mum Turned Preschool Teacher

Are you currently a high-flying career woman with young children?

Is your child growing uninterested in his preschool and started to behave emotionally remote to learning?

Have you ever cried in your car after sending your child off to school feeling a growing emotional distance with your child?

Where had the good times gone to?

Remember the time his Art Teacher came to you genuinely concerned about his life at home? Simply because of the morbid colors he used in his artwork. Only to find out that his friends took all the other colors and he was left with the morbid colors to play with.. And the moment you both laughed together with your cheeks still wet.

If only his preschool teachers were as gifted as you when it comes to communicating with your child..

That was when she decided to make a career change and took a pay cut from a handsome 5-figure to a meager 3-figure monthly paycheck.

All for the sake of her lovely boy. And the other children she could give her time and attention to. So their mummies and daddies can have some peace at work.

(Special dedication to a career mum who made a huge sacrifice to her lifestyle privileges for the benefits of her son and many other children. I'm personally impressed with her enthusiasm to create an impact and NOT a legacy. Something I could use some time to figure as I continue this journey of life.)