But believe me, being a preschool teacher (or most of the teaching job) is not about the money itself. There’s a various aspect being consideration before going into the job contract.
I’m a local university student who majoring in Early Childhood Education. I was eager to know the compatibility from what I learned in uni vs direct field. The bitter truth is, most locals found my major less interesting rather than prestigious major (i.e. Accounting, Business, IT, Medical, etc) even my mom was so reluctant to tell her friends what major I’m studying right now, haha.
Universitas Negeri Jakarta, formerly known as IKIP was the first state-university enrolled Early Childhood Education bachelor program. Previously it was only Diploma program then it evolves until the Post Graduate program today. What we learn in Uni is a great foundation and the curriculum itself was rich. We learn about Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Singaporean, National 2013 Curriculum (KTSP), etc. In short details, UNJ prepared us perfectly as we graduate with a bachelor’s degree.
But, the thing is… maybe…. as a student itself, we are the ones who didn’t prepare to face Global Open Economy competition.
As a connection between my post today, I need to give you this whole picture of what I went through during University.
. . .
During my first month in International Preschool in North Jakarta, I adapt myself to Singaporean Curriculum. Back in uni, we have a picture of Nurturing Early Learner’s curricula, and even had an exam to apply it in micro-teaching. This is what I found as a legit experience as an International Preschool Teacher Assistant
- What Teacher Assistant do
My friend thought when you are working as a teacher assistant, it just a title, like what we experienced in a local school where there’s no significant job difference between Form Teacher and TA. Where I work, there’s a clear job description.
Being a TA, mainly you are assisting the class run by Form Teacher. You are also prepared for art/paperwork/homework/filing requested by FT. Fill the class activity if your FT had urgent matters. Most of the time you are delivering what children needs. Since I was posted into the K1 group age (4 years), they still need an assistant to fetch into the toilet. It’s a safety procedure actually, but most of the kids already independent enough to toilet by themselves. Form Teacher, mainly conduct the class program, create a daily activity, asses and review the kids, also doing academic profiling for each student. It’s more exhausting work because most of the time they juggle around while still maintaining the class run smoothly.
2. Paperwork of paperwork
Here the reality kicks in. As an idealist anti paperwork, I see how the school tries to accommodate a healthy balance between paperwork and real-time engaging activities. Even they have worksheets, they’re also trying to take students outside, create a physical motor activity, build a storytelling session, bring what natures offer into the classroom, and many more counts. The assessment itself also balance between each unique children’s development individually. Here in Indonesia, like the other Asian country and still counted as old fashion style parents, they were asking “where’s my children paperwork? Where’s the homework?”
ya Allah ya Rabb save me LOL… There’s no difference in expectation actually between International School parents and local ones. They still had an idea of school = paperwork. To be honest, the classroom atmosphere itself feels pretty much the same as what I experienced during my internship a few months back in Tarakanita.
3. You have to carefully watch the children
Yes! You don’t want them to get hurt, bump onto the floor, even small scratches matters. While I’m working here, every morning we check kid’s body temperature. If it shows any signs of sickness, we rush them to the clinic immediately. I also trained by my FT to position myself in a full angle of awareness towards my children.
But yea, things happen. It’s normal. Even when a student lost their spoon counted as an accident. School is not meant to be an accident-free environment. But we put any effort to make it less and less.
What if the accident happen? Here kicks my first learning curve in an International Preschool. As a fact, parents do set a high expectation of their children’s safety right? And it’s normal because they paid much. You just have to prepare with any kind of situation or parents you are dealing with. First thing first, you have to position yourself not as a teacher, but as the parents itself. Understanding their position would help you to remain calm and look out the best possible action that needs to take. That’s what I learn from my DHT.
4. Jolly Phonics
Oh! This jolly phonics stuff is a new thing for me. Back in uni, when we learn about language for early learners or English for children we teach them family-friendly words. We learn about children’s language development, scaffolding stages, but we didn’t know how to teach basic English according to that theory, in which we have to teach them the origin of sounds like vowels and vocals.
In Jolly Phonics, students learn to identify the sounds of the words from music and movement mimick. Take an example, you want to identify them with sounds OU then there’s a song about how you prick your finger with a needle and you shout like OUCH! and at the same time, you make a movement of prick finger. It easier for a student to remember phonics.
This what we lack in uni, and might become one of the factors why ECE graduates from a local uni hardly compete in International Preschool.
Most of my TA colleagues originated from English Literature or English Education department. They have two skills ahead us: phonics, fluent English skill, and capability to teach bilingually. Where the other’s area we learned in ECE departments, they gradually adapt themselves to learn it through years of experience. But Jolly Phonics and other stuff is not something we can’t learn as long as we are trying to adapt.
. . .
At the end of the day, being a preschool teacher is always a challenging job. You have everyday learning curves to figure out, even the experienced one like my FT always learn something new each day in the classroom. One of the factors that make the job enjoyable even it’s loaded by work, it’s satisfying to see how well we paid by the end of the month. Our hard work bears great fruit. And that makes us going to take better teaching models and cherish the student day by day.
Some people think when you are being a teacher, the salary could be second (or even last) consideration when it took off. It’s up to each individual to measure how they want to work and appreciate their efforts. But proven studies and my real-life experience in local preschool institutions whereas low paid teachers perform poorly in the classroom rather than well-paid ones. The conclusion: their hard work is not equivalent to what they get after all.
A teacher should be a profession well appreciated by the public. It’s not the matter of public or private school, national or even international school. Because we work with human beings, not with machines nor paper. But being a teacher also how to adapt every day with the world’s fast-changing issues. How worth yourself to receive that steady figure?
It made me think that my beloved UNJ needs to prepare the readiness of its students for this global competition. The work field will set higher entry barrier standards, our bachelors need to be creative to create a work field, we have to equip ourselves with fluent English and various skill sets too.
My father always told me a key to become happy with my job
“Know your value, understand your worth, work for a better version of yourself and the rest are just following the path”
Those are my mantra, and what I learned while working in any school in the future.
Ciao,
Nyoron
