Such joy
Thursday, January 17th, 2008I
never knew they could bring me such joy.
They
are back in the centre after a month long holiday break. Almost all
of them settled back into routine rather well. It is so good having
them around again. I found out that if it wasn’t for them, i wouldn’t
have travel such a distance, not even for any money paying job.
Having
been with them about a year and half now, i’ve grown accustom to
their behaviours and known them for who they are. They are a funny
bunch of kids, and i love them for that! At the end of each day, i’ll
have a smile of contentment that they made my day. Reflecting on the
funny moments at the centre, of how the child reacted or behaved,
their antics and ’silliness’, their cuteness and funniness, hehehe…
their “it is so them” moments.
I
especially love the schooling kids. They are the older group ranging
from 7 to 11 years. Each of the children have their own unique
personality. Remember how i was almost traumatised my the two
’screamin-at-the-top-of-their-lungs’ tantrum throwing kids at my
first week of work? They have the most powerful high pitched scream
which could raise any dead person…. Lazarus…..or at least my bulu
roma.
Anyway,
those two are just funny once you know why they behave such a way.
You could almost predict and see certain things coming from them,
given a set of conditions. Not that i’m already expert of them, but
i’ve come to know their personalities. Just last tues i had to put up
with a boy whining pitch high at my ears. He just refused to get his
work done and kept trying to get off task. Would you believe in the
45 minutes of study time, i’ve only managed to get him write his
name. And that’s all?!! He’s quite smart in a sense trying to
manipulate the adults with his threats of deafening cries thinking we
would give in to his whimps and fancies. Even got into self injuring
behaviour, of which i had two stinging tight slaps from, on my hand.
Ouch! Tough battle, but lets see who will win. We’ve got our ear
plugs ready~! Hehehe…..
And
today, i was trying not to laugh as a girl unwillingly does her
couting activities. I dunno why, but she suddenly burst out crying
when she saw the counting worksheet. Prolly she ‘misses’ them, coz
she hasn’t been doing the worksheet in a long time or she was just
complaining while crying ‘why in the world am i doing this again?’ It
was a funny sight looking at her, coz she doesn’t know how to
verbally complain that she don’t wanna do it, but she had to cry it
out with tears and all. A friend of hers was so cute, he got a tissue
box to her table and tell her ‘no crying’. I never knew he could be
so sensitive and so aware of his social cues.
I
love the fact that i now know the children better and that i’m more
confident in handling them. I remember how i used to be scared and
not knowing what to do. But yea, they turn out to be children after
all. They could be cheeky, naughty, rebellious, loving, innocent,
blur, fun and all.
I
like to see how the children progress on their academic development,
from not knowing how to write their name to writing new words now.
From not knowing how to handle scissors to doing cutting and paste
activities. From counting to doing addition. It gives me a sense of
satisfaction. =)
I
also like the behaviour management. From making whinny irritating
sound to knowing how to say “i want rest”. From being a whirlwind
of tornado as soon as he steps into the centre to a boy who could sit
down and read and greets you “hi” as soon as he steps into the
centre. From a shy ‘hide-my-face-in-the-pillow’ to telling me about
her Sabah holiday. It is a joy of knowing you are at the right place.
=)
I
would love to be a friend to these children. Playing and join in
their little games. But i also have to remember that i am a teacher,
to be the role model, to teach the right stuffs and to be of sound
mind!
Many
people, when i tell them what i do, they think i must have lots of
patience and love. Well, i guess having those help, and i think i do
have what it takes. But what i always tell them is, “Having a good
sense of humour helps a lot. You must know how to laugh”.
Learning
how to laugh has help me cope with my work. Many times i tell people
if i don’t laugh, i would have quit long time ago! (Joking! That’s
not the deciding factor, God leads me.) Anyway, it’s good to laugh
things off, even when the kids drives you up the wall or when you
just feel like flushing him down the toilet, or mince him into the
blender and make ‘char-siew pau’ or tie him to the ceiling fan and
sping him round and round. Sadistic? Yea, very!
See,
why i say you have to have a good sense of humour? If you don’t you
might just really wanna commit those acts that i mentioned. Last year
i had such horrid thoughts in my head, that i couldn’t believe i
could have thought those thoughts. It was then i realised how real
child abuse could happen to these children. They really do test your
patience, some purposefully, some just being who they are.
Patience,
love and all are my part to work on. What these children are rubbing
into me, hopefully make me better person. I think they rub on more to
me than i on them. I realized after a while of working with them my
communications skills had gone down the drain. Sentence structure and
intelligent talk are out of the window. For a moment i just talking
in two or three words sentence. Anyways, people who do come and talk
to me, please have something intelligent to talk about. Current
affairs, general knowledge, bible……
Many
of times i use to wonder and still wonder why such children exist. I
ask God “So which part of You are in them Lord?” for He made all
of us in His own image. I wonder….. i dunno which part of Him are
in them. Humour maybe? ‘coz i find them funny. =) i don’t have the
answer, but i have the faith that i’ll see them in heaven. I guess
these are God’s special children. He knew them before they were even
form in their mother’s womb, He knows each one by name and the number
of hairs on their head. God made them, he made them special just like
you and me.
