New Work.

A proud announcement, although tremulously made, seeing how little time I may have to actually make new entries in this blog...

In the long break since the last post, I have changed jobs. Sadly, I cannot be referred to as teacher any longer, at least for the next two years of my stint here at MOE HQ.

While my counterparts are well into their first week of the school holidays, I continue in my christian suffering as I wake up every morning to trudge my way to work.

Interestingly, at least 2 readers have written into TODAY this week alone complaining that teachers are paid way too much to enjoy this much "holiday". What bothers me about the one reader who wrote in to condemn the practice of paying teachers to enjoy so many days of "paid holiday" is that he himself is married to one such a teacher! I just don't get it! Then again, who am I to assume that there is domestic peace in every Singaporean home?

Anyhow, back to the topic. Today marks my second day at the headquarters, in a division that will for the good of not just myself but the rest of my new colleagues be kept unnamed in this blog... suffice it to say that I've been doing lots of reading and lots of writing!

Happiness!

As an entry level officer though, it was more than a little disheartening to see my first assignment returned to me pock-marked with changes and corrections by the supervisor. Yup, my confidence in my writing abilities has dipped a fair bit this afternoon alone, so it may be another while yet before I venture another entry in this blog.

This is one new reality I need to get used to: gone are the days when my MIGHTY purple pen exercises complete tyrannic sovereignty in defacing the scripts of the students' creative pieces. Gone are the moments of sadistic pleasure derived from penning caustic comments in the margins of badly written essays. Today, and for the rest of the days to come, I switch positions from perpetrator to victim, from victor to vanquished, from teacher to learner.

If you are reading this, do spare a moment.... and say a little prayer for me!