Letters | How one teacher found job satisfaction and happiness again
- Readers discuss Hong Kong teachers’ happiness, how to dispel the unhappy vibes hanging over the city, English proficiency, and what China and Russia might be quietly planning together
I was struck by a recent survey by the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, which showed the happiness index for teachers falling to 4.33 out of 10, the lowest level in a decade.
Around the time when the report came out, I finished my placement in a local primary school. There was a month when work was just overwhelming, and I seemed to lose all passion for teaching. The truth is that while I looked well put together from the outside, I was asking myself every day, “What am I doing? Why am I here? Will I be a capable teacher in future? Why does everyone else look so fine?”
That was when I realised that the trouble was not the sheer number of things to do, but rather the struggle to project a healthy image in front of students when you might be cracking up mentally back in your own seat. But so what? Life went on.
I made more effort to fulfil my responsibilities and find my way forward. I finally felt a sense of relief, not because my placement was ending, but because my students were getting more familiar with me and starting to show they loved me and genuinely wanted to attend my classes. Their sparkling little eyes, direct expressions of appreciation and the effort I could see had gone into their homework slowly reignited my passion.