it was a sunday morning. i got up early and rushed out for bus at half past six. obviously, it was not a usual day-actually,it was my first day as a teacher.
"it won't be a hard job." i thought after mr. lu phoned the week before, informing my being employed as an english teacher of a spare time school in which he was the director. i didn't find any difficulty in my new job:the texts were very simple and the students i was going to teach were only primary school pupils, which expelled my worry about making mistakes before them. however, i was afraid that i did not at all look like a teacher and as a result, the students, wouldn't listen to me.i almost spent an hour and a half on the way to school. as soon as i arrived, i rushed to mr. lugs office. there, with some other new comers, i listened to mr. lugs explanation of working rules, teachers' duties and the curriculum. everything was all right as i had wished until i came to the door of my class room. the bell had already rung, but the class was racketing as a rock contest. "how can i manage such a group of naughty children?" i hesitated and then stepped in.
it was a small class with altogether 20 students. some boys were chasing each other madly in delirious glee while some girls were chatting loudly in an exceptionally sharp voice. strange enough, as they noticed me, they all returned to their seats and stopped talking. the only reason i could think out for this was that i looked like a teacher, at least in their eyes, which was a great relief to me. after a brief self-introduction, i went on to give my first lesson in english as i had prepared. to my disappointment, all my little students put on a confusing face, their eyes full of puzzle. someone murmured, "i don't understand."and all the others echoed with nodding. they were mostly in grade 5. i must have overestimated them. i switched to chinese at once.
in control was a great challenge.
the first day of my teaching was not perfect but satisfying enough. si nce then i had got to know how a teacher should perform and all the situations that a teacher would run into. though my teaching has been much improved so far, the first day of the job still remains deep in my mind.