Ayeesha's job log: 4
After graduating last year, Ayeesha Shahani found it hard working out what to do next. In need of a course, of course! Over the last year or two I have done a lot of research on teaching courses. I've gone shuttling back and forth when deciding between Primary education and Secondary education, between teaching English, Psychology, Anthropology or Arts, and also between which countries I would eventually like to teach in. I guess being a teacher has always been a realistic career for me in the back of my mind, mainly because there is an abundance of teaching jobs in Hong Kong (my hometown) and I've always known that I want to move back there someday. But is ‘someday’ today?
With my desire to teach fixed in the front of my mind, I set out to find a course that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, that I could do whilst working part time or even full time, and that would quickly qualify me to work in a school so I can go back to Hong Kong and live happily ever after. Monte-what?Whilst I was talking to my aunt about the various advantages and setbacks of different courses I’d found, she cleverly remembered a friend of hers who worked with a group of Montessori schools in HK. For those of you who don’t know, Montessori is a method of education invented by Dr. Maria Montessori in the early 1900s. The Montessori philosophy basically emphasises discovery learning and tries to create a stimulating environment that encourages children to use their natural curiosity to facilitate learning. I had heard of it before as my cousins all went to Montessori schools but it never occurred to me to even look into it, forget doing the course myself. After looking at the website I was absolutely shocked to discover how interesting I found it, how affordable the distance learning course fees were and how truly up my alley this educational philosophy really was. Finally! I had come across an established field that was a perfect blend of Psychology and Social Anthropology that was being practically applied in the world today. Montessori basically took both my disciplines, mixed in a bit of philosophy and pedagogy and boom! - out came my perfect career! I needed to believe that it was fate, since this was the first time in a long time that I felt I had made a positive step forward in a direction that inspired me with hope - instead of one that filled me with more worry. Sign me up!So then, with my aunt as my saviour, I signed up for the course. Not only did she inspire the decision for the next step in my life, but she also insisted on spotting me the £700 I needed to pay for it - now that, my friends, is true love. After all, what are families for! There, it was done. I made the decision that this was the course for me, for now, for this point in my life, so all that was left to do was to start doing the assignments and find a job to give me some experience while I do it (this is the part when the record comes to a screeching stop!) Hang on! 'Find a job' - isn’t that one of those things I have been tiresomely looking for for months on end?! As frustrating as the thought of sending out hundreds of applications to various Montessori schools was, I guess I had to take comfort that at least this time I knew what I wanted! The first thing I did was contact my aunt’s friend in Hong Kong who immediately passed me the contact details for the head of recruitment at her Montessori school. I sent in my CV and application, which informed them that I was 'in training' and that I was trying to gain some practical experience that would complement the material I was covering on my course and I asked them if they had any positions currently available. And then…I crossed my fingers, arms, legs and two toes on each foot and prayed really, really hard! Is that success I smell?!A few days later I received what I took to be a very positive response from the head of recruitment of a Montessori school in Hong Kong. It said that they can’t offer me a full teaching position because I am not qualified, nor can they offer me a full time position without having met me in person…wait for it… HOWEVER!..... they could give me a position as a teaching assistant on the summer school programme during July and August as a ‘test run’ so to speak. So basically… I FINALLY GOT A JOB!! The thought of leaving the UK in such a rush has sent my mind spinning with a million things I need to do now. Although a part of me is sad about leaving my life in the UK behind, especially my family and my boyfriend, I can’t help but feel ecstatic at the thought of going home, with the added bonus of being employed! I think it’s safe to say that things are looking up and that everything will soon be alright. I finally feel like it’s all coming together. I don't really know what ‘it’ is yet…but I sure can’t wait to find out! Read Ayeesha's previous job logs:
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