Basket.

I feel a sense of achievement, because forty-one essays have been graded, comments put down and the marks recorded, now to sit pretty on my desk until they return to their budding young authors.

I could have just put down a single word of comment for all the scripts:

Read.

Alright, two words maybe:

Read. More.

Perhaps eleven, come to think of it:

Read. More. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY.

Yes, they do need it that much, which is why I was grinning with ill-concealed sardonic glee in class today when my colleague gave out a worksheet of grammar errors and I caught a good number of the class laughing - of course, they had all committed similar crimes in their essays.

Then again, teaching is about concealing your true feelings, although it is no secret to any of my students that I was the first batch to get Social Studies and I loathed it. On Wednesday I had to push a manifestly unenthusiastic class to participate in team-building activities, and for weeks now I've had to say things like "Singapore is a nation where there is and must be harmony between the various races so that there can be progress and equality for all" (or a combination of that) and keep a straight face. In addition, I've had to castigate students for an obvious lack of effort, remind them not to swear in my class and punish them for doing so, and severely deal with students who do other work during my classes. Me, who in my school days regularly neglected class discussions, hurled vulgarities whenever I wanted to (though not within audible range of an authority figure, usually) and on not-so-rare occasion had to rush work covertly in class. Some things really never change.

But some things do, and greatly. My Sec 2s have the usual project to complete - Powerpoint, but these days they are suggesting that they put their presentations on thumb drives. When I was in Sec 2 the only thing we had was floppy disks, with the CD-R only just beginning its all-too-brief reign, and the buzz still being about the now virtually forgotten ZIP drive. It is truly an entirely distinct world they are growing up in.

I can only wonder how things will be like when I eventually start my career for real. What surprises will the students of the future hold?