Basket.

Well, my latest stint is over. I left with distinctly mixed feelings: on the one hand, I am certainly glad about not having to get up at 6am again for the forseeable future; on the other, I genuinely enjoyed teaching at my alma mater - sharing inside jokes with my juniors and making ex-teachers feel their age. My dear 6O gave me a card and a really nice Eeyore mug, which was really sweet of them because I only taught them for one term. I was honestly both surprised and touched, especially by all the saccharine thoughts they penned. It made me finally stop questioning the soundness of my decision to stay on for three more weeks after Semester 1 opened, because this - this is job satisfaction.

RJC was a whole different ball game from Whitley, obviously, but it was anything but easy. The students definitely challenged and outshone me in a number of areas, although I cry foul because it was Science and Technology. I guess in a school like this, it wouldn't make any sense for one to be offended by being corrected by students. I'm not - partly because I remember the times when I did the correcting. Marking made me flat-out, but I somehow got through it before term started, and then coasted on presentations (to me it's a teacher's dirty trick, but one I'm happy to use) and assignments for the last 3 weeks. I suppose it would be illogical to complain about how it all fell into place.

Perhaps what is most surprising is that I emerged with a newfound respect for teachers past. Seeing up close how much they have to do and the pressure they are all facing this year (first through-train batch going for A-Levels) and how coolly they handle it all reminded me how much of a handful even (relatively) good students can be. I have more of an understanding now of teachers I once privately scorned - I know their roles and their usefulness, and it sometimes goes beyond simply being a good classroom teacher.

All in all, this is one job I'll do again in a heartbeat. Never mind the crushing marking load and the ungodly hours - it's something I know I'll enjoy.