The Fellowship is a 2-year commitment. What made you decide to do more than that?
Simple: I find joy in teaching. Over the year, I sympathized with my kids. They have progressed so much, and I want to sustain that growth. Last year I taught a different batch. When I saw saw them again this year, much had changed. I couldn’t equip them well enough to learn on their own yet. I need to show them that there is hope.
What do you hope to achieve in your 3rd year that you couldn’t have achieved in 2?
I want to be able to see my students love learning and teach them to learn for themselves. I’ve emphasized being responsible as a student and being hardworking. Now I want to teach them more values that will give them upward social mobility. 2 years is definitely not enough to achieve the goals that I set for myself and my students.
Was this something you saw yourself doing before?
Nope, it wasn’t. I wasn’t looking at education at all, until I attended a UKEC meeting and heard from [Teach For Malaysia co-founder] Keeran himself about the TFM movement. Their passion and drive, coupled with a well-thought mechanism convinced me that this might actually work.
Are you considering staying on in education after this?
Possibly. I’ve always believed in wanting to develop people – hence why I studied psychology. I may go back to that – it remains to be seen. My 2 years as a Fellow have given me skill sets such as planning, vision planning, goal setting, and working with people to achieve a common goal. In a constant battle against a lack of interest in studies, I’ve also picked up skills of persuasion. Where I’ll go remains to be seen, but right now I’d like to see my students through the goals that we set for ourselves.
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