Not only me.
It's getting crazy in schools nationwide.
Talk about less paperwork? Pahhh, there're more forms to fill up and now every teacher has to go online to key in marks as well. Those people sitting comfortably in their aircond rooms are not efficient. They tell us to key in the marks by so-and-so dates but their own system keeps crashing because it can't accommodate hundreds of online users. hahahaaa.... and to make matters worse, we teachers have no time to keyin the marks at school. 25 periods a week [not including relief periods] means there's not even time to finish marking the students' books.
So what do we do? We have to return home in the afternoons [usually after 3-4pm daily] and turn on our own computers. Try to get back to the websites and hope they don't crash again.
And schools?
Haaa... crazy.
Now I have 5 classes of English language to teach. I mean 5 classes x 40 periods a week. I don't even have enough time to mark all the books for 3 classes, now they are adding another class for me. All because the former teacher has been transferred out and they do not have more English teacher to take over the 4 classes she had been teaching. This is the first time in my teaching career as a language teacher to get 5 classes of English. When will I have time to mark the essays, summaries, comprehension and grammar books before the next lesson?
With the 1student 1sport programme,we are going home late as well. Got to train the students in the field. Sports practice without a proper field and with the sports day in June. After school, rain or shine. Problem is, only all the teachers and students have to be in the field. The senior assistant in charge of this can be relaxing at home. The boss resting upstairs. We are not allowed to take turns like we used to. And by 4.30pm, we are physically and mentally tired. But we got to go home and cook, wash, and become wives and mothers.
Now we are told that we can't go for holidays as we plan. Stop planning for holidays until the principal says we can. Why? We have to attend a week of Program Peningkatan Prestasi Murid in the first week of the May-June holidays. That means all the Form 3 and Form 5 students have to turn up as well. No excuse. No even kenduri-kendara or palnned family holidays. Provide a show-cause letter if don't attend as ordered.
Now due to the lack of time for meetings [Monday and Tuesdays sport prctise till 4.30pm, Thursdays extra classes till 5.00pm], the boss wants to conduct meetings on Fridays after zohor prayers. And most teachers say @#$% under their breath. It's bad enough that we don't even get a glass of water during the meeting. Now we have to forfeit our Friday marketing for another round of marathon meeting [usually the boss talks, we listen]. Again, no excuse for not turning up later.
Because a school somewhere has started the 7am programme for their hostel students, we are asked to be in schools to monitor our students by 7am daily. And we are laughing because the students won't be in school until 720am, the earliest. So it's be this teacher looking after an empty room. Will the boss be around at 7am? She will, because she has no small children whose nurseries open only after 7am.
So tell me, tell me... when is our time with our family?
When can we rest?
When can we take the time to prepare teaching aids and other resource materials?
Instead of rushing here and there in school, keying-in marks after marks, filling up forms, warming the chairs during meetings and babysitting hungry students who do no want to study after 1pm [they have to wait till 2.30 to go home]?
It's bad enough that almost every Saturday is a school activity day.
Everything is decided and we have to obey orders. Kami yang menurut perintah. We have mentally become like robots, not merely civil servants.
Why don't you all protest? asked hubby.
Because everyone wants to look good. Stand up to protest and you'll be labelled the bad guy. Your prestasi will be bad, even static the next year for being bold to voice your displeasure.
Remember that the boss gives you marks.
Me?
I'm not a coward but my time is precious. I don't have time to wait for hours in front of one particular door. I'd rather voice it here and get it off my chest.
Who knows, by the time this is read, hubby might change his mind and offers to support me monthly with a RM4000 salary. Then I can quit my job, and look 10 years younger.... hahahaa, I can't wait for that day to come.