Have you ever considered having a summer job? Last summer, I had my first summer job as a private tutor for a Form One student. It was invaluable experience. I was faced with problems, but I was able to deal with them and learn from the job.
Being a private tutor was challenging. The first difficult task was not knowing how to answer the questions asked by my student. The Form One curriculum was not as easy as I thought, and I was confused and tongue-tied when my student asked me difficult questions (especially in Mathematics). Moreover, like many teachers, another problem I faced was that my student always handed in her homework late. She was not naughty but lazy. Thus she did not do the homework which I gave her and always owed me lots of ‘debts’. In addition to this, I was under a kind of ‘invisible’ pressure as I would be worried about the results of my student and whether she had improvements in her studies.
However, each difficulty invariably has its own solution. In order to answer the difficult questions asked by my student, I would ask my teachers and classmates (particularly those good at Maths) for help. Therefore, I knew the answers and was able to clear up my student’s doubts. Also, I would give my student gifts such as candy or pens so as to make sure she handed in all the homework. But if she did not hand in homework on time I would give her twice as much homework! Furthermore, to reduce my invisible pressure, the thing I did was to try my best to teach my student. Because I had done all to the best of my ability, no matter what results my student would get, I felt no qualms.
Despite the difficulties above, I have learnt much from the job. First of all, I have realized that there are still many things we do not know. Hence, we should keep learning and continue asking questions whenever necessary. Another thing I have learnt from the job is that there are always different solutions for the problems. For instance, if my student does not hand in homework, I may punish her. But if she still cannot hand in the homework, I will just give her less. Lastly, I have learnt if we try our best, we should feel no shame.
Are you interested in having a summer job now? If you want to get some work experience, it is really a choice for you to have a summer job, and you will benefit from it.