What Home Econs Means to Me

Shall start my story from about 4 or 5 years back.... 

I took home econs and F&N when i was in my sec school days.

It was actually during my N and O level period that i really loved F&N as a subject and as a whole. 

Maybe because of my character, i didnt like subjects that i cannot apply to life. I prefer to study things that relates to my daily life. I prefer to learn things that i can see rather than things that i cannot see. Maybe thats one of the reasons why i love this subject because it relates to my life in such a great way! =))

Because of my interest in this subject, i tend to put in more effort and therefore scoring better for my exams. I remember when i was doing my O level coursework i would often stay in school till late just to research or edit my coursework. It wasnt easy doing my O level coursework but i had a great time with my peers and most importantly my teacher. =)) 

In fact, my teacher was the source of my inspirtation to take up this course. Her love for this subject and her dedication to us as her very first batch of O Level students inspired me to be a teacher just like her. 

This path wasnt the one i wanted initially. After my O levels posting, i got into Early Childhood Education and the Diploma in Consumer Science & Technology by MOE and TP. 2 paths lay before me. Which to choose? After much considerations i decided to take the challenge to be a Teacher. A Home Economics teacher!

I remembered my interview in MOE. In fact I didnt even plan what to say during my interview. I just went there with an open heart about this course. I remembered one of my interviewers asking me this question: " Why do you want to be a Home Economics teacher?"

My reply was: "I loved this subject and while many people may feel that this subject is not important, it is an important life skill. I want to change their mindset that Home econs is not just about cooking and sewing! There's something more to it."

My interviewer just smiled! =) Maybe it's because of this that they decided to let me take up this course. 

The route wasn't easy for 3 years in Temasek Polytechnic. I lived in the west and TP is in the east. It was torturing to travel so far just to get to school every morning. It was even more torturing when lessons end late and you have to travel for 2 hours to get home when your friends just needed 30 mins or so. 

It's tiring! But i did it and so did most of my friends! We did it for 3 years. NIE is just a short period of about 6 months! All of you can do it too! =))

It was during my Student Internship Programme (SIP) that i experienced teaching a class on my own. It was stressful and frightening but it takes experiences to overcome them. After about 3 tries teaching on your own you wouldn't feel the pressure anymore. In fact my friend and I who were in the same school felt it was much simpler as time goes by. These students just needed you to guide them along. They're quite sweet too! One even brought kueh for us to eat! =))

Experiences in this path of my life is so fullfilling that i learn something new everyday. =))