The experiences of a school principal who’d started overseeing the workings of a distant-region school, translated…
Every time there’s news on how there’s this lacking of teachers in the distant regions, I’d always gotten reminded of my experiences. For me, those day were, happy, with my moods, lifted.
Early in the morn, I’d stood outside the gates of the schools, watching the parents drop off their young, and bid me good morning, then, returned back to the fields to work, I’d felt I was, entrusted by these parents, to give to my students during the day, like how the parents would, look after their crops so they’d all grow up well.
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When the school let out, the parents, with their, muddied shoes, and sweat rolling down their tanned faces, brought over the crops they’d harvested for the day. It may be some fruits, or a bag of, vegetables, I’d always, taken them, while not wanting to impose, and understood, that these, simple gifts, were a show of thanks to us, teachers.
This school located on the hilltops of Puli, is a way away from the city, but, you get to, see the entire basin from up here. There was, a fruit farm next by, in the summertime, when the fruit trees were in full bloom, the aromas from the flowers would greet us. There were, only limited number of students, and the family makeup are not necessarily, all the same, and we, the teachers needed to be more attentive to the students. Once, a teacher told me, that there was this young girl who’d, mutilated herself with a craft knife; based off of my experiences, these things usually happen to students in the higher grades, and the students may, model after one another, so there’s a need for us, to understand the reason behind her self-mutilations, that it’s an emergent matter.
I’d had the teacher talked to her in private first, but, this young woman refused to open up, as a principal, I can only use what I’d learned, to set up a short, focal therapy session, and had the counselors come and watch, how to resolve these types of issues.
Turns out, this young woman is of indigenous origins, and had started school here because of her parents’ work, she’d missed her tribe so very much, her parents aren’t around, and she was, watched over by her uncle, she’d had some adaptation difficulties. And, as she started in her teenage years, she’d started feeling attracted to the boys in school, and, with the combinations of all of these reasons, she’d started, cutting herself. And, her act of self-mutilation, wasn’t caused by one single factor, and to resolve it, we’d needed to, build up her sense of the self first.
At the very end, with the help from her teachers, she’d finally, regained her smiles once more. Seeing how radiantly she’d smiled now, I’d found, that this, is the moment I feel, proudest, doing what I do.
And so, by working in these schools with the children’s parents working, and the children being raised by grandparents, there would be more of these sorts of problems, especially as the students entered into their teens, the older adults that are looking after them, may not be that well-equipped to deal with their teenage turbulences, but thankfully, the school officials are there, to help guide the students through, and seeing how the narrator had, effectively, solved this crisis that this teenage girl was facing, it’d made his work more than worthwhile, working in the distant region schools.