A BITTER SWEET DAY
What a day it was today. I took my learners to a public speaking competition where we were competing against other schools in the area. It was town elimination rounds. We went there with three speakers; one grade three, one grade four and one grade seven.
Our school was among the first to arrive. As a result there were only a few educators present at the start time of the competition. I was unexpectedly asked to be the program director of the proceedings. I couldn't say no. It was an opportunity to score marks with the officials so I grabbed it with both hands.
I was not prepared for the role so I really had no idea of what I was going to say during intervals of non speaking by the competitors. I am a teacher so I had to quickly find my feet and make sure everyone was entertained and informed at all times. Needless to say I excelled in that role and I enjoyed it very much. Everything went well.
We managed to attain two position ones and a position three. The first position is this little bags of smiles right here
In the car me and my colleague tried to console her and told her how well she did and she shouldn't be so upset because she gave her all and that is all that truly matters.
The student who attained position one is a former learner of mine. I trained her in public speaking and competed in many competitions so I knew my current learner was in trouble when I saw her. She was very excited to see me. She ran to me and gave me one of the warmest hugs I've had in a while.
Here she is after being announced as the winner in her category
If you enjoyed this post please read one of the following which I believe you might like as well:
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
MIND OF THE MENTALLY BLOCKED: DEALING WITH WRITER'S BLOCK
POEM:YOU'VE BEEN GONE TOO LONG
i do not like public speaking, but i think it is important to start with it very very early, i haven't that's why i don't like doing it. Well done.
Thank you. I enjoyed it very much when I was in school. I'm passing on my experiences to them and starting them of young.
What a lovely post, @solomonsel. I really feel for the young lady who achieved position 3 and was so disappointed she couldn't continue competing at higher levels. She has perhaps won a more important prize - the lesson of how to deal with not winning what you've trained for, but picking yourself up and trying again...and again, if necessary. Your words to her were so important. It's less about the prize and more about the effort - learning how to fail and bounce back is arguably more important than winning the competitions easily. It's wonderful that people like you go into teaching.
Your comment @kiligirl is very good, thank you.
Thank you, @imun, you're very kind. 😊😊
Equally @kiligirl but I need your support how to do @kiligirl, can it help me
Keep engaging and writing, @imun. Join groups on Steemit with members who share interests with you...you can use the tags to identify people who are interested in similar things as you are. That way you can build up your own community. Good luck! 😊😊
No matter @kiligirl, I will keep trying to give up, greetings of friendship from aceh
Thank you so much for such encouraging words. As a teacher I'm not only a source of information but also a parent to these children. When the situation requires I need to be a best friend to them. When it's called for I have to be a motivator, counsellor and so much more. Most importantly I need to prepare them for life. Learning how to accept defeat and bouncing back from it is one of life's crucial lessons.
You sound like a truly gifted teacher, @solomonsel - gifted with both empathy and discernment. Lucky kids! 😊😊
Thank you so much. It's truly an honour for me to be in the position I am. I do try my best each and everyday.
😊😊
A good illustration of the ups and downs you experience as a teacher. Well done.
Thank you for reading. As a teacher I always need to find the positive in every situation and use it as a learning curve to educate my learners.
Good teachers bring out the best results in children, wonderful to see they all excelled @solomonsel
That is true. Thank you.We were very excited and already hard at work preparing for the next level.
Excellent stuff. Wonderful to see the great performance and consolling the young lady that just missed out. Hopefully the message sunk in about just trying your best and that is Always good enough :)
Thank you. She was very upset but eventually it sunk in. She is a very good speaker. That day simply wasn't her day. Such is life and it is an important lesson to learn.
Please use the #steemiteducation tag to make your posts more visible for us to support ;)
Thank you so much for the support. I will use the tag from now on. I've followed you.
We need more teachers like you @solomonsel, someone who understands and encourages. A teacher can make or break a child, thank you for doing this job of moulding young lives in the right direction!
I appreciate your kind words. Thank you so much for the support. These children are our hope for a better tomorrow. If we want them to be better leaders of the world, we need to show them what that means.
@solomonsel I have an idea for fundraising for schools. Could you send me your email address to contact you please. I am co-owner of @steemiteducation.
It's such an honour to be directly contacted by you. My email address is [email protected].