Do You Really Work?

Many years ago, the man at Soon Kee Teochew porridge said something to me, about me working, which made me so angry that I actually cried. I blogged about it HERE.

Lately, the hawkers at Chong Pang often ask whether I work. I don't know how to explain to them the nature of my work. Parent coaching can be done via text messaging. In fact, that is the preferred mode because it leaves written notes that parents can later refer to, or revise. Sometimes, parent coaching is done in real time. This means that I could be having lunch and the parent is on the other end facing a crisis with her child. I need to stop everything that I am doing to give on the spot guidance. What seems to them to be time whittled away chatting on my phone, is a service that I bill to parents.

Reading a research paper off my Kindle is also work. Sometimes, I might walk past them without seeing them because I am problem-solving a certain child's issue. Or, I might be dreaming about this year's PSLE Compo Design (we teach a different compo format, with different skills every year because we know that the PSLE compo marking scheme changes to account for old styles of writing... hence, like the Milan fashion show, we create new designs every year). That too, is work.

I must find a way to describe to them how I work before they all start thinking that I am a Dreamy and Lazy Good For Nothing. I am dreamy and lazy, but I do contribute and make a difference to the world I live in. I simply like to find ways to work LESS and still achieve what I want to achieve. Like HERE, where we finished material in 2 weeks that took others 1 year to complete.

This said, the hawkers at Chong Pang are kind to me. They have not expressed their disapproval of my lifestyle and work choices in the same way that horrible man at Soon Kee Teochew Muay did, but I still don't want them to think that I am a Good For Nothing.