Am I certified to teach?

It's been a year since I started my sojourn into teaching. I jumped in after more than 10 years working as a media professional, a TV producer to be specific. To be honest, it wasn't that tough a decision to switch industries. True, I left behind an exciting and enriching career for what many of my friends see as a ho-hum, uninteresting job. Anti-climatic even. But for me, it was a switch from one vocation for the gratification of others to another for self-gratification, cos essentially for me, going into teaching has always been a mission. So making the switch when the opportunity came knocking was a no-brainer.

One year on, I can do a quick evaluation. And oh my, what a journey it's been. Pardon the cliche but it was like one roller-coaster ride - up and down, up and down, with many high's and countless low's, new experiences with thrills and spills, sleepless nights, even tears, heartache, joy and laughter. And they said working on TV is the most exciting thing!

Honestly, I never imagined working with young adults was going to get my adrenaline going.

But in one short year, I lectured students (in every sense of the word), I marked test and exam scripts, I failed students and gave several A's, I wrote part-syllabuses, I marketed courses, I interviewed course experts, I trained students in public speaking, I counselled students with problems, planned enrichment programmes for a group of academically-bright kids, I even went on an adventure camp with my students!

In short, I learnt to be educator. And soon, I will be getting certified for it.

But a niggling question remains in my mind. Am I certified to teach? Does one need certification in order to teach? Hand on heart, I feel being an educator is a calling. You either have what it takes or you don't. But can you improve on being a good teacher? I guess so, but recognise too that knowing your students, their needs and wants, and using this knowledge to shape your teaching methods/techniques requires alot of heart. Matters of the heart cannot be taught.

I am more convinced of this, knowing that the landscape and demands of our world are constantly changing. Recently, we see old wounds reopened on the world stage. We see enemies become partners for the sake of convenience. Everyday practices become new threats. Giants tumbling. Prosperity and success turning into chaos overnight, but soon panic quickly dissipating.

As the world changes, old teaching methods must change. Tools of the trade too. Our previous canonised texts on teaching need to be reviewed. Students, the future generation, I must say, are constantly reshaping our world. And we need to reconfigure the way we reach out to them. Even reconfigure the content we deliver. Don't just deliver facts. Deliver stories and experiences. This thought by Paul Arden struck me: Have you noticed how the cleverest people at school are not those who make it in life? There must be something wrong with the way we teach, no?

Even our perception of what constitutes established receptables of knowledge has to change. Or the shelf-life of knowledge. Heard of open source knowledge?

I'll be the first to say I am no expert on effective teaching methods or pedagogy. Far from it. In fact, never will be. And so, I will learn. Learn from other educators. Learn from my students. Learn from the teaching experts. But I want this to be my guiding principle. Nothing is too sacred to be changed. Sure, I'll feel lost along the way. In truth, in the past one year, I have felt lost more often than I could count. But if we don't get lost, we'll never find a new route, says Joan Littlewood.

Like I said, teaching to me is not just a job.