Tutoring job
The next job I landed was a tutoring job at a tutoring school. I had tutored before, and it didn’t require carrying anything heavier than a textbook.
The school had a 1-to-1 tutoring system. The floor was separated into restroom-sized cubicles, each equipped with a whiteboard and a set of desk & chair. The teachers wore a white scientist-gown over a suit. Students ranged from 1st grade to high schoolers preparing for the entrance exam.
The first student I had was a girl in the second year at high-school. She was struggling with high-school level English. I brought a junior-high-school level textbook, which she understood about 80%. My plan for her was to build up grammar basics and vocabulary. After the class, I was called by one of the school managers, who was furious about my method. With the same level of fury, I insisted that it was a waste of time for the student to work on difficult materials because she needed to make sense of the basics first. I was so adamant that he dismissed me while still grumbling to himself. After a while, my student’s reading skills started to improve. Seeing this, in one of the teachers’ meetings, the manager told the teachers that we should lower the difficulty of materials if the student didn’t understand them. He didn’t apologize to me or give me credit on the method.
I was feeling discouraged after the rant with the manager when a group of teachers talked to me. They were also college students from various schools. We became good friends, and working there became more bearable thanks to them. I was able to stay with the school for over a year until I left for a study-abroad program in the U.S.