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Campus Feature

Teaching: a prestigious career option

Sabrina Hasan Shoily

Gone are the days when people used to wait for a long time so that they could complete their graduation and then get a job. Nowadays, youngsters all over the world want to be financially independent from a very young age. While in western countries, endless job opportunities are available; in Bangladesh the choices are still very limited. Teaching, in recent times, has emerged as a wonderful career option and is an excellent way to be into studies and also at the same time, earn good money.

So what makes this profession so interesting? What made the 'young teachers' be who they are? I talked to few youngsters who are into teaching and this is what I came up with:

Ameena K. Khushboo is a final semester BBA student at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). She has been into teaching since the year 2000 and currently takes Pre O'Level and O'Level classes at Cephalon International School, Dhanmondi. When she was doing her O'Level, few kids she knew wanted her to help them with their studies and requested to teach them. When asked what are the advantages and disadvantages she replied: “Your knowledge is being practiced; you know you are doing something really good and the respect that you get from the students and their parents cannot be compared to anything else. The biggest disadvantage is that sometimes you lose your patience and sometimes parents can become too demanding about their children's performance.” Currently, Khushboo spends all the money she earns on her education, her younger sister's education and uses the rest for family expenses. She would like to be in this profession forever.

Wasia Mehnaz Minna is a fourth semester BBA student at North South University (NSU). She prefers teaching students at home compared to school because she's more relaxed in her own surroundings. “Some people might say that teaching hampers studies, but I believe if effective time management is applied, balancing your won studies and teaching students should not be a problem at all,” says Wasia. She has been teaching since the last two and half years and spends the money on shopping for herself and her family/friends. . Wasia says she would like to be into teaching till she completes her BBA.

While Wasia thinks that kids are better to handle, her friend Emteazul Abedin Shuhan has different opinion. Shuhan, also a student of NSU teaches students of O'Level and A'Level at his home and believes that it is difficult to manage little kids! “I come back home from the university usually in the evening and then sit with my students, and then I finish my own studies. Usually, I don't get any time during the week for some recreational activities,” says Shuhan.

Things are different with Irfanul Islam Ananda, who is an A'Level student currently teaching at the British Standard School in Dhanmondi. “I took the school's job because I am done with it by 2 p.m., after that I attend my coaching classes…at the end of the day, I do find the time to play pool with my friends or attend concerts,” says Ananda. He believes that waking up early in the morning and the pressure of checking piles of copies can get on your nerves sometimes! Ananda's colleague Sanjana Mehnaz Tanisha has just finished her A'Level and is waiting to get admitted in university. She is free for few months and took up teaching to utilise the spare time. Tanisha believes that working in a school has brought her lifestyle into a proper routine or else she would have just wasted the precious time in doing nothing.

Mayeesha Rabbani has a diploma in Fashion Design and is currently doing her A'Level. She is the class teacher of class 3 and teaches English language and literature in both classes 3 and 4 at Mastermind School, Dhanmondi. “I would like to go abroad after my A'level, and would not be able to teach anymore. I enjoy teaching because sometimes even kids are capable of teaching new things to you!” says Mayeesha.

So, after listening to all of them, it can be said that whether you are teaching at your home or at a school…teaching is fun! It gives the opportunity to be into studies always and is the perfect way of earning money! If you think you have the caliber, the patience and the dedication required for teaching…go for it. The effort is worth it!