Professionalism Over Perfectionism: (That Script Reading Thing) Which Would You Prefer?

**What if you were given a script to be read in front of your class yet you know there would be unforeseen scenarios in the classroom hence reading the script would end up exhausting yourself?

Consider a band B students in a state school wherein managing them would be so challenging hence reading a Listening Assessment is not an option at all.

Let me just share a bit that here in Seychelles, as one of the ex-pat teachers, RESPECT takes time to be given to us. We need to work our best to show that we deserved to be respected regardless of our nationality.

• Crazy Shifting of Students' Attendance at School which lead to Script Reading of Listening Assessment!

Secondary 1 to Secondary 5 students have shifting schedules when they come to school due to the pandemic so for this week we have to cater "Listening Assessment" to our S2 students from band A (set 1-3, they are called the Academic Class) - to band B ( set 4-5, the not-so-academic class).

It has been a rough ride for our Department knowing that we had LIMITED availability of resources when it comes to Listening Assessment. We usually received a sample of CDs from the Ministry of Education as per IGCSE for s4-5 yet for lower-level s1-3 we can make an arrangement and be more innovative however we needed to prepare the students the way Listening Assessment has to be taken in place.

So my colleague who was in charge of the S2 Listening Assessment gave a sample SCRIPT!

A SCRIPT for goodness sake! we're in for more surprises!

We were advised to read it in front of the class.

**I had tried reading it before but this time around, I wouldn't want to make the same mistake again. I had to make a way! Some classes were heterogeneous which meant some students could cope up easily while others would had hard time getting along, leaving the teacher draining herself, therefore the best option was to record it.

But how can we do it given the LIMITED time to prepare? I knew the capability of my students thus I have to be strategic to save myself from the further misfortune of repetitive reading multiple times.

For band A classes it would be possible but never for band B classes as per experienced before. I won't read the script to the students because I knew they won't pay much attention, how much more if you have 4-5 classes in a row? It would be punishing your pharynx right?

• IDEA over IDEOLOGY! The Rule of the Thumb

Given the limited time and going to an audio-visual room (just imagined we had as such) for our recording wouldn't allow the situation thus I did the unthinkable.** with the aid of my mobile audio recorder, I read the script in the pantry, closed the door, and started recording.

The tone of my voice, the frequency, and even the rhythm were far from the standard Cambridge recording yet left without an option, I managed to finish the it in 1:26:07 time frame. Quite faster than expected.

LOCALS' Expertise and TONE is an Advantage:

Ms. Vicky has a great modulation of her voice, a Seychellois and a singer while I'm an ex-pat. When I say I'm an ex-pat it has a lot to do with how I said the words which were essential for the outcome. Regardless of our accents, the whole point of the recording was to convey the Listening Assessment. We had to choose the best alternative.

As for my colleagues, my voice sounds more "professional", has a good tone and a bit of modulation yet Ms. Vicky's recording was "perfect" to our ears. Even I had goosebumps when I heard her voice. She's the perfect voice-over persona for the Listening Assessment and saved us all from multiple readings of Scripts.

We had a good laugh at the staff room despite the limited time of preparation and unprepared recording was all I could think of.

• SEEK FOR THE SOLUTION of the Problem then Shine Through IT!

Reading a Script during assessment (as per Listening) if not given an audio recording would always be a mess and so exhausting on the teacher's part. So the idea of RECORDING came abruptly and needed to execute it even if it's not done professionally. Remember to always see the silver lining in the situation and seek for solution.

When I shared with Ms. Vicky the recording she eventually did just the same. Equipped with a booming, silvery voice and proper timing, we all decided to use her recording and suggested that for further script reading to come, she would do the honor for the whole department.

It was an OPPORTUNITY from my end to SOLVE that particular problem on the other hand Ms. Vicky seized the moment.

It was such a great reflection knowing that before leaving the Language Department, I managed to leave a footprint from an audio-recording capitalizing our mobile phones.

• What's the Rationale?

Create more Impact in your work place and allow a harmonious relationship with your workmates! It's not about who is more intelligent, who is better than who but it's about accepting your differences and seeing things in a proper perspective. For a record, I'm the only Filipina in the group!

Likewise, in every area of your life, if you want to succeed especially working overseas as you dealt with people from all walks of life, you have to keep on creating an impact.

I felt so humbled when my colleagues said that I sound so professional but I knew "professionalism" was out of the context because we were looking for "perfectionism" in a good manner.

We have to give the best to our students and when you're in a situation where your IDEAS were being executed, you felt you had done something for the whole Department!

**It's your masterpiece! It's your identity!

There's CLARITY when we decided as a group and there's more HARMONY with our relationship towards one another working for the betterment of our students.

Questions:

1. What are the challenges you have encountered in your work place?

2. How did you deal with it? Especially if you're working overseas?

3. Do you offer solution instead of fretting over things you have no control of?

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• images used in this post are from Pexels edited on Canva

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