CECTS: My Teacher

   

      What is CECTS? Everyone knows it as an ESL online company. But for me, it's more than that. This is where I grow as a teacher, a daughter, a friend, an employee and as a person. Why?How? Because in our company, we don't just focus in skills but most importantly...personality.  

     I was a homebased teacher for almost 2 years. I admit, I was confident with the way I speak and teach my students. My students are  contented with my teaching skills. I'm confident with my skills. When I moved back here in Manila, I applied as a trainer in other ESL companies. But my choices is either a trainer with a low salary or an emplayee with still a low salary. I applied to atleast 5 different companies, but among those 5, CECTS caught my attention.

      I can still remember the moment I stepped inside the office. A teacher opened the door for me with a smile that relaxed me a bit. The process was organized and everyone's smiling! The office is clean and the employees that I saw all looked presentable. While waiting for my interview, I envisioned myself working with these people in this kind of environement. I was so determined to be part of the company that I made sure to ace my interviews and exam. But at the end of the day, they just informed me that I'll be receiving a text message whether I'm accepted or not. I lose hope because of it though I know, deep inside me, I was waiting for their message. I even joked my boyfrienmd saying, " I think they only accept pretty applicants so if I'm accepted..it means I'm pretty!"

     After 3 days, I almost jumped in joy when I recieved a message from the company with my orientation schedule. My first day was a mixture of awe and excitement. My confidence level is slowly going down. The teachers speak well and are very confident! A lot of things happend, those pronunciation lapses and unnoticed provincial accent were slapped on my face (not literraly). I mean all those laspes that gone unnoticed were now in front of me. It was difficult for me at first, to accept everything. But just like what our manager always tells us, acceptance is the first step to improvement and growth.

     Speaking of which, my Korean manager and manager have a big impact on whoever I am right now. From them, I learned the most important lesson in life. " Do not chase money. Let money chase after you." Most people consider the "offer" first in looking for a job. Let's be practical, they say. But have we ever asked ourselves, "Am I worth of every penny I receive?". Why do most people jump from one job to another, because they are looking for a good pay. But did they grow? Let's work to make our selves better and worth of the price we're expecting. Once you are skilled and capable, then you won't be looking for the job with a good pay but they will be the one chasing you..offering the right amount. How good it is to be chased by biggest companies because of your value, your skills and your personality? So I decided that I will empty myself of any achievements I had and always take each day as a challenge to be better. I won't last a day without learning anything. I may be a teacher but I make sure that I just don't teach but I also learn. I set a standard for myself and continuosly setting it high until now. I always tell myself that I still have a lot of things to learn.

     I wasn't even half way there.