MALAYSIA - Those who can, do; those who cannot, teach. This is the saying that most of us quote when we want to disparage teachers. The original quote, by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, is: "He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches." In other words, capable individuals, the leaders of any community, the DOERS just go ahead and, well, do their thing. Teachers, however, are mere talkers, according to the quote.

Those who stand in front of students in classrooms are second-best compared with the Action Men/Women out there, and that's why they are merely scribbling stuff on black/green/whiteboards and probably wishing they are elsewhere. I, too, used to regard teachers as inferior to the rest of us.

Worse, I used to think that teachers were society's top conmen and women.

My view -- admittedly biased -- was that the ordinary teacher didn't know anything apart from his chosen subject, got paid a lot yet worked only a few hours a day, didn't do weekend shifts, and had lots of school holidays and also public holidays. What a con job!

Now I know their side of the story, having worked as a teacher in the past three years or so. Not that I do much as a Casual teacher at St Andrews College, at a suburb not far from where I live in Sydney's west. But this I do know after mulling over this teaching thing. Although every job has its stress factor, and how a worker handles his/her load of stress depends on the person, I've concluded that the amount of stress a teacher carries depends on how much, or little, he/she cares about students.

Last year at St Andrews, I was surprised, and appalled, by a colleague's response to a student's problem during a lunch break. The girl (St Andrews is co-ed) called out to the teacher, who told her to "Tell someone who cares!" before striding off. I took note of how hurt the poor girl was at being treated that way by somebody she thought she could rely on for help.

So I, a mere Casual, did what that staff member should have done -- show duty of care. And it's this duty of care that stresses so many teachers, I reckon. Yes, there are teachers who do the minimum, arriving at school five minutes before the first bell and rushing off five minutes after the last bell. These teachers, I suggest, have minimum stress, if any. Thankfully, there are many dedicated, life-long educators who worry so much about their students, they absolutely need the two-week vacation at the end of Terms 1, 2 and 3 of the school year to recover their sanity. (The long break at the end of Term 4, commonly called the Christmas-New Year holidays, lasts six weeks.)

Once, last year, for the "fun" of it, I went to my school at 7.30, so that I could be the second to arrive at the premises. The school's Assistant Principal, my boss, is always the first to be present, at 6.30 each morning. He is on duty so early because it's his job to ensure everything is in order for the day's craziness. So, that day, imagine my surprise when, on arrival, I noted there were, oh, at least half a dozen of my colleagues already at their desks, busy with their stuff.

One of them, noticing my reaction, even smiled and said: "Yes, Steve, there ARE some of us teachers who actually get to work one hour early and go home two hours late, you know!" Not surprisingly, she's one of the more stressed staff -- simply because she cares so much about her charges, even the so-called naughty, hopeless cases. I'm the least stressed at my school, I'm happy to say. Oh, make no mistake about my duty-of-care responsibilities. I DO care about the students. But I'm not stressed in my job because I am only a Casual, not a real teacher.

When my boss phones me to offer a shift, it's only because a teacher is sick, on leave, on an excursion with students or attending one of the numerous compulsory Ministry of Education courses/seminars in central Sydney. So a Casual/relief/substitute teacher is needed. And that's all. It's not as if other folks think that I'm good at my job or that I can actually teach anything. (Well, as it so happens, I AM good at my job, because I CAN, and DO, teach a lot, if you'd excuse my boasting.)

But I know full well that I'm invited to do a shift because the school needs what is essentially a glorified baby-sitter! It's common knowledge -- rather, it's common acceptance -- that Casual teachers don't know anything. Because we are not expected to know anything. Not even required to know anything. Ask students what they think the common image of a Casual teacher is, and most would say: "Reading papers at the teacher's desk in front of the classroom." I have seen a few fellow Casuals do just that.

I suppose some Casuals do feel they don't need to do more than that. All we have to do is supervise -- Periods 1 and 2, recess, Periods 3 and 4, lunch, Periods 5 and 6, dismissal... and that's A$200, after tax, thank you very much, see you tomorrow? I love my job. What is there not to love?

Everything is prepared for Casuals. Each teacher who is away for whatever reason must get everything ready for the Casual assigned to supervise the teacher's classes for the day. The "everything" includes the class roll (for marking the students' attendance), textbook(s) for the particular Period, photocopied worksheets, key(s) to the classroom(s), whiteboard markers (or chalk for the black/green boards), blank A4 sheets (for those few students without their exercise books), pens/pencils and, most of all, detailed instructions on what the students are to do during their lessons.

For the past 40 months as a Casual teacher, what I have been expected to do mostly during each lesson was to pass on specific instructions, then let the students get on with their tasks. Talk about having the opportunity to take it easy. But I have earned my pay all this time. At least, that's what my boss at St Andrews has told me. And what several colleagues said, and continued to say, complimenting me on my dedication.

One of the best compliments, however, was from a Year 10 (Form 4) student, who was preparing for his exams: "Sir, you have taught me in a few weeks more than what Mr (the real teacher) has been trying to do this whole year! Thank you, Mr Kau, thank you very much!" Oh, that felt SOOOOOOOOOOO good!

Cheers! (By STEPHEN KAU/ MySinchew)

This article was first published in My Sinchew on June 7, 2008.