Life is like a game. Turning points in life come unexpectedly, just like how Shelly, who was once a TV series producer and executive director did not really expect she would be in the education service. The passion just keeps on burning and her job smooth-sailing.
“My friends were totally shocked as to why I would suddenly go and teach children!” – Shelly
Shelly loved her work with media, but due to conflicts with people made her realised that “the adult world is too complicated”. From there she encountered Yelaoshr and delved herself into the job.
“Actually, prior to joining Yelaoshr, I was also leading a new batch of freshies, guiding them in their work. Teaching children at Yelaoshr, I realised that they are like white papers, allowing us to draw the sun and rainbow. It felt wonderful.” – Shelly
Shelly said that adults have a mind of their own. They are harder to teach and guide compared to the little children. The children may be mischievous, but with love and care, the naughtiest child can be taught. This is Shelly’s understanding after many years of teaching.
Shelly shared a story when she first worked in Ampang. That was a four-year-old child; because he conversed in English at home, he was very unfamiliar with the Chinese language.
“When this boy first came to Yelaoshr, he could only learn one Chinese word per day.” – Shelly
After some time, Shelly started to doubt if this is a waste of time. Shelly’s boss at that time (also her current business partner) comforted her, “These children will have their minds opened and developed some day.” Lo and behold, after not giving up for a few months, the boy was suddenly able to learn four Chinese words per day! This made both Shelly and the boy extremely happy, even the grandfather who fetched the boy was surprised, which gave Shelly a boost of confidence.
After teaching for some time, Shelly realised that Yelaoshr’s teaching methods are very good and she thought of bringing back this set of techniques back home to Muar. Finally, on the 3rd of September 2016, Shelly opened her own learning centre in Muar and is opened for registration.
“There were of course struggles in the process. Some friends felt that this set of techniques are only for city children but I feel that in every location, there will be children needing help in this aspect. Even though not many people know of Yelaoshr in Muar, I believe if you use your heart to teach, your reputation will become great.” – Shelly
To Shelly, the challenge of entrepreneurship is not the recruitment of students but to look for a good teacher. For this, she thinks that she is very fortunate because her teachers are devoted to their job.
“While training our teachers, we used the methods taught to us by Headquarters. However, whenever I observed their teachings, they would actively come up with new, creative and effective ideas to teach the children. This just proves that they put in the effort and details in teaching.” – Shelly
She reminisced, her pronunciation on Bahasa Malaysia was not strong. Because of this, she lacked confidence while providing training to teachers. Subsequently, I called up an ex-colleague from Penang, and she taught classes through the phone.
“This may sound like an awkward idea, but my teachers not only did not reject the idea, they still pay full attention in learning. I felt very comforted as this was a rare sight.” – Shelly
Teaching at Yelaoshr, only teachers who learn and teach wholeheartedly can go further.
Two years in Muar, Shelly also encountered a few situations that touched her heart. She revealed, “Even though Yelaoshr is opened for children ages 3-12, but I made an exception to take in a child in Peralihan. In his entire primary school life and even UPSR, he failed his Bahasa Malaysia. His father once scolded, “I do not have such a child poor in studies!” thus worries his mother immensely. With a nervous heart, the mother brought this child to Yelaoshr early of the year. In classes, I realised that he is a very obedient child. Even though he is much older than the other students but he can learn with other children and pays much attention in class. At the year-end exams, he scored 80 marks in his Bahasa Malaysia paper. His mother was very touched and kept thanking us profusely. What I want to point out is that this child does not hate studying but he just lacked the suitable methods all these while.”
Returning home to build a business, Shelly noted that it is not as easy as she thought will be.
“Many people may think that going back to Muar and opening up a centre is an easy task because it is a place I am familiar with. In reality, for me, who worked in KL for 10 years, I needed immense courage to get it done.” – Shelly
Even though I have my doubts and worries, yet a few reasons made her pushed forward and completed what she ever wanted to do.
“Two years of Yelaoshr in Muar, I realised that all these years I did not accompany my family. All of my time was used on work and travelling. Coming back to my birthplace allowed me to spend more time with my family. Besides, I wanted to do something that can make a difference to the place I called home since young. Through shaping a happy learning place to grow, I had brought in the excellent teaching methods. These are just some things that I can contribute back to my hometown.” – Shelly
We having a special offer RM98 (4 lessons. Usual price is RM290) for our one-to-one Mandarin, Malay and English programmes as well as abacus mental arithmetic so that your child can experience the fun and unique learning at YelaoShr® Creative Learning Centre. This offer is valid at all 59 centres nationwide.
More info: https://teacheryap.com/voucher/</spa
