She was struggling to teach and handle the children at Sunday School in her church, along with the rest of the team. They were clueless and out of ideas – that was when she decided to take a step further and take on an early childhood diploma in search of answers and solutions.
That was how May Ten’s preschool journey first began. With encouragement from those around her, she then took a leap of faith to start her career in the early childhood industry. Fast forward to now, she is the Principal at LOT Foochow Methodist Church Farrer Park, and in her 21st year of being a preschool educator.
Despite many difficulties which made her want to leave the industry many times, she presses on as she believes that her role is a calling from God. Over the years, her faith has been tested and she has grown much as a leader, as well as in her approach to education.
May believes that children are precious gifts from God that she has a responsibility to steward and care for. Having grown to always see the child as how God would, she and her team are always challenged to accept children for who they are, and not perceive them based on their 'issues'. When faced with any complicated situations, she is always asking the question, “How can I help?” rather than viewing the child as a burden.
Having grown to always see the child as how God would, she and her team are always challenged to accept children for who they are, and not perceive them based on their issues. When faced with any complicated situations, she is always asking the question, “How can I help?” rather than viewing the child as a burden.
This mindset has influenced how May cares for children who come through the doors of Foochow Methodist Preschool, as she had accepted a number of children who had previously been rejected by other schools due to their behavioural or developmental needs.
Once, a child with autism joined them when he was 3 years old. He was rejected from another school due to frequent meltdowns, which eventually made his parents decided to pull him out. After attending school for a while, he showed signs of progress and even started to initiate play with his peers. By the time he graduated, one would not be able to tell that that child had autism simply by observation! The team was also very touched and proud of him when his mother informed them that he was in the top class and was even appointed as a class monitor and prefect in primary school.
More recently, they accepted a 5-year-old child with no experience attending school thus far. They started off with simple tasks such as teaching him to feed himself, and he started to show improvements after 3 weeks. However, it was apparent that the child needed special intervention, but the parents explained that they could not afford it. May went ahead to help them find a special needs school that was able to accommodate their financial situation, and the child is currently attending there.
Indeed, a large part of being an educator is working with parents and supporting them where you can. In fact, May even had an instance where a mother came up to her office to cry and tell her that she wanted to give up being a parent. When faced with such situations, she is happy to encourage and help the parents out. Being in a Christian preschool also gives her front row seats to families who come to Christ because of the work that her team does, and the loving environment and family-like relationships cannot be found elsewhere in commercial preschools.
All in all, May knows that she has a great big God that is behind her who will watch over everything that goes on in school. She believes that following God’s will and seeing his provision in all things is enough for her to continue the good fight of faith in this industry.