Living a double life

I am a teacher but I am also a student myself. I am a third year student at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). 
 As all things in life, it is all about managing to find a balance. At Yingyang Learning we believe that balance is the key to success.  
It is not always easy to find this balance with my schedule and my students’ schedules, but we make it work. I have learned the importance of the phrase “Fill your own cup first before pouring into another”. This has been a tough lesson to learn but it is such an important one. You need to always make sure your priorities and work is done first before helping someone else.

This is especially important around exam time because my students and I write our exams at the same time. That means that while I am studying for my exams, I am doing extra lessons with my students to prepare them for their own exams as well.

However, I would not have it any other way. I love living this double life. I get to teach and be taught. I get to live the on-campus student life while getting a little taste of working life. 

My classmates teach me about teamwork, life skills and tolerance while my students teach and encourage me to practice compassion, patience, and creativity.  

Best of both worlds!

Living a double life pushes me to work on my time management, multi-tasking skills and my ability to prioritise important tasks in various areas of my life.

If you are a university student who is considering getting a part time job or starting your own sideline hustle, I certainly (and am obviously being biased here) recommend tutoring.

Through my own personal experience, I have learned that there are many benefits for you as a tutor:

• You can improve your critical thinking.
• You practice creativity skills - especially if your students are young and you must keep them engaged.
• You are provided the opportunity to improve your own study habits.
• You can build your self-esteem and confidence. 
• You are motivated to constantly be a good role model and the best version of yourself.
• You practice and improve your communication and social skills.
• You learn from your students as well.
• You gain new perspectives and different views.