Category Archives: Lessons Learned
The Importance of Trust and Professionalism in Referring Educational Services: A Personal Lesson
As an educational professional (and sometimes tutor) and someone who has worked in several after-school tutoring centres, I’ve had my fair share of experiences—both positive and negative. Recently, I was approached by a group of parents who asked me to recommend a tutoring centre for their high-school kids. At first, I was hesitant. It’s always a tricky situation when you’re asked to recommend something based on your experiences. I didn’t want to make any promises or risk pointing them toward a centre that might not meet their expectations. But after some insistence, I felt I couldn’t avoid the question any longer.
While I’ve worked with several tutoring centres over the years, not all of them stood out for the right reasons. Some had exceptional resources, but poor management. Others were well-organized, but lacked effective communication or a positive atmosphere. As a professional, I knew that making a recommendation meant I needed to consider more than just the surface-level details of these centres. I had to think about my own experiences and the qualities that made those places truly successful.
After reflecting on my options, I decided to refer the parents to a centre in Richmond, even though they didn’t live nearby. You might wonder why I chose this one, given its location. The answer is simple: the management team at this particular centre treated me with respect, paid me on time, and communicated effectively with me at all stages. These were qualities that made my experience there smooth and enjoyable—things that are crucial in creating a positive learning environment for both instructors and students.
On the flip side, I chose not to refer the parents to a couple of other centres I had worked with in the past. While some had decent resources or had management that knew how to charm parents (in their attempt to market their centre’s services), they struggled in key areas of management. Some were notorious for being late with payments to their instructors, which is inconsiderate (and, for some instructors who rely solely on that income, can be a real source of frustration and anxiety*). Others failed to communicate well, for example letting instructors know the class had been cancelled only after they had shown up or scheduling classes without informing the instructor and then blaming the instructor in front of parents, leaving teachers feeling undervalued or left in the dark about important decisions. These issues not only made my job harder, but they also had the potential to negatively affect the students’ experience.
The lesson I learned from this experience is simple: trust and professionalism matter. It’s not enough for a tutoring centre to simply offer a service; the way they treat their staff and maintain their operations has a direct impact on the quality of the educational experience they provide. As an instructor, if I don’t feel valued, I can’t give my best to the students. If communication is lacking, it becomes a barrier to effective teaching. And when payments are delayed, it sends a message that the company doesn’t value its instructors as much as they should.
As someone who has been in the industry for a while, I’ve come to realize that I cannot simply recommend a centre based on what looks good on paper. I have to consider the whole picture—the working conditions, the professionalism of the management, and how the entire system operates. The quality of service is determined by the people running it, not just the resources available.
In the end, I was happy to refer those parents to the Richmond centre, knowing they would receive not just quality tutoring, but a well-managed experience overall. And I hope that in the future, I can continue to provide recommendations that truly reflect the best of what’s out there, ensuring that both students and instructors thrive in a professional and supportive environment.
Lesson learned: Always trust your experience and instincts when making referrals, and never underestimate the power of a supportive, well-organized environment. More specifically, when a business fails to treat its employees with the respect and professionalism they deserve, it doesn’t just affect the employees—it ultimately harms the customers as well. And while it might not be immediately obvious, a lack of respect and poor management will eventually catch up with them. The experience serves as a reminder: always value the people who work for you, because if you don’t, it’ll show in the service you provide.
*There are those centres that choose to pay monthly, and are late in doing so. Those centres do not follow the normal standard of paying every two weeks or even twice a month. So, for tutors relying solely on that income (not me), you can see what the issue would be. I have also heard management say directly, “Oh, I need to pay so-and-so first because we are allowed to e-transfer only a certain amount daily, and I want to pay so-and-so first.” I have never been desperate for money with tutoring centres and have often been paid late, but imagine other instructors needing money right away and being relegated to a lower status.
One shot, one goal
In one of my last after-school teaching jobs, I was in the classroom and had just assigned some in-class work. So, as the class was working on the task, there was silence in the room.
The walls, however, were thin and I could hear parts of a conversation from next door.
The student, E****, was saying something to one of the head teachers. I believe E**** might have said something like, “I want K.P. to teach me.” The voice was soft, but those were the words I could make out. The head teacher then responded, in a louder voice, “You don’t want K.P. to teach you?”
I heard that part clearly because the walls were thin and the head teacher’s voice carried through. So, the student E**** might have said that and I missed the “don’t” when she said it. But next thing I knew, I could hear the head teacher getting on the phone to speak in Korean to the boss.
Soon enough, I was no longer teaching the student E****. I had always assumed it was because management wanted to spread hours around and make other instructors feel good by giving them classes. But later on, I noticed it was awkward when E**** needed extra classes for last-minute essays/projects and I was asked to help out.
For me, the irony was that I wasn’t good enough to teach her, but now I was suddenly good enough as a last-minute backup because others weren’t available to cater to her last-minute projects?
Anyway, over the years I have heard students — maybe they were joking, or maybe not — telling me to my face that they’d like to get me in trouble so I wouldn’t teach them, because they wanted to get out of those classes and wanted no classes, period. Some instructors would view that as disrespectful. Normally, I played along.
I would say something like, “Well, if you get me fired, don’t worry — all I have to do is make a few phone calls, and there’ll be people lining up to hire me.” I said that every time when I played along to their comment about getting me fired. Those students would laugh and think I was bluffing or exaggerating.
Well, by December 2024, I was still working a regular full-time job, but I was no longer getting any meaningful hours in after-school classes.
For a while, I didn’t do anything. One day in December, I looked on Indeed and found one teaching job that interested me. I emailed the contact person — whom I do not know, and I had no connections — and attached my resume expressing my interest in the position.
Within 24 hours, I had received an email back asking me for an interview in two days. (Actually, to be more exact, it was just after 25 hours. I emailed at 9:37 a.m. on a Monday morning, and I got a response the following day at 10:45 a.m.)
It was one shot, and one goal.
It really didn’t surprise me. My resume speaks for itself. My credentials speak for themselves. My background, my experience, and my passion speak for themselves.
After the interview, I was immediately given a trial class scheduled three days later. I did the trial class, and within an hour I was offered full hours for the rest of the week. I did regular hours for two weeks, filled out my hours and submitted them (on the final day of the second week), and I was paid (by e-transfer) the following day (ie. the day after submitting the hours). I was given more hours for after-school classes in January and onwards.
I’m not sure if there was ever any doubt. Basically, it was one shot, and one goal. I applied to that one place on that one day, and I got the job.
My resume speaks for itself. My experience as well. … I’m not sure why any serious student would ever say something like “I don’t want K.P. to teach me” the way that E**** or the other earlier students who wanted to get me into trouble did.
I was never dead, but I’d like to say I’m back from the dead, without really even trying in the sense of sending out hundreds of applications.
It was one shot, and one goal.
Overcoming Adversity: A Hockey Play-by-Play Announcer’s Tale
I am proud to say that I do play-by-play announcing as a side job on weekends. It’s something I look forward to every Saturday and Sunday.
Now, in any given season, we often find ourselves facing challenges that seem to come out of nowhere. For those of us in sports media, the unpredictability of each event can turn even the most routine game into a test of our adaptability, patience, and resilience. Recently, I had one of those experiences—an event that tested my ability to overcome adversity, but ultimately reaffirmed why I love what I do.
As a play-by-play announcer for a local amateur hockey team, I’ve always prided myself on creating a great experience for fans, whether they’re in the stands or watching from home. That’s why I put a lot of focus on making sure the camera angles are clear, the equipment is set up properly, and the broadcast runs smoothly.
However, in a recent game, things didn’t go as planned.
Arriving at the arena that day, I was greeted by a surprising sight: the stands, which are normally there and the place where the equipment is set up, had been removed. Instead, there was a single tower left in its place. As someone who has a fear of heights, this immediately put me on edge. I rely on my usual spot to set up the camera and equipment, and now I had no access to it. I was not about to climb up the tower; besides, I would not be able to carry the equipment up safely.
Naturally, I contacted the operations staff to ask for assistance, hoping that someone would be able to help me get the setup back to something that was closer to being normal. As a possible solution, I asked specifically if a scissor lift, a mechanical device which the facility had, could be provided. Unfortunately, I was met with a lack of understanding, as they were either unable or unwilling to offer a solution, not even allowing access to the scissor lift. I asked if there was anybody else I could speak with, but the answer was no. It became clear that I would need to find a way to make do with what I had.
As if that wasn’t enough, the camera person assigned to cover the game wasn’t there either. There had apparently been a miscommunication about the scheduling between him and the team manager (who was out of town for other team-related matters), so the camera person I was counting on was absent. The team manager quickly scrambled to call in a fill-in camera operator, but that person didn’t arrive until five minutes after the game started.
At this point, I realized I was on my own. The game was about to begin, and the situation wasn’t ideal, to say the least. Without my usual elevated platform, I was forced to set up my equipment just above the ice level. As you can imagine, this drastically impacted the view of the game for both me and the viewers who had paid to watch the game that was being streamed.
To make matters worse, the parents at home, who were eager to watch their kids play, quickly voiced their displeasure by contacting the streaming company. They couldn’t see the action clearly, and they let the people in charge know it in no uncertain terms. I was made aware of these concerns during the first period via text messages and emails. There was a lot of frustration in the air, and it would have been easy to let that affect my focus.
But instead of letting the situation get the best of me, I decided to take it in stride. I focused on what I could control—the broadcast. I kept my commentary clear and engaging (as best as I could), doing my best to paint a picture for viewers at home who couldn’t attend the game. I stayed calm, even as the setup wasn’t ideal, and did my job with the same professionalism I always strive for.
Adversity is a part of life. In sports, it’s something athletes face every day, whether it’s an injury, a tough opponent, or an unexpected setback. As someone who works behind the scenes, I’ve realized that adversity can happen at any time, and it’s how we respond that truly matters.
When things go wrong, it’s easy to get frustrated, discouraged, or upset. But in those moments, the best thing you can do is adapt. Embrace the challenges, find solutions, and do your best. It might not be perfect, and it might not go according to plan, but that’s where growth happens.
For me, the lesson was clear: no matter what obstacles are thrown my way, I can always rely on my ability to do the job, even when things aren’t ideal. And sometimes, that’s all you can do—give it your best effort, stay positive, and keep moving forward.
Looking back, I’m proud of how I handled the situation. Despite the difficulties, I remained focused and delivered a broadcast that allowed viewers to enjoy the game, even if the camera angles weren’t what they were used to. I learned that overcoming adversity isn’t about making everything perfect—it’s about pushing through and doing the best you can, regardless of the circumstances.
Every day is an opportunity to grow and improve. And when life throws you a curveball, you have two choices: let it knock you down or rise above it. I chose to rise above it—and that, to me, is the true essence of overcoming adversity.
The Manager Didn’t Appreciate Me: A Tale of Frustration and Unfair Treatment
There are moments in your career that make you question whether your efforts are truly valued, and for me, those moments came all too frequently. From trying to take time off to move into a new apartment to dealing with a lack of communication and support, my experience with my manager left me feeling unappreciated and, frankly, disrespected.
It all started when I was preparing for a big move. Moving is stressful enough, but I also had a job to balance. I requested several days off to pack and get settled, hoping that my boss would understand the importance of this personal task. Instead, I was granted a grand total of four hours. Four hours to pack up my entire life and move it into a new apartment—hardly enough time to even get started. To make matters worse, I watched as other colleagues were granted more generous time off for personal reasons. One teacher was allowed to take time off for a trip to San Diego, and another was given several weeks off to go on a missionary trip to Guatemala. But when it came to my request, I was treated like an afterthought.
The disparity in treatment became even more evident in the day-to-day management of the workplace. I remember one time, I was eating lunch at the mall food court when I received a call from the manager’s assistant, begging me to go cover a class. The catch? I hadn’t been told about the class beforehand. I quickly grabbed an Uber and made my way to the class, which ended up being only 1.5 hours. The lack of communication and foresight was infuriating, yet I still went out of my way to help out.
Then there was the time I asked for time off to call a hockey game on a random Wednesday night. I thought it was a simple request, one that wouldn’t cause any issues. After all, I had informed both the manager and the assistant well in advance. But when that night came around, I was bombarded with texts and calls asking why I wasn’t in class. I explained that I had asked for the night off to pursue my passion for hockey announcing, something I thought they’d understand and maybe even be proud of. Instead, they responded by telling me to tell my student that I was “sick” and couldn’t make it. Not only was I being asked to lie, but it also became clear that the issue wasn’t my absence—it was their failure to manage their schedule properly.
Months later, as I found myself being phased out of the job, the frustration continued to mount. I requested a schedule from the assistant, hoping for clarity and some semblance of organization. Instead, I was met with attitude and was completely disregarded. She forgot that just a few months prior, I had dropped everything I was doing at the food court and taken an Uber to cover a class due to her own incompetence and lack of communication. Yet, instead of appreciating my dedication, I was met with disrespect and a lack of professionalism.
The atmosphere at the front desk only added to my growing dissatisfaction. Instead of fostering a productive and professional environment, the front desk was often filled with giggling and idle chatter, which felt like a distraction from the job at hand. There was a complete lack of seriousness and accountability in how they managed the business, and it made my job increasingly difficult.
In the end, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had been taken for granted. My efforts to go above and beyond were ignored, and the inconsistencies in how requests were handled left me feeling undervalued. It’s a frustrating realization when you put in the work and go the extra mile, only to be met with incompetence and indifference from the very people you’re trying to support. This experience has taught me a lot about knowing my worth, setting boundaries, and not accepting treatment that doesn’t reflect the effort I put in.
It’s a shame that so many workplaces fail to appreciate their employees, but I now know that I deserve better than to be treated this way. I can only hope that in the future, I find a place that values my time, my contributions, and my passion. Until then, I’m taking this lesson with me and ensuring that I never again settle for less than I deserve.
People are assholes
People can really be difficult sometimes. I had an experience sometime ago with a teenager from Langley that left me wondering about the lack of accountability and effort some people have.
I was teaching this student in a one-on-one online class. The goal was to help him learn how to annotate a book properly—a simple enough task. I figured the best way to do that was to give him a physical copy of the book, A Life of Knuckleballs, which I had written. Instead of just sending him a digital copy, I wanted him to have the real thing, something he could hold in his hands and interact with.
So, I ordered the book from Amazon and had it shipped directly to him. The tracking information showed that it was delivered. But the student said he never received it. At first, I thought maybe it was just a mix-up, so I asked him to check with his guardians or neighbors to see if they had taken the package by mistake. His response? “Nope, no one has it.” Okay, I thought, let’s sort this out.
Now, I could have sent him a PDF of the book by email. But the teenager claimed he had no access to a printer. And the point of letting him have a copy of the book was so that he could annotate directly on the pages. So, I thought, okay, let’s get the physical copy to him somehow.
I then reached out to the school manager, asking if he could deliver the book to the student’s address. The manager’s response? “I don’t live in Langley, and I’m not going to go there.” That was it. No willingness to help, no problem-solving, no accountability.
So here’s the deal: the teenager didn’t take responsibility for checking where the book had gone. Maybe he was being lazy, maybe he didn’t care enough to look into it further, or maybe he just didn’t want to deal with it. Or he lied about not receiving the book and just threw it into the garbage. But either way, he didn’t put in the effort. And the manager, instead of stepping in and helping out, just shrugged it off, saying he didn’t want to go the extra mile. So now, not only did the student fail to learn how to annotate, but he got out of doing any work at all. And the manager didn’t show any responsibility, either.
It’s frustrating when people don’t take ownership of their actions—or in this case, their lack of action. I was trying to help, but the student didn’t care enough to make sure the book got to him. And the manager couldn’t have been bothered to assist.
This whole situation made me realize that responsibility is becoming a lost art. It’s not about things always going perfectly—sometimes life happens. But when things go wrong, taking responsibility and making an effort to solve the problem is crucial. Instead, the teenager lied about not receiving the book (again, Amazon’s tracking information indicated the book had been delivered), and the manager couldn’t be bothered to help.
If you’re going to ask for help or try to learn something, the least you can do is put in some effort and take responsibility for your part in the process. Otherwise, don’t be surprised when nothing works out. It’s a shame that both the student and the manager didn’t do what they should’ve. And at the end of the day, it just left me feeling disappointed and frustrated with the whole situation.
k. p. wee 