REN

i realised the wonders of being around children again. last tuition class before CNY.

was feeling frustrated because i juz got to know most of the students frm 1A, they were juz beginning warming up to me and the classes got to stop. the twin brothers, esther, joyce, sirong, the very enthu little boy and another in the corner that reminds me of me.. kept reminding myself that i have to have more patience, tolerance and maintain the correct tone throughout the whole lesson.during the card making session, i have to make sure they dun hurt themselves by snatching the scissors or playing around with the glue or viying for the chance to write or decorate on the card.

really tried very hard not to raise my voice when the answer to everything i asked is 7. 20+7=7 and 30+3=7.. i kept telling myself that i have to be patience, patient and MORE patient. kept reminding myself to relax.. is it true that every class has a kid like that? last year i got one. this yr i got another. i dun mind them being slightly slower in learning as long as they put in the effort to do so. tolerating the kid's short attention span is a thing. giving the same answer although i clearly told her that it is wrong and digressing to other topics like "my father can write happy new year in chinese" is another. she kept wanting to do things instead of letting others have a turn. she does things when i say no and made other students pissed. pple finished the whole counting worksheet and she's still at the 1st page. i really dunno wat to do with her..

shifu told me that her mom is blind and her sis is a slow learner so we got to be more patience and show more "Care and concern" for her. but it's hard not to show favourtism. coz i already did. it's human's nature to like things that are more to what we desire, the opimum condition or situation so to say. because of her, i got to put other students on hold when they ask me for help. and it's hard to give undivided attention when the class is big. i hav to cater to the needs of other students as well.. and i'm exasperated..

"REN" (tolerate).. what a powerful word to serve as a constant reminder..

and children doesnt hide emotions do they? everything is shown on their faces. u'll know when u're nt giving them the attention they want. or how upset they are sometimes. of course u'll notice how bored and how much they want to get out of the seats too..

that's that joy of teaching.. to put myself in the shoes of the students when i'm a "teacher." that makes everything worthwhile..