I was kind of surprised by the dedication that one of my student has been showing.
Reason: He's a Normal(Academic) student, with a complicated family background. His mum doesn't have a steady job - due to her laziness and overwhelming wish to depend on others- and his dad suffers from a debilitating long-term disease.
Many nights, I tossed and turned on bed, trying to come up with pedagogies that would interest the kid and yet bring the content across.
I called his relative to understand him as an individual. Teaching couldn't adopt a one-size-fits-all approach for it undermined the individuality of the student. It always seemed sad, the way kids nowadays were treated as statistics to raise the profile of their schools.
After much debate and discussion, his relative recommended me to approach this delicate student gently. To guide him along firmly but fairly; To share stories of hope and optimism; To be patient and understanding.
So glad that he was responding to my concern. On Saturday, I received a message from him, wishing me a fruitful Mid-autumn Festival.
Just a simple message and I could feel myself melting from the warmth ignited within.
How I wish students would understand what these little gestures mean to their tutors!
Genuinely glad that he's taking ownership of his studies and working diligently for his O levels. And realised that I should abandon my urge to pigeonhole people into their education streams, to forsake the subconscious idea of treating them as faceless extensions of their curriculum.
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