The Most Rewarding Feeling

Tuesday the 11^th was an amazing day—an incredibly rewarding experience as a teacher. That night the 11^th graders took a writing test and the top student finished early, so his friend asked the him to write something to help him with his test that he struggled to finish.  The top student started, but only after my seeing this did he not go through with it.  I talked with him later that night and called him out on it insisting he never do it again.  He and I have a really good rapport and he said he was very moved by my following up on it.  We talked for over an hour.  In the conversation he also shared his Chinese English teacher’s opinion of me, that she respects me and sees how hard I work compared to other foreign teachers with whom she has worked.  However, it was  unfortunate to hear that some of his classmates—my other students—would prefer to be the other teacher’s class.  In there they could watch movies all the time instead of doing activities to learn English.  He retorted immediately to say that I should not let that influence me, because my approach is right. 

Second, a student texted me around 11:00 p.m. saying he had a problem and wanted some help.  Turns out that he was struggling with unrequited love and, in China, he has no one older to turn to.  Dating is forbidden at school (one might face expulsion) and parents will tell their students to focus on their studies and not think about dating.  I shared what advice I could and it seemed to console him quite a bit.  From my perspective, it was simply an honor that he would trust me enough to turn to me.

I sometimes think that this time in China may not be as rewarding long-term because I am not making friendships.  Then something like Tuesday happens and it highlights that I am, in fact, building relationships; they simply take a different form.