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At the start of 2018, I was anticipating the sense of dread of dragging myself back to work (as seen here). One of the biggest surprises today was not that there was an extra holiday or that there was a raise in my pay. Those two would have been great, but what made my day was that a student of mine whom I have taught for the last 2 years, has finally passed a major government exam.
Grace, has been struggling with this paper for a long time. In my country, you could end up taking three language papers. Two of those papers are paper mandatory papers which requires the student to pass, one of them being English. If the student fails to do so, then it's an extra year for that student, delaying his/her graduation. If the required language paper was the student's first language, then its not a problem. However, Grace's first language was mandarin and so she was struggling for the longest time with that paper.
When I first became her teacher, she told me that she was going to give up, move to China and avoid taking that paper altogether. I sat her down after class and spoke to her. I listed the financial burden that she would place on her parents. Furthermore, I spoke of my experience being overseas alone without any family support. I told her that while her idea may sound good, the easier way out, would be to improve on her results.
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She agreed, at least it looked as if she did. Throughout the next two years leading up to the exam, it was an uphill battle. She was not exactly happy with the work and tasks I have given her. At some point after two years, familiarity does breed contempt. Well, maybe contempt is too harsh a word, but she did dread the subject, so no matter how fun the activities nor the task, she often shuts down during class. This leads to off-task behavior, I gave her the space she needed. However, at one point, I felt that I was the only person who cared for her success.
This happened when I was teaching and she was off talking to her friends, ignoring the lesson and the task at hand. The thing about teaching teenagers is that, you can't be harsh with them, it has the opposite effect. So I asked her to see me after class, I did so not in front of the class, but while most of the class was busy. She came as usual and we spoke. I told her that while she has made small improvements, I felt that she did not care for the exam as much. Her body language indicated that she did not buy it, her arms were crossed and she was on the defensive. Somehow, this was not working.
Then, I did what most would consider taboo. I told her that the exam was not important. She was caught off guard, I knew I had her attention and I proceeded to tell her about how life would be like after school, how work is really like. I proceeded to tell her that her response to the exam would be the same response in her work and in challenges. I told her that if she did not care for the exams now, she would do the same in other interests. The moment there was some form of difficulty, she would give up. I then ended by asking her to see exam not as an end, but a means to that life-long end. I told her that I could help her, but she has to make the decision to change her response towards the subject.
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Her attitude changed after that talk in a 'teenager-like' way. I am not talking about some complete change, but gradual change, you can see that she has started to make an effort, but being a teenager, that meant not in an over-enthusiastic manner. She had a reputation to maintain after all. I made an effort to praise her for all the improvements. After two long years, she has finally passed the paper. It is a great achievement for her, seeing that she has never passed that paper throughout that two long years.
I for one, am very happy for her. However, I think the happiest one of all, was the one who told me the news. It was not Grace who told me about this, but her mother. I hope 2018 would be as great a year as my first day. I wish the same for you and may 2018 be a year of achievements and new milestones for all of us.
