萬世師表帶我到另一個角落

2024/9/28

繼去年首次在義務教育體系的一所高中學校任教後，今年《萬師世表》變本加厲，帶我到另一個角落 — 在一所國中任教數學。

至聖先師似乎在考驗我適不適合當一位義務教育的老師；又像是在質詢我自小學第一篇作文《我的志願》中描述未來要當老師的心願是否動搖了！

《國中二年級數學》本身難不倒我，真正的挑戰是如何在平靜的情境下教會這一群可愛的孩子。我用盡了心思，想盡了辦法教他們，不放棄任何一位學生。

我為每位同學親手製作名牌，用毛筆寫他們的名字，上課前由風紀股長發給同學，擺在桌邊。三週來，不用點名，就知道誰缺席，也記住了每位學生的名字。

教師節快到的前夕，小老師遞給我一張卡片，寫了一段文字，又簽了名字和日期。其中，「謝謝老師願意教我們」和「幫我們做名牌」這兩句，感動了我之外，頗耐人尋味？

沒想到短短的三週，學生對我有如此的觀感。我想原因無他 — 我只是將這群學生看成當年的我，想到我如果回到過去，希望老師怎麼對待我，如此而已！

“Confucius Led Me to Another Corner”

Following my first experience teaching in a high school within the compulsory education system last year, this year Confucius, the “Teacher for All Ages,” has taken it to another level by leading me to a new corner—teaching math at a junior high school.

It seems like the Great Sage, the First Teacher is testing whether I am suited to be a teacher in compulsory education. It’s as if he is questioning whether the aspiration I wrote about in my first elementary school essay, My Dream, where I described my wish to become a teacher, has wavered over time.

The subject Math for 8th Graders itself doesn’t pose a challenge for me. The real challenge lies in how to teach this group of lovely kids in a calm and peaceful environment. I have put all my energy and thought into finding ways to teach them, without giving up on a single student.

I personally made name tags for each student, using a calligraphy brush to write their names. Before each class, the class monitor would distribute the name tags for the students to place on their desks. In just three weeks, I didn’t need to take roll anymore—I could tell who was absent, and I had memorized each student’s name.

On the eve of Teacher’s Day, the class monitor handed me a card. It contained a brief message, signed and dated. Among the words written, the phrases “Thank you, teacher, for being willing to teach us” and “for making name tags for us” touched me deeply, and left me with much to ponder.

Who would have thought that in just three short weeks, the students would have formed such an impression of me? I believe the reason is simple—I saw them as I once was. I thought about how, if I could go back in time, I would hope my teacher would treat me the same way.