It's things like these...

I was marking the end of year exam scripts for the Sec ones, and it so happened I was allocated to mark a question "The Nicest Person I Know". This is what one of my students wrote...

Among all the people I know, there is a person who I have a deep impression, is Miss Chew, our English teacher. She was a new teacher to us since the last few months.

On the first day when she stepped into our class, she would have the first impression of us which is 'noisy', as we were totally noisy. We were very happy when we saw her. We knew that we could make a lot of noise in her lesson but we are wrong. She asked us to get back to our own place and she introduced her to us and told us what she will do with us every lessons until we had our End of Year Examinatio. Next, she asked us to form our own groups and began to start her lessons. Her lessons are interesting.

The impression I had of her is that she is a caring, kind, friendly and patient teacher. She cares for us fairly like the way she treats her family. She was kind to us too. She was a friendly teacher who will make friends with you in order not to let us be scared of her. She was patuent in teaching those who are weak in the subject. She willf ind some time to teach us after school, going through those things we had made mistakes.

She has totally changed my life. I was poor in my English and do not have any passion in it and now I started to have interest in it. She always tells us that nothing is impossible and telling us not to give up. She had passed her knowledge of English to us and I will promise her to be a teacher when I grow up to pass my knowledge to others like what she did. She was the nicest person I ever knew.

Forgive her for the grammatical errors. When I read the essay, I was lost for words. I didn't know how to give her a grade. To me, it wasn't just any other exam script. It was like a confession in all earnestness. I put down a grade, but will make a fellow teacher moderate the marks in all fairness.

But that aside, I was touched. It brings to mind the starfish story which now almost everyone associates me with. I have tried throwing many starfishes back into the sea, and reading this piece of writing made me realise that though I do not know how many others I have made a difference to, I know I had made a difference to this one.

Another of my Sec 1 kids wrote in a letter as part of a writing practice I had assigned him in remedial class that he was motivated to learn English because of my sincerity to want to help him improve.

Yet another told me that day that he has started to read the newspapers and is beginning to enjoy doing so ever since I started encouraging them to read the newspapers. He told me, "Miss Chew, I learn one new word a day, and I use it." "Good for you," I said. To think he was once a problematic kid in my class.

It's things like these that make my heart warm, that make me feel that this road I chose to walk is all worth it. It makes all the late nights with red pen in hand all worthwhile.

It pains my heart to see my kids try so hard yet they fail to make the grade. Not counting the scores as yet, I am crossing my fingers that they will make it through, especially those that had a change of heart.

Back to more marking. I have just inherited one more pile of marking to lessen another teacher's workload. I volunteered for that, with a smile. Somehow, it just felt right doing it.

:)