A super teacher who has the most teaching hours at school
Wan-ju Wang 2013-04-17
This year, due to the short supply of qualified teachers and school authority’s reluctance to add new hires for fear of creating over supply in the future, our school decided to increase teaching hours to every existing teacher. When I had my schedule, I was glad to see that I had only two more hours than the basic teaching hours (16 hours). However, the dean came to me in less than half day, asking, ""Wan-ju, can you teach one more class (that is, to have extra 7 teaching hours a week)? We almost have no way out."" The request was just like a thunder from the clear sky because I didn’t think I should be the one who should be responsible for this. I was upset and wondering how come they left the problem to me.
The request reminded me of the time when I once had 18 teaching hours a week. At that time, I was always in a bad health situation and low mood. Besides, I often suffered from chest distress and sore throat. All these scenes brought back the terrible memory, thus making me caught in a dilemma. I had no idea whether I should help or not. Although the dean did not ask me to make the decision immediately, but to be frank, I could hardly sympathize with her situation at that moment.
When I went back home and discuss the issue with my husband, who had been practicing Qigong at Tai Ji Men Academy for 7 years, he reminded me of one important thing. He told me that my situation was different from before as now I have a great Shifu and I definitely could overcome the difficulty by using the wisdom Shifu had taught me. In the process of making the decision, I recalled what my Shifu, Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, had told me that I would not be truly good until others are good. My Shifu has been encouraging us to help people and to be united in hard times, which would help everybody get through difficulties. Therefore, I decided to take into consideration the best interests of the school and the students. Finally, I accepted the dean’s request. Two days after my reply, while I was chatting with my colleague in the hallway, I saw the dean walking toward me in a big smile, saying ""Thanks for your help, Wan-ju. Your kindness and assistance are highly appreciated."" I was surprised. The thrill and joyfulness were really beyond description.
When the new semester began, owing to having one more class, I got up to 25 teaching hours on my schedule, which was the most at the school. At the beginning, I did have slight worries if I was not up to the task. But I did have strong confidence in the kongfu Shifu taught me. So I saw this as an opportunity for me to make breakthroughs and to find more effective and efficient ways of teaching so that I can save my energy and the students will benefit as well.
I changed my old way of teaching, which was more teacher-centric and lecture-based, to more active involvements from the students such as small group discussions and presentations. I would change my role to more of a facilitator and I can have more time to have my throat rest a bit. Students got to participate more actively in the classroom discussion, and they learned much more out of the participation. This is indeed a win-win solution.
As we all know that teaching consumes a lot of energy, and I had little time to rest during a day. So, I practiced Qigong every morning and evening. In addition, I would use any spare time I could get to practice in order to replenish my energy. Thus, even though I had heavy workload, I could still feel refreshed all the time. This was really amazing to me! Many of my colleagues who had noticed my workload felt unbelievable as well. When seeing that I could still be energetic and happy, they all showed their admiration.
I am very grateful for my Shifu. But for his care, love and guidance, all these good results would not have happened. From the experience, I also realize that only when we change our mind can we find wisdom and opportunity to live a better life. When I put myself in other people’s shoes and take into consideration their best interests, I lose nothing. I helped the dean solve a problem and got to meet another 50 sweet students. Now, whenever I am surrounded by these cute students, saying they love English and my teaching, I feel so fulfilled and satisfied.
If I had not joined the big family, Tai Ji Men, where I met an enlightened Shifu, I think now I would be in a very bad condition teaching and complaining with no possibility of having all these positive feedbacks from the students. Thus, I would like to say thank you, my great Shifu. In such an intense and stressful working environment, it is really a blessing to be able to feel a sense of tranquility and peace. And all these happiness are so valuable that I’ll always treasure it by heart.
