How this school instructor, inspired her students, to be everything that they can be, how she was, an inspiration to all her students, how she'd, inspired the writer to become, a school instructor who touches the lives of her own students too! The cycle of kindness, rolling, down through the, generations…translated…
As the Semester Passed, One of the School Instructors Said that Something Went Missing from Her Drawers, Accused Me for Stealing, Because I Have the, "Skeleton Keys"…………
Without Her Watching Over Me, I Wouldn't Have Been Able to Continue in My Studies
It was, 1965, I'd begun my primary years in Park Elementary School, two years after I'd started, I was, assigned to the sixth class in the third grade, and I studied under the homeroom instructor, Ms. Chiu until I graduated. Being sheltered under the wings of Ms. Chiu, I'd felt blessed and proud; and for the years that came and went, her students had placed in the various competitions within our school, Ms. Chiu's students were the winners of the assortment of competitions scholastically, and the students had even represented the school, the city of Tainan in the entire country to compete. Some of the female instructors joked, that they'd envied Ms. Chiu's "good luck", that she'd been assigned to the classed with the excellent students, like she was, blessed by god.
Actually, Ms. Chiu was good at getting the students to tap into their potentials, so that they can, shine, through. As she started taking over my class as the homeroom instructor, she'd accepted her predecessors, and assigned me as the head of the class. Not long thereafter, she'd selected the student tutors for the Chinese and mathematics subject, to offer the tutoring needed for the students who are falling behind, and encouraged the group of student tutors to solve the problems on the board. Every Friday there would be the class meetings, other than evaluations of learning, she would also use the period to have the students perform, some would sing, some would dance, some would do stand-up comedy, and everybody was happy.
illustration from UDN.com
Ms. Chiu treated us with the fairness, the impartiality, she didn't discriminate, nor played favorites, and, when we needed to get disciplined, she'd gone down hard on us too. She was quite creative in her measure of punishments, in the winter, she'd had the students who'd not done their assignments place their hands in a bucket of water that's left overnight, that was freezing for minutes at a time—it surely, wasn't a good feeling, having our hands, frozen! Once, as Ms. Chiu was walking around the class, she saw me turning around to chit chat with a fellow classmate from behind me. Maybe because I was the head of class, she'd felt she needed to make an example out of me, she'd, punished me to kneel in the back of class, and raised my chair up over my head. The few minutes I was punished, the weightiness in my heart and on my arms, caused me to grow red in the face! But even so, Ms. Chiu still showed a lot of care towards me, she's a, mentor who'd helped me in growing up in all of my schooling career.
In the fourth grade, my father burned all of my textbooks, planned to drop me out of school. Ms. Chiu told the class of my difficulties, and asked my classmates to get their older siblings' old textbooks, so I can have them to study from. And yet, my own father did everything he could, to prevent me from getting educated, insisted that I help out with the household economics. Ms. Chiu became a server of justice, and dealt with my father, and finally, I got the chance, to return back to, school again. And, she'd helped me get the scholarships, and paid for my extracurricular costs. Had it not been Ms. Chiu, I would've never been able to, graduate from the elementary school years.
In fifth grade, a certain instructor who was tall, lost her keys, couldn't open up her drawers at the office, I'd told her that I can help. Found a thick wire, used the stones to flatten the end of the wire, bent it a bit, then it'd become, a "skeleton key"—what I'd learned from my own father, I was very proud, not knowing, that I was, walking into the traps.
A semester went by, an instructor calmed that something got stolen from her desk drawers, and accused me for stealing, because I have the "skeleton key". I couldn't explain it to her, I was so freaked out, Ms. Chiu stood by my side, and vouched for my character, and argued with the other female instructor. Thankful for Ms. Chiu's fighting for me, otherwise, I would've gotten, into trouble. Afterwards, Ms. Chiu scolded me, warned me to not meddle into others' business and not be a smarty pants. A little while later, a potted plant was thrown from the second floor down, causing a female instructor to get injured, and that was when we all learned, that the instructor who'd accused me for stealing had a psychological illness. I was so glad, that I wasn't, the one who was, attacked.
Thinking Back, Her Actions Seemed to Have, a Deeper Meaning
Not only was our class excellent in the skilled competitions, but also in sports as well, as the school birthday celebration was nearing end in my sixth grade year, my class won the group excellence award, the principal presented the award. And yet, as the announcer called out, "head of class please step forward", Ms. Chiu had sent the person in charge of the talents in our class up. I'd felt, upset, and wondered, "did I not do well enough?", and yet, we'd won, the group collaboration award too, the announcer stated, "please step forward, student who's in charge of the talents", Ms. Chiu sent me up. After the events, Ms. Chiu gave me a high—end ballpoint pen, but I was still, upset. I'd guessed that Ms. Chiu was trying to suck up to the school principal, after all, the father of the student was a close friend of the school principal's.
And so, as Ms. Chiu rode her scooter home, I'd placed that ball-point pen into her coat pocket in the office, with a note: "are you trying to compensate me?", and because she never said a thing about the pen, I'd taken it to mean, that she'd, understood me. And now, thinking back, I'd come to understand, that my need to be given the credit, caused me to not have enough mind, refusing to admit to the fact: that the girl in charge worked really hard for the competitions, that she DESERVES to go and receive the group excellence award for the class.
February 29 was Ms. Chiu's birthday. In our sixth grade year, we all decided to hold a birthday celebration for her on the final Friday of February. But, the class couldn't agree on the flavors of the cake we are to purchased, the class split into two and each side ordered a sixteen-inch cake. I can't no longer recall how Ms. Chiu blew out the candles, but she was so blissful as she ate the chocolate and then, the vanilla whipped cream cake, then, she'd gotten into the celebratory mode, and read our palms for us. The assisting head of class and I, were both prophesized as school instructors in our, future, and the other students were all encouraged by the readings, and were all filled with hopes for the future.
As I entered into my third year of middle school, I'd consulted Ms. Chiu for the direction of my studies. She recommended that I study in Tainan Teacher's Community College, not only would there be no tuition that I needed to pay, I get to become a school instructor after I graduate. She'd told me, "so long you passed the written exams, you have no need to worry about the oral, I can help you pass it." later, I tested into both Tainan All-Girls' High School AND the Tainan Teacher's Community College, but I was longing too much for the regular university studies, I'd, given up on the oral entry exams at the teacher's college. Many years later, after the twists and turns of life, I ended up teaching for life. The students who'd graduated from the Sixth Sixth, they are all showing their skills off in the various realms, there are the chemistry doctorates, the Japanese language lecturers, doctors, nurses, and the businesswomen who are excellent in business.
Ms. Chiu never had children, but thankfully, all her students loved and respected her like a mother, and thankful, that she and her husband had been very close, and the niece of her husband was adopted by her, made up for the only regret she has in her life. Ms. Chiu is a faithful Buddhist, in her golden years, she'd become the volunteer of the Guyen Temple in Kaohsiung, she'd passed away on July 27th, 2021. Her kindness, I will never get to repay, and can only, use this article, to show how grateful I'd been toward her.
This is, how much a good school instructor can, influence a student, and, this woman was truly touched by her school teacher who was just, fair, and kind to every student in the class, and it'd, driven the writer to become, a school teacher too, and, despite how her teacher never had any biological children, she'd, raised everybody in her classes into, good people who contribute to the society.
No comments:
Post a Comment