| Given his experience, A Nong could easily
have chosen to stay as the Head of Discipline in his school but he preferred
to stay with his "little angels", and insisted on retaining
the hands-on responsibilities of a class teacher. "So long as you
love your work, a teacher will never feel bored, not even for a day. Each
year you are bound to have a new class. The wistful gaze of the little
angels says everything - their need for your care and guidance. How can
you feel bored as a teacher if you try to know well each and every student?"
A Nong learns of the latest news about his past students through gatherings
with them in Hong Kong - some have become parents, some have remarkable
careers. For A Nong, the greatest satisfaction for a teacher is to witness
the growth of students. During a student gathering, A Nong was told
that some of his words, casually uttered, had unexpectedly become guiding
values in the lives of two students. "I am most concerned that
teachers should not confine their roles to the classroom. They should
always look for ways to understand individual students better. I once
wrote on the blackboard two phrases, 'Teaching with Passion' and 'Teaching
as Duties' which represent two entirely different orientations for teachers.
My students say that these words have been a constant reminder that
they should look at life from the proper perspectives." He cannot
imagine how some scribbled words on the blackboard which he has forgotten
altogether have come to be such a lifelong influence on the students.
This is yet another indication that teachers are the "engineers
of souls" where the souls of the next generation and subsequent
generations can all be affected. |
