Her Civics Class Made Her Class of Student Cried, and After They’d Cried, They’d Stated that They’d Wanted to Take Her Classes Again

The instructor used real-life experiences, to teach her civics class, allowing her students to get a closer look of what the real world is all about, from the Newspapers, translated…

The fifty-seven year-old He had the students discuss the issues of suicide, abortion, and the hardships of being women who sold the betel nuts by the roadside stand dressed like whores, she’d incorporated the lessons into the students’ lives, hoping that they’re able to “know themselves, and cherish others.”

What class would make the students laugh, cry, and wipe up all their tears, as they look forward to the next class sessions, where they will all, cry together again? The Hsinchu All-Girl’s High School Civics teacher, Chiu-Ying He had this kind of magic. She’d assigned the “blank class periods”, so the students can get into groups, and share, as someone talked about the trials, the hardships of the life of the women who dressed in bikinis, selling betel nuts by the roadside stands, “as I’d told it, I’d started, crying”. He believed, that the instructors should become the guides of the children, and she’d managed to put life into every single one of her lessons to her students.

Before the Department of Education had pushed forth the life education curricula, He had started, putting “life” into her course. In her Civics class, she’d made the students split into groups, find a topic they’re all interested in, devise a lesson plan themselves, and teach the class as a group, and, the contents that the students came up with, were often beyond her imagination, filled with tears, as well as, laughter too. He said, the drive behind her “turning over education” was “because all the kids needed different kinds of knowledge, and the teachers should NOT just teach what’s in the textbooks”.

the instructor, holding the Thank-You Cards made for her by her students, from UDN.com…

For example, there was a group of students who’d talked about the ladies who dressed in bikinis, selling betel nuts to the drivers, because as they’d walked to and from school, they’d seen girls of their age, selling the betel nuts, and, after looking into the matter, the students shared on the podium, with the class, about the badness, the hardships of life in being a woman in bikini, selling the betel nuts, “as I’d talked about it on the podium, I’d, started crying”; there was also another group who looked into suicides in school, and disclosed, “Actually, I’d thought about killing myself at one time too.”

Before the class period was over, He would lead the students to share, “Because of the trust we’d established, so, we’re able to, bravely, open up that wound deep inside of us,” after the students had an outlet of their emotions, they’d given one another encouragements and supports. And, oftentimes, the students would cry together, and they’d handed one another the tissues, or cups of hot teas. “After the class, there’s that lightness in the kids’ steps, and, the smiling faces after the tears became especially radiant, and, they’re all looking forward to, crying together at the next class session.”

He said, that it was important, to “create a safe space where the students trusted one another completely.” Before the students started sharing, she’d reminded the students, that everything that they’d heard, they’d needed to show that care and empathy towards, and after they’d walked out of the classroom, they’re not to gossip on what was discussed in the classroom sessions from before.

In her years of teaching career, He often saw the students mutilate themselves, became depressed, had abortions, etc., etc., etc., other than listening to her students, she’d hoped that through her courses, the students can “know themselves more, and cherish others.”

She’d stressed that life education is a must, “This, is a sort of a persistence, a courage, a calling for me.” in order to review over all the years she’d been teaching on the subject matter of life, she’d returned to school to take more courses, and earned her “Life Education Teaching Certificate” from N.T.U.

in a photo op with their teacher…courtesy of UDN.com

How, can the teachers teach about life in order to truly help the students? She believed, that each instructor has different personality qualities, if they could get involved with the life education courses, and become the multiple perspectives for the students, in their courses, incorporate the values of life, and, there would be the varieties of how life can turn out, expressed, live, in front of the students.

At age fifty-seven, He is already able to retire, but she’d said, “Every day I’d headed off to school, felt like I was guarding the students’ lives.”, she hoped, that she could, help more kids.

And so, this, is the dedication of a school teacher, she’d realized the importance of the goings on of the world, and, she’d incorporated the goings on of the world into her lessons to her students, and, her students appreciated her teaching methods, and are all very involved in actively participating in their own education processes.