From the Front Page Sections, translated…
A child called me up, said that the topics of writing for this year’s middle schooler collective exam was on “From the Strange to the Familiar”, it’d touched her a lot.
Although I can’t see her in our phone calls, but I can surely, feel her joy, she’d mentioned on how when she entered into middle school, her teacher told her, that those without any music background are encouraged to get involved with band, and so, she’d worked up the courage and signed up, but because she’d not taken up the instruments from when she was younger, she’d lacked the self-confidences, plus she couldn’t make a single sound on her instrument from the start, she’d gotten discouraged and wanted to quit, but her instructor kept encouraging her, wanted her to try again, and finally, she’d given her performance of a lifetime.
not my photo…
“Principal, in an area we’re not familiar with, in order to step out, we’d needed a ton of courage, and in the process of making the discoveries, the encouragements from the school teachers are vita, that, would be the key to success or failure.”
She’d ranted, incessantly on her primary instructor, how she’d encouraged her when she felt discouraged and when she’d become too pompous, the teacher managed to get her off her high horse too, in the process of aging, her instructor was the one, making sure that she’d not strayed from her path, and so, as she saw this topic, the images of her instructor, guiding, teacher her came to mind.
I’d commended her, “you’re the one who actually made the choice to step out, if you’d turned around, chosen another route, because of how something felt unfamiliar to you, if you’d given up because you were beaten, how, can you possibly taste the sweet fruits of your own hard labor?”
not my photograph still…
“Principal, after I’d practiced hard on my musical instrument, that, was when I’d realized that my worries back then were pointless, and now, other than having that full confidence, I’d wanted to get into the unfamiliar, unchartered areas, turns out, the unfamiliar isn’t synonymous with scary; it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, so long as we’re able to take our defeats, keep working hard, then, we will eventually succeed, I’d told my younger schoolmates, that after they’d practiced for a bit, what was scary isn’t anymore, it’s just, that it’s a lonely journey, from not knowing, to knowing is all.” she’d added playfully, “I’m just like you teacher, I’d encouraged my lower class members!”
Yeah certain! From the strange to the familiar, other than needing the courage to take that very first step, you must be able to cope and put up with the loneliness that comes with the discoveries you’d making yourselves, as parents and teachers, we should just, let go, so the kids can progress, we’d only needed to be there, to remind them of the smaller things they need to watch out for.
But, in the forefront of teaching, we’d often heard the first year students’ parents say, “Teacher, my child and so-and-so are friend already, can you make sure that they are sitting next to each other in class”, or, as the teacher assigned a certain task for the students, the parents would come to school to tell the teachers, “My child doesn’t know how to do that, don’t make her do it!” I’d recalled, that a parent, because she moved, her child will have to start in a brand new school, and get separated from her old classmates, she’d started giving troubles to her mother, she’d come to console me on what she could do.
not my photograph still…
Toward this sort of parents, all I can say, other than to communicate with the child well, letting the child know, that in the process of growth, there is, a segment of her/his journeys s/he must travel alone, being able to face the difficulties on one’s own, and overcome that state of panic that comes with dealing with the unknowns, coping with the sudden onset of the challenges, and overcome that state of panic, that, is the road to growth; at the same time, I’d begged the parents, to NEVER set their children up in an environment of familiarity, the kids needed to gain the courage to test the waters themselves, to make discoveries in a strange, unfamiliar environment, and learn to make friends, to handle life’s matters, and if you’d prevented your child from doing that, then, you’d stripped them off the incredible journeys that they were, endowed to have in life.
Just like this child, who’d realized, that all her worries were, excessive, after she’d become very trained in playing the instrument, and now, she is, desperately, dipping her toes, into unchartered territories in life, wanting to, go abroad on her own, how about your children? Had they, taken that very step outward, from the worries of the strangeness of this world yet?
And so, as parents and teachers, we should just, be a GUIDE, to the kids, NOT the leader of the “pack”, pulling on those tight leashes, connecting to our kids’ necks, telling them what to do, what not to do, where to go, or where not to go, because kids will one day, fly away from you, because that, is what they’re supposed to do, and, if you can’t start loosening your grips on your young starting now, how will they be able to soar high, without the worries? So parents, start to let go already!!!