Written by an experienced educator, on how goal-setting, and working hard, can help someone overcome one’s own, shortcomings, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
Early in the morning, the head of student affairs of the middle school texted me: “Good news, Ming got certified with a level three certificate in transformer unit repair, he’s that student from the special eds classes!”, in the normal schools, the kids of special eds classes, due to their learning slower than their cohort, we’d held less expectations towards them, and, showed them less care and concerns too; but, there were the middle schools which treated these special needs students like any other student, putting them through the weekend technical skills programs, and it’d, worried some: would they be able to, handle it?
the students here are all with, unlimited, potentials!
Last year when I’d visited the school, I brought the presents, and had the head of student affairs call on the students who are deserving of rewards, he was, one of them, and the reason I gave him the award was because he lived in the mountains near Zhongliao, that it would take him more than an hour each way from home to school and from school back to home, but he’d, never missed one single day of class. A child added, “you can’t find his home address on Google Map!”, which showed how he’d, become, an inspiration for his fellow classmates too!
Ming had never taken a day of absence, and worked hard, practicing his skillset, and got certified, it’s a wonder that the head of student affair was so excited, the certification bore, so much meaning to this student! And it’d made us think hard: did we, limit the child’s potentials, based off of how well they are performing, in school?
Having grown up in the mountains, as a child, I saw my father’s generations chopped down the bamboos, saw them into segments, and, planted the segments down by the saplings, and, tied the trunks of the saplings to the bamboo segments, to support the saplings; and, aren’t these kids in special eds like the saplings? What they’re most in need of, is that segment of bamboo that’ll, steady them as they grow bigger. I hope, that all of these, saplings will, grow up into, a huge forest, into, a beautiful, scene of nature!
And so, this still just showed, that if you’re willing to work hard, then, you will be able to, conquer, ALL the obstacle that life throws at you, like this particular student from the special needs department of this school, he’d, worked hard, perfecting his skills, until he got, his technical certifications, it’s a true inspiration, of how if we set a goal, and work really hard toward that goal, then, we’re, bound to, achieve it!
Life, the Obstacle Course 