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Patience brings rewards

I recently started volunteering as a tutor in a day-care centre, helping primary students with their homework.

One of the little boys was very naughty, but I did not scold him because my mum told me that teaching requires patience. I asked him to sit down properly and tried to get him to do his homework.

But it turned out he couldn't do his homework because he did not understand the vocabulary. After I taught him the meaning of the words and how to use them grammatically, he finished his homework quickly and gave me a big smile.

This touched me and I realised his problem - he did not really understand what he had been taught. In future, I will try my best to teach him properly, so he will do well in the future.

Natalie Chung Siu-tung, Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College

From the Editor

Thank you for your letter, Natalie. I hope your experience showed you how difficult it is to be a teacher - and how grateful students should be to their own teachers.

Teachers in Hong Kong have especially busy schedules - as well as planning their classes and marking your assignments, they have lots of other administrative work to do, and often run a club or other after-school activity. When they're in the classroom, they're expected to be interesting, alert, and ready to answer their students' questions.

Of course, there are good teachers and bad teachers. Not everyone can be perfect. A good teacher can have an influence over us that lasts a lifetime. They can teach us far more than what's in the textbook - if we're lucky, they'll contribute to our becoming good global citizens as well as helping us pass our exams.

Next time you think your teacher is boring, spare a thought for all the work they put in to ensure you have a bright future.

Karly, Deputy Editor

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