Summary

A dedicated teacher reflects on imparting three life lessons to their students during their final class, emphasizing the importance of overcoming self-limiting beliefs, finding purpose, and self-love, while advocating for an egalitarian and emotionally connected teaching approach.

Abstract

In the last lesson before their university entrance exam, the teacher provides a challenging exercise designed to push the students' limits. Observing their struggle and initial surrender, the teacher guides them through the problems, highlighting the students' potential and the detrimental impact of self-doubt. The teacher seizes the opportunity to share profound personal insights, encouraging the students to approach future challenges with resilience, to pursue their passions, and to cultivate self-belief and love. This unconventional educator believes in the power of a charismatic and relatable teaching style, fostering a classroom environment that values equality and emotional support over traditional hierarchical structures.

Opinions

The teacher believes that education is not just about imparting knowledge but also about preparing students for life's challenges.
They express regret that students often underestimate their abilities and succumb to self-limiting beliefs, which hinders their performance.
The teacher values the importance of presenting abstract thoughts and maintaining a decent and chivalrous demeanor in the face of adversity.
They encourage students to find their purpose and engage in activities that bring them joy and fulfillment.
The teacher emphasizes the significance of self-trust and self-love, advocating against negative self-talk and unhealthy habits.
They hold a strong opinion against authoritarian teaching methods, preferring a more democratic and emotionally engaged approach.
The teacher believes in the power of self-disclosure and personal storytelling to build stronger connections with students.
They advocate for treating students as equals and maintaining a non-hierarchical relationship in the classroom.
The teacher asserts that the true essence of education lies in nurturing the young individuals, rather than just focusing on the academic subject matter.

I taught my students 3 life sachets in their last lesson.

# Self-limiting belief is eavesdropping yourself

The wondrous journey and experience of being a teacher

Up until 2023, I have been a teacher for university entrance exams for 7 years. I am obsessed with education and casting a positive influence to the younger generation, especially for their university entrance exam.

It feels like leading soldiers to step on the battlefield, developing orchestrated strategies, exploring route and pluck champion flag over the trench.

Managing and delivering content to high school classes (or sixth form) can be very tense due to incessant training and briefing to students, yet it is rewarding.

To the students, sitting for the public examination is once-in-a-lifetime experience, and they will never ever come back to this period again.

Renunciation without fighting the war

Yesterday, I distributed the last piece of exercises to my class. It was tailor-made, spend two nights working on it. I intentionally made it slightly set beyond the level they could manage, but not digress from what they are meant to accomplish in the real exam.

I have noticed few students frowned upon seeing the first questions of the paper, as if they had never encountered the concepts before. Some students even resorted to lying down on the table, checking their phones to look for seemingly possible answers, some of them just totally gave up and chit-chat with the buddies who sat next to them.

“Vis! This is so hard, I cannot do it!” exclaimed by a girl in my class, yelled out with disappointment and helplessness. Other students nodded in agreement and many put down their pens on the paper, as if they abandoned their spears and shields and fled from the battlefield.

Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash

I grudgingly admitted that they lack resilience. At this moment.

I led them through the process of solving the problems together, step by step, recapping all the skills and techniques I have taught them throughout the days.

The students had rudimentarily overestimated the difficulty of the questions and underestimated their ability to unravel the problems. This realization left me feeling deflated.

The most regrettable aspect is not the loss of the match- it’s that they came so close to winning. They nearly win.

Things I wished my teacher had told me when I was in 17.

I finished the lesson 20 minutes early and decided to do a final personal sharing. It was my last opportunity, and I hadn’t prepared anything specific. There was no script; I just spoke spontaneously and delivered the speech with flow.

Self-limiting beliefs was the topic popped up in my mind. I wanted to talk about this topic so bad, and actually there was a lot other ideas I have mentioned to them:

“Finally we are up to here, my friends. Today I want to share my last personal thoughts with you all by this very last chance. I want you to remember the maths concept you have learnt from all those years, it will be faded one day. You would not be asked to do factorisation or apply quadratic equation in Sainsbury’s to get a 5-pound meal.

First, mathematics is all about presenting your chain of thoughts through abstract information, and this matters a lot in your future life. You will be confronting a lot of obstacles in the coming future. Do not let the hiccups to rile you up or trip you over. Some people turned into another person when they were bombarded by the daily trivials, I bet you do not want to be one of them. I want you to stay decent and hold the sense of chivalry, even the life is brimming with uncertainties and difficulties, present yourself well to others, to act and tell other you are of the most capable person to endure the mercurial dilemmas.

Second, find you purpose. I always tell you all, it is OKAY to dislike Maths, it is OKAY to dislike school. But you have to keep yourself learning new things, and dedicate yourself to something you genuinely enjoy, something you could envision yourself doing for a lifetime. If you could not find it right now, that’s also OKAY. Just make sure you always remember it is your mission everyday to discover the true meaning of your identity. There are only 30,000 days in your life, not many, isn’t it? Seize the day and make your life extraordinary.

Third, trust and love yourself. Self-limiting beliefs and negative self-talk will intrude your mind. If you think you can do somethings, you could do it; if you think you are not able to do something, you have knocked yourself down prior to stepping on the battlefield, do you think it is worthy for your 17 years life? Think about your parents, bring glory to them. Remember to love yourself, I know some of you guys smoke, drink, and party all day but I have not said anything about that. It is harming your health and slipping away your time. Do something big, and this will be your long-term happiness instead of short-term relief.

All in all, I wish you all the best in the future. Stay strong, stay focused.

I will see you very soon.

Final thoughts

The way I teach is quite unorthodox. I rarely coerce my students into obedience. In my perspective, if the teacher’s charisma is alluring enough and they possess deep knowledge of the subject, students will automatically pay undivided attention to the class.

Some teachers hold bigotry in their teaching practice, which I do not agree with. I fear that patriotic, dictatorial leadership styles are remnants of the past. The old concept no longer serves the new generation.

The highlight of my teaching style is that I engage in self-disclosure with my fellow students. By sharing personal stories and experiences in the last 5 minutes of every class, our bond unknowingly grows closer and stronger.

Also, I always allow my kids to call my first name. Personally, teachers are not in a vantage point to students, the hierarchical relationship of students and teachers should be equal but not laissez-faire as we are all the participants in the same classroom.

Students are emotionally sensitive. If you treat them as a friend genuinely, show them unconditional care. They could feel it deep down.

Education is not about the subject you teach — but the young faces you teach.