30th January was a remarkable day in my teaching career. I have had the privilege and fortune to teach two contrasting age groups in a single day with two differing subjects — Coding and Linguistics. I taught coding to 5-6 year olds in a prestigious school in London in the day and that meant distilling computer science concepts to simple parts. While it is simple in concept, it by no means mean the project I was guiding them to build was anything simple — in fact, it meant encouraging children’s creativity and seeing their ideas blossom in code. I reflected on the persona I took on and I realised I was a lot more animated, and I spoke with much simpler terms. I recalled trying to embody and reflect the values I was teaching them — respecting someone when another is speaking by listening or encouraging others by clapping when a project was being shared.
At night, I switched my gear as I welcomed undergraduate and postgraduate students into Birkbeck’s Malet Street classroom. I remembered how I felt rushing from class to class back in the days of my bachelors, and immediately thought that playing some soothing lo-fi songs would help facilitate the whole process of tuning in to the class. I remembered a particular History in Environment class where the professors of the course decided that playing some songs and having us breathe through the songs for the first 10 minutes will facilitate learning in the later parts of the lecture. I very much enjoyed it and was delighted when the students of my class loved it as well. I taught them on “written assignments” and loved the lively discussion. I realised I changed and took on the role of a facilitator helping them reflect on their experiences. In the last segment of the class, I asked them if they knew how to identify question words and some techniques that are easily used to structure a short and sharp essay that answers the question.
I love teaching for the fact that I can be creative and adapt to the needs of the class. I love how unpredictable it is and I love how I learn about the different connections that are possible while journeying with the class. Finally, I love teaching because I love inspiring because inspiration is the reason we become better versions of ourselves. May my endeavour to becoming a professor continually give me experiences where I inspire and am inspired.
《管子．權修》：「一年之計，莫如樹穀；十年之計，莫如樹木；終身之計，莫如樹人。」
“The best ten year plan is to plant trees; the best plan for the rest of your life is to plant people. (literal)“ - Guan Yiwu
Perhaps the adage helps us see that when we work for people, it will never be a waste. We will reap plentiful rewards if we are patient in our sowing.