A student cried in my class today…
(Shared by Ms. Le Phuong Dung, Teacher of Class 4B1, Vinschool The Harmony Primary School)
When I come to class every day, I tell myself that I will bring laughter to my students and make them happy. However, at the end of my CLISE (Character and Life Skills Education) class today, one of my students cried…
I taught them about “Sympathy” for Family – Near and Dear Ones today. In this class, my students would talk about the theme-based situations, study and discuss the acts and behaviors that show sympathy for people around them; from that, they would have positive and loving thoughts/actions towards their family members.
Thanks to the many thoughtful and amazing stories from our daily lives, my students and I had an exciting lesson. They freely shared their thoughts and views when I asked them questions like “What should you say to your mother when she has just arrived home from work and feels very tired?”; “How can you show your sympathy for your grandmother when her best friend has just passed away?”, etc.
The children did not only share their views but also had many questions for their parents who were also present in the class: “What makes parents angry?”; “Do you expect sympathy from your children?”, etc.
Gia Hien, a playful boy in my class, suddenly burst into tears after asking the parents: “How do you feel when you receive sympathy from your children?” – but no sooner had he finished the question than he buried his face in his hands and began to cry uncontrollably. The whole class was overwhelmed, and the parents and I myself were concerned and confused.
After the lesson, Gia Hien said to me: “At that time, I missed my mother a lot. I wish I would have talked to her more …” I held his hands tightly. I believed that he would never forget the moment and understand that family is the most precious thing. The sympathy which comes from a person’s heart will find its way to another person’s and create close bonds among family members.
I am sure I will remember today’s lesson for a very, very long time – it’s a lesson in which my beloved students began to understand what it means to sympathize with the people around them. My students’ feelings and Gia Hien’s tears made me so happy because the lesson touched the children’s hearts, I believe. After all, I understand that we should teach children with all our hearts!
