Lessons we learned, from school, from our own, experiences in life, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
Recently I’d made the speeches at the schools, as the speech ended, a parent led two children to before me. “Professor, I was your student, do you still remember me?” This was every instructor’s nightmare, I’d, worked really hard, to think back on all the students, and just, couldn’t, recall her name; but I’d still smiled and told her, “let me think!”, as she’d heard me say this, her smile did not fade, she’s not, disappointed one bit, but her second-grade daughter looked up at her innocently, “Mom, your teacher can’t remember you!”
I felt very awkward after hearing, before I could reply, she’d immediately told her child, “Do you know how many students the professor’s had? How can she remember every one, but, so long as I remember her!”, then, she’d, started speaking of her middle school careers, that with the problems she’d, faced in life then, how I’d, given her the advices she’d needed, “because you’d, counseled me, teacher, so I will, never forget you, as I saw the flyer on the seminar, I was so excited to come, to thank you.” as she’d told me, I still, can’t quite, remember her, but, I’d felt, very touched by her words.
The following day, a student used the communication app to contact me, this particular student had been, hurt by a certain teacher, he’d come back to me to tell me about what happened, to seek out my counsel, it took me sometime, but I’d, accompanied him, helped him out; back then, I’d, encouraged him: you need to turn what happened to you, into your driving force, if there’s a chance, you must, help those who’d been hurt like you had. Back then he’d told me, that he will, work hard, to become a teacher who can, help his students. In his final year of high school, he wrote me that with his grades, there was, NO chance he will ever be a school teacher, so, he was, willing, to become, a serviceman, to fight to protect the country.
And now, many years afterwards, he’d, shared with me everything he’d weathered through in the armed services, and he’d, mentioned what happened to him again back in middle school, and stressed to me, that even though he wasn’t, highly ranked, he will use his past as a teacher, to NEVER make the mistakes his middle school instructor had made.
After I’d read, although I’d felt glad, but, I couldn’t help but feel: that the first woman told me, “so long as I remember you!”. It symbolized, I don’t’ need your affirmations from your memories, but I will remember, that was, the demands that one made of, one’s own, characters, to never forget to be, thankful. While the second student, couldn’t forget about the shame, but he’d not, selected, to take revenge, instead, he’d, turned his shame into something he could, learn from, to remind himself, to NEVER shame another like he’d been, shamed. Think on his, how many people we will meet, how many things we can, encounter, in our, lifetimes!
Who remembered us, it isn’t, that important, what’s important is who we remembered? Well, it’s, not that important either, the important being WHY we remember who or what we remember? Those that happened, those whom we remembered, what were their, influenced on us? From these two students, I saw the choices of attitude, how they’d, chosen to make themselves feel happy, how by choosing to forgive, it’d, given him peace, to use the past as a mirror to reflect, to have a life without regrets, what, will you, choose?
And so, this, is something worth pondering on, what, do you remember when you graduated? I’m sure, that it’s not the course load, the books, the materials, or even what you’d made on your exams, it’s the experience of learning, of accumulating the knowledge, of the lessons that life teaches us that we will, carry with us from here on out.
A School without the Fences…Would We Still Be Safe the Next Time?
Commentaries, translated…
An elementary school was broken in by a stranger man, not only did he managed to beat up the school teacher, he’d also took a male student to the roof of the school. The police came to help out after they got a call, and managed to subdue the man, and the students, as well as the instructors were all very scared by this event.
This rare-to-come-by incident posed the issue of school safety, in order to help keep the campuses safe, the teachers, as well as the students must have the sense of danger, and they should NOT ignore the signs of danger that easily, in order to ensure the safety of the students, as well as the school instructors.
For now, there’s a lax in the number of security officers at the elementary schools across the city of Taipei, the originally two members of the security officers that were assigned to each of the schools, due to the simplifying plan of personnel by the city governments, there was NO one to fill the posts, and the schools started hiring from the private sectors, causing the varied income problem, and it’d affected how well the schools and the hired security guards worked together. The government, in order to save the cash, had sacrificed the safety of the schools, it’s really not worth it.
And, recently, the janitors had been reduced in numbers in the schools, for a school with one-thousand students, there were only two janitor, and, the janitors also had to be responsible for the cooking in the kindergarten levels, along with being the correspondences to the government, and, the number of employees is NOT even half of what the schools had hired.
And the schools, in order to make sure the schools worked well, would have the two guards work at the same time frames, and, had one of these security guards help with the paper works at the offices of the schools.
And so, walking around the school to make sure that it’s safe was deeply affected, and there was a HUGE hole in the security, thus, allow the bad guys to squeeze in.
Lastly, in recent years, the schools across the nations had gotten away with the fences, and, a LOT of schools had fought for lowering the fences, or do away with them completely, and used plants as the fences, but, without the fences, the schools would be in danger, of intruders from the outside.
In order to safeguard the safety of the students and the teachers, the educational managers from the cities, along with the school’s executive officials MUST work together.
The school must give education as it becomes necessary, to up the level of awareness of the students and the teachers, and instill the idea of “keeping the schools safe is everybody’s responsibilities”, to keep a close eye on strangers that show up, and to have the students and the teachers report if they see someone who’s awkward in the schools, and must hold safety conferences regularly, along with have drills.
The increase of safety on campuses, other than the schools that must work hard, there’s also a need for care and concerns from the systems, for instance, the funding, and the personnel, to allow the schools to have the extra money to install surveillance cameras, security equipments, and increase manpower on campus, to reduced the spare time where there would be no one there, to keep the schools safe, and this would up the safety of the schools.
And so, we need more guards to keep our schools safe, but, where DOES the funding come from? Taxes? We’re already paying a WHOLE lot, and, this article only poses the problem, without giving a viable solution, and, you still have to admit, that school safety IS a very important matter, I mean, after all, who would feel safe, if the kids’ schools can be entered by just about anyone?
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Filed under Perspectives, Social Awareness, Social Issues, Unsafe in the Schools, Validity of the News
Tagged as Commentaries, School Safety