posted by YourName on Tuesday, November 6, 2007, 5:47 PM
Same room, T12310. But a totally different experience.
There was this tall guy. The moment I walked into the classroom, he declared that he has not been attending class for 'quite some time' and does not know 'what to do'.
I thought to myself, "This is week#7. Schedules, among other information for the module, have been posted online for more than 2 months now."
"Check the BlackBoard(online) yourself," I replied instinctively.
He fiddled on his keyboard for a while and came again, "Where? Cannot find leh..."
Positive energy depleted a little. "Another typical no-know-where-what guy." I thought to myself.
I looked at the rest of the class. Some were moving in extraordinary slow motion. Turning towards the computer, opening their bags and visually scouting around for clues of what they should do....
After a moment of hesitation, I outlined possible strategies for the lesson - they have to decide on one. The test is just two weeks away. Someone made a brilliant suggestion -go through the lecture PPT again, even though this is supposed to be a practical - and it started the ball rolling. Miraculously, everyone suddenly picked up. We actually barely touched on the PPT. Most parts of the lesson were done with the white board. In the next 20mins, I saw many heads nodding in consent whenever a key concept was summarised. I heard responses almost immediately after a question was posted..... Many doubts were cleared. Many relevant questions were asked, and resolved!
What can I say about them?
After the short lecture, everyone went on with their own works. Then, the tall guy came up to me. With notes and diagrams neatly written and drawn on papers, he politely confirmed a few key concepts with me. He actually managed to catch up with stuff that were being taught (by another lecturer) over the many weeks that he had missed!
"I am so effective!" A feeling of triumph overwhelmed me.
And then, he gently drew out a green form.....
It was his LOA (leave of absent) form. He had missed many lessons for valid reasons.
Instantly, the feeling of triumph vanished completely! Instead, the sense of guilt multiples rapidly. I suddenly realised what he meant by not been attending class for 'quite some time' and does not know 'what to do'....
I have failed, after a successful lesson.
I have failed to understand my student before I judge!
Thank you, tall guy. More appropriately, thank you, teacher!
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For the critter!