🎵 Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start 🎵
Lately, one of my goals has been to try to carve out more time to do different kinds of exercise and join other instructors’ fitness classes. It’s a great chance for me to work out the areas of my body I’m not hitting with dance alone, but it’s also an opportunity for me to return to the role of being a student.
Now, just saying the word “student” can bring back a lot of anxiety. It conjures up all these childhood memories of pop quizzes, stress, and late nights listening to mix tapes instead of writing assignments (i.e. procrastination in the pre-social media era). It also reminds me of when, years later and after having taught English for a long while in Taiwan, I made the move to start studying Chinese. It was then that I realized that most of my fear surrounding being a student wasn’t actually about a final grade --although, I admit I occasionally obsessed over A’s-- but instead was about being a beginner at something. Going from the “expert” in the classroom to the one who makes a mistake every two minutes is a really humbling experience, and one that undoubtedly made me a better English teacher.
These past two months being back in other teachers’ classes, I have had many more chances to get it all wrong, to miss the right moves, to feel like I’m dying because everything hurts and I can barely catch my breath. But again, it's from this discomfort that I feel I can grow personally and become a better a teacher.
Trying something new and not being “good” at it right off the bat can be scary. And so, choosing to be a student or giving that thing you never tried before a whirl takes a lot of bravery. It means allowing yourself to display your weaknesses and to open yourself to criticism. To me, being a really great teacher means recognizing the vulnerability students are sharing with you and acting responsibly with the trust they put in you by doing so.
While everyone out there might not be an actual teacher by profession, we all have areas we are knowledgeable in which we can impart to others. There are even more infinite numbers of lessons to be learned from the people we encounter. Being brave enough to be taught and compassionate enough to teach can help everyone get ahead.
Thanks to the teachers, the students, and all those who have schooled me in life so far!
Keep moving!
xx,
Katie
讓我們從頭開始 ------ 一個開始的好地方
最近我去上別的老師的課，這是讓我的身體做做不同運動的機會，同時，也是個讓我再當學生的機會。來台灣教英文教了幾年後，我決定去學中文。師傅變成學徒，從老師的位子轉換成學生，每次開始學一件新的事物，你可能會犯很多錯，所以我必須再接受犯很多錯誤的自己，當然我也學到了很多東西。
現在，我在別的老師的課堂上，也會做錯動作或是累得上氣不接下氣，這些經驗都能讓我成為更好的老師。當學生是一件需要勇氣的事，因為你得讓別人看到你的不夠好的地方，當老師的也得了解學生的感覺並擔起學生給予的信賴。謝謝所有的老師及學生，因為你們，我才能成為今天的我。
繼續前進！
愛你的 Katie