"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops" Henry Adams.
Those two big, rounded eyes looked into her teacher's eyes deeply. It was the last day of school before graduation for 6 graders took place. Her ponytail was a bit messy blown away by the wind. It was dry season winds, but her eyes soon filled with a puddle of water, streaming down, with her husky voice, she said to her teacher who deliberately rushed towards her as she stood in front of the class. "Hi, Miss, Today is my last day of school, I'm going to miss you and I'll never forget you for the rest of my life". Her petite body reached her teacher's, she handed a letter. They hugged as if it was the last goodbye between mom and daughter.
The teacher tried to recollect all the pieces of memories with Sophia (let's call her by this name), that little girl. Suddenly, her heart was filled with a warm feeling when remembered her. She was not the last teacher who taught her. She was just her grade four teacher. 2 years had passed but Sophia and her friends never failed to just simply said hi and came over to her class occasionally, on many occasions, she would pop up with her drawings or a letter. Previously, Sophia was a new kid in grade 3. She seemed to have a problem adjusting to her new school. She was very quiet and timid, this attitude continued until she entered grade 4. She had a problem with Math lessons; however, it was not so hard for her since she's a diligent student. She was very excited and attentive to attending the Math lesson, soon she caught up, and her scores soared.
One time, Sophia's mom rushed in the morning looking for the teacher. "Please help miss, she doesn't want to go out of the car, some teachers were already there and asked her to go to her class, but she refused" The teacher went to the parking lot right away, and she saw that little girl sitting inside the car with a sad face. "Sophia let's go inside, come on, later you can tell me what's bothering you," said the teacher. Sophia's big eyes rolled and sparked, there was a glimpse of hope there. She went out of the car and held the teacher's hand entering the school.
According to the Humanism learning theory of Maslow, learning will be more beneficial if teachers can fulfill the student's cognitive and affective needs. Teachers should perceive the students as whole persons. Therefore, there's not something so extravagant when teaching those children. Teachings that come from the heart, giving all the students with motivation dan support, reminding them that they are worthy and special in their unique way. Thus, they can be whatever they want to be as long as they believe in themselves. It's not because of someone else, but it should spark out from their inner selves, to be the very best version of themselves. Embrace the failures and get back harder, touch their souls. Along the way, they could awaken a giant within themselves. Just like what I have experienced a long time before, I found a teacher who truly inspired me a lot, not a teacher who only delivered the lessons, but he did more than what he should have done. He built a strong character foundation for his students which would never be expired. I believe his teachings and wisdom will be an endless ripple to inspire others to do the same as he did. We were lucky to have him. Lucky, to have the chance to fill our days meeting the students like Sophia and others too who are always successful to rekindle our spirit for teaching. "When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy."- Rumi.
