![Rakin, who is enrolled in the “i∙didik” programme, has made excellent learning progress and become more cheerful. [Photo by Kevin Tan Kok Sieong]](/images/Articles/JY/2022/JY_KL20220926_cgx01_037.jpg "Rakin, who is enrolled in the “i∙didik” programme, has made excellent learning progress and become more cheerful. [Photo by Kevin Tan Kok Sieong]")
Teacher Chor Zheng Hao has only met his student Rakin online. Despite this, he has successfully guided the boy academically and boosted his confidence to interact with others.
On the eve of his final tuition session with his six students, 17-year-old Chor Zheng Hao couriered a notebook and a water bottle to each student as a gift. He hoped the gifts would reach them before their last lesson.
Rakin, a foreign student, was pleasantly surprised when he saw his name on the gifts. He flipped open the notebook and discovered this handwritten message in English from his teacher: “First of all, thank you. Thank you for bringing your positive energy into our class. Seeing you improved not only in Bahasa Melayu (Malay language), but also the person you’ve become, a kind & polite boy, it makes me very happy. I hope that you can continue to be YOURSELF & keep smiling.”
As Rakin read it, his eyes welled up with tears. Aware that his teacher was leaving, the boy in return, prepared a notebook and a pen as a token of appreciation for his teacher. “Teacher Chor, I wish you can achieve whatever you want in life, and that your life will get better and better,” he wrote on a small sticky note.
Although the gift did not reach Teacher Chor before their last lesson on September 26, Rakin will always remember a video that the teacher played, with scenes that evoked memories they shared in the past nine months. Listening to Teacher Chor’s messages to each of them, he could not hold back his tears.
◎ The socially-awkward boy
Eleven-year-old Rakin is a Primary 5 student. His father, Kin Abas, is from South Africa, while his mother, Rosalinda, is a Filipino. He is their only child. The couple had chosen to enrol their son in a Chinese primary school, as they believed that the opportunity to learn three languages (i.e., Mandarin, Malay, and English) is an added advantage, for the boy to gain a foothold in society in the future.
In school, Rakin did well in English, average in Mandarin, and below average in Malay. But his mother was more concerned about him being a loner, often isolating himself in a corner and not mingling with other classmates. He would grumble to his mother when he got home, “Mum, I do not have any friends at school.” Rosalinda felt his loneliness, but was unable to make things better.
Rosalinda came to Malaysia more than 20 years ago to make a living. She had no family in this country until she met her husband, who was a college lecturer, and started a family with him. Life was originally comfortable, but things changed in 2015, when she was diagnosed with kidney problems. Her medical care and dialysis treatments drained all their savings. In 2017, she had to discontinue receiving dialysis due to financial difficulties. Fortunately, Tzu Chi accepted her application for assistance and began to subsidize her dialysis cost.
Early this year, when volunteer Ten Chee Hean introduced the “i∙didik” programme to Rosalinda and her husband, they were overjoyed and immediately signed up for their son.
◎ Empowered to change
“I really enjoyed attending Teacher Chor’s class. It was very interesting!” A bright smile appeared on Rakin’s little face when he mentioned Teacher Chor, who is not only a Bahasa Melayu teacher, but also a person who transformed his life.
Rakin recalled that at first, he was unaccustomed to the online tuition and felt it was dull. However, after a few lessons, Teacher Chor began to engage the students with games and fascinating stories before and after the lessons. He gave his concern to each student and constantly encouraged them.
The boy was happy to hear Teacher Chor heaping praises on him for his positive approach to learning, high level of class participation, and good progress in the Malay language. He became confident and started to make an effort to open up, braving himself to speak and interact with his peers. With that, he made some friends at school and developed close friendships with other kids in his neighbourhood.
When Rakin learned that Teacher Chor, whom he has looked up to as a role model, had to leave them at the end of September to concentrate on his SPM examination, he was sad. However, he knew he should give his blessing. Thus, he decided to cherish the last few lessons with the teacher, and paid more attention and studied harder instead.
◎ A pleasant first experience
Teacher Chor was gratified to know how his students appreciated him. He said, “I did not expect to meet a good bunch of students the first time I became a tuition teacher. I am very happy and touched.”
Teacher Chor learned that Tzu Chi was recruiting tuition teachers for the “i∙didik” programme from his mother, who is a member of Tzu Chi Teachers’ Association and the programme’s promotion team. She had encouraged him to apply to become a Bahasa Melayu tutor considering his proficiency in the Malay language. As Teacher Chor felt it was manageable to spare 1.5 hours weekly for the tuition, and spurred on by his intention to contribute to the well-being of the care recipients’ children, he gladly accepted his mother’s suggestion.
Teacher Chor shared, “I was overjoyed when I was accepted as a tuition teacher. At first, I only had three students. The number eventually increased to six. They are all Primary 4 and 5 students.” He also added that his mother has been running a tuition centre for more than a decade, and from his observation at the tuition centre, it was not all that difficult to be a tuition teacher.
However, he soon discovered that online teaching was much more challenging than handling a physical class. Without being with the students face to face, he did not know whether the students really paid attention. Worse still, some students did not stay in front of the camera. He later instructed everyone in the class to sit in front of their cameras. Nonetheless, the students were unresponsive most of the time, and did not even respond to questions he posed.
Faced with such situation, it was inevitable for a rookie, who lacked experience, to feel nervous. Despite his effort in preparing teaching slides, he soon realized that if he kept focusing on teaching, the children would lose their concentration and get distracted, and even display signs of impatience. After referring to some online teaching techniques, he found out that some teachers were really engaging and able to attract the students. Thus, he decided to emulate them and make his teaching interesting too.
Knowing that primary school students enjoy playing games and listening to stories, he tried to incorporate these components in his class. He added a game session before and after the lessons to lighten the atmosphere, and would frequently pose questions to the class as a way to get the students to recall what they had learned. He would also patiently repeat the vocabulary or grammar that the students had difficulty understanding. His generous compliments on the slightest progress the students had made often made them happy.
Moreover, he adopted a humble demeanour, interacting with the students like a big brother. He would listen to them sharing about their studies and life, and encourage them to maintain a positive outlook whenever they felt down or encountered problems in their homework. “Work hard, be brave, and never give up! I have faith in you! Keep it up!” He raised their morale.
He remarked, “Even though I was getting along better and better with the students, I would still request them to be attentive in class, stay on the topic and not to interrupt when I was teaching. I believe that part of being a teacher is knowing when to be relaxed and when to take things seriously. This is crucial in guiding the students well.”
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The nine-month journey has enabled Teacher Chor to develop the skills to be a good teacher. Rakin’s transformation and learning progress have also given him great encouragement and motivation. He recalled that in the beginning, Rakin lacked confidence in his ability to learn the Malay language. He had a limited vocabulary, was unable to read many words and construct sentences, and would hesitate to respond to questions. Nevertheless, with constant encouragement and guidance, he was able to pay attention to class, make an effort to complete his homework and ask questions when he was in doubt.
Rakin’s Malay language skills have advanced by leaps and bounds. He was even selected by his school to compete in a Malay poetry recital contest. Although he did not win any medal, it was evident that his proficiency in Bahasa Melayu has reached a higher level. Even more gratifying is the fact that he now names Malay, English, and Mandarin as his top three favourite subjects. It made Teacher Chor proud as his tuition teacher.
