I called her through Whatsapp. She picked it up.
"Do you know we have a class now?" I said solemnly.
"Oh, I will join the lesson now." she said without further explanation. That was it, when I waited for 20 minutes after I had sent her the Zoom link since 10.55 am.
Soon, she joined the lesson.
"What were you doing?" I asked. "My mum was talking to me through phone call and after that, I forgot about the class." she answered without much hesitation.
"Ok, I'm not sure if you understood what I talked to you in our last lesson. Perhaps I talked to you in a nice way. Let me say that to you again, in Mandarin, to ensure you get my point." I said.
The communication was then switched to Mandarin, and it has been translated into English in this blog.
"First, this is not your first time to join the class late. There were numerous times when I had to call you to join the class. I can't accept your excuse that you've forgotten about the class. Since the first day I started teaching you, I never change the time. One year ago, you always joined the class on time. Why only recently you forget about the class?"
"Do you still want to learn English with me?" I questioned her.
"Yes." she said sheepishly.
Ignoring her response, I continued to chide her, "if you want to stop the class but dare not tell your mum, let me know and I can tell her on your behalf. I'm totally fine. I don't mind to let you go. I'd rather spend my time doing some other beneficial stuff, instead of wasting my time to wait for you. Besides, there are some other students out there, who wish to join my learning centre."
She kept silent.
"My last question to you, do you want to stay?" I asked again.
"Yes." she answered.
"Ok, if you want to stay, please bear in mind, don't be late again. This is my last warning to you. If you are late again, I won't call you anymore. I'll just tell your mum that I'll stop the class and I'll bid you goodbye." I told her bluntly.
This is the story that happened in one of my classes this morning. She was a 10-year-old girl, whose attitude got worse after teaching her for 1 year.
I had no choice but to lambast her so that she knew I no longer tolerate such kinds of attitudes - being late and not serious in her learning.
A teacher's job is not only about imparting knowledge, but also to instil good values into their students. Good attitudes make them go a long way.
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