26 April 2020

I heard this many times. “Miss Yip, you are stressed.” “Miss Yip, you look unfriendly when you don’t speak”

My serious-looking face may scare students away, espcially those who don’t know me well, but I have to say I am not as stressed as you guys thought. Seeing doesn’t mean knowing. We need to talk more.

I believe teachers and students need trust before talking. We also need mutual support to maintain the trust. During the school suspension, I seldom have opportunities to talk to my students face to face. To my surprise though, only by messaging on google classroom, I have known a few students much better than before, like Vania, Tonia, Hailey and Hayley. They remind me of a tea which tastes a bit sweet with a subtle and lingering aftertaste. It is Rose Tea Latte.

We know a teacher’s life usually begins with a touch of bitterness like the tea. We then like it more after adding some sweetness and bubbly spirit to balance it out. To me, the sweetness and bubbly spirit come from my students. This rose tea latte just reminds me that teaching will taste better if we can balance it out with students who motivate us to keep working hard.