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Thank you for your attention to the issue of educational inequality in Taiwan. With your support, Teach For Taiwan can continue striving to provide quality education for children in high-need areas.

Today, Teach For Taiwan (TFT) would like to share a story with everyone:  "No child is a bomb, but rather a seed waiting to sprout."

As I stepped into the classroom, preparing to take over the students, all the teachers, the principal, and even the school director emphasized the importance of paying special attention to one student in the class - Tom. Tom often neglected his homework, used foul language, and occasionally, when angered, would either flip desks or make threatening gestures toward others.

Such behaviors were a headache for any adult, but knowing the possible reasons behind them filled me with immense sympathy.

Tom was raised solely by his father. Perhaps due to the pressures of both parenting and work, his father often resorted to disciplining Tom through verbal and physical means, only to later compensate for it by buying him numerous toys and snacks out of guilt.

Growing up in such an environment, Tom had closed himself off, becoming a very guarded child who was unwilling to be taken advantage of.

"Why should I spend my free time doing homework!" he would often retort.

I tried my best to explain to him why homework was important and what benefits it could bring to him. Like a persistent alarm clock, I reminded him regularly to remember to turn in his assignments on time. Within a week, this seemed to ignite a fire within him.

"You're so annoying!" "You're a terrible teacher!" "What else do you do besides nagging about homework?" he directly hurled these insults at me in class.

"If you're saying these things just to provoke me, it's not working. I feel nothing." I was prepared for his explosion long before it happened and responded calmly before continuing with the lesson.

Of course, I didn't "tame" him with that sentence. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he would pick fights with his classmates or resort to verbal abuse.

"I want to hear your thoughts, but unless you calm down, I can't listen." Gradually, he became willing to tell me why he was angry. Listening to his reasons, I realized that many times, Tom wasn't the one initiating conflicts; rather, he might have been bullied by classmates or misunderstood, leading to his outbursts.

"You know, every time I see you so angry, it hurts the teacher deeply. Because initially, none of these things were your fault, but just because you're angry, you've engaged in a lot of inappropriate behavior, leaving the teacher with no choice but to punish you." "I know your dad might treat you this way, but if you don't like being treated like this, why not practice not treating others this way?"

After saying these words, I saw a hint of frustration on his face. It was a kind of exhaustion that came after laying down one's arms, a depletion of energy. I think something changed.

"Teacher, the student in the grade below just flipped me off." One day in the next semester, he came running to me, fuming. When I heard these words, what flashed through my mind wasn't him finally learning to calmly discuss the issue with that classmate, but rather the image of him gearing up again to fight or hurling insults.

"So, what did you do afterward?" I asked, holding onto a sense of despair yet still clinging to a glimmer of hope.

"I didn't do anything. Didn't you say if someone does something wrong, I should tell you so you can handle it for me?"

"Alright, I promise you, I'll handle this matter." I tried my best to suppress the excitement within me so I could calmly say these words. Later, I took the opportunity to praise him a bit, even though he just turned his head away. But I could see a faint smile on his profile.

Later on, during breaks, I would talk to Tom about how hard his dad worked to take care of him, hoping he would realize that he was loved and that there would always be someone who loved him.

He didn't become an angel overnight. He still cursed and occasionally slacked off on homework. And I still had to scold him from time to time. But the difference now was that my nagging didn't turn him into a bomb anymore.

I think a teacher's job is like planting seeds in a child's heart. When they will sprout and grow may depend on various factors. At least, I'm grateful to Tom for showing me a sprout emerging from the soil in just one year. And I believe that shortly, he will surely grow into a sturdy tree of his own.

Sharing this story from a remote school in Tainan. Impact often happens in the small moments of everyday life between teachers and children. Thank you for reading this story, and I invite you to continue supporting Teach For Taiwan (TFT). Together, let's strive towards a future where all children in Taiwan, regardless of their background, have access to quality education and opportunities for self-development.

Links:

• Teach For Taiwan