My students = My teachers, my angels

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:3-4 (NIV)

During previous readings of this verse, I’d been largely neutral and indifferent to it. Perhaps due to my lack of opportunity with interacting with children, I had no concept to build on. However during my past three months of interacting with the beloved Pri 1 & 2 children of Sembawang FSC’s Student Care, I have had a whole new insight to this verse. These three months of guiding them, I have only imparted mere academic knowledge, whereas what these angels have blessed me with, is far more precious.

Ying Rui is always very bold, maybe bordering on audacity. However, this stems from his very clear vision of what is right and wrong, what specific things need to be done. His confidence in this knowledge never wavers, doubt never creeps in. I have nicknamed him, the Superhero.

Every good superhero needs a good sidekick, and here comes in femme fatale Cheri. She possesses that same distinction between right and wrong, but as there’s Ying Rui to take on the main role of policing, she content to take a back seat most of the time. This assurance of one’s self-worth without envy of other’s limelight is such a gem.

Alyssa is an attention seeker, always looking to me. Although I’ve worried about her independence skills in the future as she matures, yet I’m also heartened at how comfortable she is with her dependency on those she respects and looks up to. All sense of pride does not exist in my dynamics with her.

In class, there’ll always be a cheeky one, and here comes Zhi Wei. Yes, he yet does not know how to prioritise his duties well, but he’s very capable of delighting himself when having to plough through these otherwise drab and mundane work. How many of us can claim not to harbor any bitterness and resentment towards whatever unfavourables life throws at us? Just add in a dash of discipline, and I’m sure he will be a great example to his younger sister En Qi.

Carlynn is the underdog counter-example.  Previously dismissed as sort of a hopeless case, she has made remarkable progress through sheer grit against all odds. Yes, academically, she definitely is still a far cry from the likes of the Superhero, but her receptivity of encouragement and help, coupled with this dogged perseverance at bettering herself, has shown me clearly what apostle Paul meant by “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”.

The Beatitudes mentioned about “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”, and this is the quiet Yong Liang at the corner. Despite how much he needs help and attention, he always has the reticence not to vie for the little time there is to go around in each session, always preferring to labour through own efforts first. However do not mistake this for sloth or cowardice, as it is far from it. It is generousity that propels him to share precious time with the rest of the class, showing the virtue of serving others before self.

Quite similarly, Jo Yee demonstrates what it means to be patience and wait for the best timing. Despite having completed her work far faster than her seniors, she is never anxious or fretful to insist on being attended to immediately. She is very sharp at spotting the exact moment and best person to approach.

Lastly, I would like to conclude with Angel. I admit she is my personal favourite. I’m unable to really concretise an outstanding virtue of hers relative to the rest, not that she does not possess what the others have, just that in a lesser capacity. However, what distinguishes her from all the rest is, despite how I'd mentioned that she pales in comparison to them, she possesses a carefree attitude, she does not worry, akin to what Solomon mentioned. This is indeed what I’d needed to learn most, especially with the turn of other events that I have been encountering, and some more yet to come. She knows she has done her best in her work, and she leaves the rest to me to mark and guide.

I choose to look at this past three months as not a mere coincidence, but God having a divine hand in introducing them to me. As Matthew 20:16 stated, that the first shall be the last, and the last shall be the first. In their eyes, I may seem to be the teacher Ms Tan who's teaching them. However, in actual fact they are the angels from God sent to guide me along this rocky path for now. I am so grateful for what they have imparted me, without me needing ever to earn anything from them. Amen!