Heroism 英雄論

Having spent six years teaching Sunday School to junior high school kids,
I have the greatest respect for the teachers who choose to spend a career
with them. At this age, the kids seem to have all of the vices of both young
children and teenagers, while not yet having developed any of the virtues
of adulthood. Can there be a more difficult age group? In Taiwan, discipline
is a bit easier, but still a challenge.


A hero is supposed to identify the enemy, go out and conquer, and then celebrate.
For the junior high teacher, however, things are different. They live on
the edge of defeat by their children, but to consider the children as "enemy"
would be an admission of failure. No, these children are the next generation.











They will be the teachers and workers of the future, so neither defeat
nor conquest are options. Instead, we must persist in teaching those who
struggle to pay attention. Thankfully the children do learn and grow in
maturity, although the teacher may never see this.
The junior high school
teachers I had as a child made a positive impact on me, yet I can't even
remember their names. Could there be a tougher and more important job?


Some of the time these teachers can be quite fierce as they grab the attention
of the children. Other times, they relax and smile as our college kids provide
some entertainment for the children. This one is trying to grab a little
time to grade papers during a spare moment.