I completed my 5th year teaching in the Summer Program for Middle School English Teachers from the Rural Areas of Hebei Province at Hebei Normal University. As usual, it was nice returning to my Chinese roots in Shijiazhuang and see so many old friends and former students. It was particularly refreshing to be training English teachers from the countryside again. Their dedication to their students and their craft is nothing short of admirable. What they lack in English language skills they more than make up for by being in touch with their students and their drive to do a good job.
My students' use of English was generally not all that good. A couple of my teachers barely understood a quarter of what I said, but they came to class every day, smiled, and enthusiastically endured a 5 hour dose of my daily "help". One day, a teacher was having a particularly difficult time pronouncing the "w" sound. I corrected her and she tried but didn't get it right. We tried again, and again, and again. No one in the class spoke or made a sound as we tried it over and over again. They all looked on and silently followed what I was demonstrating to the student. She didn't quit. She clearly wouldn't quit until she mastered the sound. She gave me a small smile when she succeeded then continued on with the rest of the sentence she was reading. The rest of the class gave a small smile as well and the class went on. I thought to myself, where did I learn such patience? Where did she learn such perseverance?
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