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Compassion in Teaching

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Monday February 3rd, 2020

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  Humanistic Camp 2020

Great love ends human suffering, compassion and kindness bring joy to the world ~ Jing Si Aphorism by Master Cheng Yen

 

Master Cheng Yen believes, each of us born with kindness in our heart. The way we cultivate blessings through kindness is different for everyone. Master Cheng Yen in one of her videos explained how our busy lives make it easy to not care for others. In welcoming the new year and semester, on January 6, 2020, 320 teachers and staff of Tzu Chi School gathered together for a Humanistic Camp with the theme 'Compassion in Action' in the Jing Si Hall. This one-day camp is a place for our teachers and staff to renew their commitment to work with a humanistic approach. 

 

Tzu Chi volunteers, Mr Agus Hartono and Ms Christine Tjen also took their time to share the importance of having a sense of compassion, both through Tzu Chi’s charity mission activities and through understanding tea ceremony class. A teacher’s job is not only to teach students in the classroom but to also support the growth of children's character and emotions, to develop a kind-hearted beings. 

 

Mr Hartono, who also teaches Ren Wen classes at Tzu Chi School, hoped that in this new year, the school will always be able to implement humanistic culture, and continue what Master Cheng Yen teaches through her vision and mission. "There are so many good principles such as gratitude and love. Hopefully by implementing these good principles, we can cultivate blessing for both teachers and students," he said.

 

Tzu Chi’s Four Missions

 

In this occasion, Tzu Chi EC teachers also presented a drama performance to re-emphasize the Tzu Chi’s four missions: charity, health, education, and humanist. These four missions were displayed through a drama on the state of war in Syria, which certainly affected the lives of Syrian residents, especially mothers and children.

 

Ms Rollies Niasi Simamora, a teacher at Tzu Chi Early Childhood who played in the performance as one of the war-affected children, explained that the drama tried to show that the war is very detrimental to many people, especially children, “We also showed that Tzu Chi’s humanitarian effort came to Syria and provide help, despite the conditions on the field. The atmosphere of the war must have been very tense, so no matter how small or large scale it is, any help is very valuable. "

 

Ms Simamora continued, helping others is not only a good thing to do for the recipients, but also for ourselves, "We, as a person, when we help others we can feel what they feel so that we can become better human beings."

 

For Ms Simamora, having spent four years at Tzu Chi School not only provided an opportunity for her to educate children, but also to develop herself to become a better person, "Whenever there is an opportunity to go out for a charity mission, I try to participate. When I first joined the charity activities, there was a sense of reluctance to go help people, but after four years, it actually stuck in my heart. "

 

This is in line with what Tzu Chi volunteer, Mr Hartono said, "Helping others cultivate a blessing for us." For a teacher, teaching means carrying out the educational mission of Tzu Chi while sharing the spirit of love.

 

The Importance of Compassion in Teaching

 

Tzu Chi School Director, Mr Sudino Lim, in his session stressed the importance of having a loving heart when teaching. "In the era of increasingly developing technology, almost all jobs can be replaced by machines, but a heart full of compassion will not be replaced by anything," he said.

 

Ms Simamora, as an Early Childhood teacher being around toddlers, admitted there was nothing more important in educating than a loving heart. "I teach children with a variety of characters, and children of early age need more attention than children in higher education. Without love and patience, we as teachers will not be able to understand them."

 

She continued, "With the love we show and share, it will make it easier for children to interact with teachers and friends, so that it is easier to absorb the material in the classroom." According to Ms Simamora, this cannot be separated from love and acceptance by teachers.

 

Ms Tinnie Tiolanie, one of Tzu Chi School Board of Directors closed the day by delivering a heartfelt message, by thanking every teacher and staff for being together in Tzu Chi School, carrying out Tzu Chi’s education mission, and hoped for a new year filled with blessings for each of us.