Since the middle of March this year, Tzu Chi School students shifted their classes online using home-based learning. It is definitely not an easy task for these students to stay at home. They are faced with challenges like sore eyes and back by sitting in front of the computer for so long, not to mention the boredom and the longing to see their school friends. 

Hulia Wijaya, an 11 Joy student feels that apart from those challenges by being at home, it actually brings her family together. “The virus has brought my family together in a way. When we self-quarantine ourselves at home, there is not much that you can do so we interact more with each other. We play board games together, have movie nights and communicate more.”

Gratitude, Respect, and Love

Tzu Chi’s three pillars of gratitude, respect, and love are basic human traits. In this trying time amid the pandemic, students learn to be grateful inside limitations. 

Having gratitude can help us dissolve our inner afflictions and waken our compassion. ~ Jing Si Aphorism by Master Cheng Yen.

Chia Ling Fan, another 11 Joy student, was reminded about treating everyone equally. “Coronavirus treats each person equally, it wouldn’t just affect the minor religious group, it wouldn’t just infect black people, maybe we should learn from this lesson that regardless of religion, ethnic, gender, everyone should be treated equally.”

For Chia Ling, during times like these, it is important to stay positive and stay grateful. “I feel that we should all stay positive and grateful during this crisis, so we can all get through this together with positive energy, hope, and lots of support and love”

Her fellow grade 11 student, Melvin Tio from 11 Grateful also expressed similar comments about being grateful and respecting others, “Be grateful that you and your loved ones are still alive and healthy. Practicing this could help people to get over unnecessary fear mongering and paranoia.”

A grade 12 student who spent her time making a gratitude card for paramedics, Ardelia Purnawan from 12 Respect, highlighted that aside from being grateful, one of the easy ways to respect others is to not be selfish. 

“From this condition, we can learn to be mindful and to not be selfish. A lot of people are also experiencing this struggle. We should be mindful of those people who may not be able to afford their daily necessities because a lot of people are panic buying. They bought a lot of items more than what they need and this may cause further problems,” said Ardelia.

Tzu Chi School’s humanistic education may not necessarily influence students’ academic results, but humanistic education teaches students to appreciate life and be mindful towards themselves and others. This, in its own way, help a lot of students to not burn out during the home-based learning. 

“The essence of humanistic education class is one’s feeling, how we encourage students to be considerate and mindful towards things that are happening around them. So that they can appreciate humanity, especially during times like this,” said Agus Hartono, one of humanistic education teachers at Tzu Chi Secondary School. 

This article was drawn based on reflections done by students during the home-based learning.

Indonesian version:

http://www.tzuchi.or.id/read-berita/senantiasa-bersyukur-walau-menghadapi-wabah-covid-19/8925