Showing Compassion to Students Leads to Significant Improvement in Their Grades and Behavior

(Minghui.org) I am a teacher and I started cultivating Falun Dafa in 1996. After cultivating Dafa, I learned to be considerate of others and was able to let go of my attachments to fame, profit, and sentimentality. Since many parents of the children in my class were laid off from work, I didn’t suggest they attend tutoring classes. Instead, I used my own time to tutor the children after school or on the weekends. I would also return any gifts or money I received. 

At a parent-teacher meeting one time, I said, “Teaching and educating these children is my responsibility. I should do my best since this is my job. I cultivate Falun Dafa and it is important that I am considerate of others. Please rest assured. I will educate your children well and provide them with a healthy environment to grow. I will also teach them how to distinguish between right and wrong and nurture them with the values of sincerity, kindness and forbearance.”

It’s much easier to teach students who are well brought up than those who have behavioral issues, physically disabled, or who come from single-parent families. Teachers avoided teaching troubled students, and the “unwanted” children were often placed in my class.

Students from other classes were highly spirited and were able stand nicely and neatly in line, whereas my students came in all different sizes, ages, and were less receptive to knowledge. Parents from other classes came from reputable backgrounds, such as working in hospitals, schools, organizations and owning businesses. The majority of the parents of my class were laid off from work. 

Teachers from other classes only needed to briefly review study materials, while I had to teach my students from the ground up and put in twice the effort. The extra effort I put in didn’t always bear fruit. Due to a lack of receptivity, students always scored very low on tests. The test results directly affected my salary and reputation. 

This was a huge test for my attachments to fame, gain, and sentimentality. An ordinary person would never accept this biased placement of students. However, as a Falun Dafa practitioner, I needed to listen to Master. I knew this class needed to be taught by a practitioner, so I agreed to take teaching this class on. 

I treated each student with compassion. I knew that children from homes with economic instability and single parents needed my care. Children would come to my house on Sundays and my father (who was once a cook) would make them meals. During holidays and break days, we would head to the mountains and rivers where laughter and smiles were shared all day. 

We would encourage and help each other. Whether it was studying or extracurricular activities, we would hold a sincere, and tolerant heart and not be attached to the rankings. My class has improved a lot in half a semester. Grades and other aspects of class productivity have significantly improved. 

Parents thanked me after seeing the positive changes. I said, “Please don’t thank me. If you really need to thank someone, please thank our Master. Thank you, Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa has changed me and the children for the better. Please remember that ‘Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’”

I appealed against the persecution of Falun Dafa in Beijing and was illegally arrested when the nationwide persecution started. The parents from my class headed to the relevant city and district departments to request my release. They were able to take such righteous action under such an environment in the persecution, showing that they understood and respected Falun Dafa.