Veteran Teacher: Dafa Taught Me to Think of Others

(Minghui.org) I am a veteran teacher and I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. Just over a month into my practice, the rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and proliferative arthritis that plagued me for many years disappeared. Experts at a provincial hospital predicted that I would be paralyzed by the age of 35, yet my health was restored. At some point, without me even noticing, the allergic purpura and hemorrhoids that used to flare up frequently also vanished.

After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I not only became free of illness, but also experienced a great elevation in my moral character. Master Li teaches practitioners to always think of others first. Here are just a few examples from my years of teaching.

Whenever a young teacher joined our school, it was customary for them to be assigned to the less advanced classes because of their lack of experience. Some teachers would not get to teach top classes for over a decade. Most teachers preferred teaching the more advanced classes of students because they were easier to manage, the workload was lighter, the grades were higher, and the teachers’ reputations benefited accordingly.

A young teacher in my subject area came to our school in 2014, and I was asked to mentor her. After one year, I requested that the school let her teach an advanced class while I would take a less-advanced one. The school was concerned about a drop in student performance and possible complaints from parents, so they firmly opposed my suggestion. I assured the leadership that I would fully support her and ensure the teaching quality would not suffer. They reluctantly agreed to a trial, on the condition that we would switch back if problems arose. Such an arrangement was unprecedented at our school and drew a lot of attention. If I did not practice Falun Dafa, I could not have done this.

In April 2021, an eighth-grade student approached me, saying that he wanted to excel in my subject and needed extracurricular tutoring. He was one of the weakest students in a low-performing class, rarely studied on his own, and had been in my class for less than a month. His score in the subject was only 8 points out of 100. He essentially knew nothing, and his other subjects were equally poor. From a teacher’s perspective, tutoring him seemed daunting. It would require immense time and energy, with little chance of success. But as a Falun Dafa practitioner, I follow Master’s teachings to put others before myself and always consider their needs. I agreed to provide free extracurricular tutoring. We set a schedule: during school, he would come to me during class breaks; outside of school, we would use the Internet as time can be flexible. He would send me questions, and I would take time to answer and explain them. If he still didn’t understand, he could leave me a message or arrange another time to meet in person for further explanation.

After a year and a half of joint effort, he scored an impressive 91 on the high school entrance exam in my subject, which also boosted his performance in other areas. He was admitted to the county’s top high school. After the exam, his father sincerely said, “Thank you, teacher, for tutoring day and night, regardless of holidays, sometimes even after midnight, and without accepting any gifts. In today’s society, where can you find a teacher like this?”

I replied, “It’s because I practice Falun Dafa. Master teaches practitioners to always think of others first. It’s Falun Dafa that enabled me to do this.”

In 2022, I again taught the graduating class, and there were only two months left before the high school entrance exam. The students were under great pressure, and individual tutoring was especially important. However, with many subjects to prepare for, time was limited. To allow other subject teachers to use regular class hours for individual tutoring, I gave up my lunch break to tutor my students. This meant that on school days, I would arrive 30 minutes to an hour early to provide tutoring in my office. Sometimes I didn’t go home during the lunch break—I just ate a bowl of instant noodles or two pieces of bread until the exam period was over.

I was not assigned to the graduating class in 2023, but the teacher who was assigned to it could not provide much individual tutoring due to family reasons. With less than two months before the exam, students and parents were anxious, and the school felt helpless. Remembering that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and should follow Master’s teachings, I quietly resumed the same lunchtime tutoring routine as the previous year, offering free one-on-one help to students in need until the exams were over.

One day, the principal, who hadn’t gone home for lunch, noticed this. He later said, “Thank you for your selfless dedication. It’s been two years in a row, and this year they’re not even your students, you’re truly remarkable!”

I replied, “It’s Falun Dafa’s Master who taught me to always consider others. The greatness belongs to Falun Dafa.”

These are just a few examples of the physical and moral changes I experienced through practicing Falun Dafa. Stories of people achieving good health and moral elevation through Falun Dafa are countless among the vast number of practitioners.