The world of Tzu Chi March 2021 (Vol.132)

TZU CHI 132 17 teachers, parents and students in a timely manner. In this process, class duration was shortened from 40 to 30 minutes, with a 15-minute break between lessons. Tutorial classes were instituted two days a week to help students with their studies in small group while “love and caring” sessions were incorporated thrice weekly. Online school assembly was scheduled for every Tuesday morning so that Principal Lim could deliver words of encouragement and the students could share their thoughts and stories. The assembly would end with the teachers citing a heart-warming slogan accompanied by sign language to send love to their students. Such diligent and thoughtful work were recognized and won TCISKL praises for its online education approach. In August 2020, Principal Lim was invited to participate in the Malaysia Education Summit to share TCISKL’s way of nurturing humanistic values online. She said, “The pandemic has pushed us forward. It has trained us to be more sharp- witted, and to think ahead.” Together, we have made it Every cloud has a silver lining. After three months of online classes, teachers not only grew in confidence but also became very creative in their delivery. When the direction was clear, they could stride forward steadily. Being confined to working from home, it was opportune for parents to accompany their children for online lessons and gain a better understanding of their children’s studies and learning patterns. They also witnessed the teachers’ dedication and can now better appreciate the importance of parent-teacher cooperation to effectively educate their children. Secondary school English teacher Yamunadevi a/p Kalamehar shared, “In the first two weeks of online lessons, students were reluctant to participate or respond to my questions. I had to compel them to respond, urging them to use the chatroom to share their answers if they were not very sure. Now, most students are confident to participate actively and willingly.” She added, “Students who are extremely shy in nature seem to benefit immensely during this time; a few who hardly spoke in my class became very participative during online lessons. I believe the chatroom is a great tool for students to express themselves without being judged by others.” Teacher Chan Kim Choo chanced upon Tzu Chi Education in 2004 and developed a strong interest in Jing Si Aphorism Teaching Method. Upon her retirement in 2019, she joined TCISKL as the primary school Chinese language subject lead. She brings with her 39 years of educational experience and was a Chinese resource teacher for the Curriculum Development Division of Malaysia Ministry of Education and the Kuala Lumpur Education Department. She said, “There is no retirement for the teaching profession. One grows as one teaches. I hope I can do something for Master Cheng Yen within my ability.” Kim Choo said she was averse to using the computer for the longest time following an unfortunate incident of losing her data which she had to key in all over again. She expressed, “I was stressed when classes moved online as I could not manage technical Realizing Character Education – First Year Anniversary of TCISKL