Dear Shengliver,

Time flies. In the blink of an eye, it will be only 22 days before we graduate. This is my last high school English journal entry. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I think I should pen a letter to you.

The scene where you were chalking your name, gender and marriage status on the blackboard in the very first lesson is still as vivid as if it were unfolding right in front of my eyes. When you introduced yourself as married but unavailable and stressed the word unavailable, I realised this was an unorthodox teacher. What has gone on in the past two and a half years in the classroom confirms me in my belief. Alright, the most decent person often makes the most indecent jokes, taking pleasure in poking fun at the real or fake sweethearts among us. I appreciate the special English classes you have created for us over the past terms.

You did not give us tons of homework the way other teachers did. In each English class we learned a lot as well as having great fun. The initial weeks was like a honeymoon period. Then my grades started to drop in monthly tests. On the one hand, I was pleased at the fair amount of homework you assigned. On the other hand, my plummeting grades brought me down to earth. There is no denying that good grades have to derive from piles of papers. Almost everyone in China, students, parents and teachers alike, seems to accept it as a golden rule.

Little by little my honeymoon bliss gave way to daily blues and complaints. For some time, I thought how unlucky I was to meet a teacher who could not help me raise my grades.

Things began to change when in one English class you told us a story titled Cash in Mother’s Purse. As you were narrating the story on the podium, it suddenly dawned on me that it was my creation. I wrote it in the English journal. Shengliver, you could not imagine how I reacted to it. I tried to contain my burning excitement, but I found myself blushing instantly and my heart racing. At the time no one knew I was the author.

The glory which easily-earned high marks had brought to me in middle school faded away when I matriculated at YYHS, where excellent students are clustered together. The past road I travelled was so smooth and easy that the thistles and thorns on the new way hurt me all over. Self-esteem diminished, I felt abased as the freshman year drew on.

In my darkest hour, my journal entry was chosen and retold in authentic English to the class by you, Shengliver. It gave me the recognition I had been yearning for, and thus miraculously restored my confidence. After that, I put my heart in every class, not only English but also all the other subjects, and hence garnered countless treasures and fruits from them.

The polished stories from student journals opened a new door for me, through which I could look at the world in fresh positive ways. In time I came to see that almost everything that happened around me could be presented in my English journal in creative ways. English is not only in the textbook but also in my very life. In my journal stories I wrote about warm-hearted people and uplifting things; they added spice to my otherwise dull unpalatable campus life. When I took a second look, weeks later, at a story I had written, I could not believe that such beautiful language was from my own pen.

On the journey, Shengliver, your interesting soul and a childlike heart brought sunshine to me. The smile that lit up your face when you were recalling the first meeting with your daughter, the genuine satisfaction you displayed when you were sharing with us your constant English learning endeavour, and your uninhibited hearty curses at those irrational selfish teachers and unreasonable leaders, all infected me.

You are not a conventional teacher, that is for sure, but a real teacher I think you are. The way you do things convinces me that learning is a lifelong exploration as well as a personal pursuit. The core responsibility of a teacher is to guide his students through the terrain of a subject and to help them appreciate its beauty. The exploration of the land, or the learning itself, relies largely on the learner.

Before I met you, money and fame were the ultimate aims of my life. After I met you, you showed us by your very being that there is a different sustainable purpose to life than that: Find what you are interested in and pursue it constantly. If one not only knows where his interest lies but also is passionate about it, even if he does not earn thousands or millions in terms of financial gains, he is still the happiest person under the sun, especially when his effort is rewarded with new discoveries and higher abilities in his field. The best teacher, interest is a sure remedy for a mundane existence. I hope that one day I will become such a person as is always enthusiastic about his dream and thus committed to it whatever temptations might arise along the way.

All in all, nice meeting you, Shengliver.

Yours,

Crystal

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Dear Crystal,

This is the longest journal entry I’ve ever read from my students. Thanks.

In fact, your journal is one of the best kept I’ve enjoyed over the years. Some of your entries have appeared in my WeChat Public Account titled Shengliver.

1 Cash in Mother’s Purse

2 A Wedding That Evaporated

3 Roy

4 The Classes Are Gone; the Rat Race Is Still On

5 Peter My Protector

6 If I Could Travel Through Time

My readers are impressed by the stories you contributed.

Judging from your performance, it is my strong conviction that your English will only be better and better. I hope that after high school you keep pursuing your English studies. A first-class learner is an independent learner. Do not rely too much on the teacher. A teacher is no more than a guide. To reach the summit and appreciate the scenery at the very top, a learner has to exert himself and explore on his own. A teacher who over-helps is a spoiler of the fun of learning.

I admit that grades matter, especially in China. However, learning English by consuming an endless string of papers does more harm than good. Eating some papers is acceptable; spending all time and effort on papers is an absolute no-no.

The way I am has a lot to do with my past experiences and with my present language proficiency. Like mainstream educators in the Chinese high school teaching landscape, I used to feed tons of papers to my students. Now I am confident of my English abilities. I am not boasting, but I have found very few people around me both in the physical world and on the Internet who have travelled further in English studies.

I wish all my students got a decent grade, but a student has to work hard and smart to earn it. A lazy student does not deserve a good grade. Nor does a student who is not self-motivated. Nor does a student whose parents very much crave a good grade rather than the student himself. No one would expect a student who shows zero interest in English to pass his English test with flying colours. What’s more, in my personal opinion, a good grade earned in a wrong way is not good. It is fake in most cases. You might have observed that a lot of students have good grades but their real competence in the subject does not match up. That is because they are not real learners.

I will stick to my way and keep exploring. I cannot guarantee all pupils a good grade but I will do all I can to be a well-qualified good guide.

All my best wishes are with you, Crystal. As long as you keep learning, you will be leading a colourful, concrete, and productive life in this world.

Yours,

Shengliver