“Are you Peter teaching this class?”
“Yes. Will you take this class?”
“Yes. I am glad to meet you. Would you mind me calling you Peter?”
“No, no. Not at all. I prefer you to name me Peter. It’s OK.”
This was the first time that I talked to Peter. The impression he left to me is that he is a kind and gracious old man who is just like a grandfather. In his class, however, he is professional and dedicated. There are several things that he emphasizes the importance all the time.
First of all, Peter pays much attention to the reading. Before taking his class, a teacher keeping in touch with him told me that he can never put too much emphasis on the reading of original English works. Therefore, before going to his class, students should prepare in advance and after leaving the class, students should read a lot and form a good habit of daily reading. At the very beginning of his class, he handed out his outline of the whole term and a book list so that we can dip out what we are interested in. It is always his faith that one should read what interests him/her not what he/she is required to read. By doing so, students are willing and passionate to read. He will examine whether we read and what we read in every course. On this matter, he will never make a concession. On account of meeting his requirement, I force myself to read something in English every day and for a long time, I have fallen into a habit of reading.
Then here comes the writing which cannot be parted from reading. While stressing the importance of reading, Peter also stressed the significance of writing. On my journey of study, I have never come across a teacher who can adhere to one thing in his teaching career all the time. He encourages us to write something every week and makes an appointment with us for our writing to correct our mistakes face to face. Of course, he never imposes restrictions on the writing materials. In his opinion, writing is to discover mistakes and then correct them. So we can write whatever we want to. After writing the small piece of article, we will send to him and receive a feedback from him. While meeting him, first he corrects our language mistakes and then talks about our study, our problems and our future plan. At this point, he is just a gracious grandfather giving us suggestions and advices to assist us out of the confusion. Sometimes, we discuss the distinctions between the culture of China and western countries, which broadens our horizons. I hold him in high esteem as a teacher. In order to help the students make progress in their studies, he can always donate himself as long as he is needed by the students.
Peter also attaches importance to the communication with students. In his class, the desks are requested to rearrange to the round shape so that he can sit face to face with us, which is easy for all of us to communicate. Every time I step into the classroom, the desks have been laid out. It is done by Peter himself. I do not know when he arrives in the classroom. For the whole semester, the situation is same. He is the first one to come and the last one to leave. At the same time, he has contributed a lot of books to the college. In China, some English articles and books are difficult to get. So when he returns to China, he will take some books and give them to the library of Foreign Languages Department. Until now, there is a separate bookcase for Peter to place the books and articles. As a teacher, he not only cares about the development of students, but also concerns about the construction of the department.
Peter plays a role of teacher as well as a guide of life journey. What I said above is just a small part of his stories. As an experienced teacher, he is worthy of our study. In Foreign Language Department, students together with teachers think highly of him and we are all proud of having this kind of teacher to teacher here. Peter is an excellent teacher. Yichang, in the future, can attract more and more awesome teachers just like Peter to teach here.
Name: Kuang Ping
Grade: Senior
School: China Three Gorges University