.Chapter 3: The Composition
“Ok the topic of your English composition assignment is My True Calling!” Jane, the English Teacher announced to her class enthusiastically.
“Ms. Jane, what is True Calling?”
“It is the job you want to do every day when you grow up and be truly happy.”
“How come it is True Calling not True Happy Job?”
“In the old days, a Calling is a summon by the king or divine power to perform certain worthy duties. In modern sense, a Calling is a vocation that is most suitable to the individual. You would wake up excited looking forward to do the job every day because you love doing it, you are great at doing it, and it is meaningful to you.”
“When I grow up, I just want to get out of school as soon as possible!”
“I want to be a police!”
“I want to be a singer!”
“O…I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up…”
“Ms. Jane, what did you want to be when you grew up?”
“I wanted to be an English Teacher!”
“Really? Why?”
“My parents were teachers and my old home was always filled with books, interesting books. I remembered I would spend most of my time reading English frictions. Before I knew it, hours and hours had passed. I remembered the heroes and the heroines from the epics. I remembered the dramatic love stories. I remembered the how the normal everyday people achieved extraordinary feats in the imaginative worlds. The magical kingdoms, the mythical creatures, and amazing adventures accompanied most of my childhood.”
“But, Ms. Jane, I don’t want to be like my parents…”
“You don’t have to.”
“You can be whatever you want to be!”
“But, Ms. Jane, my father said I was stupid because my school grade was bad…”
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Ok…”
“My school grade was really bad too as I was spending most of my time reading frictional books instead of school textbooks. In fact, I was usually the second to last at my class.”
“Who was the last? Mr. Albert?”
The whole class erupted in laughter as Mr. Albert was their brilliant Maths Teacher.
“But, Ms. Jane, how did you become an English Teacher if your school grade was not good? So, many teachers like you who became teachers because they had bad grades?”
“I am now motivated to get good grade because I don’t want to be a Teacher!” one of the students interrupted before the class erupted in laughter again.
“Please calm down. I was good at reading, writing, and understanding the English Language, but it took me a lot of effort to learn how to teach it to others effectively. If you don’t work hard to acquire the skills necessary for the career you are passionate about, it would just be a hobby.”
“Moreover, each of us can be good at something. I am good at English while Mr. Albert is brilliant at Maths. I would only read Maths books when I want to fall asleep quickly. You are good at learning while I have learned to be good at teaching. Some teaching geniuses may be able to learn how to teach in one hour while it took me over 10 years. However, those teaching geniuses may never practice that one hour while I have put in my time and effort for the last ten years to become a good teacher.”
“When I was a kid, everyone around me expected me to become a teacher like my parents. I did try to rebel against my parents’ pressure, which might be a key reason why I seemed to ignore my school works intentionally. However, my attitude started to change when stumbled upon a recital competition. I found it much more enjoyable to share the richness of English language to other people instead of living in my own frictional fantasy. Like the colors to a painter, the English language allows the writer to compose beautiful stories, evoke strong emotions, and change people’s actions.”
“During my children, it was very popular to be a banker. But it just did not ring true to me. My big sister used to read me a lot of interesting stories when I was a little which sparked my interest in English frictions. She told me she wanted to be an English Teacher so she can teach little kids like me how to read and write.”
“Which school is your big sister teaching now?”
“em…she died when I was still a kid. When I was young I was extremely shy and introvert. Public Speaking used to be my worst nightmare. But joining the recital competition was the first time I faced my fear because I wanted to become a great teacher one day just like my big sister would have become.”
The class suddenly became quiet until the school bell rang signaling the ending of the class.
“Anyway, have fun on this life-changing assignment!” Jane reminded her students with a passion.