The magnifying glass / 顯微鏡下

這學期和另一班的幾個孩子們一起修「造紙」的選修課，包涵了生物、物理、化學和藝術的內容，在生物方面長了很多見識，不過還有令我意想不到的大收穫，那就是當我變成孩子們的同學時，看到了只站在講台上看不到的風景。

I am taking a course on "how to make paper" along with some students this year. The course covers biology, physics, chemistry and art. I have learned a lot in science, but what I didn't expect is that when I become the classmate of my fifteen-year-old students, I've got an opportunity to a bigger world. 

        首先，孩子們會罩生物很不靈光的我，因為感受到學習上的障礙，我常常有「啊，原來跟不上的感覺是這樣啊！」這個經驗讓我變得比較能夠設身處地為小朋友著想。變成了同學之後，孩子們會問我：「你下週會來上課嗎？」在課堂上做實驗或手作時，就像和同齡的朋友什麼也沒有忌諱地和我閒聊。

     For starters, the girls will help me since I have difficulty learning biology. Now that I experience the frustration of learning something I am not good at, it often hits on me that I should be more understanding toward the kids that struggle. Often, the girls will ask me, "Will you come to class next week?" When we are doing experiments or making handicrafts, they will chat with me like I am their peer without being reserved at all. 

        更重要的是，在我突然又覺得自己像新手的時候，我的好朋友每一週都和我分享學習的挫折和進步的喜悅，以及多麼多麼喜歡我。例如她們大方地拿出帥哥老師的照片給我看，可是當我問：「你喜歡帥哥平淡的講課還是有趣的老奶奶？」又毫不遲疑地回答：「還是老奶奶好了！」這讓我開始對教到六十歲有點期待了。

     What's more important, when I suddenly lose confidence in myself, my good friends will share with me their progress in learning and how much they like me. For example, once they didn't hesitate to show me the photo of a handsome young teacher, but when I asked them, "Do you prefer him or an interesting granny?" I got a surprising answer, "It would be the granny!" This makes me start to look forward to having to teach until I am 60. 

        原來，放在顯微鏡下的心情是愛和鼓勵啊！

So what I get to see under the magnifying class is love and encouragement. 

後記：生物不好的我，只記得第一張圖美女的名字了：是紫背萬年青。

P.S.: I can only remember the name of the first plant: Oyster Plant.