Today I was encouraged. I've heard quite a bit about a certain student in one of my classes who has been having family problems. These problems show up quite obviously in class even though this student is not a troublemaker. I just feel so sad and sorry for him/her when I see him/her so discouraged and always putting himself/herself down. Always being so negative and having the quitter's attitude, thinking there's no hope and nobody cares. Just felt strongly that he/she needs help, but I didn't know how to help because I'm not very close to him/her. I tried to show some concern in class, ask some questions, but he/she didn't really reciprocate. Probably took it as nagging, I guess. Anyways, so last week I got mad with the entire gang of students from that class who came in late. It was a recurring problem so I decided it was time to let them have it. I got the bunch outside the class and shelled them properly, not even bothering to keep my voice down in the corridor. Honestly, I was so mad, I couldn't have cared less if the P heard me. Then, after I had calmed down, I singled them out one-by-one and told them what about their behaviour I was disappointed with over the past 2 months. And then I sent them back to class one by one. Then, I saw my chance, I chose to send him/her back last so that I could have the chance to encourage him/her in private. Told him/her a lot of stuff. How I know that it hasn't been easy with all the problems. How he/she does have potential and it would be a waste to give up at this juncture. He/she said something which made me sad, and I realised that the blow from dropping down to Normal Academic stream from the Express stream impacted him/her quite a lot and made him/her feel useless and hopeless. My heart was screaming out against this revelation. Taking a year more to do the course does NOT make him/her a failure! But having that attitude of passiveness and fatality definitely would aid that. I tried my best. Honestly, I can't remember what I said to him/her, but I did sense that he was listening. Even struggling to convince himself/herself that perhaps there really was something inside him/her that was worth it all.

I don't know if our little talk helped for sure. But today I read his/her blog and he/she mentioned the incident, and I think he/she was encouraged to hear that someone believes in him/her, believes that he/she has potential, believes that if he/she puts in effort he/she will not fail. On some level, I think he/she needed to hear that, after all that negative thinking. A tiny part of me believes that he/her was touched and perhaps he/she can be 'saved' after all. I sincerely pray so.