It Begins With a Dot

Ms. Cheng Chun Man

 

A professor once gave a test to his class. “Evaluate the importance of the dot,” he told the class, and left the room. Students stared at the dot on the white piece of paper in silence. Then one by one they wrote frantically about the size, position and colour of the dot. When the professor collected their papers, he said, “You’ve all done well in talking about yourselves, but one of the most important values of the dot on your paper is that you can connect it with someone else.” And on that note, he left the room.

 

Connection is easier said than done. We are so used to living in our own world and to talking about our own dot on the piece of paper. We seldom venture out to look at others, let alone connect with them. But without connection, we would not be able to see our purpose and value in this world. To connect, we need to build bridges to join our hearts and heads with others’; we need to seek understanding so that we can live in harmony. This is the beauty of humankind, and the power of language arts.

 

One of the main goals of the Language Arts curriculum is to create a space for students to learn about moral values in a connected way. We journey with the characters in the book to discuss the choices that they have to make in their crossroads and challenges. We want to help students to see the beauty and sacrifices of being perseverant; the courage to be committed amidst controversy and so on. We want to do so in a way that allows their voice to be heard and valued. It is not a class about the one voice of the teacher; it is the collective voices of students.

 

I remember during a class, we talked about a song that brought us hope in times of trouble. In students’ reflective journals, they told me the times they have been hurt, ashamed and discouraged. They told me the songs they sang to lift their spirits up. In that class, we played the songs of hope and shared how to be committed to our task in times of challenges. All these teachings and values did not come from me alone, but the collective voices of students and teachers in the room. We were connected because we understood that no matter who we were or where we came from, we all had been through disappointments, and yet, we can still sing through them with hope and strength.

 

The stories in Language Arts classes create a space for us to talk about our own experiences and listen to seek understanding. We are each of our own dots. It is when we are connected that we can create a picture that is bigger than we could ever have imagined on our own.