(Clearwisdom.net)
My husband and I were forced to give up our job seniority because we practice Falun Dafa. (Chinese state-owned enterprises provide a certain amount of compensation for dismissal according to the employee's job seniority. The dismissed staff member no longer enjoys any benefits from then on). In the summer of 2003, I opened a kindergarten. My thought at that time was that we should practice in accordance with ordinary people's society. We are in our 30s and must work to support our family. My husband felt that I was very patient in caring for children, so he suggested that I should have a kindergarten. After he made that suggestion, although I felt it was a good idea, I did not have sufficient confidence in myself. However, Teacher gave me a hint in a dream that I was capable of doing it, so I made the decision to do it. Several days later, I purchased the necessities for the kindergarten, found personnel, and opened up the kindergarten.
Prior to the kindergarten's opening, we agreed on some common understandings: 1. The most important thing is to assure the children's safety. 2. The children's food must be high quality. 3. We must teach them Chinese culture well. 4. The environment must be elegant and clean. We decided that we must meet these standards even at our own expense.
From the first day of the class until the present, we have abided by these criteria and never wavered. Although these high standards have meant higher costs, the results prove that we were right in adhering to them. Our extra expenses have resulted in earning the trust of more parents.
The first half year was a difficult time. We only had six to seven children, and our income was insufficient to cover our expenses. We were burned out, but we did not relax our high standards. More importantly, we enlightened that we should let the children listen to Teacher's lectures. We started playing Teacher's lecture tapes to the kids before they slept and continue to do so.
At the same time, we felt we should hire more teachers for the kindergarten. Not long after we had this thought, a fellow practitioner introduced her relative, once a primary school teacher, to us and made up the shortage of teachers. Moreover, after this lady came to work for us, she also joined us in practicing Falun Gong. She studies the Fa and practices the exercises diligently in her spare time every day.
After six months, we had more children. Most of the new parents came because of our good reputation in the community. After a year, we actually made a good profit. Without doubt, this was a big encouragement to us.
Afterwards, we felt we still needed an experienced teacher for the infants. Very quickly another fellow practitioner introduced a teacher to us to complement our staff. This teacher also soon joined the practice and practiced diligently in her off hours.
In summary, we would like to share the following experiences in managing a kindergarten:
1. Establish a correct starting point, and give up the attachment of self-interest. Because the workload was heavy and the income small, sometimes I felt unbalanced and thought about quitting the business. Through continuous Fa study and sharing with fellow practitioners several times, however, I realized that I should let go of the attachment of self-interest and consider as the first priority that the children hear Dafa and their parents understand the truth. This is the real mission for us as Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples. It is the support we need to walk our paths and the motivation to do it better.
2. Let children know Dafa. From the beginning of the kindergarten until now, we have played Teacher's lecture tapes to the children everyday at noon. The kids also formed the habit of listening to the Fa before they take naps. As soon as the cassette player is turned on, the children immediately become quiet and listen to it. Sometimes when it is turned on a bit late, some children are too impatient to wait and shout, "Teacher, we want to listen to 'story!' Quickly play it for us!" At the same time, we require that the children's words and deeds meet with Dafa's standards. We also correct them and teach them to memorize some poems from Hongyin.
After more than a year, the children exhibited different degrees of change. They generally became more polite and orderly. Some kids who showed demonic nature in the early days, such as hitting people, have given up their bad habits. They became friendly and no longer have a fierce appearance. Some who had been oppressive and could not get along well with others became optimistic. Some kids even unconsciously cross their legs sometimes, press both hands together in front of the chest and slightly close their eyes. When asked what he was doing, one boy did not answer. One kid even said while playing with other friends: "Later, I will fly away in a big ship."
3. Clarify the truth to parents rationally and wisely. We have taken relatively cautious methods to clarify the truth to the parents. We are not anxious in telling them the facts about Dafa, but are sure that we do well first. When we think the time is right, then we tell them. We do not talk much, but the results are relatively good. Through clarifying the truth to individual parents, we have found out that some of them already knew we are Falun Gong practitioners, but they do not say anything.
4. As long as we try our best to be righteous in every aspect, Teacher will certainly help us. In order for Dafa's mighty power to manifest itself and for ordinary people to have positive thoughts about Dafa, we should have righteous thoughts and righteous actions. It also helps when we take our own interests lightly and place saving sentient beings first, consider things from ordinary people's point of view, and cultivate in harmony with the principles in society.
The above are a few of our experiences in running the kindergarten. In the process, it also exposed our respective shortcomings in individual cultivation and some human notions. The old forces tried to interfere and bring damage, but every problem became a step on the ladder for us to become more mature in our Fa-rectification cultivation.
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