(Minghui.org) After I graduated from college I was assigned to teach in an elementary school in my hometown. I became very ill. Despite all kinds of medical interventions, I was bedridden at the age of 39.
When I was 43 in 2002, I applied for early retirement due to my poor health. At this time, a friend brought me the precious book Zhuan Falun. I embarked on my journey of cultivation, regained my health, and returned to teaching.
At the beginning of one school year, our principal called me to his office and said, “There is village too far away for the children there to attend our school. To solve this problem, upper management has decided to set up a multi-age classroom there, but no one wants to go. Would you please consider teaching there for a few years?” I made an excuse just like everyone else so I would not be sent there.
After I got home I thought, “The others turned down the assignment because they do not practice Falun Dafa. How could I, a practitioner, pick and choose assignments? Isn’t this detrimental to the image of a Falun Dafa practitioner?”
Master taught us,
“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX)
I looked inside. First of all, that village was far and difficult to get to, and I did not want to commute so far every day. Second, more work is involved when teaching two or more grades, and I did not want the extra work. Third, getting transferred from Central Elementary School to a rural school would hurt my reputation because others would think I was transferred because I wasn’t a good teacher.
I saw that every reason I didn’t want to accept the post was about “me.” All of them were selfish—I did not think of others. As a practitioner I felt ashamed.
The next day I went to the principal and said, “I was wrong yesterday. I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, and I am willing to take on this job.” The principal got up, shook my hand, and said repeatedly, “Thank you! Thank you!”
The sixth grade class in the Central Elementary School was doing poorly because the teachers were changed frequently and many children in that class misbehaved. The parents often went to the school and demanded a new teacher. The principal found the situation difficult to handle.
Just as I had gotten used to teaching multiple grades in the rural school, the principal came to me and said, “The middle school entrance exam is coming up for the sixth grade at our school. If they do poorly, it will affect the school’s reputation. The parents want a good teacher. After considering it, we believe you are the best option because you work hard and are willing to put in the effort.”
Thus, I became the teacher for that sixth grade class in Central Elementary School. I worked overtime every day. I tutored students at my home on weekends and holidays and never asked for a penny.
Our efforts paid off. At the end of the school year, my class ranked third in town on the middle school entrance exam. Some of the parents thanked me and tried to give me money and others sent me gifts, but I politely declined and returned everything. I told them, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. It is my job to teach my students well. I cannot accept your gifts.”
I returned to work in that rural village. Six months later, the director of teaching approached me and said, “The principal is asking for you.”
As I entered his office, the principal of the Central Elementary School greeted me warmly and said, “Please sit down. Time and time again, you’ve helped me out all these years. Now I’m embarrassed to yet again ask you for a favor. I need you to take over another sixth grade class because the head teacher is sick and the parents are asking for you.”
I said, “You know I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. Master Li teaches us that practitioners must be good people regardless of where we are. If I hadn’t practiced Falun Dafa, I would never have been able to put up with being moved around so much.”
The principal said, “I understand, I understand. Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is good!” I smiled sincerely because the principal realized Falun Dafa is good.
My multi-grade class was canceled in the village because of declining attendance, and I chose to work in an elementary school closer to home.
The principal of this school knew I practiced Falun Dafa. He was afraid to be implicated, so he picked on me. He named me in all kinds of meetings and even badmouthed me at the Education Department.
At the beginning of each school year, teachers could send unqualified students to a lower grade, but I was not allowed to. Instead, I had to accept four students who were downgraded.
Another time, my class came in second in town on the final exam, but the principal insisted that my class ranked last. He publicly reprimanded me during a school assembly and threatened to fire me.
I did not argue in the face of this unjust treatment but endured silently. I reminded myself that I strove to perform to the best of my ability, to conduct myself according to the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and nothing else.
I was in the classroom by 7:30 every morning. I was present during the morning session and self-study session and helped the students study. I reviewed their homework and exercise books. I never gave up on a single student. I sometimes explained a problem 10 and even 20 times until the students understood it.
At lunchtime while the other teachers played cards, I watched over my students while they took their naps. Other teachers went to the mountains to pick wild vegetables and mushrooms during free classes, but I never joined them. My class was always ranked first in academic performance.
Working hard did not affect my health, it improved it and I felt more energetic.
The principal saw all this and slowly changed his attitude about me. At a dinner party, he said he worried less about me than anyone else at our school. He knew I would fulfill all my responsibilities even if he took off for an entire month.
In today’s China, cheating on exams is the norm. I practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I cannot go with the flow. Before each exam, I instructed the proctor, “Don’t give the students any hints. I want to see their real scores.”
One year, the county Board of Education ordered that a major test of the county’s teaching quality be conducted, with all the schools taking turns to invigilate exams and grade the papers. After the test, the county ranked all the classes according to the test results. My class ranked second in the county in Chinese and Mathematics.
The principal was so happy that time that he said to all the teachers in the office, ‘‘‘Falun Dafa (referring to me)’ is good! ‘Falun Dafa’ is awesome! We should let ‘Falun Dafa’ have time to eat lunch before doing her exercises. Starting tomorrow, the lunch break changes from 11:55 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.” Then he ran to the village mayor’s house to tell him the good news, because the mayor’s son was in my class.
That year I was transferred back to Central Elementary School. The principal tried to keep me, and the village mayor tried to have me transferred back.
I retired six years ago. Looking back at my teaching career, I can say that I never betrayed my conscience or let my students or their parents down.
When I was younger I was in poor health and became bedridden. When I was 43 my sister had my fortune read and the fortuneteller said that I had reached the end of my life.
I am now over 60. I am strong and healthy with no illnesses, because Falun Dafa has extended my life. The honorable qualities I have cultivated in Falun Dafa have earned the praise of teachers and students. By guiding students with Falun Dafa’s principles, I helped nurture young people who now have excellent characters and are doing well.
I am grateful to Master for giving me a second life! I am grateful for Master’s merciful salvation!