<B>“Mr Sang knew how to encourage us!”</B>

If I have to designate someone as my best teacher, it would be Mr. Sang. I used to take private tuition from him in French, English and Mathematics in the 4th, 5th and 6th years of primary school. The first thing that comes to my mind is definitely how severe he was. Indeed, he was very strict but there were always positive things arising from his temper. One could say he was strict because he wanted us pupils to get the best results. As far as I can remember, a lot of us managed to improve our academic performance thanks to him. His strength was that he knew how to encourage his students.

There were around 30 students in the class. The tuition days were Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sometimes he would give tuition on Saturday to help those who needed him. Mr. Sang was a funny character. He was short and thin. He always had a big bag and was always traveling on his bicycle. Regarding his personality, I must say that, although he was strict, he always knew how to make the atmosphere more relaxed. For example, he would tell us a joke such as the story of Tizan gato moutai. Obviously that would make us laugh, but straight-away he would take a serious look again.

<I>“One of the things I will never forget about Mr. Sang is surely how he managed to motivate us. In other words, he knew how to obtain what he wanted from a child by pulling the trigger!”</I>

The good thing regarding his severity was that, as soon as he would find a problem with any of the students, he would phone his/her parents to inform them. He also had his small stick whenever one of us had not done our homework. I remember that he could find out if ever someone had not done his/her homework just by looking into the child’s eyes. Moreover, he knew whenever someone was falling asleep during his tuition. If this was the case, he would immediately tell the child off. Mr. Sang always liked when we asked questions. If ever, we had not understood his explanations, he would take his time to explain again and again until we fully understood. One of the things I will never forget is surely how Mr. Sang managed to motivate us. In other words, he knew how to obtain what he wanted from a child by pulling the trigger!

Today, when I teach classes or give tuition I tend to use some of his habits. For instance, I like to crack some jokes sometimes just to make the kids feel relaxed. On a more personal basis, I should say that, if we love things we do, then we do them well. This was the case with Mr. Sang. He was devoted to his work and loved teaching. No matter how many kids there are in a class, a teacher should know how to motivate his students as Mr. Sang did!"