中
By Wang Wen-yu, a teacher at KIST Experimental School for three years.
Students benefiting from the Little Beaver Scholarship Program operate a MEandMine lesson kit, “The Little Explorer's Guide to the Emotional Galaxy.”
Change Takes Time: A Story of Long-long from the First Grade
The kids who get the most teacher attention aren't always the ones who need the most help. Long-long was one of the kids who needed the most help, yet he was so quiet that teachers sometimes unintentionally overlooked him.
I met Long-long during my first year of teaching in a rural community. It was also the year I joined KIST and started promoting Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). At the time, I focused less on emotional management—which most people are familiar with—and more on the "critical thinking" and "perspective-taking" aspects of SEL. My goal was to help students form their own ideas and try to express them.
Long-long would stare with wide eyes, as if he were concentrating intensely, or perhaps lost in thought. Whenever I invited him to say something, he, who was suspected of having a developmental delay, was completely unable to respond. Only when I simplified my questions into yes-or-no questions would he nod or shake his head.
Rural students learn about the relationship between emotions and body science by operating an emotional robot.
Holding to the belief in differentiated instruction, I tried different ways to guide him: drawing, filling in sentence patterns, or having him repeat what other students said. While his peers were chattering away, I patiently stayed by his side, helping him practice basic "expression." Whenever he was willing to say a few more words, I would invite all the students to listen to him and give him a big round of applause and encouragement.
Me: "What does this expression mean?"
Long-long: "...Happy, hmm!"
The school year passed quickly. At the end of the term, while we were working on the MEandMine emotional robot theme, I went over to Long-long’s desk and asked him about the expression he was making on his robot. As usual, he looked at me with wide eyes, paused for a few seconds, and then answered me with perfect clarity.
I thought, No wonder they say education is a century-long endeavor. Change really does take time.
Teacher Wen-yu leads students in using the MEandMine "The Shark King's Treasure Hunting Team" lesson kit* to learn social communication skills.
It's Not That the Student Isn't Good Enough; It's That the Burnt-out Teacher Didn't See: A Story of Xiao-de from the Fourth Grade
"Teacher, this is for you." Little Der from the fourth grade handed me a neat and beautiful paper carving. "What is this? It looks very precious. Why would you give it to me?" Little Der tilted his head slightly, looking a little shy, and said in a clear voice, "I made this in third grade. I wanted to give it to a teacher I really like." After saying that, he quickly darted away.
Facing me, Little Der was always thoughtful and full of energy, but his classmates saw him as a troublemaker. His habit of shouting out answers without raising his hand and his impatient tone with peers made him a very "obvious" presence in the class. When some teachers mentioned him, they would simply sigh and say, "That's just how he is."
At first, I tried a constant offensive of reminders: from interpersonal landmines to the basic rule of raising one's hand in class. I repeatedly reminded Little Der, but before he could change, I became frustrated and burnt out. I decided to slow down and take care of myself first, because I deeply believed that "without a stable adult, there is no stable child."
Interestingly, when I stopped constantly focusing on Litter Der's disruptive behavior, I no longer got angry at him so easily. Instead, in that calmness, I began to see his growth and his strengths.
For example, during a MEandMine session, he was able to manage his emotions—despite his usual frustration with the team members he didn't see eye to eye with—and work together with a group he wasn't particularly close with to complete a team challenge. After class, I quietly but excitedly told Little Der, "I saw that you were able to accept a group you didn't like as much, and you worked very hard to complete the activity. You did it!"
Even though I can't tell a student directly that I like (or dislike) them, I can give them positive feedback on specific behaviors. Together, the student and I practice a growth mindset!
About the MEandMine Lesson Kits:
"The Little Explorer's Guide to the Emotional Galaxy": Students use conductive clay to build robots and create their own emotional objects. When they touch the robot, a brain-warning light turns on and their heartbeat speeds up, helping them understand the emotional circuit.
"The Shark King's Treasure Hunting Team": Through a guided story, students join the Shark King to search for lost gems. Various teamwork skills are integrated into the board game's design, allowing students to practice focusing on goals, listening, taking turns, and resolving conflicts.