This is a heartwarming insight that a former colleague of mine shared with me during one of our chats.
She's now a tuition center teacher, and I often see her sharing about her work — it's constantly "grateful to my boss, amazed by my boss" — which made me curious about why she loves her job so much.
Her working hours are 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM, and sometimes when parents are running late to pick up their children, she has to stay late too.
#Building a Good Workplace
Although there's overtime, and elementary school students can be emotionally unpredictable, her colleagues have no complaints. When overtime is needed, everyone works late together and helps each other out. This unity makes her feel proud. In an era where everyone complains about terrible bosses, she actually praises hers as wonderful.
When issues arise, her boss doesn't dodge them — instead, she takes the arrows for the team. This makes everyone more willing to give their all for such a good workplace.
#Self-Made Teaching Props
What moved me most was how she, dedicated to teaching, painstakingly creates course materials by hand (see photo). She uses Word to design and layout a zodiac animal book with illustrations, adds explanations for each animal, prints it out to make a small booklet, and pairs it with zodiac animal cards she bought to teach her students carefully.
What surprised me was that the zodiac book comes in two versions — one for lower grade students and one for upper grade students. She uses conversational language to teach about the "Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches." Of course, the content for upper grade students is deeper, teaching idioms related to each zodiac animal.
These materials aren't something her boss requires her to make — she creates them in her own time. From concept development, text organization, design layout, to printing — she completes it all herself.
"Thinking back, it was tiring, but with these colleagues, it's not hard at all." For her, making extra materials so the children learn more, working together with colleagues toward the same goal, and seeing the children grow are her greatest happiness and fortune.
#Stop Complaining #Change Your Attitude and Transform Your Environment
For the same task, some people complain about giving too much, while others fixate on physical and mental exhaustion. But the truth is: "When you're willing to give, you'll receive corresponding fulfillment" — not fill your life with complaints.
When you're unhappy, shift your perspective. Think about what you've gained. Think about how your small actions can change elements of your workplace environment. Take the initiative to help and create the workplace you want.
Willing to give, willing to harvest.
