They felt the ping-pong ball essay was unfair punishment. They were mad. They challenged me in class. Half of them did not submit their work. Those who did vented their anger within their writings.
Not knowing what to do with all the negative responses I got both in writing and in person, I decided to write them all a letter. Everyone will get the same letter on Monday, printed out and individually addressed to them in my best writing. I spent the afternoon preparing the letters, sealing all 40 of them in lavender envelopes.
Why did I do that? I don’t know. If standing in front and lecturing them doesn’t work, I’ve got to try something radical, something which will hopefully speak to them as individuals, rather than a class.
I don’t know if this will work. I am scared. I worry. But I guess that’s what I love and hate about teaching. You never know when and how you can successfully influence them.
Dear <insert name>
I hardly had a chance to teach a Nursing class and having heard and seen so many good things about them, I was thrilled when I knew I had you for 9 weeks. Little did I know that our time together would have more downs than ups, and that by the end of the first month we would develop such hostile feelings toward each other.
The truth is I only lose my temper at good classes. I have higher expectations of them and thus I don’t appreciate tardiness or being taken for granted.
While some of you did see the value in the ping-pong ball exercise, the vast majority of the class viewed it as meaningless, ridiculous and an utter waste of time.
The ping-pong ball exercise served two purposes. The first was a test of your reaction in the face of adversity. It was to see how many of you actually tried to overcome the challenge. It was also a test of how many of you actually felt remorse. More than anything, it was a test of how you handled difficult people (me) and situations. Some of you took it in your stride and did the best you could. You remained positive in your essays. To these people, I salute you.
For many of you who either did not bother trying because it was deemed impossible, or displayed your anger for given the task, you have a lot to learn. I did not expect everyone to be able to put in 1000 words. But I was curious to see how many actually attempted and how many quit before even trying. I remember telling you that for my subject, the outcome is unimportant. All I want to see is your effort.
The second purpose of the ping-pong ball exercise was to invoke reactions. I think this part was especially successful. I could tell through your writings you felt anger, resentment and frustration toward me. Most of you thought the punishment was unfair and that I had gotten all my priorities wrong. You should be focussing on Biology and not stupid ping-pong balls.
Well, congratulations. You have finally understood how I feel. You now understand my anger when you show up late and unprepared for each lesson. You now understand my resentment for those who are rude and unbothered. You now understand my frustration as I try to shush you umpteen times during class. You now understand the meaning of priorities and when you should do the right thing at the right time.
I know you run a tight schedule. You start at 0800 and don’t finish till 1700. You have little time to eat, rest, play, sleep. I know the campus is big, the canteens are packed, and the lifts are slow. I too spend the same hours in the same campus as you. But if I can arrive in the classroom on time, prepared, alert, focussed, not hungry, and not needing a toilet break (I won’t take that away from you), I believe you should too. After all, I thought this is called “Professionalism”, a trait which your department strongly enforces.
We started off the first week on a positive note. I would like us to continue having a good time for the rest of our journey together. I too have a lot to learn and I am not afraid to admit and reflect on my flaws and weaknesses. What’s important to me is not that we make mistakes in life, but that we can realise them and not repeat them in future.
I am tough on you because I want you to strive to be the best. Not all of you will turn out to be the best, but nonetheless you should be all aiming high. I know you can all turn out to be driven, dedicated nurses who can provide the highest level of care for all our patients, including me when I grow old. But until you discover the real meaning of professionalism, tenacity and humility, I believe your road to success will be long and arduous.
Believe it or not, if you open your heart, you’d realise not everything is a pointless exercise just to torture you and there are in fact many important lessons to learn in this College besides Biology. I believe the ping-pong ball exercise was one of them. And I hope you’ve learned.
Have a good break and I’ll see you in class after the Chinese New Year.
Miss C
