Tom, one of the three radio operator colleagues at the American oil company Conoco Taiwan, asked if I could give his five-year-old daughter, Florence, some lessons in English. (Not a lot of people in Taiwan spoke English in those days.)
We then began our Saturday morning lessons at the office. I started by teaching her the usual basics: numbers, days of the week, months of the year, then her personal details (surname, name, age, nationality, etc.). The following week, I’d re-use what I’d taught the previous week as revision, while adding on new material.
A few lessons in, Florence couldn’t remember something. I said to her, “How can you have forgotten this word already? I’d only just taught it to you last week!”
Florence started crying. I felt so bad. Perhaps I was being too strict with her.
The next Saturday, I mentioned this to her father. He said, “No, it wasn’t because you were too severe with her. She was crying because she was ashamed at not being able to remember it. She felt that she’d let you down.”
These days (and in the West?), the parent would immediately protest and lodge a complain, if not a lawsuit for emotional hurt.
(Taipei, 1975)
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