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| THE Mr. Woo |
My high school freshman teacher was a terrifying individual.
He was a rather short, fairly round elderly Asian man who wore hideous Hawaiian
shirts and berets on his shiny, bald head. They frequently fell off when he got
particularly passionate about something. He called us all by last name in a
rather loud and gruff tone that made you jump when he shouted
“Mc-INN-es!” Or he called us meatheads. It kind of
depended on his mood. Mr. Woo made kids cry and shake with fear.
He was my one of my favorite teachers.
This man was very persuasive in a very subtle way—so subtle
I didn’t realize it until years later.
We all thought he hated us. But, although he never said it,
he actually was hard on us because he cared about us and wanted us to succeed.
Mr. Woo was a tough teacher. He knew we were smart and
expected us to perform—no excuses. He’d call us out and demand correct answers.
If we were wrong, he told us. It was humiliating for us insecure 14 year olds.
But when Mr. Woo gave praise, it was the greatest thing ever.
“Mc-INN-es. Get up here!” He’d hand me an assignment. “Well
done. Sit down.”
We were subtly persuaded to work hard in that class. I
didn’t want to fumble for an answer in front of my classmates. I wanted to
prove to my teacher that I could do it.
I still remember lessons from that class. Yes, about
warnings in Romeo and Juliet and how
to analyze Poe. But more importantly, Mr. Woo convinced me (largely without my
knowing) that I could do hard work. No excuses. I was competent. If I applied
myself I could do well.
I like how this shows that sincerity increases the power of the words we say. If we say that something is great only when it is, it gives the word more meaning than it would otherwise have.
ReplyDeleteThose we respect will always influence us more. Many times it is because of their influence that they've gained our respect.
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome example of tough love. He wanted to persuade you all of what you were capable of, and did it pretty expertly. I think it's awesome that he convinced you that YOU wanted to do well, and that you could. He almost made it become your own idea.
ReplyDelete