經過一個學期的努力，這個七歲的小男孩Shiwaan真的克服了語言跟文化的困難，為自己的小學一年級留下了漂亮的成績。這個成績不僅僅是成績單上的每一個「優」，不單單是學校老師「他的中文進步很多」的評語，更是他用勇氣與努力證明了「他做得到」。
去年的七月，他第一次來到我的中文課，為的是為進入公立小學而準備。今年的三月，他再次回到我的中文課，為的是因為家人生病，回印度三個月完全沒有上學的他，在回到學校後感到一片茫然。
這幾個月，我常常覺得自己能做的很有限，但卻讓我更加確信孩子的潛力是無窮的。只要找到啟動他們的開關，讓他們對自己有信心，讓語言成為帶給他們快樂的工具，那麼他們能做的絕對遠比老師多更多！
所以除了中文課，我覺得自己做的最正確的事，就是幫他拓展台灣朋友圈。在此除了謝謝Shiwaan父母的信任與配合，更要感謝讀經班所有家長跟同學們。謝謝大家在理解Shiwaan所遇到的困難後，都無私地付出自己的愛，讓他在溫暖及友愛的環境中跟著大家一起學習孔子的智慧，並自信地分享表現自己。除了讀經班的同學之外，他甚至還和我的姪子YuHong成了每個週末線上交流的網友，並在期末舉辦了兩個家庭的網友見面會。
友情永遠是最好的教材，對孩子們來說尤其重要。所有的孩子們也都分外珍惜這份跨語言、跨文化的友誼，台灣孩子與印度孩子同時都更自在地使用第二語言了。所有真心的付出，果然都會得到收穫。 Shiwaan的名字，中文是希望。每個孩子都是未來的希望，也都為了自己的未來那麼努力。
這一篇，記錄的是Shiwaan的勇敢和努力，記錄的是台灣人「幼吾幼，以及人之幼」的單純美好。
After a semester of hard work, Shiwaan, this seven-year-old Indian boy, has truly overcome the challenges of language and culture, leaving behind an impressive performance in his first grade. This achievement goes beyond each "excellent" on his report card or the teacher's comment that "he has made significant progress in Chinese." It is a testament to his courage and effort, proving that "he can do it."
Last July, he joined my Chinese class for the first time, preparing himself for entry into a public elementary school in Taiwan. In March of this year, he returned to my class again, this time because his grandma fell ill. After three months of being out of school staying in India, he felt lost upon returning to school.
During these months, I often felt that my capabilities were very limited, but it also made me believe in the infinite potential of children even more. As long as we find the switch that ignites them, instill confidence in themselves, and make language a tool to bring them happiness, they can achieve so much more than what teachers can do!
So, besides the Chinese class, I believe the best thing I have done is expanding his circle of Taiwanese friends. I want to express my gratitude to Shiwaan's parents for their trust and cooperation, as well as to all the parents and classmates in the Sutra class. Thank you all for selflessly offering your love and creating a warm and friendly environment for him to learn the wisdom of Confucius and confidently share and express himself. Besides the classmates in the sutra class, he even became an online friend with my nephew, YuHong, and we even had a meetups party for these two little ones and their families at the end of the term.
Friendship is always the best teaching material, especially for children. All the children cherish this cross-linguistic and cross-cultural friendship, and both Taiwanese children and Indian children have become more comfortable using their second languages, English and Chinese, respectively. All sincere efforts do reap rewards indeed. Shiwaan's name means "hope" in Chinese. Every child is a hope for the future and strives hard for their own future.
This piece records Shiwaan's bravery and effort and represents the pure and beautiful spirit of "to care for others's children as one's own" in Taiwan.
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