Tutoring Bamboo Forest

As the premise of the blog goes, I have seen things as a private tutor that many people would have never imagined. And sometimes, I feel that I may have finally seen them all. Maybe I have come across all the bad apples already, and I should stop being all jaded and pessimistic. Of course, soon after, one of the newer students proves me that I’m thoroughly wrong.

The student in question wrote in their practice essay that they wanted to utilize the knowledge they picked up from studying for the International Physics Olympiad. Their argument for the importance of pursuit of knowledge was somewhat convincing. So I let my guard down—foolishly, in retrospect. Sure, learning is a joyful activity, as Confucius said. Whom were they going to share the joy of learning with?

The war refugees who recently fled their own country, they said. Apparently, the refugees were the ones that “desperately need to learn physics the most.” And since “the whole world’s attention was on [those people]”, it would be a “great chance” for the student to “show the world” what an ex-Olympiad contestant was capable of.

I had to do a double take at the student’s bio, just to check if I mistook an 11-year-old with an 11th grader. (Chronic insomnia does wonders on one’s reading comprehension.) Needless to say, I felt sorry for all the 11-year-olds I inadvertently insulted with my doubt.