Amid the global coronavirus lockdown, educators around the world have been adapting to the change by making online learning effective, engaging and fun. This is a new experience for many teachers and students alike including for Tan Yan Yun who is a kindergarten and music teacher in Pahang.

Initially, there was hesitation and stress from juggling the online kindergarten and music classes. But with the encouragement from her friends and her Buddhist practice, she realised that she needed to shift her thinking as the first step to changing both herself and her environment.

She aimed at maintaining humanistic bonds even through the virtual platforms. Cheerfully greeting her students each time and being attentive and concern about their wellbeing, she continued to encourage them and also thought of ways to make her classes interesting by utilising animation stories, singing and other creative approaches. Her students responded and eagerly looked forward to the classes and even complained that time went by too fast. Parents gave positive feedbacks and also requested for additional classes.

Despite being busier than usual, she feels great fulfilment, especially when she sees joy in her students’ faces and eagerness in learning. “I realised that even as I give lessons online, my ultimate purpose remains the same and that is to do my utmost best to bring out the potential of my students. As SGI President Daisaku Ikeda once said ‘People are shaped by people. There is no genuine education without earnest life-to-life interaction and inspiration.’”

Source: SGM Facebook, 2020