Reflection Paper About Tutoring Experience

My most humbling experience was when I was tutoring English in China. That was not my first tutoring experience, but the students I taught were unique. They were pediatric oncology patients at the hospital that I was volunteering at. These were children who have to be hospitalized for long period of time in order to receive treatments for their cancer. Their parents and caretakers can’t always be there and they often have to spend a lot of time alone. I visited these patients whenever I have spare time, just to talk to them and play with them. Since they usually require surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy, these children had to miss weeks or even months of school. Some of the parents approached me to tutor their children English a couple …show more content…
They would always show up early, eager to learn. Several of my students, although they finished treatment and were allowed to go home, still showed up. One girl even insisted on attending sessions while she had a fever. When I asked her why she didn’t choose to rest, the heartbreaking answer was “If I don’t learn more English now, I might not live long enough to learn later.” Outside of sessions, I can often hear my students practicing among themselves and they would always try to talk to me in English whenever I visit. One day, I had to cancel a lesson and all my students worriedly asked if there would be no more lessons. I was shocked to hear many tell me “Your lessons are the only thing I look forward to, it allows me to not think about having cancer for awhile” My students repeatedly thank me for teaching them, yet I feel I should be the one thanking them. Watching my students confined to the hospital showed me how fortunate I am to be free from pain and to be able to explore the world around me. It was truly humbling to see how in the face of such adversity as having cancer, these students still retained their eagerness to learn and better