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The Time I Taught My First Class Shen Yu from China
My students weren't really students at the university. They came from different geology departments from around the country. All of them were older than I was, some of them older than 50 years old. Their geology departments sent them to Beijing for training in order to help them get a senior title. They didn't work so hard so they were very difficult to teach. That day, I prepared everything. When the class began, I went to the platform. I was very, very nervous. I had butterflies in my stomach because I didn't know everything. I stood there a long time and finally remembered I had to introduce myself. So, I wrote my name on the board. When I was writing, the chalk broke. I felt my name was very strange, and my voice was very strange, too. I heard a voice, but I didn't know what he said. I turned to face the students; one of them was asking me, "How old are you?" He said he asked me three times, but I didn't hear him. I told him I was twenty-seven years old and waited for them to ask another question. They didn't ask me more questions. They talked to me. One student said, "You are like my daughter. I know you need help." All of us laughed. I felt better and better. After a few minutes, I began to teach my class. The first few minutes, I couldn't speak clearly, but my students understood everything. All of them listened to me. No one did other things. Then I taught my class. I gradually forgot to be nervous. After that, I learned how to teach them. I used different ways to teach them. After half a year, when they finished their training, they said to me, "You were the best teacher in our training." Now, I realize that sometimes it isn't a terrible thing to be a little nervous. Maybe that day was a new beginning for me. Return
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in My Stomach
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