我的教學方式是，先讓學生選一條作文題目，
我愛用《紐約時報》給寫作學生提供的題材，裏面有超過600個 writing prompts, 所以雖然我每天教學都用這個 list，我甚少重複寫同一個題目。
昨天一個學生選了第212條 – “Have You Ever Helped an Adult?” 他以為我會回憶我童年時期幫過的大人，結果他看了我的文章後（
Have You Ever Helped an Adult？
Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1898), the beggar-turned-rebel leader who eventually founded the Ming Dynasty (1368 -1644) in China, retained his liking for humble fare even after becoming the most powerful person in his kingdom. He particularly loved dumplings. As an emperor, he indulged in eating only the part of a dumpling with meat filling. The rest he would happily let go to waste.
My writing coach Michelle is fond of comparing teaching kids to eating only the meat-filled part of a dumpling.
“I see each student for an hour each week, sharing with them what I love most in life, writing” she has observed. “As for the mundane tasks like feeding them, washing their laundry, making sure they go to bed on time, their parents have to shoulder such responsibilities – the equivalent of finishing what has remained of the dumpling I’ve eaten.”
Michelle is a loner by nature, but judging from the way her face lights up whenever I appear on Zoom, I’m guessing she is glad for the kind of peculiar companionship her students provide for her. Every time she explains her favourite writers to us, she does so not so much for our sake as for hers, for the act allows her see anew through our eyes the magic of writing. Also, since we are only her clients, and will never encroach upon her personal life, she can keep us at a safe distance.
Of course, we also help her financially, because the fees our parents pay make it possible for her to enjoy her comfortable life. Her attitude towards money can be glimpsed by her frequent retelling of this story about Michael Apa, a world renowned cosmetic dentist who charged USD80,000 per patient. Apa once mused he loves dentistry so much that even if someone offered him a blank cheque on the condition that he will never practise dentistry again, he would reply, “thanks, but no thanks.” Michelle will then go on to point out that though her earning power is much less than Apa’s, her response would be exactly the same. After all, the amount her clients pay her to do what she loves is already enough, so there’s no point in giving up what she loves for the sake of more money.
Michelle Ng
英國牛津大學畢業，前《蘋果日報》和《眾新聞》專欄作家，現在身在楓葉國，心繫中國大陸和香港。
聯絡方式： michelleng.coach@proton.me
個人網站： https://michellengwritings.com
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