The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

KARIS YU
EMILY WU, TEACHER
Josiah Quincy Upper School, Boston, MA
“?” (Can our teacher speak Chinese?) I asked
my friend Sarah.
She responded, “!” (Our teacher can speak
Chinese!)
I was waiting outside at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School with Sarah.
The last time I had seen her was our last vacation. I was kind of nervous
going to this school because I didn’t know if anybody else spoke the same
language as me. I told Sarah, “” (Our teacher
cannot speak Chinese).
She responded, “” (Our second teacher
can speak Chinese). Then I was less nervous, since I knew that there was a
teacher who could speak Chinese. I walked into the classroom, then I saw the
second teacher, and he told me what to do in Cantonese.
“I FELT MORE
CONFIDENT SPEAKING
IN ENGLISH. NOW,
I CAN HELP AND
TRANSLATE FOR PEOPLE
WHO DON’T KNOW A
LOT OF ENGLISH.”
I was happy that I didn’t really need my friend to keep translating the easy
words. I felt more confident speaking in English. Now, I can help and
translate for people who don’t know a lot of English. Courage means learning
and doing something that is difficult. Then you can help others, so they won’t
struggle and feel bad.
When the main teacher came and asked me what my name was, I turned and
looked at Sarah. She told me, “, ?” (She said, what is
your name?)
I tried saying, “My name is Karis.” My English was not good, and it was very
hard to understand. I felt very nervous to speak English for the first time.
I thought that my English would always stay the same, since I only speak
Chinese at home. I had learned a little bit of English from my parents, like
the most important words. I told myself I had to learn English because a lot
of my classmates didn’t speak Chinese. My friends motivated me to learn
English so that I could speak with other people who couldn’t speak Chinese.
My mind felt like a turtle slowing down, trying to respond to other people
when they were talking to me. I felt like I was in the dark. I didn’t really know
what I was saying. It didn’t stop me from learning English. At home, I tried
practicing English with my parents. By the end of the school year, I had
learned a lot of English. In fourth grade, I was happy that I didn’t need to
go to ESL.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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