Today I was in charge of leading the P5 students in the buddy programme. They were supposed to buddy the P1s during recess to help them buy food, teach them how to count their money, guide them to their table, etc. They have been doing it for the past week with the same buddy, and tomorrow would be the last day.
So I brought the P5s to the canteen to wait for their P1 buddies. I was shocked at how much noise they were making. They were all talking among themselves while waiting. When the P1s finally appeared, class by class, many of the P5s rushed forward, eager to meet their buddies. On the other hand, there were also many P5s who did not seem to care, seemingly absorbed in their own world. The teachers were shouting at the top of their voices, telling the P5s to start moving, but to no avail, because they were too busy playing with their classmates.
Ten minutes into the recess, a prefect brought a P1 boy to see me. She told me he could not find his buddy. I turned to the boy and asked him if he knows his buddy's name. "Kor Kor (meaning elder brother in Cantonese)", he told me. I asked him if he meant that his buddy was his own elder brother, he shook his head and kept saying "Kor Kor". The prefect told me he called his buddy by this name and did not know what his real name was.
So I took his hand and walked him to the table where many of the P5s gathered. As we walked, i asked him if he had eaten. He said no, because his "Kor Kor" was not there.
When I reached the table, I asked if anyone knew who this boy's buddy was. Someone said that there were a few occasions when the buddy was either absent from school or not to be found. When I told him his buddy is not around, the little boy looked so disappointed !
We turned and walked away. At this point, someone shouted to me,"Teacher, his buddy is there!" I turned back and saw a few P5 boys pointing at this bespectacled boy. He was talking with his friends. As soon as the little boy spotted his buddy, he rushed up to him in open arms! His face lit up immediately, the smile he gave his buddy was so bright, it was infectious! The P5 boy saw him and reached out to him.
The next moment, the P5 boy brought him to one of the food stalls to buy food. I walked up and told the boy that his buddy was very upset when he did not see him. At this point, the little boy looked up at me and shouted "Thank you!" He was so grateful to me for helping him find his "Kor Kor"!
When the P5s were done with their duty, I did a debriefing with them in the hall. I told them this story. I could hear the gasps among them when they heard that the little boy refused to eat without his buddy. It struck them that they were so important to the P1s, at least for this week. I told them,"To you, these children are just Primary Ones, but to them, you are their big brothers and sisters, someone they look up to. So please treat this job seriously and treat them the way they should be treated." Hopefully, what they take away from this experience is to learn how to put themselves in other people's shoes and show care for those around them.
So I brought the P5s to the canteen to wait for their P1 buddies. I was shocked at how much noise they were making. They were all talking among themselves while waiting. When the P1s finally appeared, class by class, many of the P5s rushed forward, eager to meet their buddies. On the other hand, there were also many P5s who did not seem to care, seemingly absorbed in their own world. The teachers were shouting at the top of their voices, telling the P5s to start moving, but to no avail, because they were too busy playing with their classmates.
Ten minutes into the recess, a prefect brought a P1 boy to see me. She told me he could not find his buddy. I turned to the boy and asked him if he knows his buddy's name. "Kor Kor (meaning elder brother in Cantonese)", he told me. I asked him if he meant that his buddy was his own elder brother, he shook his head and kept saying "Kor Kor". The prefect told me he called his buddy by this name and did not know what his real name was.
So I took his hand and walked him to the table where many of the P5s gathered. As we walked, i asked him if he had eaten. He said no, because his "Kor Kor" was not there.
When I reached the table, I asked if anyone knew who this boy's buddy was. Someone said that there were a few occasions when the buddy was either absent from school or not to be found. When I told him his buddy is not around, the little boy looked so disappointed !
We turned and walked away. At this point, someone shouted to me,"Teacher, his buddy is there!" I turned back and saw a few P5 boys pointing at this bespectacled boy. He was talking with his friends. As soon as the little boy spotted his buddy, he rushed up to him in open arms! His face lit up immediately, the smile he gave his buddy was so bright, it was infectious! The P5 boy saw him and reached out to him.
The next moment, the P5 boy brought him to one of the food stalls to buy food. I walked up and told the boy that his buddy was very upset when he did not see him. At this point, the little boy looked up at me and shouted "Thank you!" He was so grateful to me for helping him find his "Kor Kor"!
When the P5s were done with their duty, I did a debriefing with them in the hall. I told them this story. I could hear the gasps among them when they heard that the little boy refused to eat without his buddy. It struck them that they were so important to the P1s, at least for this week. I told them,"To you, these children are just Primary Ones, but to them, you are their big brothers and sisters, someone they look up to. So please treat this job seriously and treat them the way they should be treated." Hopefully, what they take away from this experience is to learn how to put themselves in other people's shoes and show care for those around them.
