As a kid， I heard someone say “Those who can， do. Those who can’t， teach.” So growing up， I thought that all teachers were washed-up failures. And after college， I feared that if I couldn’t cut it as an actor or singer， I’d have to teach as a fallback career. But my acting teachers also taught me to perform with all my heart， for an audience of one， or even none. And since teachers taught me that， they couldn’t be all bad， right？

Anyway， I came to China in 2007 because I was hired to perform in a stunt show， filled with motorcycle flips and flaming high-falls. However， it took quite a toll on me， and I soon found myself seeking new employment. I ended up landing a job at a local school called Happy Bear English Workshop.

In those first few weeks， I had my hair pulled， got spit on， and was even punched in the groin， and for what？ It felt like none of the students were interested in learning English， and I had no interest in teaching it. But then I thought： what if one of them was really eager to learn？ So， despite my disinterest， I tried my hardest to help them improve. And that brings us to this month’s features…

In The Promise， a prospective young teacher learns her musical limitations. Next， in A Taste of Success， kids learn important lessons by making tasty biscuits. Excuses， Excuses shows how forging absent notes can bring out the best in students. And lastly， What Do Teachers Make？ shines a spotlight on all the underappreciated things that teachers do （or rather， make）.

I still teach now， but only part-time. The key is， I found the time to balance my own dreams， while helping cultivate the hopes and dreams of young， aspiring English speakers and writers. So， I guess， the circle of learning continues…

小時候，我聽過有人這么說：“有能力的去實(shí)干；沒能力的去教書?！庇谑牵宦烦砷L過來，我一直認(rèn)為所有老師都是徹底的失敗者。大學(xué)畢業(yè)后，我害怕自己如果當(dāng)不成演員或者歌手，會不得不以教書為后路。但我的表演老師也教導(dǎo)我，表演時要全身心投入，不論你的觀眾只有一個人，或是連一個都沒有。既然老師們會這么教育我，那他們也并非都很差勁，對吧？

不管怎樣，2007年時我來到中國，因為我獲聘參與一場特技表演，表演中充滿了摩托車翻跟斗、飛躍鉆火圈的情節(jié)。但這活兒實(shí)在讓我身體吃不消，于是我很快就開始找起了新工作。后來，我在當(dāng)?shù)匾凰凶觥翱鞓沸苡⒄Z工作室”的學(xué)校找到了一份工作。

在起初那幾個星期，我被人扯頭發(fā)、吐口水，甚至被人拳打腹股溝——這么受罪，圖什么呢？看起來沒有一個學(xué)生有興趣學(xué)英語，而我也沒興趣教下去。但接著我想：要是他們中的其中一個真的想學(xué)呢？于是，盡管我興味索然，但我還是盡自己最大的努力幫助他們提高英語水平。這引出了我們這個月的主題文章……

在《一輩子的承諾》一文中，一位年輕的未來教師明白到了自己音樂上的不足。接著在《為師之道：一個也不能少》中，孩子們通過做出美味的餅干學(xué)到了重要的一課。《借口，借口》一文展示了杜撰請假條如何能夠引導(dǎo)學(xué)生寫出最好的作品。最后，《老師的意義》一文著重講述了老師們所有未獲賞識的成就。

我現(xiàn)在仍在教書，不過卻是兼職。主要原因是，我要在幫助年輕、有抱負(fù)的英語演講家和作家實(shí)現(xiàn)期望與夢想的同時，平衡自己的理想。所以，我想，求學(xué)的循環(huán)之路仍需繼續(xù)……