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Yuan Wang ENGL 001A

My English Teacher

Our identity is a complex notion that develops and evolves throughout time. Our family,

friends, community, and the larger institutions in our society all influence who we are. We play

many different roles and hold many different social positions. We also pick how we show

ourselves and, to a considerable part, envision who we are. It's critical to recognize how our

ideals and beliefs influence who we are and how we perceive the world. These ideas occasionally

align with the prevailing ideologies in a culture, and occasionally they diverge significantly from

what "most" people hold to be true. Through our interactions with the many social institutions in

a society, including as education, legal and political systems, and families, we acquire these

ideologies. Education has specifically shaped my world view as I grow older. I identify as a men,

a youth and Chinese from an upper middle class family. I'm always working to realize and be

conscious of how this societal classification has influenced my life and sense of self. My life's

academic and informal schooling experiences have helped me discover a variety of different

types of self-identity, such as sexual, political, spiritual, and personal. Let me first explain that

there is nothing constant or correct about how I identify myself before I go into further detail. I

am aware that patterns of identification that we see, hear, read, and are asked of us either through

denotative or connotative ways have a significant impact on the process of discovering and

expressing one's self-identity.

Most of my official education has been in the private school system. I have received

knowledge from a variety of sources outside of the traditional school system, some of which may

have had a greater impact than others. These include my parents, classmates, trips, the nature,

mixed media, and visual settings. I attended a high school where the level of instruction was
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quite diverse. I found school to be intriguing when my professors made the class such that I

could think, reflect on what they are teaching, and build knowledge on my own. I had an

extremely critical mindset throughout my four years of high school, always pointing out what

was "wrong" or "ineffective." Before coming to the U.S., my English tutor had made a big

impact in my decision to continue my studies in a foreign country. I believe all students are

significantly and permanently impacted by their teachers. This effect includes not just imparting

specific academic knowledge to students, but also, and perhaps more importantly, fostering their

sense of self-worth. Increased motivation and learning are linked to self-esteem building in the

classroom.

In China specifically, there is an antiquated household registration system in Beijing,

which prevents migrant children from enrolling in public schools, defines and legitimizes the

marginalization of migrant children. According to Julia Kwong, an educator, stated that many

attend segregated migrant children's schools. Even when the government loosened its restrictions

to let immigrant children enroll in the public school system, they still face prejudice because of

their low social position and rural origin, which reinforce each other. Their idea of who they are

is shaped by these encounters. For me, I was lucky that my parents constantly stressed to me as a

young child that they wanted the best possible education for me. They promised to do everything

it takes to get me into top institutions and a top-notch education. The legal definition of school

age in China is 5–14 years, but some students are a couple of years older because rural children

sometimes have started school late, and others have interrupted their education as a result of

migration. Since I was in preschool, my parents have worked really hard to provide me with the

chance to attend private school. When compared to the rural migrants, I am extremely grateful.
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They urged me to study hard, be intelligent, and be bold. I had an exceptional educational

level because I attended private schools all of my childhood. Throughout my educational

experiences, I have summarized some of the traits that I have that have got me here today. I'll

start by saying that I'm a very organized person who thrives on routine and organization. Being

structured, in my opinion, will only contribute to establishing a productive and efficient learning

environment in my classroom. I believe that a student's capacity to learn how to become

structured is hampered if a teacher cannot maintain organization. I've also been told I have

empathy as a quality. I've been informed that I have a high level of emotional intelligence by my

friends, family, coworkers, employers, and teachers. It wasn't until recently that I also began to

believe it.

English is not my first language, and I began learning English in Kindergarten, it was a

difficult journey for me because I had constantly failed my English exams in school. I typically

given up trying to learn English. I believed it to be difficult and decided not to utilize it in my

life. I now feel foolish reflecting back on those times. I guess it's fate that I have to re-learn

English in order to live in America. My understanding of learning English is that knowledge

must accrue. It will be challenging to remedy if you overlook any information points. My initial

professors and first lessons are still memorable. My first year of school, my teachers changed

regularly, yet they all shared a lot. They all employed the grammar translation technique. When

they used to create bilingual word lists on the board, they instructed us students to duplicate the

lists and learn them by heart. There were no exercises focusing on speaking or listening, instead,

all education was on developing students' reading and writing abilities. It was my English tutor

who used to be an international student who taught me to not give up on this opportunity that I

had. She told me English is a universal language that is utilized in formal settings all around the
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world. Thus, I will have to learn English if I wish to interact with others in the world we live in.

Her words ran through my mind constantly when I felt like giving up. I enjoyed spending time

with her because I believe she had cared about me as a person as much as how I did in the

subject area. She understood my talents and weaknesses and were aware of them. Receiving

individualized feedback on all sorts of examinations is really valuable to me. I remember there

was one time I was watching an interview by Jackie Chan as he became more prevalent in

Hollywood environment, and he conducted an English interview. I clearly remember he was so

dedicated to learning English that he even hired four English teachers to teach him and spent

nine hours studying. If he can do it, then I can do it, that was my thought process then.

Someone else who inspired me to learn English was Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma. I feel

like upbrings are very different but our attitude towards learning and exchanging knowledge with

different people and culture is similar. According to Business Insiders, “As a teenager, Ma

started waking up early to visit the city's main hotel, offering visitors tours of the city in

exchange for English lessons. The nickname "Jack" was given to him by a tourist he befriended.”

I think the first important lesson about advancing your knowledge about the world is to open

your mind to new people and new ideas that might sound crazy. I remember when the idea of

blockchain first became trendy, people were not so crazed about this whole new technology but

now you get to see a whole new trend of Bitcoin, NFTs, etc. I believe people are scared of ideas

that they are ignorant about but it is at the same time important to learn about it. And thanks to

my ability to speak English, I've been able to communicate with lovely folks about subject that I

am passionate about. Thus, it brings me pleasure to express interest in what others have to say

and to exchange opinions. Jack Ma’s experience was also similar to me in that he had also failed

many exams throughout his childhood period. According to an interview done by Forbes, is was
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mentioned that “his English was improving constantly, but he was so weak in math that he failed

the standardized university entrance test—he only achieved one out of 120 possible points. He

tried again, and this time he scored 19 out of 120. His overall results were so bad that the

university turned him down.” His experience really shocked me when I read this because I

always imagined him to be a bright man who would have no problem with mathematics!

In the final analysis, I believe that the success in life of an individual is greatly influenced

by their education. It has a significant effect on people's chances to maintain their quality of life.

Most people agree that education is the cornerstone of a society that leads to economic growth,

social prosperity, and political stability. The level of education a person has influences their

social and economic standing since it increases their capacity to control their quality of life. It

can aid a person in avoiding poverty and fostering harmony and democracy in society.

Additionally, education may give people the confidence to express their opinions, reveal their

true potential, help them improve personally, and broaden their perspectives in particular fields.

Thus, I'm looking for education that empowers me to discover new identities, gives me the tools

to define success for myself, broadens my understanding of the universe, and eventually leads to

happiness and self-assurance. In order to make more thoughtful judgments, I also want to be

aware of how I impact or could influence those around me.

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Work Cited

Insider, Business. “The Rags-to-Riches Life Story of Alibaba Founder Jack Ma.” Inc.com, Inc., 2

Mar. 2017.

Kwong, Julia. “Education and Identity: The Marginalisation of Migrant Youths in Beijing.”

Journal of Youth Studies, vol. 14, no. 8, Dec. 2011, pp. 871–83.

Zitelmann, Rainer. “The Jack Ma Story: Why Thinking Big Is More Important than Technical

Knowledge.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2021.