by Susan Woo, BBABM, 2004 cohort

Now that our Macroeconomics module is over, I think it is the right time to share with you the “excellent” teaching. Recently, I have received compliments on my writing to you, the Faculty Dean and Associate Dean on the BBABM newsgroup web, which reminds me of thanking you once again, on behalf of 120 students, for letting Ms. Keiko Shinohara teach in Semester B 2006. That was a brilliant arrangement!

Not until the first day of the class did I know that the 40-person class had turned out to be a 120-person class. The 130 copies of handouts prepared by Keiko were always insufficient. I am always the early bird in class, however, for this subject, there were some students who arrived at the Lecture Threatre even earlier than me. Therefore, I tried to get there earlier and earlier. Our class started at 2:30pm, however, when I arrived there at 12:30pm (during my short week-end), I could find more than 10 seats were reserved with notes, paper, pencil cases and water bottles in the middle of the first few rows. That was amazing! Keiko might not even notice the referent power of her charisma. Students who arrived sharp at 2:30pm could hardly find a seat. Keiko’s teaching was a great draw especially for this “last” series. I have studied 15 subjects here at CityU but never have I seen such a grand scene.

Keiko did great in class. With her multilingual talent, she successfully drew the attention of the students. On top of her administrative work, she prepared lectures for students late at night, complementarily students tried to study till late night. Students even took a week’s leave from work to prepare for the exam. Classmates were motivated and made responsible by Keiko’s hard work and dedication. Some classmates felt ashamed of themselves for not being able to do better in the exam. It was so touching to learn that the chemistry between teacher and students worked. To me, that is “education”.

Besides studying hard, putting words into writing is the least that students can do to recognise a teacher's endeavour. Therefore, I am writing to thank the City University for having recruited some enthusiastic and kind scholars/educators. With special thanks to YOU, of course, for being so kind and considerate, and giving 120 students a series of splendid and fruitful lectures.

Sincerely yours,

Susan