Hidden Gem

Educators are like gem miners. They dig deep into the heart and soul of each student to find the hidden gem inside.

Now imagine yourself entrusted with a precious jewel hidden in a lump of clay. You have no idea of it's value, you just treat the random shaped clay as it's supposed to be. 

Alex, a ten years old boy, describes that gem-in-clay analogy perfectly. He's growing in a broken family with ignorant parents. Yes they provide for his needs, but just as the stereotype of other troubled families, his emotional and spiritual needs are neglected. He is even conditioned as not to acquire those needs. 

He has zero prior knowledge about almost everything, as if he's been living in a jungle. He knows very little vocabularies of his mother tongue language. His thinking skill is way below the average of children his age.

If you've ever watched Spongebob Squarepants, you'll see many similarities between Alex and Patrick the starfish. This is not a sarcastic statement, it's simply the plain truth.

No matter how ugly it looks like, remember the gem burried inside. Alex, despite all his lackness, turns out to have strong and vivid visual intelligence potential. He is able to identify symmetry lines very easily and which plane is symmetrical or not. 

Though this may be the only thing he does quite well, it's indeed a piece of raw diamond shining through the cracks of his clay. If only his parents would see this and create a significant change in their way of parenting. If only they would give extra patience to teach Alex every day, instead of being so occupied with their work.

In conclusion, finding precious gems does not only require extra effort but also precious hearts as well. Hearts broken enough to fight 'til the end jus to find the hidden gem inside.