I've previously emailed Hua Beng an e-card to thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to attend our BBQ. As followed is the full reply from him:
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Dear Elain,
I am pleased to be of service and thank you for the e-card. My presence atthe BBQ was, in my opinion, a hindrance to the natural exuberance ofeveryone. Some melancholic people were hovering about at the edge (or werethey hovering about with dread?) [read in a poetic manner].
It is getting challenging for me to try and decipher what drives studentsto achieve in their lives, how to motivate students to better themselvesand be someone that their future patients will be proud to have met. Its getting harder to communicate with my students as I age and develop...
I hope all of you do not "fear" me. I do not judge and brand people as itgoes against my values and my education. I sense in my students nowadaysthat they think what I think off them will .... (finish of the sentence). I give feedback as frankly (& often in my way). My only expectation is thatall of you will be honest with yourselves and try hard to change littlethings in yourself as you move along in the OT course and eventually inyour careers. Therapists must experience significant change in themselvesbefore they can ever hope to facilitate change in others.
ANyway, here I go again... I can gain more feedback from all of you during the Japan trip.
Hua Beng
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