In class last Monday, we were all told to write down one superpower we have on a piece of folded paper. I spent some time thinking about what I could write down and finally decided on “Curiosity”. It sounds cliché, but I often find things interesting, even if that thing repels me. Whether it is a thing which is living or not, a place, a concept, a thought or sense, I have the urge to find out more about it and sometimes I become a little obsessed. I guess I owe it to my parents for immigrating my sister and I from Malaysia to a new country Singapore during our formative years. Immigration as a child was at that time a scary yet exciting feeling, but in the background it has taught me to keep asking questions so that I could quickly learn about everything as fast as I can, and so that I could adapt and assimilate into the new place. Looking back, I realize that curiosity became more than just a way for me to adapt; it became part of who I am.
Also in last Monday’s class, we were then broken up into groups where we shared our superpowers with our group mates. During that exercise, my group made a mind-map of every member’s superpower and discussed on how each superpower can relate to one another and how their interconnectedness makes it important in teaching. From that exercise, it is clear how as human beings, we are not black and white and that our superpowers do also need other superpowers to accommodate to as many learners as possible. It is not often that I think of myself having a “superpower” but from the reading of the “What’s my Superpower?” children’s book, I guess it is important for ourselves as educators to be proud of our superpower, so that we could then inspire a child to be proud of their own.
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
~ Albert Einstein