Room for Improvement

When I was still a teacher, one of my favorite remarks on a student’s score report was ‘There is room for improvement’. It was to encourage better efforts in his work. In fact, I found this applicable to all students, even those who deserved praises for their excellent performance. 

Some may find me too demanding, always expecting more instead of being satisfied with what the students have done, however much or little it is. From my point of view, however, to encourage students to work harder does not imply dissatisfaction with their performance. Rather, it is to convince them of their potential for pushing themselves beyond their limits. Without added efforts, their academic progress will not only be stagnant but will even be reversed gradually. The Chinese saying that a boat sailing against the current will either advance or be driven back still holds good. One must keep charging ahead or he will inevitably be going backward. 

The importance of seeking improvement can also be viewed from a different angle. I am very particular about students leaving time for checking their work before turning it in. The proofreading enables them to find out what is lacking and to correct the errors. This can do them good in terms of enhanced work quality as well as training them for life.  

Personally, I find this a very good life attitude. There is indeed room for improvement in various life situations, be it such a trifling matter as leaving a facebook message or one as significant as finalizing a legal document. My experience of writing for a weekly column is more than enough evidence. My usual practice is to write the draft of an episode one week before submission. During the week, I check it several times. Each time I read it again, I find the need for some modifications and ultimately, the final version is the one I feel most assured of. This is perhaps what ‘room for improvement’ actually means.  

Another piece of evidence concerns my experience of an English-to-Chinese Diploma in Translation Exam, which consisted of three independent papers and lasted for seven hours in total with short breaks in between. The papers were very substantial, keeping my pen racing till the last minute, leaving only five minutes for the proofreading. Frankly, I am not satisfied with my performance and doubt if I can secure even a pass. I did manage to do the factual translation but if there had been more time, I could have structured my writing to make it seem more like natural Chinese.  

It is thus evident that in our work as well as in life itself, we should always spare time and efforts for better performance. Whatever and however well we have been doing, there is always room for improvement.