But surprisingly one student of mine asked me: "How can I be better and more clever than you are?" I said: "Simple, read more books than I do. (Lol, problem is I'm a speed reader!)"
Here at times, the teacher is one who has read one book more than the student... Funny, they can't seem to understand why foreigners go to the beach just to stay under the sun and read a good book. Reading books have to find a way into the hearts of Cambodians in order to better themselves.
St. John Bosco has this to say about a good book (Spreading Good Books, 1885):
"It can find its way into homes where a teacher/preacher is not welcome.
The dubious will take it as a gift or remembrance. Read, it calmly teaches truth. Scorned, it is not discouraged.
Set aside, it does not complain, but patiently awaits the time when conscience may rekindle the desire to know the truth.
It may be left to collect dust on a table or on a library shelf, and given no attention for a long time. But then comes the hour of solitude, of sadness, of sorrow, of boredom, of need for relaxation, of anxiety about the future- and this faithful friend shakes off its dust, opens its pages, and as was the case with many great men, it may bring about the most extraordinary of paradigm shifts. "