I was born on Teacher's Day, which is pure coincidence as both my parents were teachers. I suppose I was a present for them then.
I want to give credit to all the great teachers I have had in King Edward VII (Primary and Secondary), my MACPA lecturers as well as the lecturers in Maastricht School of Management.
This story is for you all.
(Uncle Bernard Khoo aka Zorro, weren't you a teacher too?)
Thank God For Teachers
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.
One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"
To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"
Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?
(She paused for a second, then began...)
"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I make an A student feel like winning the Thomas Cup.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Nintendo DS or DVD movie. You want to know what I make?"
(She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)
I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them to write and then I make them write.
Keyboarding isn't everything.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.
I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Rukun Negara to the Malaysian Flag, because we live in this great country called Malaysia.
Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.
(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)
"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.... You want to know what I make?
I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
What do you make Mr. CEO?"
His jaw dropped, he went silent.
2 comments:
Dear Bobby,
Thanks for this beautiful post. I am sure your parents know you are a gift from God and a reminder that their effort in the teaching profession will reap rewards in heaven - you are just an earthly reminder :-) that their effort is not forgotten ...:-)
I feel the same way like Bonnie cos I did and still do just that. BUT the difference is - now, more and more, kids cannot think. Teaching today is not like what it was used to be....Kids refuse to think and many can slip through the gaps, regurgitate facts without ever developing their critical thinking faculties and then achieve 12A1s or 13A1s and fumble their way through college and maybe even be unable to cope with the pressure in society later on simply because when young, they were not taught to think for themselves. Now, that to me, is the tragedy of the state of Malaysian education and the onus is very heavy on those who are still in the teaching profession. If things don't improve, I dread to think of what might happen....
One can ask teachers who are in their 40's or 50's and they can tell you the same tale :(.
More than ever, parents must take an active part in teaching kids at home and not send them to tuition centres.
Take care...
Dear MWS,
Thanks for your comment.
It's a huge issue about our education system being flawed, and to make it worse, some ultra-racist organisations are trying to gather support to combine vernacular schools into the national system on the pretext of racial unity.
I'm sending Ethan and Ewan to a Chinese school because I have seen their teaching methodology to be vastly superior to the national schools. Sad to say, I went to a national school that was once great but now has deterioriated due to the system.
Pure regurgitation of facts and exam-based.
At the moment, I have no choice, but sooner or later, I will have to send them to either a private school or an international boarding school to ensure they have a well-rounded education.
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