TEACHER'S DAY

Every year on the 15th May, I notice that the florists, souvenir shops, super markets, 5 Ringgit Shops or even 2 Ringgit Shops are packed with children and parents! WHY? Because 16th May is TEACHER'S DAY! The children want to buy something for their teachers. I have a friend who lamented at parents who bring their children to the 2 Ringgit Shop to get presents for the teachers. To me the value doesn't matter, it is the thought that counts. Just imagine if one has 4 school going kids and each of them has like 7 teachers, and each kid want to give something to their cikgu (= teacher) on Teacher's Day!

I was a teacher for about 13 years before my present job in Putrajaya. Most of the time I was teaching Additional Mathematics and Mathematics. At one time, I was asked by the school head to teach English. That happened in 1991 when we moved to Alor Star, the little town in the North of Peninsula Malaysia. I told the head that I am not trained to teach English although I can speak fluent English. He said that the school does not have enough English teachers. We exchanged looks. I took up the challenge and I taught English for a year at SMK Seberang Perak, Alor Star. Any of my English students reading this blog?

Back to Teacher's Day, since I left school I get less and less of the 'HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY' messages. Well, my youngest student should by now be 24 years old! They could be teachers themselves, but hang on! I don't think so. I have never met my student who is a teacher. They are either engineers, government officers, managers, doctors, etc.

This year I received only one 'HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY' text message from my student whom I taught in 1997- 1998. Currently, he is working with Petronas as a chemical engineer. A polite boy. Oops...he is a grown up man now. He graduated from the land of many koalas and kangaroos like me and my husband.

I would like to wish everyone 'HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY' - we all have teachers and we are teachers at one point or other in our lives.