This post is dedicated to a friend of mine (CH, good luck!) who wants to become a teacher in the future. He’s on the path already!
I’ve planned to write this post for some time already.
Teachers are important everywhere, and especially in Singapore (where they ‘mold the future’). The marvel of the teaching profession is that they wield so much power. Compared to other professions and other jobs, being a teacher should be respected so much more because it is so much more demanding and that teachers hold quite a lot of power over their students.
If a doctor were to be evil, the most he could do would be to kill a person. End of story. If a lawyer were to be evil, the most he could do would be to turn judges against judges, lawyers against lawyers, and we don’t need to see anymore of that besides the US Presidential Race.
But see, if teachers were to turn evil, they would turn about 98% of Singapore’s next generation of workers and leaders with them, and there goes Singapore’s future. So there, foreign talent!
I’m actually surprised teachers don’t actually get more pay. For all the work (which is damn hard) they do, with all the roles they have to play (parent, tutor, counselor and so many more), and for all the authority they have, they don’t really get a lot of credit.
Then again, I guess their credit comes in the form of ardent fandomship. Mr Chow Chee Yong, whose amazing photographic exhibition 30th February is currently being shown @ 16-17 Duxton Hill, has a guestbook that is filled with so many encouraging words from his students. For what teachers have that other occupations ALSO don’t have (apart from the pay issue) is a following.
Patients don’t send their doctors well-wishing cards (unless you’re on Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice), clients don’t admire their lawyers (unless you’re on Ally McBeal), but when it comes to teaching, yes, students gather and congregate around the topic of teachers, their quirks, and some even have crushes on select said teachers.
For that matter, teachers get a special day for themselves every year.
So actually, teachers get a lot of it made up. Teacher inferiority COULD be a misconception.
Even though the pay (sometimes) sucks, you get to see your students grow up, and change from a little itsy witsy tot to a full-grown man or woman. From a sly little bugger to a sneaky big backstabber, from someone who had crushes on older people to someone who can go out there and catch their fish, if you get my gist.
And again, how amazing and a privilege is it for a teacher to be able to influence, to change lives, to inspire and to awe?
Mrs Tan Chiou Yen’s advice on future subject combis, Ms Low Siew Hsien on how to be a better person (singing and laughter and gossiping and all that), Mr Sunny Chong’s hilarious wisecracks, Miss Kristie Tay-Chen’s philosophical views on life and Mr Koh Siak Peng’s showcase of chemistry/pop culture.
Although sometimes the going gets tough, the workload piles up, the students get a bit rude, and the marks don’t show, everything will eventually work out fine and the pieces would all fit together well and everyone’s life becomes for the better.
Teachers are great; they’re human, but so special in their own way. No other profession could relate to teaching because they’re in a league of their own, and yet perhaps all professions could be related to teaching because at one point in time, we all learned what we know from someone who mattered most to us.
Teachers who’ve mattered, besides the abovementioned, include Mr Jai Singh, who is brilliant, Ms Jennifer Koh, who is such a real person with great artistic takes, Mrs Albar and Mrs D’Cruz, who are as scary as they are smart, but in the intimidating way because they are POWAH POWAH! Also, Mrs Serene Seow for her unabashed display of her intelligence with feminity, Mr Tan Puay Hock, for extensive knowledge of China and the language, Miss Beatrice Cho, for her uprighteousness, Miss Wincy Tsang (whom I still remember, my point proven) for her anecdotes and power mahjong.
More teachers: Mr Otto Fong, who is one of the bravest men I have ever seen (and who draws a mean bunny!), Miss Chia Yueh Chin, who is in all cases a super-intelligent woman, Mrs Tay Boon Eng, who is very frightening, but only if you can’t see below her hard exterior, Mr Joseph Wong for his godly presence, Mr Low June Meng for him just being there and listening to us (and hopefully, still reading mah blog), Mrs Jacqueline Chua (unbelievably funny), Mrs Tan Lai Lin for her otherworldly knowledge on EVERYTHING (I’m serious!) and Mdm Ding Man, who is seriously underrated as a teacher.
I’m sorry if I missed anyone out, but I’m really sleepy now, and the list here is the list which is at the top of my mind, which means all the people who have impacted me so much I can’t forget all of you even if I tried to.
Of course, doesn’t include primary school teachers, if not I would have mentioned Miss Angeline Tan and Mdm Teh Choon Yen already, but still, hopefully, these teachers don’t change who they are, and stay the same always, like the way I’ll remember them. And hopefully, also, they’ll remember me, and their students through the ages.
Like how, surely, we’ll always remember the people who showed us the world.
P.S. This post was supposed to be up by end of 2007, but I procrastinated, and this post finally saw daylight because of CH. Thanks, friend!
