To Teach and Being Taught

"I also got no eyes see..."

When I was in pre-school in Beaufort, I disliked my teacher.  I didn't know her name, but all I could vividly remember is this Chinese (no offense ya...but she really is Chinese okay...so how can I describe her as other race lah?) lady maybe supposedly in her 30's, had instant noodle style curly hair (that time we called it 'keriting style maggi mee'), skinny and guess why I dislike her?  Cause I don't even know what had I done but there will be time where she would appeared somewhere and give a good twist on my ears!  I didn't have many friends in school then, due to communication problem - I don't speak any Chinese that time, and it's all majority Chinese students so I don't know what the kids who sat next to me babble about and I still remember the mean little girl in the class that took my eraser that Papa gave me to claim as her own.  When I took what supposed to be mine, the girl complained to the noodled hair teacher and yes, you guess it, there's another twist on my ears.  

Primary school is somehow a little bit different, much more strict than being in pre-school.  The arm-length long, with only as big as my pinkie finger is something to be fear of.  They are everywhere!  Punishment came as per offence.  A stroke of rotan (cane) for not finish homework, and more for other offenses.  No difference from being at home anyway, where caning is the only way to keep a hyperactive kid from killing herself from jumping down from the tall rambutan or durian trees, or from killing your siblings due to aggressive fights or to give your grandmother some peace.  I even got a tuition teacher whose voice is as big as his eyes when he got angry.  

Getting into teen years, school is fun on certain occasions.  Different teachers  has different way of teaching the now so called kids at their rebellious age.  Caning?  Well, let's just say no one's to blame if the cane hits on your skin for something you did.  

No, at that time...useless also to complain to your parents because since caning is the same thing you get at home for being naughty, they will only listen when you said this teacher so and so cane you and then retorted back "Nah, tu la sepa suru ko jajal/malas!" (Nah, who asked you to be naughty/lazy!) So, as long as their kids attended school, came back safe and sound and not being beaten to death, they (at least my parents think so) acknowledged that caning is something they approve the teachers to do.

Other than caning, who ever forget other hilarious (okay, now I feel it hilarious lah) ways of teachers punishing their students, i.e stand outside the class, stand on the desk/chair, cleaning rubbish around the school area, run across the field for few rounds under the heat, ketuk-ketampi (squatting exercise), pull out weeds and many others for small offenses such as not reaching the minimum score to pass certain subjects, coming late, not finishing homework, to name a few.

I, for one, been through some of it and yet I am still here, alive and well, even it's already been years and years since leaving the school.  But for 7 year old Saiful Syazani, his life was cut short in the hands of someone whom his family trusted as an educator.   Accused of stealing RM7 from his classmate, the little boy was mercilessly beaten for almost 2 hours with bruises all around his body, tied on the window.  He fell into coma and few days later, he died.  The 26 year old male teacher has since been detained for questioning.    

Lots of questions came thru my mind, among it was "How big is that offence that he has to repay it with his life?"  "Didn't the teacher feel anything when he cries for mercy, begging for him to stop?"  It's only RM7 for goodness sake, not 7 million!  Even for someone who stole or rob 7 Million I haven't heard anyone who been hanged to death for it, not in this country.  

When I voiced out my opinion in my Facebook not so long ago, I received lots of opinions but one, I guess misunderstood what I am trying to express here.  I had no problems so far with fierce teachers.  I am not against teachers punishing their students.  In my family, majority of them is either retired or still in service educators from all levels.  It wasn't easy to become a teacher, I know that.  I even used to date one years back.  I am okay when teachers angry at their students when they didn't do things they asked them to do.  I understand the frustration when they refused to listen what they are trying to teach.  Or the disappointment when the students fail, which gave them a sense of feeling that they failed to do their job as well.  But I never heard any of them beat their students mercilessly until the students has to be hospitalised or sent to the graveyard.  Without teachers, there will be no doctors, lawyers or even Prime Minister!

Maybe that certain individual offended that why only bad teachers were highlighted but not the good ones.  If you are reading this, think about this - why worry about not getting the credit and praise when the seeds that you sow is all around you - those who became teachers themselves, those who became corporate people, clerks, nurses, doctors...those who served the society - without teachers, they can't count, read or write!  You had done your job.  

I highlighted those who abuse their power and as a lesson learnt to others who are aspiring to be educators like you and those who is already an educator to do better than this one rotten apple did to prove the people out there, you are not the same as him, and you are way better.  

One doesn't have to shout to the world what good deed they had done.  You'll see the bountiful harvest and satisfied of doing your job well done without asking for credit or acknowledgement.  After all, isn't humility and being humble is part of the virtue you taught to your students? ^_^V