Teachers...Remember Them?

Years back, I had occasionally tried to run away from my teacher so that I don't have to attend my extra Quran recital class with her. Sometimes too, I feel that she actually knew but just let me through. Most of the time, she'll find me and make sure she does the job. My mom pays her for the extra time with me of course. But because of her, my Quran recitation became better and better.

Primary school...

Still years back, I also had this teacher, a maths and science teacher. He was always very funny and great. He gave me and my friends loads of exercises to prepare for UPSR (Primary School Assessment Test). One thing that I remember the most was every time after an examination, he would ask every student who made mistakes to stand up for each wrong question and gave a whack on the palm of their hands (including mine) with a big wooden ruler (and it once broke in half too!). When I got 100% for math in a trial exam, I was thrilled! Even those who got 99% had to feel the impact of an accelerating ruler on the palm of their hands. It was because of that too, that I became good at math.

*thanks http://rickpdx.wordpress.com/page/13/?pages-list

A teacher once told me, "Be patient because that will take you to success and heaven". And I've been holding on to it and to many other great guides and teachings to life from teachers since I was in primary school until now. Teachers are great people. In poems, they are the ones who shaped us to success, who contributed to the development of ministers alike. Those who are rich and famous now were once taught by teachers. Most of the time, I see a career as a teacher a not-so-easy one.

Thanks http://crystalh08.blogspot.com/

A teacher has to go to work early in the morning every weekday (and weekends when they have to). Those who don't drive will have to take the public transportation. Arriving at school, the teacher receives all the paperwork, if there are any, and pile them up on the teacher's table, together with the other papers. On one side of the table, there is a stack of students' exercise books received yesterday. And cellophanetaped on the table, partially covered by more papers, today's timetable. Then, it's time for class. The teacher meets a variety of students, nice ones, naughty ones, geniuses, spoiled brats, you name it. While teaching, a student sleeps after finishing his game of Dota until 4 a.m. yesterday night. Another keeps staring at a girl in the opposite direction. But the teacher keeps on teaching. After that, comes another class until it's about 2-4pm. If nothing stands in the way, the teacher will go back home, tired, frustrated at times, worried of students' accomplishments, or relieved of finishing another day and so and so. Back home, the teacher spends some time with family or friends and then gets back to marking stacks of exercise books and/or sheets of exam papers. Finally, when the clock strikes at 1 a.m., the teacher goes to sleep, looking forward to another almost-the-same day.

Ok..maybe it's not like that for all the teachers, but knowing a lot of them, it's practically the same. Have you ever wondered? Teachers have a lot more other priorities such as family, health and their social life (they do have one you know). Nevertheless, they spend their time with students where some of the students don't really appreciate their presence and to an extent, even hate them. Yes of course, they do receive their paycheck but not as wealthy as the parents of their own students.

Personally speaking, I've seen many teachers sacrifice for their own students' sake. They help them when they endangered themselves. They wake up at 2-3 a.m. in the morning (mostly in boarding schools) to find students, who think they're so smart, outside school boundaries and in the end the teachers get scold by students' parents for 'not taking good care' of their children. They use their money to buy their students' stuff while they actually need the money more. They repair school equipments even though they know the students will damage them again and again..and again. They are labeled with so many weird names when they try to discipline the students. They get scold by the upper management when students don't behave. They don't sleep to check their students' worsening grammar. They think of their students' life paths when they themselves haven't thought much of their own. They are the ones who pray for us students to actually succeed in life when we always remember to pray for ourselves more.

Forget the teachers who did the many wrongs they weren't supposed to. I'm talking about those who have made great contributions to our lives and thus I say that I appreciate teachers very much and hope that you do too!

Lastly, to all the teachers in the world (especially my very own teachers), please accept my humble gift:

I guess that's all from me now. Thank you! ^^