Yesterday (May 16) was Teacher’s Day, and in my close circle, it means a lot more than just a day to commemorate teachers and their role in nation and community building.
It is a vocation that requires sacrifices and wholehearted dedication to the noble purpose of educating the youth, fostering their potential for future success.
There is a saying: “Those who can do, teach”. It is an expression that individuals who are unsuccessful in a particular field end up teaching it.
On the contrary, there is something to be said about being versatile and an all-rounder. “Jack of all trades, master of none,” is a common expression.
But what most probably doesn’t know is that the full quote is “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one”.
So, I disagree with the expression that a teacher ends up teaching because they are unsuccessful in a particular field. To me, they must be subject matter experts to teach in the first place.
Not only are they required to be an all-rounder, but most importantly, they must possess patience and virtue.
I come from a family of educators. Both my parents were teachers – my father retired from service a few years ago. My late mother passed on while she was in her teaching career about ten years ago.
My mother began as an ordinary teacher, teaching ordinary students earlier in her days, but later made the transition as a teacher for special needs children, teaching the deaf, mute and children with learning disabilities.
She had to educate the children through sign language. I remember seeing many books and instruction manuals on sign language from the American Sign Language (ASL) to the Malaysian Sign Language or Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM).
To her, these were the rites of passage to be able to perform her duties faithfully and touch the lives of her students.
I remember her teaching mathematics in the classroom when I used to accompany her to work as a child. I also recall being an “assistant” a number of times, feeding her answers to mathematical questions in class using a calculator.
These were some of my memories of being in a classroom of special needs children, watching her in teaching and learning sessions.
As I grew older, I started to pick her up from work, and I recall her asking the students to help close the school gate in sign language after our car exited the school compound.
When she fell ill and towards the end of her life, I remember moments when these children, who were special to her, visited the hospital.
Their visit was solemn and without expression, but a moment that struck me was when one of the students (deaf and mute) recited a prayer in their special way, praying for her health.
As for my father, he also started as an ordinary teacher but was later moved to the district education office, where he monitored the schools in the jurisdiction for the better part of 20 years.
Towards the end of his career, he returned to teaching and rediscovered joy in educating schoolchildren.
I witnessed the school’s farewell event for him, observing the students’ deep respect, reverence, and above all, affection shown towards him.
I managed to take a picture of him and his students on his last day of service and immortalised that special moment by publishing it in the Sarawak Tribune.
As for myself, I owe the gift and joy of writing in English to my teachers from my kindergarten days to primary and secondary schools and later in my university years.
Some of my English teachers have passed on, some have retired, and some probably are still in service. I may not know it then, but those English lessons have been immensely valuable.
I also owe it to my teachers for their sacrifices in educating their students, myself included, paving the way for the next generation of talents, and more importantly, decent human beings.
I never saw myself as a teaching figure, I don’t think I have it in me. But often I find myself enjoying moments when I am asked to share my experiences in the field of journalism with university and college students.
I did it often enough to be offered the opportunity to be a visiting lecturer at a public university. I politely turned it down, knowing I could not do the students justice.
But perhaps, one day I will have that opportunity again, and possibly, I will consider teaching.
To all teachers, thank you for your service and the gift of education. Happy Teachers’ Day!
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at nazmixsuhaimi@gmail.com.
