teachers

As I wrote the last blog, the roles of teachers keep popping into my mind that as it has done so many many times before but I have never got down to putting it in words. Let's see if I could put it all down in one blog.

As I said in the last blog, I fully believe that teachers have a very important role to play in a child's life. Please differentiate between lecturers and teachers. I believe they have different roles. Lecturers research and dispense knowledge.

Teachers are not only educators. You are trained professionally to nurture children and have the special skill to do so. Teaching is not merely a job nor a duty.For that we have the computer and Internet to dispense all the information we ever need and robots to perform all the duties require.

Teachers need to have the children's interest at heart. I felt so happy when I see my children's teachers who cares for them beyond the 7 to 1 hours. There is a BM tutor who never think twice to go beyond the normal 2 hours tuition and prepare the children for the exam as no other teachers I have seen. The kids love her and want to go to her. The minute the paper is over, she is still there to take an interest in their performance. She may be a tuition teacher but I believe she did beyond her role. Cikgu Z, God bless you. There are also teachers who are willing to sit with them and answer their questions as soon as they mention it so that they need not waste time going through the books. Not forgetting teachers who goes thro papers after papers so that they can be best prepared but never setting a standard too high for them to achieve. Bless you all. The gesture is small but it shows you care.

And of course there also teachers who sits down and tells the kids that they have no more hope for them. Teachers who tells the children they will definitely not get an A (surprisingly when they do get one, they are the first to claim that they are the best teachers around) I always feel so sad when I hear of teachers who have only negative comments to make.Have they ever heard of the phase, 'if you have nothing good to say, don't ever say anything at all'?

To the teachers who feel that the government should not clamp down on tuition giving, where do you place yourself in the ranking of good teachers? If you are rank low, one shouldn't cause any extra damage so please keep quiet as you earn your extra RMs if you could get pupils to come to you. If you are good, have you given your best to the kids in children? As far as I know, to give my best, it took all my hours as many good teachers have claimed (especially when asked to do extra or to demand higher salary). If that is so, how did one manage to have so many hours to give tuition? Something is not right.

So what am I trying to say? What I want to say to teachers are

1. Do your best and give your best. You are in the profession not for the money. It is OK to want to earn more but not at the expense of the kids. If you feel that money is important and NO ONE should deny you that, quit and give tuition full time. You put in the hours, you deserve the rewards but not at the expense of the non paying kids in school.

2. If you have the time to give tuition please do so without condemning others. Please do not complain when society demands more from you. You have just proven that you have not given your best. There was once a bird that was buried in warm cow dung in winter. He was so happy that he sang. Out comes cat and ate him up. Be a smart bird. Keep warm and quiet. Many a time, I feel that teachers want the cake and also eat it and it saddens me. We are in a noble profession. We need to perform professionally. Do remember that who we are dealing with. Lastly if we can't help, at least try not to destroy.

I would like to declare her that the above blog is purely my feelings and is not directed at anybody in particular. If it offended anyone, my sincere apologies. It is just my reflections of the profession and my fleeting thoughts as I look around. I believe strongly in the role of teachers and seen the effect of teachers on so many kids and many a times, I feel so dishearten when I see injustice done onto the children of in the school.