Teachers, teachers. They play such a significant role in our lives. no matter how little a person teaches you, you still call that person ‘teacher’ because that’s what that person did. Teach. Therefore a teach-er. But what I’m going to talk about is taking a teacher at face value. Let’s go about this chronogically.
Starting from kindergarten. When I was six I took all my teachers at face value. Even this young female teacher who is a complete cow. Yes, I am not ashamed to say this because she was. She’s just a substitute but yet the way she talked to me, comparing me to her daughter?! What the f**k!? I hope she knew that I was freaking six years old and she’s well over 25. I wonder if her daughter grew up to be like her. Feeling so insecure about herself that she’s picking on a six-year-old too. Pathetic. However, I only see her for one day and I don’t remember if I saw her again. But my own class teacher was very kind and we all love her. And surprisingly, nine years later, she still recognized me! Amazing…
Anyway, my kindergarten class teacher (not that cow) was one I could take face value even now. I mean, I did a little analyzing who I had taken advices from and if those advices were acceptable then and now and if they had fit the situation and such. And yes, my kindergarten teacher fit right in. So if she had meant to screw me, I’m screwed lol!
Next is primary school. My year one teacher was very nice. She told us a lot of stories. I think some of the stories she made up herself. She’s a great story-teller! She would often tell us to finish our work quickly if we want to listen to a story. Well, everyone finished in record time! Then when its story time the class was so quiet you can hear only the birds chirping. If anyone was making noises, the others would scorn at her (mine was an all-female class) and its back to the story. Such cooperation. Hehehehe. Now the matter of taking her at face value. Hmm, hard to say since she didn’t really give me much advice or whatever like that. But she’s a great story teller and whatever the moral in the stories, they were well-received. Unfortunately, she left the school the next year. Ah well.
My year two teacher was…too poetic and emotional to be taken at face value. To all of us, he’s just ’something else’. We’re just…not sure what that something is yet…
My year three teacher I will absolutely not take at face value. That teacher was a clown but he called me a clown. Because of him, I became the joker for the whole class for the whole year! -_-"
Year four…hmmm…our secondary class teacher (guru pendamping) who is like the assistant teacher to our own class teacher is someone I can somewhat take at face value. He was cool. Although his stuff didn’t quite get to us since well, we were ten. He was well over thirty. But I like his thinking. He wasn’t like the other teachers. He was the one who could relate to the students most. But can I take him at face value? Sure. But not a lot to take in from him.
Year five and year six. My busiest years. When I was first appointed, I was the scariest prefect in school. But after one year, I just became too lazy to do anything really. I dreaded prefects meeting because the teacher is sure to point out something and I try my best to stay invisible. I mean, one of the hottest topics we talk about is taking the late students’ names. And I am a regular. Hehehe. The other prefects are used to taking down my name hehehe.
The most influential people in my life at these times are a few of my friends and this ustaz where I attend his tuition center. This was a difficult period in my life and I was willing to turn to anyone who would offer help. But this teacher, this ustaz is such a…such a…
Okay I won’t curse him. But instead I will describe his background, just to make my point. He was 25 when he came to our school to teach KAFA, an extra class for religious subjects all primary schools must have. And as all KAFA teachers, they are mostly part-timers. He was young, lives on minimum wage, is in love with his fiance who is also as pious as he is (she doesnt just look like an angel, but act like one too!), he’s hardworking and aspires to be a very respectable someone one day. To be honest, just looking at him and the direction his life was going, I already know how he’s going to end up. But we’ll talk about that later.
Anyway, me and a bunch of my friends got very close to him. Like family. We were eleven and he was much like a big brother to us (we were all girls too). So in conjunction to his dreams of owning big bucks, he opened a tuition center in his house (his parents’ house) which me and my friends promptly joined. So it all started here. a few of his neigbourhood friends taught us at the tuition center and they were a bit of a flirt. I mean, my friends were eleven. They were at least twenty! Geez. But we just ignored them for the most part. But I guess during our time there we got very close to this ustaz and his family. And since it was the time when I needed support, he just took it so lightly. But I took him at face value. Because I trusted him as my teacher and as an adult I could trust (there were so few of them then). After a while I got a little rebellious because of personal problems and I wasn’t aware of what I’d done. But when I thought back, I was eleven and such thing couldn’t have made such an effect. It was normal to be a little rebellious. But you know what he said? He said I was over the top, I would go to hell and would never find peace in this life if I dont make amends.
What the f**k!?
So much for motivation and support.
Sure, maybe I irritated some of my friends but I did apologize. And guess what? After a while, he sacked me from the tuition place because I broke all the rules he laid down. And he did it with style too. He invited me and a few friends and his wife (he was married then) out to lunch. That’s when he told me. He basically said I’m a juvenile delinquent and he’s sacking me from the tuition place because I overstepped the boundaries.
To be honest, its his lost. I’ve never heard of a tuition place sacking a student before. During the times we spent with him, he told us a lot of things. Advices, principles. Whatever. Its not after I left, or ’sacked’ from that place did I see their true nature. I heard from my friends the exaggerated versions of my exploits there. The teacher said I broke my friend’s spectacles!? I never did that!
Funny thing is, when I see him at school afterwards (all fat and happy from his marriage then) he went all cold shoulder on me. So who’s the wrong one here huh? I also remembered that he predicted someone like me would never succeed in life. Yeah right. Like he was ever succesful.
Now this is a good example of face value being abused. If you want to take people at face value, make sure they do what they preach. This one just went too much with the preaching and little doing.
I hate him and his clan even now.
Moving on to high school. One person I take at face value without question is no other than the school caunselor. He was cool. And no one can give a motivation speech better than he can. I remembered how we all look forward to one of his sessions. He always talk about the future to us and where we plan to go and such. Its his job, obviously. But he was very good at it. So yeah, you can definitely take him at face value.
After high school. Now, this is the moment when I really meet people who I can take at face value. They are both teachers where you have to pay to get into courses and stuff, but they are worth every cent! I’m talking about, of course, Mr. Foong, my options teacher (or mentor) and Gao Lao Shi (pronounced Kao lao sir) who conducts the Mandarin conversation course. These two people are masters of their field and they don’t emphasize their talents via paper qualifications. They have gone through several teachers and mentors to be good in what they do. But most importantly, they have passion in what they do. Now I have no question about taking them at face value. So once again, if they meant to screw me, I’m screwed! xD
Teachers should realize whatever they say, their students take them at face value. So they are responsible if their students did something wrong based on what they said. Therefore its very important for teachers to watch what they say. I just personally have little respect for school teachers in general. Less respect than I have for my two outside teachers. School teachers work for wages. They have little interest in teaching. Its just a day job for them. Something they have to do to live but have no passion doing.
Which brings to light something Gao Lao Shi said today. He said some guy named Conny made a research and said that most university professors today are not interested in teaching. They prefer to write a book. They gathered the reports of their students and published them into a book under their own name. All they want are fame and the money. This is what Conny aptly termed as ‘thick faced professors’. With the abundance of university professor-made books in stores, this hold so very true.
They made good books, some of them. I’m just glad I’m not one of their students.
Moreover, face value is a sacred thing. Never take it from people you don’t have enough respect (most school teachers are out for me :P). And watch out when people take face value from you. Just goes to show how important integrity is. Personally, I don’t want people to hold my word against me one day or took my words to heart (especially the bad bit). And I’m also glad I didn’t take the said ustaz on what he said. Looking at him now, makes me so much glad-er.
Alright, that’s it for my random wisdom for now. I want to pee. And Ghost Hunter’s soon weee.
Ta’ra!