An inspiring film that all teachers should watch

THE Tamil film Raatchasi (Iron Lady) released this year has been highly commended by the Education Minister.

It is a feel-good film for all teachers and a “must see” for those who are fluent in the language.

The Education Minister has seen the film and has recommended for it to be shown to all teachers in Malaysian schools.

The film depicts the challenges faced by a newly-appointed headmistress in a remote village government school which was poorly managed by the acting head teacher.

On her first day in the school, the new headmistress is utterly shocked at seeing the terrible condition it was in. Teachers were chatting away in the staff room while the children ran and played when they were supposed to be in the classroom.

She also saw children buying cigarettes from a stall and smoking outside the school gate. The school building was dilapidated and the compound was strewn with rubbish.

The new headmistress took the initiative to revamp the whole school and initially faced a lot of problems from her own teachers who were unwilling to come out of their comfort zone. She made them read and do research to improve their teaching skills and subject knowledge.

She also convinced parents to send their children to school on time. She developed a strong bond with the alumni as well and got them to improve the infrastructure of the school.

She won the hearts of the children by sitting with them during recess time and having her meals with them.

The headmistress also goes to school on Sundays, which would ordinarily be her day off. On these days, she organises events to showcase the talents of the children.

They have a field day showing off their individual talents like dancing, singing and drawing.

The headmistress’ determination and passion to make learning in the school better and provide opportunities for the children to develop their hidden talents should serve as an example for teachers worldwide.