A salute to educators
TEACHERS rule the world. They educate everyone. The moment we are born, we are nurtured and mentored by our parents: the greatest teachers in our lives.
And for the rest of our lives we continue to go back to them to seek wisdom and guidance.
A society cannot succeed without great teachers. Indeed, the quality of a nation cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.
Many of us have fond memories of our teachers – each of them unique but are all part of our lives.
Our teachers do not just give us knowledge to pass our examinations. They also motivate and inspire us in many ways.
I remember Mr Kok Ah Too – the principal of Methodist Boys’ School (MBS) Sentul.
“Young men must dream dreams” was a statement he quoted to me back in 1962 – and until this day, I use those powerful words to inspire the young people who I meet or teach.
Then there was Mr Gunaratnam, from Sri Lanka. He did not spend much time preparing us for our examinations but he beautified my life with imaginative literature. He introduced us to Chaucer, Andrew Marvell, the Romantic Poets, and of course Shakespeare. He even took a few of us to watch On the Beach, a movie based on Nevil Shute’s book. It was a powerful experience as the story was about a nuclear war that ended civilization.
Great teachers share experiences and educate us in different ways. They know we have different abilities and that we need empathy and attention.
One teacher who inspired me deeply was Datuk Rasammah Bhupalan. She was my history teacher in MBS, KL. She introduced our Form Six class to important lessons in History – the wisdom of the past, colonialism and imperialism. We learnt to think critically and independently. Teachers like her help liberate us from the oppression of a bad education.
Incidentally, Datuk Bhupalan’s life is itself an exciting narrative. She was one of the earliest women to fight for the independence of
Malaya (as we were called then) as part of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment – the women’s unit of the Indian National Army.
During the lessons, my classmates and I were awed by her energetic leadership. She fired our imagination. Even now at 93, she is a fighter for women’s rights and social justice.
Besides other international roles, she was the Founder President of the Women Teachers Union in then Malaya. In that capacity, one of her most significant endeavours was to fight for equal pay for women teachers.
Datuk Bhupalan was a classmate of Professor Wang Gungwu at the University of Malaya in Singapore. Both graduated with high honours and she could easily have become a professor of History. But she chose
to be a teacher, and Malaysian youths, like me, benefited from her mentoring.
Teachers are exemplary models to us. Their story telling and their own narratives inspire us to realise our own potential. Sometime ago, Datuk Bhupalan wrote a note that humbled me: “Paul Chan Tuck Hoong embraced Sixth Form studies with great enthusiasm.
“He had a keen investigative mind and was always thirsting for new knowledge and mentally challenging tasks. I was struck by this trait in him. Paul’s name came to my notice again when he and his wife Kam Yoke founded HELP and we witnessed its growth into a university. This gave me great pride: as teachers, our students were part of our lives, and to see them subsequently making a contribution to the education of our country’s young men and women enriches the dimensions of the memory and can still add meaning and value to the life of a 90-year-old ex-teacher.”
Whatever success I have is due to teachers like her. Like my teachers, whom I love and respect, I have chosen to be a teacher. My wife and I are in the education sector and we always regard ourselves as teachers first.
Teaching is ennobling: the means are noble, the ends are noble. Our mission is to help people succeed and to live a life of significance through education.
The values that continue to guide us are: > ‘Pride of Achievement’ which motivates us to accomplish
> ‘Sharing Success’ which reminds us to use our talents and time wisely
> ‘The Courage to Be’ which defines us and inspires us to become better
> ‘To be Compassionate’ which measures our humanity and humility
> ‘To be Significant’ which governs the way we honour our word and deed.
I have been in teaching for 54 years. Like many of my colleagues, I am proud to be a teacher.
On Teachers Day which fell on May 16, we celebrate our great teachers. They are teacher-leaders and they change us to change the world. If any of us is a success story, we can trace our success back to one of our teachers, starting with our parents.
‘To Sir with Love’ is one of my favourite songs as it reminds me of my teachers— unforgettable people in our lives. We salute our teachers and we celebrate their contributions to our nation.