‘Best Teachers Day gift was a short, used pencil’
In his 30 years of service, teacher Mohd Yusri Mohd Zaali has received countless gifts and souvenirs from his students on Teachers Day.
But one that stood out and left an indelible mark in the heart of the 51-year-old headmaster of SK Tengkek, Batu Kikir here, was a short, used pencil given by a Year Four pupil.
“I was the school’s disciplinary teacher at that time. I will forever remember the pupil’s show of gratitude.”
Yusri remembers the student as a slow learner compared with other students in class.
“It’s a tradition for students to give presents to their teachers on Teacher’s Day, and this student was no exception.
“Maybe she had no money but still wanted to give me something. So she wrapped her short, used pencil with a piece of paper torn out of her book and gave it to me.”
When he opened the gift, he found the pencil with a “Happy Teachers Day” note written on the paper.
“I was moved to tears. She had a great sense of appreciation of her teachers despite her shortcomings.
“It was the most meaningful gift I’ve ever received in my career as a teacher,” he said at the school’s Teachers Day celebration here.
During the celebration, teachers were seen wearing Malay heroic traditional costumes as part of the school’s theme this year.
Yusri said: “The costumes remind us of the days of the Malay sultanate.”
SK Tengkek is categorised as a rural school with 16 teachers and 125 pupils, of which 50 per cent of them are Orang Asli children from the Orang Asli village in Tengkek and Cergun.