My teacher, my strength

THERE have been many teachers who have influenced me and have been great examples up to this day.

However, there is one teacher who stands out from the rest.

She is Puan Saw, one of my teachers in primary school. She was also my class teacher for two years.

Puan Saw felt that I had potential and tapped it to the fullest.

My interest for Chinese grew by leaps and bounds after she became the subject teacher in my class.

I must admit that I was lazy then and always found excuses not to complete my homework.

She would constantly advise me to change my ways.

Each morning, she would come in early to help me improve my Chinese oral skills.

She would call me into the staffroom without fail and ask me to read something from my textbook.

I hated those daily “torture” sessions, but soon looked forward to them!

She also made a huge difference in my life by helping me set certain objectives for myself which she claimed would help me achieve higher goals.

I am certain that without Puan Saw’s help and guidance, I would not have received a “B” for Chinese in the UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah) examination.

The values she instilled in me were good as I could see myself changing for the better.

I was more receptive to criticisms and it made me more friendly and approachable.

There was a period when she went through a bad time.

Her husband passed away suddenly and she had taken a month off. Her absence was sorely felt by her pupils and I missed her the most.

When she returned, she was her normal self, but there were times when her eyes were puffy and red, because she must have been crying. I knew she was sad but I did not have the strength nor the courage, to comfort and console her. I then decided that the best thing to do was to send her a note and a gift to cheer her up.

I had butterflies in my stomach as I did not know what to say to her. I left the note and gift on her table in the staffroom and waited from afar to watch her.

I could see her smile as she read my note in Chinese, thanking her for her kindness and guidance.

I still remember that smile on her face. It was priceless!

After some time, Puan Saw was her old self again. It was good to see her laugh and sing with her pupils.

Over the years, I have learnt that we can overcome challenges if we recognise a problem and work towards resolving it. For this, I can only thank Puan Saw.

It is impossible for me to imagine what my early schooling years would have been without Puan Saw.

She had recognised my strengths and weaknesses and made me a better student.

I would like to record my appreciation and thank Puan Saw, my favourite teacher, from the bottom of my heart. KIRRTHANA A. SIVARAMAN