18.5.2010
To Sir & Teacher with love…
Teachers’ Day Special (Primary)
The Chinese proverb says, “If you give someone a fish; he will eat for a day but if you teach him to fish, he will not stay hungry a lifetime!” FG says, “You cannot teach anybody anything, you can help him learn.” My friend Regu in PPSP USM used to say that any student can learn something from even the most uninspiring tutor because of their (the tutor) superior experience in life. With that background let me indulge in a little of retrograde recollection of my school teachers, starting from Hutchings Primary School. This is about the time when the screen is supposed to be hazy and the plucking the harp strings is supposed to reverberate in the background and kaleidoscope of colours is supposed to twirl round and round…
In Standard 1, Cik Aishah Abdul Rahman was my class teacher. Her fine curly hair used to be tied up into a bun at the back of her head, donning colourful fine floral baju kurung, smelling fresh with liberal splashing of strong non alcoholic perfume and her grinning toothy smile exposing her gold filling at her incisor tooth. I met her after 15 years later at a post office looking not a day older than how she appeared in 1970.
In Standard 2, the smashing teacher with the 70s Chinese matinee actor’s look, Mr Khoo Cheow Hin was the class teacher. We looked forward to his fortnightly stories, spiced up with his good story telling techniques. I remember once he told us the story of ‘Si Tanggang’ – the prodigal son. As he had forewarned us before the story, that students who do not show any emotion after the story ends do not love their mothers, many of us were seen wetting our eyes with saliva just to show that we care for mothers. Of course, many of my colleagues actually cried! He must have been quite a story teller because many young pretty lasses actually used to come to the classroom, some crying to and some quarreling with him. With his looks and story-telling technique, I wonder how his ending was. Towards the end of Std 2, a trainee teacher, Ms Tan Gaik Lee and another gentleman took over the reign. The male temporary teacher had taller tales to tell – he told us that he was almost decapitated when he was about to see just how deep his father had dug when he was still at it! Ms Tan was hardly able to control the class.
In Standard 3, Mr Beh Seong Leng, our class master drove a 1300cc golden metallic Volkswagon. He had a reputation of being a disciplinarian and a terror at that. His secret weapon was pulling the side burns and pinching the inner aspect of the thigh. His ultimate torture device was public stripping. I remember once Liakat Ali failed to memorise his timetables when he was subjected to this form of torture. Lucky for him, the school bell rang just as he was stripped to his undergarments. Lucky for him too because it was not customary for most of his contemporaries to be clad with undergarments!
The pretty Ms Yeoh with her impeccable spoken English was our class teacher in Std 4. She once told us a racist joke about a Indian headmaster and his way of sing song way of pronouncing ‘Good morrning laydees and yentlemen’. The petite curvaceous Ms Olive de Mello with her body hugging gown was our teacher for a while whilst Mrs Indrani took us a few lessons in Civics. Mrs Indrani was also in 70s straight cut body hugging gown but with the XXL type.
The ever smiling bespectacled Mr Cheah Yong Chee was my class teacher in Std 5. He was a dedicated teacher who hardly loses his temper even when I once turned up at his classroom after recess!
Mr Chan Leong Huat (Std 6) was a lean mean master who did not mince his words. He would sneak behind the classroom as he entered just to find out who the class noise makers were. We have a good time seeing his favourite Deputy (aka Class Monitor), Ang Jit Eng, hated by us – we called him Anjing which sounded like his name anyway!- got into trouble this way. Mr Chan disliked people who tried to prove their point by swearing (sumpah). Mohd Yassin once got punished for a crime he did not commit all because he swore he did not do it. At the same time, Mr Chan would talk to us in a friendly manner sometimes. Of all the animals in the world, he hated cats to the bone. He would tell how he poured hot water from his bedroom window at night over noisy cats in heat during mating season! (ouch!)
Somewhere along the way came Mr Khay with his piano playing skills and his music class. He taught us to play the recorder and mouth organ and prepared us to play at the school’s parents’ day. Mr Phuah was the senior assistant who claimed to have eyes at the back of his head and rotan up his sleeve, drove around in a Morris Minor station wagon. Mr G.S. Reuten, the headmaster took us a few classes too. One interesting character came in our life in the form of Mr Tan Ah Bah. He was a temporary teacher (probably retired) who forever asked us to sleep! He had a fierce appearance, podgy like a boxer, slighty curly haired with multiple moles over his face and neck. He walked around with a cane in his hand telling us, “Kun… ah bah, pak lu si ah bah!” – Boy, sleep! If not, I will whack you dead! (Hockkein dialect) I remember going to Mr Paul Ng’s class for relief lessons and beat the daylight of the boys in the back classes for misbehaving. He was a man of few words. His cane did most of his talking! Even though I was in direct contact with Ustaz Sheikh Abdul Rahman, I heard a lot of good things mentioned by the Muslim. He was apparently a strict disciplinarian but at the same time loved by his students.
All these people are instrumental in where we are today. To all these teachers, Thank you very much… you are the true meaning of 1-Malaysia.
To Sir & Teacher with love…
Teachers’ Day Special (Primary)
The Chinese proverb says, “If you give someone a fish; he will eat for a day but if you teach him to fish, he will not stay hungry a lifetime!” FG says, “You cannot teach anybody anything, you can help him learn.” My friend Regu in PPSP USM used to say that any student can learn something from even the most uninspiring tutor because of their (the tutor) superior experience in life. With that background let me indulge in a little of retrograde recollection of my school teachers, starting from Hutchings Primary School. This is about the time when the screen is supposed to be hazy and the plucking the harp strings is supposed to reverberate in the background and kaleidoscope of colours is supposed to twirl round and round…
In Standard 1, Cik Aishah Abdul Rahman was my class teacher. Her fine curly hair used to be tied up into a bun at the back of her head, donning colourful fine floral baju kurung, smelling fresh with liberal splashing of strong non alcoholic perfume and her grinning toothy smile exposing her gold filling at her incisor tooth. I met her after 15 years later at a post office looking not a day older than how she appeared in 1970.
In Standard 2, the smashing teacher with the 70s Chinese matinee actor’s look, Mr Khoo Cheow Hin was the class teacher. We looked forward to his fortnightly stories, spiced up with his good story telling techniques. I remember once he told us the story of ‘Si Tanggang’ – the prodigal son. As he had forewarned us before the story, that students who do not show any emotion after the story ends do not love their mothers, many of us were seen wetting our eyes with saliva just to show that we care for mothers. Of course, many of my colleagues actually cried! He must have been quite a story teller because many young pretty lasses actually used to come to the classroom, some crying to and some quarreling with him. With his looks and story-telling technique, I wonder how his ending was. Towards the end of Std 2, a trainee teacher, Ms Tan Gaik Lee and another gentleman took over the reign. The male temporary teacher had taller tales to tell – he told us that he was almost decapitated when he was about to see just how deep his father had dug when he was still at it! Ms Tan was hardly able to control the class.
In Standard 3, Mr Beh Seong Leng, our class master drove a 1300cc golden metallic Volkswagon. He had a reputation of being a disciplinarian and a terror at that. His secret weapon was pulling the side burns and pinching the inner aspect of the thigh. His ultimate torture device was public stripping. I remember once Liakat Ali failed to memorise his timetables when he was subjected to this form of torture. Lucky for him, the school bell rang just as he was stripped to his undergarments. Lucky for him too because it was not customary for most of his contemporaries to be clad with undergarments!
The pretty Ms Yeoh with her impeccable spoken English was our class teacher in Std 4. She once told us a racist joke about a Indian headmaster and his way of sing song way of pronouncing ‘Good morrning laydees and yentlemen’. The petite curvaceous Ms Olive de Mello with her body hugging gown was our teacher for a while whilst Mrs Indrani took us a few lessons in Civics. Mrs Indrani was also in 70s straight cut body hugging gown but with the XXL type.
The ever smiling bespectacled Mr Cheah Yong Chee was my class teacher in Std 5. He was a dedicated teacher who hardly loses his temper even when I once turned up at his classroom after recess!
Mr Chan Leong Huat (Std 6) was a lean mean master who did not mince his words. He would sneak behind the classroom as he entered just to find out who the class noise makers were. We have a good time seeing his favourite Deputy (aka Class Monitor), Ang Jit Eng, hated by us – we called him Anjing which sounded like his name anyway!- got into trouble this way. Mr Chan disliked people who tried to prove their point by swearing (sumpah). Mohd Yassin once got punished for a crime he did not commit all because he swore he did not do it. At the same time, Mr Chan would talk to us in a friendly manner sometimes. Of all the animals in the world, he hated cats to the bone. He would tell how he poured hot water from his bedroom window at night over noisy cats in heat during mating season! (ouch!)
Somewhere along the way came Mr Khay with his piano playing skills and his music class. He taught us to play the recorder and mouth organ and prepared us to play at the school’s parents’ day. Mr Phuah was the senior assistant who claimed to have eyes at the back of his head and rotan up his sleeve, drove around in a Morris Minor station wagon. Mr G.S. Reuten, the headmaster took us a few classes too. One interesting character came in our life in the form of Mr Tan Ah Bah. He was a temporary teacher (probably retired) who forever asked us to sleep! He had a fierce appearance, podgy like a boxer, slighty curly haired with multiple moles over his face and neck. He walked around with a cane in his hand telling us, “Kun… ah bah, pak lu si ah bah!” – Boy, sleep! If not, I will whack you dead! (Hockkein dialect) I remember going to Mr Paul Ng’s class for relief lessons and beat the daylight of the boys in the back classes for misbehaving. He was a man of few words. His cane did most of his talking! Even though I was in direct contact with Ustaz Sheikh Abdul Rahman, I heard a lot of good things mentioned by the Muslim. He was apparently a strict disciplinarian but at the same time loved by his students.
All these people are instrumental in where we are today. To all these teachers, Thank you very much… you are the true meaning of 1-Malaysia.
sweetheart, great info 4 all of us, thanks for sharing, hope our kids enjoy school the way we did. Memorable days.....
ReplyDeleteI remember Mr Beh pincing my butt as punishment. Looking back now it could be viewed as sexual abuse. My fave was Mr Khoo.
ReplyDeleteMr Beh's WMD was public stripping and pincing the inner aspect of thigh! He looked to me like a Japanese torture master warped into future (30 years on)! Or maybe he thought that it was his moral obligation to mend the young minds in his self thought ways which he must thought helped. I wonder whether it actually did, must ask his targets!(a.k.a. victims)
ReplyDelete