ON BECOMING A TEACHER
One
day I believe, one of my students will take this torch from my hand and run for
her lap. She will, in turn, go all the extra miles to bring this little sparkle
of hope – warm as the fire and bright as the sun to share with her students who
are still in the darkness of ignorance and the coldness of indifference. One
day, I believe, the story of how I became a teacher will be passed forward to
another generation of students. They will learn about the teachers who stopped
at nothing to ensure the future of her student as well as the student, who was
saved and inspired to be the teacher she is today. When that day comes, I will
join my teachers, Ms. Julie Wee and Ms. Josephine Lin to welcome them in this
profession of life-long learners, educator who never ever give up on any of our
students.
Believe it or not, what we teach isn’t just content. What
we give isn’t just knowledge. Like the parents who hold the child’s hand at
first to teach him walk, who watch over his safety yet allow him to grow by
falling hard onto the ground, who eventually, learn to let go and see him run
away from their protection, teachers are the same. Certainly, it is our
responsibility to equip the students with skills and knowledge and prepare them
for the real world outside of school. However, I could not help but wonder: how
many people actually use chemistry or physic theory in their daily lives, how
many people talk literature, examine rocks or watch the turning of the stars –
yet at the same time, what actually motivates an ordinary student to study
Biology and becomes a doctor, who saves thousand lives. No matter what subject
we teach, it has never been solely the subject content that matters but rather
the thirst for knowledge that we want to cultivate in our students. In my
opinion, an effective teacher is an educator who evokes students’ doubts,
inspires them to challenge their understanding and explore the alternatives to
find the answer that uniquely belongs to them. This teacher, who gradually
makes himself redundant in his
students’ learning experience, is actually the most effective educator,
academically. Miss Josephine Lin, my high school Literature teacher, was such
an inspiration like this to me. She pulled me away from my comfort zone of “it
is hot” and “I was sad” to the extreme end of “the sky is burning” and “I am drowning
in despair”. Literature, the intimidating subject in which I failed again and
again became my source of power and my passion. Before I even noticed, I
started writing my own poems – the stories I did not know how to tell, the tale
I once failed to express. Before I knew it, she no longer walked with me but
watched me from afar as I ventured further to deepen my knowledge in the arts.
She was indeed, one of the best teachers I ever had.
Furthermore, the students’ development does not just evolve
around his math and science, literature and humanities; neither is his success
defined by the mere A, B or C in his report card. It would be regretful if
teachers forsaken the students’ emotional growth for academic achievement. More
than often, we blame our students for what they cannot do rather than praise
them for what they can and the effort they put. From the very beginning of
literacy, poor readers are accused of “not
trying hard enough” – little did we know, it was the brain pattern, an
inborn feature just like our crooked teeth and rough skin, which prevented them
from reciting poems as much as they want to. A true teacher is someone who has
the heart for the student, who knows the student’s emotional growth like the
palm of her hands and help them overcome their self-doubts. When I was at the
last year of secondary school, before the final examination, my best friend
committed suicide. Dumbfounded, shocked, struck by the overwhelming despair, I
lost my focus in class. My scholarship was in danger of being taken away. My
form teacher gave up on my uncontrollable and frequent outbursts. Had it not
been for Ms. Julie Wee, I would not know what my life could be right now. Ever
patient, ever kind, she would stay late after school to help me catching up
with my lessons. She would lend her shoulders and allow me to cry without
telling me to “toughen up” and “stop the commotion”. Step by step she brought
my feet back to the ground. This “under
achiever”- a name branded by the school, went into top 5% scorers nation
wise. I was able to keep my scholarship and moved on to college with the
precious lesson to love, and to let go.
The story of how I became a teacher was simple. It was
almost similar to the one of Ms. Lin and many other teachers before us. When I
found out that the teacher who once saved Ms. Lin from a hyperactive student to
the amazing teacher she is today was Ms. Julie Wee, I know it must be fate that
I am indebted to pass this gift forward.
There will come a time, when I will not be able to recall
all the literal devices taught in class, when I can no longer recite
Shakespeare’s The Tempest or Margaret
Atwood’s The Handmaid Tale. Even when
that time comes, when everything changes, certainly there is something that
forever remains. In my heart, I will always remember my ardent love for
learning everything that is new; my greed for acquiring knowledge - the
treasures of the world beyond my own. I will remember how simple lesson holds
magic - the elation at "owning" a foreign word, tucking it safe and
sound into my brain, copying song lyrics over and over, yet barely
understanding its meaning. Above all, I will always remember the thunderous
shatter of my fear for the unfamiliar – the wall my teachers taught me to
conquer. I will forever remember my teachers, who inspired me to be better than
who I ever thought I could be - the teacher I dream to be.
