Teachers - My Tribute

I returned to St Andrew's JC yesterday, 3 and a half years after graduating. In that period of time, I had only returned a couple of times, but never to meet my ex-teachers. Yesterday was different. Yesterday, I went into SAJC's spanking new campus at Potong Pasir to see the new school and more importantly, to catch up with some old faces.

The school itself was pretty impressive, featuring a nice, brightly lit hall, a running track which looked like it had been hardly used, and even a rock wall! (Go ODAC! Go climbers!) It also sported a nice pink tone. If I was to be picky, I'll say that it's a shame that the classrooms are not air-conditioned, or that the new school lacks the quaint-ness of the old one.

However, this post is not about the school, or the visit. It is about the teachers who, for almost 2 years of their lives, nurtured me and made my JC experience what it is. The point of contact for my trip back to SA was Mr Lim. He taught me GP during my 2nd year in SA. He dresses like a young teacher, what with his Oakley spects, and I'll have to admit that he's young at heart. Mr Lim specially left his ME lesson empty so that us old students were allowed to chat with his current students about how life is in University. For that one period, I shared the front of the classroom with friend D. Mr Lim had once again managed to settle for a win-win situation: he kept us suitably entertained while we were there, and he managed to show his students real-life examples of what a university student faces.

After the lesson, we followed Mr Lim to the staff room where we hunted our other ex-teachers. Unfortunately, my form teacher was not around by then, and neither was my chemistry tutor. My maths tutor forgot my name. Ah well. I wasn't a stellar student to begin with. Mr Lim shared how he loved teaching my class, and that it was one of the special classes which did not fit the "norm" of classes with the same subject combination.

Mr Lim also spoke of how Mr Stanley Ong, my form teacher (or Civics Tutor, as they call it), would sometimes remember our class everytime he has tough times with his subsequent classes. Mr Lim claims that Mr Ong remembers our class pretty fondly. That comment in particular struck me. I had always thought that teachers would forget about the classes they had taught once they receive new students. After all, the new students under their charge should take top priority, right? A few months after having the new students, why would anyone care to remember the old ones? They're not coming back. They're not going to be under you anymore.

So the fact that Mr Lim and Mr Ong still remembered my class left me wondering. How much does teaching take out from you? Does it hurt, seeing each batch graduate? Do they feel a little part of them going away with these kids, after all the time and effort invested in them? What keeps them to this job? (Surely not the bond, right?) What do they get out of it?

As Mr Lim explained that night after dinner, a teacher feels proud seeing his charges do well later on in life. And our mere return that afternoon was something that he had been looking forward to. I guess I could understand slightly. Sitting in front of the class, sharing with these students 4 years my junior, I could already feel the exhileration. Seeing their bright eyes, knowing that they have great potential, not knowing how far they'd go. Is this what keeps these teachers going?

Mr Lim's parting words before he strode off into the relative darkness of the carpark were, "Study hard, but also enjoy life. You need to find this spark that will keep you going. That is how you achieve greatness." Well, Mr Lim, Mr Ong, and all the teachers out there. You guys HAVE ALREADY achieved greatness. -Jimmy