One half done, another half to go...

Time flies when one does have fun and it's true. I am truly astonished to find out that half of the year 2009 is already gone. But this half year that I spent is worth hundreds years of experience in my life. And it's all happen for one thing. And to be honest, the journey started way back, years ago. It started on the day when a bunch of us stood up against 200 UiTM freshman students during our very first meeting of PBSMM Chapter UiTM. The bunch of us, Skuad Khas group or maybe the outsiders may call 'show-off' or 'kiss ass' group volunteered to do extra for our co-curricular subjects. Some of us even went further like me and my other friends whom I proudly considered as my best friends, my brothers and sisters and we become the AJKD. One of the task that we had to do back then was teaching basic first aid. If I think back, that memory of teaching it had stemmed my passion for teaching and imparting not my wisdom, but at least a bit of knowledge that I've gained within the four walls of classrooms as well as outside it.


In 2003-2004 circa, I gained the passion for teaching. And this year in 2009, I gained my temporary license, a 3 month-training in SMK TTDI Jaya. I am not going to elaborate about my experience over there but if I can summed it in one word it would be difficult. But if you ask me if it's ok to feel it, I would say yes because it's a good difficult experience for me.

Being raised in a family of high achievers, it is shame for me to say that me end up being a teacher is not on par with the hall of fame of our family. But after practicum, the view changed profoundly and I also think that it is necessary for the society to change their view about teaching profession. From the way I see it, it seems like everybody talks like they can be a teacher. Even worse, there are someone that had the nerve to say "since I can't get a decent job after I graduate, might as well I be a teacher". But frankly speaking and I quoted from my lecturer, "A teacher is not made, it is born". Unless you have a real passion for it, don't even thinking of putting up a clean shirt every morning, pin your name tag carefully and drive 10km/hour entering the school gate. Because teaching is not a job, is a responsibility. And it is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. And from the way I see it also, a teacher's job is often being compared to a doctor's job which is what the call the noble profession. And sincerely speaking, a med student is likely to be seen as the successful one compare to education student. I am not going to judge them. I do think doctor's job is a noble job and not everyone can be a doctor like teacher but believe me when I said this, next to mother, a teacher is the noblest job that you can ever be. While doctor struggle to take care of a human life, a teacher struggles to take care a human soul. And what a fragile soul we have. Once dead, it's almost impossible to revive it back. Put it simply which one you rather have, a dead son or an alive son who's dead inside? For me, I would choose the first one.

Human when they die, we did what god asks us to do. For us it's four steps: bathe it, cover it, perform the prayer and bury it. But if a soul dies, what can we do? Where do we find the pieces when it can't be seen? Plus, is it even a whole before it was broken? That's what a teacher puts up everyday, they take care of it. And one mistake can damage it. And particularly for me who opted to be an English teacher. I'm teaching them on how to communicate, to make connection, to reach understanding to one another and in deep, to enable one person to pour out his or her soul to another person to be understood. It's difficult and sometimes unbearable and it's not even surprising how many of teacher end up killing their own souls in the end. But there is one thing that enable me to get through it. It is when one of them looked up to me and call me 'teacher'. To earn the name is a great honor and it's signaling something. It's signalized as someone look upon us a an example, as someone that always do the right thing and as someone who he or she can look back and reflect.

If you're reading this and feel like I'm exaggerating, feel free to do so. I'm not writing this to be judged, nor to be admired. But I do have one request, after reading this please hailed your drinks if you have but if you don't hailed up anything you have (but if you're working right now or in a public place please don't hail your skirt or something resembling it because that would be a crime) and celebrate if you're one of these two:

a) if you are also a teacher, hail yourself and the others and say your grace to the Almighty for choosing you to enter this wonderful teacher.
b) if you're not a teacher, hail the teachers that you owed for making you to become the wonderful person you are now...

Now I have another semester to go and I hope I can get a real license to teach after graduating...AMIN...