DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR TEACHERS?

I would ask you to reflect now on how your teachers have taught you whether in primary , secondary or at the university.Do you remember vividly the qualities of your teacher. You may have a mix of excellent, good or poor ones or you may have all good ones. I hope all or most of your teachers are good ones . Unfortunately one seems to remember the bad ones the ones that ring a big chime in your memory bell. I have several good teachers who helped make me what i am today. One was this female teacher who was Mrs XCD who knew how to reward how our efforts and success. She would lineup the row of dolls on my table and if we obtained the numbers of 1- till 10 in class we get to choose any of the lovely dolls . I forgot what was the rewards for boys(forgive me!) Then i had this teacher who was alert to the many differences between us in class. She would give personal individual attention and did not count too much of her time.She was Mrs YCK. MR ABM was a patient man quite old and he waited for us to patiently enter the class after recess(perhaps the students were very naughty and refused to be punctual) . I have a male teacher who advised students who fell in love stating that well they were still young and growing and that there was time for loving later on. The exciting thing is i remembered many teachers who made me happy and cheerful by their mannerisms. One was this lady teacher MISS NNM who put a red hibiscus on her hair and keep the boys looking. Another was this Head Assistant who was always busy in meetings and told us to do the tasks on page this to page that. My mathematics teacher had a long ruler every time he entered class and would hit us soflty on the head if we were stubborn. My History teacher loved the textbook and asked each of us to read page by page according to turns and to underline the main points. My Science teacher MR CVN was good looking but unfortunately favored some of us to others. I remembered his favorite whom he paid attention too most of the time. Then i had my English Literature teacher MR LMN who asked to learn by drawing.We drew Tun TEJA in our excercise books much to the amusement of the boys. So there was a continuum of teachers who left footprints in the sands of time shall we say. I have also a teacher who loves teaching and would come early to class but left the class late.I used to win debates and speech competition and this one teacher MR HGK supported me through and through till the day of contest.I had this disciplinarian who would asked us to stand on the chair or went out of the classroom. I remembered how we were asked to write hundreds of lines expressing" I will not forget to do my homework" or " I will not forget to bring my books to school" I wish i can meet all my teachers but i know some may not be around anymore. Great teachers have good interpersonal touches and made an impact on your perception and attitude to studying. At the varsity i was so taken up by the aura of some lecturers . There were the smartly dressed and pleasant faces as well as being smart upstairs. We looked up to them and at times feared them. My Form teachers were mostly good organizers and gave good guidance to the learners. They monitored the class and assessed the learning climate consistently.One or two of my classmates fell in love with the teachers . As an example student BKM fell in love or was infatuated with MRS SHK even though she was pregnant.Amusing?It showed that teenagers can be so vulnerable. Well then where do excellent teachers come from? Definitely we consider both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The famous misleading statement "If you dont know how to do anything teach" is so humiliating indeed.Teaching is both a Science and an Art. Thus teachers need proper effective training to get the Science of it and their natural inclination and apttitude to create the Art of it. Teaching excellence comes from the wisdom of experience as there actually is no short cut to acquire wisdom. Thus training period must justifiably be adequate to warrant the correct impact. Too short a training time is like a train speeding and one has no time to look at the ambience around in the environment. Too slow and dragging may make one lose the motivation.I would rather focus on the quality of the training as now there is so much demand for creative teaching. Teachers in their career go through several phases as Lilian Katz stressed. After the honeymoon period theres reality to accept. Then as the years go by motivation seeps and one get demotivated. To avoid a burn out do effective reflection and develop new motivations. Those who are about to end their career do not forget to leave a legacy that is to share your precious experiences with the novice.Teachers can make or break the students . As one psychologist states the teacher communicates her hopes or despairs to their students. Yes we remember our teachers to our dying day for sure. I wish all teachers a happy fruitful and meaningful career wherever they may be .