I Remember (Some of) My Teachers

It was Teacher's Day on the 16th May, so inevitably we recall the times we were being educated by our many teachers, some great and some not so. Mostly though, I cannot recall exact names but some incidences remain etched in my memory. I don't remember my kindergarten teachers in Alor Star at all but thank you anyway for starting me off on the long journey into the education system. I enjoyed kindy really, or so I gathered from my parents.

The start of primary school was interesting at the Sultanah Asma, Alor Star. There was Mr Rodishes Tan (should it have been Rodriguez? But he was definitely not Latin!) the art teacher who even came to our house to give us extra art tuition. Only my sister CY became the artist - of architectural drawings. Till today I appreciate art and still very, very occasionally dabble in paintings but never come up with any worthy of exhibit. Mr Lim Say Aun taught us Arithmetic and the reason I remember his full name is because I have this b&w photograph (below) that he gave us, duly signed at the back. I wonder if teachers still wear bow ties to class?

Mr Lim Say Aun, one of my primary school teachers

At the Tuanku Abdul Rahman School in Gemas there was Cikgu Md Zain who gave us tuition on almost every subject at his home. My sisters and I remember the many quizzes he gave us to beef up our general knowledge. We knew the capitals of countries, even their flags, among other facts. When his sister got married in Kuala Pilah we were invited to his kampung, for our first adat pepatih occasion. Then there was Miss Arumalar Kandiah who was my class teacher (I think). I still have a photo of her and I remember her most for the very neatly pressed clothes she wore.

My secondary school teachers were the most memorable. Among them Miss Sobita Sinha with her very expressive ways during English Literature classes. There was never a dull moment and till today I love books and literature. Puan Hasnah Ali taught us Biology but I remember that the subject of reproduction was dealt with in just a few sentences. We had to supplement our knowledge about the birds and the bees from other sources as well. When it came to dissecting a frog she never found out that I could not do it at all and left it entirely to my partner in class to do it. So that put paid to any hopes of  medical aspirations, not that I had any! There were the expatriate (Peace Corps, VSO) teachers Miss Black, Miss Vaughan, Miss Bergan and Miss Ellis. And their enthusiasms certainly made school very interesting. Also quite memorable was Mr Chee Peng Lim with his "master piece of distortion" remarks on our Economics essays.
(In progress)