A tribute to my teachers

Today, we celebrate Teacher’s Day in Singapore. It’s a day where students pay tribute to the teachers who have made a difference to their lives. Here, I will do the same, to all my teachers who have made the biggest difference to mine. In no particular order…

Miss Ong Hui Sim, my primary school Maths teacher in primary 6 who took pains to help me understand the basis of Algebra and bar charts. She is the teacher I attribute my strength and passion for Math

Mr Paul Ng, now retired, was my form teacher in primary 5 and 6. He was the one who taught me the ways of life, from social behaviour to English literature. If I were to name one teacher who made the biggest difference when I was in Primary school, he would be the man.

Mdm Ong, my Chinese teacher in primary 4, 5 and 6. She was the one who gave me my first exposure to the chinese performing arts and gave me my first stage performance, winning my first (and only) chinese competition. She had put alot of faith in me, and still remembers me to this day.

Miss Ong Hui Yong, my secondary 1, 3, 4 Higher Chinese teacher, incidentally also the sister of Miss Ong Hui Sim (above). She never gave up on me while I was failing my Chinese almost all the way. Never. She had always tried to help me, even though I could feel her exasperation towards the end of my secondary school life. I have never been a good performer in my Mother Tongue, but she has always seen me through the toughest times, from my Chinese ‘O’ to my Higher Chinese ‘O’ papers.

Miss Heryanti Bte Salim, the more loved teacher in the list, for her faith in me. She gave me my first exposure to the debate scene, fielding me the school’s first speaker. She gave my toughest leadership role in NPCC to lead the Planning and Projects Committee. She pushed for my promotion for the unit’s Best Cadet award. She stayed late nights with us during debate preps, buying food and drinks, taking good care of us like a sister. She said to me, ‘Ivan, if I cannot trust you, I cannot trust anyone else, ok?’

Mrs Chong, better known as Mama Chong, for never chiding me even though she knew I was always sleeping in her classes. She said to me, ‘You want to sleep go ahead, cos I know your Maths won’t fail me, I know you will get good results.’ And she said it with a smile.

Mrs Theresa Lim, even though she has never taught me, showed me the paths in life. Her optimism and organisation brought faith back to me that a teacher can be more than a teacher. She is my role model. She is the teacher I respect most. She showed me, what it was to live.

Mrs Marianne Tan, the teacher without whom I won’t be what I am today. She is undoubtably the most important teacher in my climb up the ladder. Without her, I won’t have had all the chances to make it today. She was my Civics tutor in college, and she worked hard behind the scenes to make sure I was always given the opporturnity to excel. She wrote brilliant testimonials for me, and promoted me like a rising star of her class. I only got to know all these long after I had graduated, and I thank her for everything she has done. Her passion in teaching and education of her students brought life into 01S20. Her selfless promotion of me brought me much into the lime light and talking point of many teachers in NJC, and in the end, the Public Service Commission. I felt I had let her down when I was dropped as a provisional Overseas Merit Scholar due to my less than acceptable grades now looking back. But she told me, ‘Ivan, I’ve always had faith in you. I knew you were the one who was going to make in the class. I wasn’t going to let a shining star fall that easily, even if I had to make you pay for it’. Thank you Mrs Tan.

Lastly, Miss Tan Ming Ming, my chemistry tutor in JC. She made Chemistry my life, and now my career. She brought my worst subject to life, and she inspired me to teach. She never gave up on us, and was a strict teacher. But she was also caring and understanding. She was always there to give us that extra help when we needed it, and would be the one pushing us to excel. I really have to thank her for showing me the path to being an education officer.

Tags: Personal