Pakcik reminisces (Pt 18) – To Sir, With Love

The day was Sunday 15th May, 2011, and the time was almost 11.00 pm. Earlier I had put down my autographed copy of AMOT and I was beginning to get absorbed in the second chapter of ‘A Doctor in the House’.

“Abang, come and watch this old film with me.”
I stopped reading to ask what film that was - on TV2.

“It’s To Sir, with love,” came her reply.

Not for one moment I hesitated to put down my book to watch this film for the umpteenth time, our favourite. We first saw the film way back in 1967, 45 years ago, in a town named JESSELTON, the capital of the state Negeri Di Bawah Bayu. We had not long been married with only our two-year old daughter with us. I was sent to serve in ‘Borneo’ for about four years, almost the whole of the early years of our married life. Away from the rest our respective families we had a chance to build our own life without interference, casting the marital love the way we would want it to take shape. It was then Sidney Poitier’s ‘To Sir, with Love’, with Lulu singing the hit song, was first screened.

It was not just the very touching story and the beautiful lyrics but the very title itself evoked so much memory of our family life, blessed with love and affection.

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To Sir, with Love ( See p/s at the foot )

Those schoolgirl days, of telling tales and biting nails are gone,
But in my mind,
I know they will still live on and on,
But how do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
It isn't easy, but I'll try,

If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters,
That would soar a thousand feet high,
To Sir, with Love

The time has come,
For closing books and long last looks must end,
And as I leave,
I know that I am leaving my best friend,
A friend who taught me right from wrong,
And weak from strong,
That's a lot to learn,
What, what can I give you in return?

If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start,
But I, would rather you let me give my heart,
To Sir, with Love

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The film ended this morning, 16th May, at 1.00 a.m. Before my tears ran dry I decided to write this, because I thought it was not inappropriate to have this posted on the Teachers’ Day. To Sir, With Love is forever to me a beautiful song and a beautiful film that tells about a teacher.

After all, in our own ways, we are all teachers in our lives.
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P.S THE SONG

Here is a video of Pakcik's grandson's UPSR ceremony held a few years ago . It was his last day in the primary school. The video : Convocation 2007 ( To Sir, With Love in the background)

Kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan

Awang Goneng commented – I do it my way (part 4)

For Pak Cik’s earlier blog entry, ‘Ha Ha Ha – I do it my way (part 3)’ – the famed Awang Goneng (Kecek-Kecek blog) sent some comments. I have in the past highlighted certain individuals’ comments which deserve to be viewed by visitors to Almanar. So here are the main parts of what Awang Goneng had to say:

"....
I am in total agreement with what has been said here about the teaching of English. If only the politicians would stop messing about with our schools, changing this and that each time a new man arrives at the Ministry, to suit a superior ego's needs. I remember a man saying this about the fate of Bank Islam Malaysia (and he was one of its founders). "I know when an incompetent person has arrived at the bank. He starts to meddle with the branches and things of that sort instead of spending his time with general policies." He was bitter that all that they had achieved had gone to nought. We have every right to be bitter too, our education system, one that worked very well for you and me, is now in shambles. And as you rightly said, we are all put into this great big sausage machine, and some of our young students are made to go through the ridiculous Matrikulasi course, which is not recognised by anyone outside our system, and which is actually eduaction-in-a-hurry for our young kids.

There must be hundreds of good, retired English teachers throughout the length and breadth of our land. Forget the Kiwis and the Kangaroos, call all these people back to work. In London there is a wonderful man (a loyal Malaysian) who has been teaching English successfully for many, many years to people from all over the world, is an expert on English verbs, and who speaks English with the clipped received pronunciation of the Beeb. Has anyone come to him to ask for advice or help? No. I was talking to him once when another Malaysian made this remark. "In Malaysia, my friend, it is not what you're worth that matters. It's how much you're worth to anyone in backhanders that counts." I once saw a group of Malaysian officers here in London on a course at an idiotic college that I wouldn't even send my cat to for a feed. And I wondered who sent them all there? And how much was that worth in kickbacks to some idiot?
...."

Pak Cik' s comments :

I am not at all surprised if the majority of Malaysians share the above sentiment, not just the two TRENGGANU (watch the out-dated spelling) folks like Awang Goneng and Pak Cik. We may spell Cina or China, Kota Baharu or Kota bahru or Kota Bharu, technology, teknologi or teknoloji, i’lan or iklan, and what else, but the real values are not in the clothing and the way we pronounce them.

Indeed we have to change. But I do not believe, for instance, in the way Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka has made the changes to modernise Bahasa Melayu ( or Bahasa Malaysia or is it now Bahasa 1Malaysia? Pardon my ignorance.) Look how Pak Cik spell the word ‘modernise’ never mind if a million others choose ‘modernize’.

It is sad in more than one way that many of us, old timers, look with disdain at the quantum leaps in our education. Even the mind-boggling names of educational institutions in the country are too much for an old block to comprehend the difference. Here are some school categories I often hear:

Sekolah rendah (kebangsaan?)
Sekolah menengah (kebangsaan?)
Sekolah menengah agama ( or is it ugama?) negeri
Sekolah menengah- ditto – persekutuan.
Imtiaz
SBP ( Sekolah Berasrama Penuh?)
SBT ( the latest 20 I believe)
MRSM
MRSM-imtiaz ( because it has a new chairman?)
Sekolah bestari
Sekolah integrasi
Sekolah elit
Sekolah wawasan
Sekolah kelaster ( klaster or cluster?)
…… and so on

The list does not include ‘Sekolah Teknik’ group which now is about to undergo drastic changes in names and contents as quoted in the local papers last week.

I have known of the ‘loyal Malaysian’ quoted by Awang Goneng, and I have been his silent admirer. Awang Goneng is in a better position to confirm whether the man does claim himself to be a Malaysian or a Malayan. When interviewed in KL during a visit home some years ago he expressed his views on learning of English by Malaysians. I can never forget one statement he made that, from his observation, of the three main races in Malaysia, Malay children would find it most difficult to study English. Indian pupils have a definite edge. After some years of running Almanar, I realise how difficult it is for kampong Malays to express in English, as an example, a string of adjectives which precede a noun. Sepasang baju Melayu bewarna biru - a pair dress Malay with colour blue!

To help overcoming some of these difficulties Almanar pupils have to do lots of exercises involving translation work from Malay. This is my way.

Additionally, if I were allowed to dream, I would think very hard about that very person in London who had successfully run for years and years a school for English study in the very heart of England. The man has to be back and work in Malaysia, full stop. To achieve that I would blackmail him with a ‘Tan Sri’ and lots and lots of money to design and run a special school for English language without any interference. To lend credence to his work, as is our general perception and practice in Malaysia, he would be honoured by a local university of ‘taraf antarabangsa’, of course, with a PhD and Professorship so that when addressed in public he will always be referred to as ‘ …. Tan Sri Datuk Prof Dr …..’. All those in the ministry of education and the respective politicians involved, in particular, will have to earn a certificate from his new school before they are allowed to mess up their jobs in upgrading the standard of English in Malaysian schools to the ‘British’ English. This, to my simple and uneducated way of thinking, will be more cost effective than importing 365 English teachers, who probably would have to work in super air-conditioned rooms at the temperature of English winter plus six months of general acclimatisation and adjustments to enable them to usefully participate in the celebrations of Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Thaipusam, Gawai, Harvest and so forth – the 1Malaysia. And this would be my way.

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan

Apa Nak Jadi?

Tan Sri SM Salim asks that. Yes, indeed, what will happen?

The front page of the New Sunday Times dated August 2nd 2009 has the following to say:

"Men in the classroom face extinction in 20 years – going the way of the dinosaur ….

…….. Despite great efforts, it is a losing battle. From a ratio of 70:30 for females to males would-be-teachers, it has dropped to 72:28."

That was what the vice-chancellor of UPSI said…..



What a bleak picture has been painted for male chauvinism! Can Pak Cik help to defend it? Well, I have some data of sort. Let us have a look at it.

For a start, being where I am now in age, I would be exceptionally lucky to see the extinction of male teachers 20 years from now unless Pak Cik can improve on that figure to make it sooner.

In the case of UPSI, comparison is made between the total of new intakes in one year with that of the following year. Pak Cik will, on the other hand, will take one group of pupils joining Almanar early in 2008 and see how this group grows smaller in size a year later, a measure of their perseverance.

Early last year 45 pupils enrolled into form 1 at Almanar. There were 15 boys among them, giving a delightful ratio of 3:1 for females to males, slightly better than 70:30 of UPSI. Today, 20 months later, the number has shrunk to just 20, leaving only 3 boys in that group. The ratio now becomes 17:3 which is approximated to 82:18. More girls outlast boys.



The reduction in number is due to a number of reasons. Some choose to leave Almanar, having found out that it is not all fun here. Some find it too taxing to meet the expectation of Almanar. There are some who are dismissed for regarding the free-of-charge Almanar class as a place for a social get together. Pak Cik have done everything humanly possible to motivate and retain boys (and girls, too, no doubt). But I cannot tolerate ‘cancerous’ cells that can damage the rest.

Hence, the male percentage of intakes at UPSI reduces from 30 to 28.

At Almanar the perseverance figure of male pupils reduces from 30 to 18.

Pak Cik am sorry to see this. But that is a reality, more girls moving ahead. To comfort myself Pakcik must ask myself the question, ‘so what is wrong having all females in education?’ After all, if females are the ones who conceive, deliver, and rock the cradles, they are ‘natural’ at educating children. QED.

During a light moment in class recently Pak Chik quipped to the boys that they had better be prepared to take up diplomas in cookery or fashion design. We have chef Wan and Choo the shoe-maker. Leave all the mind-boggling jobs to the girls. And the girls, Pak Chik assured them that their future was assured. There would be enough husbands to look after babies, do the house-chores and all! There would be ample male ‘maids’ as well, cheap and robust. My Mak Cik at home laughed when I related the scene in class. At Almanar we have a fantastic ratio of 0:100, nil female teachers! How about that for male chauvinism?

Apa nak jadi?

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

To Sir With Love

A Form 4 girl handed in an essay for correction. Her piece of work may not excite many, but it does Pak Cik. She talks about her days in the primary school, focusing on what she is not likely to forget. Her memory of a certain teacher, one who taught her English in Standard 5 and 6, stands out with a trace of emotion.

She remembers her Sir Azmi. That was the name of an individual who she and friends very much dreaded. ‘A violent temper’ is how she recalls of him, one quite generous with his ‘rattan’. She had had her share. So painful it was that she cried and sobbed and that she cannot forget. “But if I come face to face with him again I want to thank him,” is her thought of him today, six years down the line.

Today, this girl remembers her Sir Azmi as one who tried his best for her, the pain being part of his way, how detestable the act may be in the eyes of many. Pak Cik am much more appreciative of that young teacher, cikgu Azmi, whom I know well enough, without the Sir – he having no reason to lay his ‘rattan’ on me!

Long, long ago, at the beginning of his teaching career, Azmi was like an outcast on the island which, today, is a well known island resort off the coast of Terengganu , a long way away from his home in Johor. There was nothing on that island then, except for a sheltered village of fishermen. A school of some sort had been built by the government to give the fishermen’s children a fighting chance to be literate or, with luck, a better future. If the children were of any good they would continue their secondary education at a school on the mainland, where they would be accommodated in a hostel.



It was on that isolated place, remote from modernity, Sir Azmi learned not only to be on his feet as a teacher but also to understand the harsh life of traditional fishermen and their families. He began to be aware of the significance of his contribution to the next generation of these islanders. He went through a hard time to improve the performance of that school and, indeed, after some years he began to see result. Pak Cik could sense his satisfaction and pride as he related to me his experience.

He did his time on that island, and success earned him a transfer to a school on the mainland, back to civilisation, so to speak. He began to see different challenges. As chance would have it, he came to hear of Almanar. He dropped in to say hello to Pak Cik and we began to see that, though far apart in age, we had something in common. Intent on improving his pupils’ English, he sought Pak Cik’s assistance to double up on his effort. Surprisingly, in return he volunteered to spend some of his free time to take a class at Almanar. This is how from time to time Sir Azmi keeps surfacing in my memory. In fifteen years of Almanar’s existence he is the only person who has ever given such an offer, to teach English at Almanar. Cikgu Azmi is one in a million, an unsung hero in his own right.

Pak Cik can vividly recall the day when the result of UPSR results were released. Sir Azmi turned up excitedly to say that his school had the highest ever number of pupils with A grade in English. We rejoiced over his success. He had every right to feel elated.

It is a loss to any school that loses the service of a teacher like this. Pak Cik know it too well that he was sad to leave the state he had grown to love. But, in some way he was relieved to be transferred out of this state. He wanted to escape the ‘political maneuvers’ of those with envy and jealousy. Sir Azmi finally learned one bitter lesson in real life; the credit from one’s effort and success may at the same time earn him some enemies. Today, Sir Azmi is serving in a state where his wife came from. Pak Cik am pleased to learn that Sir Azmi, now richer with four children of his own, is helping the people of his community - “…….am trying to do something like Almanar,” he said to Pak Cik with his typical humility, with his normal enthusiasm nevertheless.

Cikgu Azmi, you are very much remembered, more than you realise. Some cannot forget the pain inflicted by you but their love and appreciation are greater. Pak Cik and family know that your four children will do even better than those you have helped on Pulau Redang and elsewhere. Perhaps you have misplaced your ‘rattan’ where you used to be. The four kids are lucky to have you and a mother, a qualified and dedicated teacher no less.

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P/s for ex Almanar :

Pak Cik know that there are at least two of you, who have qualified as teachers,and are now serving in the interior of Sabah . I know Sabah well - when Kota Kinabalu was simply JESSELTON. As you are thinking of home in Terengganu, learn what you can of your pupils and do something for them in the true spirit of Sir Azmi and

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan