A Dash Of Pink For The Grumps

Dear readers,

Here’s a list of questions by my students that never fail to make my day.

1.     “Teacher, mau tulis nama ka?” (On a scale 1-10, this always makes me mad. A nameless worksheet is pretty much USELESS!)

2.     ‘Teacher, mau tulis ka tu?” (usually asked right after you JUST instructed them to write in the exercise book. Grrrrrrr)

3.     ‘Teacher, buku apa mau guna?” (On the right side of the white board, the word “WRITING BOOK” is clearly written in capital letters.)

4.     “Teacher, hantar?” (When you’ve repeatedly told them to pass up their exercise book when the lesson ends)

5.     “Teacher, berapa haribulan hari ni?” (After a month of having to tell them that today is ___ of ______ 2011, I make it point to ask them before the lesson begins. There are still a few idiots who ask)

6.     “Teacher, boleh kita masuk library/Bilik Akses/Makmal Komputer/?” (One after another will ask the very same question though I have just answered the person before in a LOUD and CLEAR voice.

7.     “Teacher, pulang sudah ka?” (Students in my 12.50pm class are a restless bunch. Because I’m mean, I never let them off earlier than the official 1.30pm bell)

But sometimes, despite being bombarded by the same idiotic questions everyday, there are those rare days in between when they simply reminded me of the joy of being a  teacher.

“Teacher, saya siap!” said Kristus, who is not that bright but hardworking when pushed to the right direction.

“Teacher, apa maksud ‘paddock’?” asked Fairul, who never finds English interesting (would rather stare into space) but after that one lesson of ‘Flipping Fantastic’, he makes it a point to understand every single word in the short story :’)

And one fine day, before I left my Form 1 class, a student came up to me..

“Teacher, for you”

A single flower.

Ah, the small joy. Thank you God, for the reminder ;)