.。･:*:･レター ☆

Not just for your students, but also for you. Make it a goal to try to learn something in a sustained and meaningful way that has little to do with your classroom life. I’ve been trying to learn photography this year, and while I’m nowhere close to proficient, it has been helpful to be in the mindset of a learner who’s struggling. That’s how many of our students feel everyday.

It doesn’t have to be a big risk that you always take – take little ones, too. Ask the question that you’re hesitant to ask. Share the writing you’re doing with your students. Just challenge yourself a little bit every now and then. We rise to the challenge when we’re pushed. But it’s easy to forget to reach.

Be an expert when you need to be. Be a learner always. You are probably the most experienced learner in your classroom. But don’t assume you’re the most knowledgable person or object. If you’ve a computer handy, then you’re not. Embrace that. Relationships and mentoring cannot be outsourced or Googled. They take time and genuine concern.

May you be free

May you be light

May you be a warrior

May you be filled with love.

To all teachers,

I’d rather choose to call all of you 'teacher' than 'tutor' because 'teacher' is more meaningful for me.

So.. I illustrated my message through my drawing. This drawing, is inspired by the 'Dream Catcher'.

To simplify my drawing, on the right side is us, students. While you, teachers, are on the left side, with silver drawings.

There is the circle of learning (what would I call haha) and there is the boundaries of us in learning. We students are confined to one side of the boundary as we are not yet well-developed, and lacking in experiences. It is a boundary which we students must cross in order to grow and develop. 

Within our boundary, we do develop tho, as signified by the varieties of patterns. BUT, we are not fully developed like you. You've been there teachers. You are already developed, signified by how  you guys are more beautiful and full or experiences than us. That is why, the silver drawing is more mature than the only black-pen drawing.

You see, inside the circle is our connection. Look how strong your connection is to communicate, to channel the knowledge and valuable expriences for us to learn.

To conclude, We STILL NEED you. We are so immature and we need people like YOU to guide us. Look how strong you are after all these years. Don't give up.  Teach us the 'silver line'. We want to be like you.

Dearest tutor,

To teach or not to teach? That is the question. 

First and foremost, as a student, I will never understand how difficult it is to become a teacher. You have to fight against the pure, indescribably exhaustion that hits you, your thought, your body and heart every single day of working. Dealing with students of different personalities, repeating the same syllabus contents to every class you have but never being taken seriously and spend the rest of your day either attending meetings, in spite of not being a fan of the system or grading papers with silly mistakes.

Two years of studying, in fact, two of the most stressful years of my life, oftentimes I felt lost and drowning. I almost gave up. I was filled with doubts and self-blaming. I hated myself for making mistakes. Luckily, I met several tremendously outstanding people called tutors who helped me to get my motivation back on track. Then I knew, no matter what happened, I could always find a way back to them. Thank you for illuminating me with words of encouragement when I was trapped in a dark pit of uncertainty.

Teachers, now I realize that you too can be insecure and demotivated for whatever reasons you have. If you are, know that you are not the answer to every question and the solution to every problem. Words may not be able to fathom the exponential amount of energy, time and money you have spent, just to ensure the brightest possible future for us but thank you for providing us with the maps and compasses to navigate our way through life. 

Again, to teach or not to teach? That is the question.

With love and respect,

It is no secret that I am a very quiet student, I rarely speak up nor engage in conversations with people other than close friends - let alone teachers. Yet, in biology, I do not feel that way. It is easier to approach you with questions because of your lively personality. You encourage the quiet ones to participate in classes and acknowledging them for it. I want to thank you for that and every other signs of encouragement you showed like throwing give-it-a-shot glimpses.

Despite the rough times you went through last year, you do not let it affect your teaching. You remain selfless and continue to prioritise your students’ education than your health - sacrificing sleep, your social life and weekends you would rather spend with friends or your cat but instead you are writing emails until 3 am. The passion you have for teaching is inspiring. More than that, your passion for learning is what shines through. We are constantly amazed and inspired whenever you say we are your motivation and drive to always try something new. You have enlightened your students’ interest to learn beyond our syllabus and beyond the walls of Biology Lab 3. You have helped us in more ways than simply biology. Thank you for that.

I know it pains you when we do not get good grades because you know our true potential and what we are capable of. Nevertheless, you credit your students not by their grades but the effort they put in. You have worked so hard in making sure their hard work reflects on their grades. So know that when we do get the grades, it is because of your persistence and your sacrifices.

Lastly, I want to thank you for being you, for being a passionate, inspiring, vibrant, loving, caring, genuine and subtly sarcastic biology teacher. Without you, biology lessons would not have been fun and exciting. Thank you for constantly igniting my love for biology.

Thanks for teaching us Mathematics. You are a great teacher. I also want to thank you for believing in me when I did not. You also gave us a lot of good advices, which will be useful for us in the future. I am grateful that you were the one that taught us mathematics; it would have been a lot different if it were to be someone else. 

I am sorry if I have ever done or said something that offended you. I wish you the best in everything.

Sincerely,

I have asked enough friends to say that General Paper is not a crowd favourite, of with the dreadful feeling that comes with writing essays and rereading, reanalysing and more rereading passages to work out a 3 marks question. Of course, general paper is not just about writing essays and practicing exam paper questions; there are other lessons when we would watch videos, brainstorm ideas, public speaking, debates, etc. But beyond all that, what I enjoyed most was your stories - stories of your personal experiences, stories of others or news you have come across in the media. With every personal stories you have shared with us, you always end with a positive note and that every struggle and tribulations ada hikmahnya.

You always keep us updated and aware of the news; exposing us to both sides of the media seeing past discrimination and bias. Thus, allowing us to have our own developed, uninfluenced opinion. But more than that, you have taught us the importance of being humble - that a positive attitude can get us far and no matter what grades we get; it does not define who we are. You showed me that wisdom and intellect are not achieved through A’s or wins; it is our failures and our comebacks that does.

I hope in the years of your teaching journey, you will continue to inspire students as you did to me. You probably will not remember me in the next few years and I probably would too in several years to come but I will always be truly grateful for your dedicated hard work, your stories and the impact you’ve left on me. Many teachers say that the success of their students is enough but it is never enough for us students to repay you.

sekuat manapun angin bertiup kencang tetap engkau mampu bertahan

bertahan demi kami

insan yang naif yang terkadang terlupa akan kehadiranmu

terlupa akan jasa baktimu

terlupa akan pertolonganmu dikala diri ini gelisah

inilah aku insan yang terkadang terlupa berterima kasih

kepadamu yang telah mendidikku dikala susah mahupun senang

tabahnya hatimu dalam menghadapi insan seperti diriku yang tidak mengetahui akan erti pengorbanan mahupun penghargaan

tetapi itulah dirimu,

sungguh.

oleh itu disini aku menulis juga sebagai wakil rakan seperjuangan

ingin berterima kasih atas perjuanganmu yang tak pernah surut

bahkan sentiasa menemani

ribuan terima kasih ku ucapkan kepada mereka yang pernah mengajarku

yang telah menjadi semangat berjuangku

yang telah menjadi sumber inspirasiku

ku pohonkan ampun maaf sekiranya tanpa senghaja telah melukakan hatimu

aku meminta maaf jika tidak menghiraukanmu

dan aku minta maaf andai belum mampu menjadi yang terbaik

teruskanlah melangkah kehadapan,

mengharungi badai yang mendatang,

kerana kelak di sebalik awan,

akan ada yang bersinar terang.

Hello cher, I want to thank you for being able to put up such a good fight in order to provide your students with vast knowledge, new skills and of course, our good results. 

I wrote this to represent my colleagues and I. 

This year is A’level year so I would like to apologize if I ever hurt you unintentionally. When I say thank you, I really mean it. I do not know how I can repay your tears, sweat and effort by any other means but by achieving good results, and so I will try!

Thank you for your endless efforts and sacrifice in making sure we won’t end up on the streets. That isn’t an exaggeration but the truth. Without you guys to educate us, we will end up on the streets.

We deeply thank you for everything. Each one of your efforts and sacrifices will forever be cherished and appreciated.

tapi hakikatnya menyampaikan ilmu itu bukanlah sesuatu yang senang.

Keringat yang mengalir di dahimu.. bak hujan yang membasahi bumi yang sudah lama mengalami kemarau.

Andai beban megajar singgah di hatimu, ingatlah...

Betapa mulianya dirimu.. sanggup berkorban demi menaburkan ilmu kepada anak-anak bangsa..

Ingatlah..

Walau diberi semua permata di dunia ini, tidak akan dapat membalas kesemua jasamu..

Oh guru, betapa mulianya dirimu..

Kuatkanlah hati dalam menghadapi segala aral yang terlintang di hadapanmu.

Jadikanlah cemuhan dan hinaan orang sebagai pembakar semangat untuk memperbaiki diri sendiri..

Oleh itu, jangan menyerah cikgu! You can do it!  ♥

First and foremost, I would like to say that I’m very lucky and proud to have you as my tutor for the past two years. To be honest, I was nervous to have the Head of Discipline as my tutor but that all changed when I get to really know you for who you are -- a kind and loving woman. 

You were like our second mother. You treated us like we were your own flesh and blood, apparent from the way you would scold us whenever we didn’t do well in a test or an exam because you were disappointed and believed that with our abilities we could’ve performed better, like any parent would be.

Although the A Level results aren’t out yet, I am certain that I could’ve performed worse if I wasn’t under your amazing tutelage. 

Thank you teacher.

- H