The Cow and The Butter!

People may simply say that this is just another case of the fox not getting the grapes and then making snide remarks that the grapes are sour!  But, I always feel that credit should be given where it is due.  It should not be like the case of the proverbial cow doing all the donkey job, and it is the butter that gets all the praises and rewards!

Justify it how you may, work done is work done!  There is no two ways about it!  You cannot deny all the work that someone has done and say that reward is given to someone else because the job that you do is nowhere near as good done by the latter.  Would it be fair for someone to get all the rewards just because he likes to be in the limelight when another person, who is also doing the same capacity of work, but prefers to do all the work, and sometimes more, behind the scene.  Perhaps being behind the scene is the reason why he has not been given any kind of recognition for his work!  Behind the scene means you are not seen!

Be Thankful

Not the school in question

"You reap what you sow", or at least that's how the saying goes.  In most cases, this saying applies appropriately but in this particular case which I am going to relate, it is the exact opposite.

This scenario is based on the SPM results (again) which was announced recently.  It is normal for schools that do well in the examination to receive waves of congratulations from people from every corner of the world.  And it is also normal for schools that did not do so well, to be visited by inspectorates and officers from the education department, most of the time demanding to know the reasons for the poor achievement.

Top of the World!

The SPM results were finally out today amidst different emotions engulfing each and every teenager who had sat for the examination last year.  It had been a long wait, be it for the teenagers, their parents or even the teachers who had taught them.  It was quite easy to guess the results these teenagers obtained judging from their body language and facial expressions once the results were in their hands.  For the successful ones, leaps of joys and laughter abound, but for those who did not do so well, the immediate reaction would be slumped shoulders and glum faces.

Nevertheless, I would like to share the joy that every one is currently experiencing and that is the ultimate recognition where our school was announced  the best in the district.  I am only sharing here because I have not actually seen the results myself.  My heartfelt congratulations go out to all my colleagues who had made a concerted effort to achieve this success.  As teachers we should not despair when not a single one of our successful students, nor their parents for that matter, approach us to hold out their hands to us expressing their gratitude for having taught them, because in reality, very few actually do!

I for one would feel extremely happy and contented just to see the smiles on my students faces, satisfied in the knowledge that I have made my small contribution towards that success.  And at least for today, no amount of negative remarks from any one, not even my superiors, can pull me down from my pedestal, that is being on top of the world!

The Young and The Restless: The Same!

What is it about children that always gets on your nerves no matter how much you try to control yourself.  They bicker and quarrel with each other consistently and always disregard the warnings or reprimands made by the parents.  Worse still, whenever they are scolded verbally, they retaliate by talking back at you, staring at you like their eyes would come out of their sockets or just walk off into their rooms and slamming the door in anger!

It is rather ironic when you think that it is the parents who should be angry at them for quarreling and not listening to their parents warnings to stop doing so.  It is the parents who should be angry for their children's lack of respect towards them.  But, instead, it is the children who are angry at them for being scolded.

Children: A Parent's Judge

Oscar Wilde said that 'Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them';  perhaps only sometimes.....

When they were young, you shower them will all the love in the world, and they in turn do the same to you.  But as children get bigger and become teenagers, they tend to appreciate the love their parents give them less and less, probably because with the advent of age, they require more of that love.  They seem to feel that the love that parents give them is not enough anymore.

When they were young, children seem to feel appreciative of even the smallest things that parents given them and they would usually reciprocate by giving their parents a hug of love or at the very least a hug of thanks.  But as children get bigger, small tokens of love that parents give seem to appear , well, small and often times worthless.  A parent's love according to them should now come in big amounts, like big pocket money, big praises, big spending for clothes and gadgets!  Everything must be big!  Only then will children show that they love their parents; then again, perhaps not as big as how much has been spent on them!

Meeting That Should Have Been Missed

Yesterday I was requested to attend a meeting after school hours.  The venue of the meeting was in a prestigious school in Seremban, about 110 km or a two-hour drive from where I live.  Even though I hate driving long distance, but for the sake of my profession, I overcame that hate.

However, my tiring travel there was in short, for nothing if not merely to meet old acquaintances.  There wasn't much information given during the meeting apparently because the speaker from the Ministry of Education, who had earlier on agreed to attend the meeting and to disseminate some important information, decided not to turn up at the last minute.

This sad attitude reminds me of the proverb 'the pot calling the kettle black'.  The people in this high and mighty place always demand a high standard of professionalism from teachers and make such a big fuss if they see anything wrong with what the teachers are doing, no matter how small.  But, who will make a big fuss about their professionalism when it comes to this situation.  So, mister 'pot', make sure you are shiny before you decide to cast doubts on other people!