A Tribute: My teacher, guide and friend

They say that teaching is the profession that teaches other professions.

Learning has always been the milestone for mankind, for it is through learning that we have created such a world we have today, and it is through learning that we have only ourselves to blame for the mess we create. To learn, we must first teach. Much of the people we see today cannot deny that what they are enjoying today is the result of teaching. We owe our lives to teaching, or rather, our lives are the result of teaching. Even the most successful engineer or the most competent businessman must have been taught some way or another.

They say that a teacher's purpose is not to create students in his own image, but to develop students who can create their own image.

I would describe the teacher-student relationship as a reflection on the water's surface, where the water depicts the student. The distorted image of the teacher in the water variates with the formation of the reflection on the water's surface such that it is not consistently the same, and yet the image would always be recognised as that of the teacher. It is imperative that we gather our learnings from the teacher, but at the same time discerning and understanding aligns the values imparted to us so that it would be able to fit into our lives. Teachers will be able to make out the image of themselves in the student's lives, but this image would be uniquely associated and adapted to each individual.

They say that the best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.

Personally, I am grateful to all my teachers who have been such a wonderful inspiration to my life. They were the ones who taught me valuable lessons in life, guided me through trial and tribulation, and acted as a friend by my side during times of distress. When you stop and wonder about the reason behind having such wonderful people in your life, think passion. Teaching is all about having a heart to go the extra step in shaping the lives of others and imparting valuable knowledge to students, which serves as a foundation for filling up the empty pieces in one's life. It is not about personal glory, and neither is it for the pay. With this, let me salute all the teachers out there who have given their lives for others to learn from, for when you teach your student, you teach your student's student.

They say that teaching is about moulding lives.

This entry is especially dedicated to my physics teacher, Mr. Lau Soo Yen, who has so carefully and dedicatedly moulded us into students of integrity and respect; students who have grown spiritually and mentally throughout the two years he has been teaching us. Most teachers take the extra step forward in helping students with their work as well as their lives. Mr. Lau took me through the extra mile. The lessons he taught us not only encompassed learning, but also living and believing in each other. He also left with us fond memories of our time with him and lessons in life in the form of delicate cards which he personally made as a graduation gift to each of us, and this we will keep by our side for the rest of our lives, for it is part of his reflection on us.

He gave us something to take home to think about everyday besides homework.
He taught us Physics. The Physics of Life.

Mr. Lau, if there were anything to say to you, it could all be summarised in 3 words:-
Never quit teaching.

With all sincerity,
Thank you, Mr. Lau. You made your teachers proud of you too.

"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years." ~ Jacques Barzun

Not my problem

A: "SHURT UP!"
B: "@*&#*@!#!"
* A does a flying kick at B and misses and falls down *
* B delivers a punch and hard kick at the back of A's head *
* A retaliates with yet another flying kick, and misses yet again *
A: "He arttack me! I corr poolice!"
* A makes a break for it *
B: "You dun runn away! Dun runn awaaaay!"

(right then I was quite thoroughly amused by the gongfu display being put up, but as I was late meeting a friend, I had to make my way past them)

* A kick which nearly hit me flew across my face. Phew. *

To add on to the effects, there was a group of girls, presumably those 2 guys' friends, who were chanting "eh, stop la.." all the while, with the occasional "eh, dun fight la..".

Oh, and did I forget to mention, this was not some Ong-Bak movie in Thailand, but our very own Ah-Beng gangfight located right inside an MRT station. To be precise, the linkway between the North-East Line and North-South Line.

Well, as you all should know, security has severely tightened the noose around MRT stations due to our desire for a terrorist free Singapore. You won't even be surprised much if a policeman armed to the teeth walks past you in an MRT station. Vigilance is a key issue too, and all of us are trained to report anything suspicious, or anything that disturbs the peace. I'm very sure most Singaporeans practise this mentality, and true enough, one public-spirited gentleman took the initiative to forgo part of the wonderful performance to alert a security personnel at the North-South Line side of Dhoby Ghaut MRT.

Now, if you were thinking how interesting the fight sequence was, wait till you hear the response of the security guy.

Public-spirited man: "Hey there's 2 guys fighting over there could you do something about it"?
Security: * Shuffles a few steps to get a better view *

"Oh, that side ah, I think it is North-East Line's side, not our problem".

There you have it, our peacekeepers doing their best to avoid trouble. I mean, who wants to get into trouble? Surely we can pity the plight of these security personnel in drawing the line between their respective employers hor..

Rubbish. Total rubbish. I'm disappointed.

A Helping Hand: The Akha Outreach Foundation

The Akha Outreach Foundation (AOF) is a non-profit organisation based in Chiangrai, Thailand, which provides shelter and love towards Akha children who are born into extreme circumstances. My first visit there was in December 2003, after which I have been visiting them each year around that period of time (Christmas). However, no plans have been made for this year's trip up, but I sincerely wish that I could make another trip there again.

Country Lifestyle

Recollecting my first visit there in 2003, I would describe it simply as a new definition of the word 'memorable'. Having been exposed to city life for the past 15 years at that point in time, learning to switch my bearings to the ragtag environment of country life was much of a challenge, for everything from hygeine, language, and way of life were a stark contrast to that of our bustling city. Basically, the lives of the hiltribe people are very much simpler than city people, and one important point to note is their ability to suit themselves to the situation, rather than make detailed preparations to acoomodate it, as we city-dwellers would normally do.

Who gets the ultimate 'scholarship'?

The children there have gone through much more than we can imagine, for before we made our trip up, an email was sent to everyone of us which had the life story of each child attached. Trust me, it was excruciating for me just to read what those young children had to go through, but the thought of them having been fortunate enough to end up in the AOF gave me a sigh of relief. According to Aje, director of the AOF, the limited amount of vacancies due to financial strain and lack of accomodation and staff at the AOF meant that only a few children could be brought out of their villages each time they went for that purpose. Even then, each child had to pass a series of tests including a HIV test to ensure they were suitable candidates. One of his remarks made an impact on me, for he said something along the lines of :-

"There are many children we would like to bring into the home, but we just cannot, and it always saddens me to reject a child. But it has to be done for now, for we cannot accomodate so many of them currently".

Practices and Atrocities

These children in the Akha Hilltribe have lives so twisted by the many practices of the hilltribe religion, which revolves around black magic and the supernatural. One of the practices I remember vividly was the culling of twins upon birth, as they believed that a woman could only give birth one child at a time, hence one of the twins is deemed a 'demon'. Since they cannot decide which is the 'demon', they kill both babies. Apart from religious practices, some of the children have parents who have been shot and killed, or are hopelessly addicted to drugs such as opium (note the close proximity of Chiangrai to the Golden Triangle, an area notorious for druglords). Drugs are expensive, and what better way could the adults think of but to use their children as pickpockets or drug smugglers to help support their addiction.

Life is a box of chocolates

During my 2005 trip, I got to know a orphan in the AOF brought in the year before. Paneeda was raised as a pickpocket by her uncle, who was an opium addict, and my was she violent. Seriously violent. Very warmly she greeted me with a flying kick, for which I am glad of my height, for she only managed to hit my legs. According to Aje, she was much worse when she was brought in, and we were fortunate to receive only a 'mild' reception from her. During the course of our stay, it was apparent that her only means of communication was through insults and fighting. Through her i learnt the meaning of "Ba Ba Bo Bo", which means stupid, and "Bai Gei Gai", which you can find out through me personally, for I wont disclose its meaning here. However, she was the child who touched my heart the most, for it was she, during our last day at the compound while we were saying our farewells, that ran up to me and shoved a cloth into my hand, on which was a cross-stitch delicately sewn which read, "Merry Christmas LOVE". Never have I experienced such sincerity. Never.

A Helping Hand

In my previous post "A Musical Dialogue: The Music Behind Inspiration", I mentioned about the 'Heartstrings' series which was produced by me along with two other classmates. "Heartstrings - For you I will" was the first album released in conjunction with Valentine's Day at a price of SGD$5 per copy, of which all proceeds were donated to the AOF. Our final donated amount of SGD$1000 far surpassed our expectations and it really served as an inspiration to come up with our second album, Heartstrings 2, already ready to be released but at a time yet to be determined. This is one of the ways in which you can make a difference to the lives to those less fortunate, innocent children who have suffered at the expense of the atrocities of those related to them. Of course, the best way would be to give a direct donation which you can make through the AOF website.

An Afternote

Much of what was mentioned was just a brief macro view of what the Akha Outreach Foundation serves as, and what I did during my time there. Hopefully, I would be able to share more of my experiences with you readers in future entries, as they are too long to be included in this entry. There are many things that I have not mentioned, or have not come to my understanding of, which are also not included, hence it is important not to jump to any conclusions based merely on this entry. I would be more than willing to answer any questions you have to the best of my understanding, but it would be better if you could contact the AOF personally through their website regarding your queries.

"You will find, as you look back on your life, that the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others".
~ Henry Drummond