Teachers' Day Celebration 2010: In Honour of Our Beloved Educators
“The food smells so good…” Student council member Wong Rui Ching groaned as the smell of cooked food wafted through the hall, causing a few jaws to involuntarily masticate.
Sadly for the students, the mouth-watering plethora of culinary delights was solely for the enjoyment of the lecturers who gathered in Delta Theatre for Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas’ special Teacher’s Day celebration, organized by the Student Council in appreciation of the lecturers whose sweat and tears form the foundation for the education of the Taylor’s College student body.
One extra-curricular society that decided to make its contribution to the success of the event was the Food Club, which set up a stall outside the ECA office, just a few steps away from the Delta Theatre, selling gift boxes with delicious cupcakes as well as stalks of roses. Sales were, however, minimal in the early part of the event, as many students were happily indulging in their rare two-hour break.
(Two hours is just about the length of an economically disastrous shopping spree, a full-fledged DOTA game with all ten players, a long scrumptious lunch at Wendy’s, and also approximately the time needed to rush to the nearest Cineplex for the screening of ‘Iron Man 2’ and then make it back to college.)
A committee member manning the booth said, with a touch of irony, that “the Food Club was providing a glorious array of wonderful food, living up to the expectations of the student body.” Happily, sales picked up considerably midway towards the end of the event, and the committee could at least pack up with smiles on their faces.
Coming back to the Teacher’s Day Celebration, while the lecturers enjoyed their lunch, the first performers of the day, Zamry and Ashley, kicked off the event with their rendition of the song “My Heart”, followed by an energetic dance routine by Heena and Group to the tune of Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams.” One of the dancers, Ying, later confided that they performed the dance especially for the teacher-coordinator of the event, Mr. Kumar. ‘He loves Beyonce,’ she added coyly. A ballet performance by Carmen, Catherine and Isabelle followed, with their graceful choreography and mesmerizing movements lending an element of class to the afternoon.
By now, the backstage was getting especially cramped due to the entry of the next batch of performers — the class of BS4 from the January 2010 intake. As they assembled on the stage and began to sing, the atmosphere lightened considerably and smiles spread through the crowd as they recognized the famous refrain of Ronan Keating’s “When You Say Nothing At All”. As the choir launched into the well-known chorus “The smile on your face lets me know that you need me,” few spectators could resist singing along.
A humorous musical drama came next when a group of performers led by Bahrain showcased their mastery of the art of thespianism, eliciting laughter from the audience on more than one occasion. As the hip-hop crew for the next performance clustered into the backstage, I managed to grab a few words with the crew leader, Richard. When asked if he was nervous, he replied, “I’m not nervous. I’m quite confident as I’ve got experience with this sort of thing.”
He and his group walked the talk moments later when they wowed the crowd with their explosive and highly-coordinated hip-hop routine, drawing applause from the audience. Their intro routine, however, probably stole the show. As the dancers formed a half-circle facing away from the audience, Richard declared (with a healthy dose of drama) that “if any of us offended you teachers before…we apologize,” before dancing to the tune of One Republic’s ‘Apologize’. How’s that for a segue way?
Drum beats boomed through the crowd as a tall, muscular drummer emerged from the side door in full Punjabi regalia, beating energetically on the dhol (drum) hanging from his shoulders. Cheers erupted as the full cast of the Bhangra dancers entered the stage and immediately jumped into an enthusiastic routine that drew cheers throughout the entire performance. Laughter erupted when the dancers began to get a little bit outrageous in their performance, dragging the emcees onto the stage to join in, and even attempted to convince Mr. Kumar to show off his moves! Unfortunately, their attempt was unsuccessful.
The merriment of the afternoon turned to more sober reflections as a video presentation by Josephine Tiew aired on the projector screen, featuring actual interview clips of the opinions of the Principal Mr. Ananda, the heads of departments, the lecturers, and finally the students, on what it means to be a successful teacher. Laughs and whispered comments abounded as familiar faces appeared on video, and humorous moments drew laughter from the audience.
The overall mood was introspective, however, and the atmosphere became emotionally charged as Student Council President Leong Jian Wei came on stage to present a special card courtesy of the Student Council. As a PowerPoint presentation came on screen, with emotional messages and heartfelt expressions of gratitude from the students, there was many a moist eye in the audience. During the closing speech by Mr. Ananda, he took this opportunity to introduce two new additions to the Taylor’s College family, Ms. Nara and Mr. Wong Chan Wai. He also thanked the Student Council for their efforts in making this year’s Teacher’s Day Celebration a memorable one. After this, the lecturers, performers and Student Council members left.
I managed to interview a lecturer outside Delta Theatre right after the event. Ms. Charmaine Khoo Zhoong Lyn applauded the Student Council for their creative effort. “It’s not very often we get such sincerity from students. I was genuinely touched by the students’ efforts, especially the presentation towards the end.” There was no doubt at all that her sentiments were shared by the other lecturers, some of which were visibly moved. As I concluded the interview, I did not neglect to wish her “a Happy Teachers’ Day.”
Khalil Gibran, the Lebanese-American author, once said, “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.” Amidst the wisecracks and comments of the lecturers and students in the video clip, a few qualities were always attributed to all great teachers: commitment, enthusiasm, love, and ultimately the ability to not just pour knowledge into students’ minds, but to open the minds of the students and to create the ever-burning hunger to seek knowledge and understanding on their own. Mr. Ananda, in the video, commented that “a successful teacher is someone who is passionate about teaching.” Education, according to the Irish poet William Butler Yeats, is “not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” This is echoed by the great teacher, the Chinese sage Confucius – “Every truth has four corners. As a teacher I give you one corner. It is up to you to find the other three.”
All students everywhere harbour great dreams – dreams to fulfill their hearts’ desires and become beacons of light to people everywhere. Yet how many of us, when our ambitions finally become a reality, actually spare a thought of gratitude for those selfless individuals who choose to remain out of the light of our glory and are content to simply gaze, satisfied, upon their former pupils? Let us dream big; let us pursue our passions and take to the skies. But at the same time, when we finally spread our wings, let us never forget those upon whose backs we first took off.
To all teachers and educators, to the lecturers who sacrificed so much for the sake of our future: Happy Teachers’ Day!
BY BENJAMIN OH
Sadly for the students, the mouth-watering plethora of culinary delights was solely for the enjoyment of the lecturers who gathered in Delta Theatre for Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas’ special Teacher’s Day celebration, organized by the Student Council in appreciation of the lecturers whose sweat and tears form the foundation for the education of the Taylor’s College student body.
Lecturers ready to enjoy their well-earned lunch
One extra-curricular society that decided to make its contribution to the success of the event was the Food Club, which set up a stall outside the ECA office, just a few steps away from the Delta Theatre, selling gift boxes with delicious cupcakes as well as stalks of roses. Sales were, however, minimal in the early part of the event, as many students were happily indulging in their rare two-hour break.
(Two hours is just about the length of an economically disastrous shopping spree, a full-fledged DOTA game with all ten players, a long scrumptious lunch at Wendy’s, and also approximately the time needed to rush to the nearest Cineplex for the screening of ‘Iron Man 2’ and then make it back to college.)
A committee member manning the booth said, with a touch of irony, that “the Food Club was providing a glorious array of wonderful food, living up to the expectations of the student body.” Happily, sales picked up considerably midway towards the end of the event, and the committee could at least pack up with smiles on their faces.
Coming back to the Teacher’s Day Celebration, while the lecturers enjoyed their lunch, the first performers of the day, Zamry and Ashley, kicked off the event with their rendition of the song “My Heart”, followed by an energetic dance routine by Heena and Group to the tune of Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams.” One of the dancers, Ying, later confided that they performed the dance especially for the teacher-coordinator of the event, Mr. Kumar. ‘He loves Beyonce,’ she added coyly. A ballet performance by Carmen, Catherine and Isabelle followed, with their graceful choreography and mesmerizing movements lending an element of class to the afternoon.
Carmen, Catherine and Isabelle performing their ballet routine
By now, the backstage was getting especially cramped due to the entry of the next batch of performers — the class of BS4 from the January 2010 intake. As they assembled on the stage and began to sing, the atmosphere lightened considerably and smiles spread through the crowd as they recognized the famous refrain of Ronan Keating’s “When You Say Nothing At All”. As the choir launched into the well-known chorus “The smile on your face lets me know that you need me,” few spectators could resist singing along.
A humorous musical drama came next when a group of performers led by Bahrain showcased their mastery of the art of thespianism, eliciting laughter from the audience on more than one occasion. As the hip-hop crew for the next performance clustered into the backstage, I managed to grab a few words with the crew leader, Richard. When asked if he was nervous, he replied, “I’m not nervous. I’m quite confident as I’ve got experience with this sort of thing.”
He and his group walked the talk moments later when they wowed the crowd with their explosive and highly-coordinated hip-hop routine, drawing applause from the audience. Their intro routine, however, probably stole the show. As the dancers formed a half-circle facing away from the audience, Richard declared (with a healthy dose of drama) that “if any of us offended you teachers before…we apologize,” before dancing to the tune of One Republic’s ‘Apologize’. How’s that for a segue way?
A spirited dance by Richard (second from right) and team
Drum beats boomed through the crowd as a tall, muscular drummer emerged from the side door in full Punjabi regalia, beating energetically on the dhol (drum) hanging from his shoulders. Cheers erupted as the full cast of the Bhangra dancers entered the stage and immediately jumped into an enthusiastic routine that drew cheers throughout the entire performance. Laughter erupted when the dancers began to get a little bit outrageous in their performance, dragging the emcees onto the stage to join in, and even attempted to convince Mr. Kumar to show off his moves! Unfortunately, their attempt was unsuccessful.
The merriment of the afternoon turned to more sober reflections as a video presentation by Josephine Tiew aired on the projector screen, featuring actual interview clips of the opinions of the Principal Mr. Ananda, the heads of departments, the lecturers, and finally the students, on what it means to be a successful teacher. Laughs and whispered comments abounded as familiar faces appeared on video, and humorous moments drew laughter from the audience.
The overall mood was introspective, however, and the atmosphere became emotionally charged as Student Council President Leong Jian Wei came on stage to present a special card courtesy of the Student Council. As a PowerPoint presentation came on screen, with emotional messages and heartfelt expressions of gratitude from the students, there was many a moist eye in the audience. During the closing speech by Mr. Ananda, he took this opportunity to introduce two new additions to the Taylor’s College family, Ms. Nara and Mr. Wong Chan Wai. He also thanked the Student Council for their efforts in making this year’s Teacher’s Day Celebration a memorable one. After this, the lecturers, performers and Student Council members left.
I managed to interview a lecturer outside Delta Theatre right after the event. Ms. Charmaine Khoo Zhoong Lyn applauded the Student Council for their creative effort. “It’s not very often we get such sincerity from students. I was genuinely touched by the students’ efforts, especially the presentation towards the end.” There was no doubt at all that her sentiments were shared by the other lecturers, some of which were visibly moved. As I concluded the interview, I did not neglect to wish her “a Happy Teachers’ Day.”
Khalil Gibran, the Lebanese-American author, once said, “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.” Amidst the wisecracks and comments of the lecturers and students in the video clip, a few qualities were always attributed to all great teachers: commitment, enthusiasm, love, and ultimately the ability to not just pour knowledge into students’ minds, but to open the minds of the students and to create the ever-burning hunger to seek knowledge and understanding on their own. Mr. Ananda, in the video, commented that “a successful teacher is someone who is passionate about teaching.” Education, according to the Irish poet William Butler Yeats, is “not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” This is echoed by the great teacher, the Chinese sage Confucius – “Every truth has four corners. As a teacher I give you one corner. It is up to you to find the other three.”
All students everywhere harbour great dreams – dreams to fulfill their hearts’ desires and become beacons of light to people everywhere. Yet how many of us, when our ambitions finally become a reality, actually spare a thought of gratitude for those selfless individuals who choose to remain out of the light of our glory and are content to simply gaze, satisfied, upon their former pupils? Let us dream big; let us pursue our passions and take to the skies. But at the same time, when we finally spread our wings, let us never forget those upon whose backs we first took off.
To all teachers and educators, to the lecturers who sacrificed so much for the sake of our future: Happy Teachers’ Day!
BY BENJAMIN OH
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