I remember my teacher

I came across a video advertisement from the Ministry of Education. It was done more than a year ago, but I only got to see it in its entirety only today. This long form advertisement is about teaching as a career, and after watching the ad, it resonated deep within me. This is possibly by far, the ad made my MOE to make the most impact.

This ad is based on a true story about a student who has landed on tough times, dealing with the family’s financial problems, burdened with debts from loansharks, and despite making ends meet, he was unable to cope with his studies. As a teacher, Mrs Chong,  she gave a helping hand to get back on his feet. But there were still troubles ahead for the boy. Now a adult, he seeks his former  teacher to treat her for lunch, a ‘promise’  made from Mrs Chong when he finally becomes successful in life.

Although this ad is about teaching, and teaching as a meaningful career, I find this ad moving, because it suddenly got me thinking; among the teachers that have taught me, who made the biggest difference in my life?

Looking back, after almost 20 years being in schools, studying, from kindergarten, primary school all the way to my present state, in NTU, it has indeed been a very long journey for me. To get from where I was, to where I am right now, certainly the path that I have chosen to walk and continues to walk have undoubtedly been forged by the teachers who have taught me. Up to this point, it has never occurred to me to really think that in a very short time from now, I would have been ready to seize the world, to make a difference; in essence, to be successful. When I talk about being successful, I don’t mean making lots of money, or become a celebrity, rather, to finally be a responsible adult, to be a person of character, a life lead by principles, molded by the hands of my teachers after all these years.

In short, you have dreams, and you have goals in life, and you might have achieved some of them. But who ultimately brought you here? Look back at your life and think about it for a moment…