To Teach Or Not To Teach?!

I was filled with dismay as I read the headlines in the New Paper, "My Teacher the Shoplifter". A primary school teacher had been caught by the guard with a bag of unpaid groceries at Tampines Mall. His wife and son were crying, and to add to the commotion a young boy in the crowd shouted, "That's my teacher!"

The teacher claimed that when security approached him, he was shocked. He asked the guard, "What unpaid merchandise are you talking about?" The truth hit him only when he opened his bag and saw the items, he claimed.

The man begged the guard to let him off, saying he was in a daze and was reprimanded by the police officer when he said he did it out of stress. He did not even need the items - three boxes of face masks and a bottle of Choya, a Japanese plum liqueur.

The police officer asked him, "What sort of stress does a primary school teacher face?" He said he was upset by the remark and replied, "Please do not assume this, and do not say it in my face."

Alas! How many in the country are like the police officer who thinks the work of a primary school teacher is a bed of roses.? Recently I spent a little vacation in Penang and Johore, and although I dote on my little grandnieces and nephews, wow! their amazing noise and boundless energy can drive an adult up the wall. This is why I have always chosen to teach in adult classes or secondary schools. I really admire my nieces and nephews! I guess when God gives parents children, He has also given them a special gifting to take some stress, a gift which perhaps single ladies like me do not have. I have always enjoyed the freedom of time and peace and quiet in my little home. !

I am not a philosopher, lawyer, politician, psychic or detective. However, I believe God also sometimes gives people, especially ladies, special feelings which defy logic and intelligence. This is the same feeling I had when I began to feel uncomfortable with the lawyer who absconded with $6M! I kept asking my director whether Lawyer Zul could be trusted, and I prayed so hard that my client's $500,000 cash payment for the purchased office space would be safe. Thank God that the sale was safely concluded before he absconded.! I hope the police and the Ministry of Education will give the teacher the benefit of a doubt. If he really had the intention to shoplift, would he have brought his wife and young son in tow? His wife and children were stunned and cried when he was stopped by the security officer.

When asked whether he had considered seeing a counsellor, the teacher felt he could handle his stress, and never thought it would culminate in the alleged crime. If he had to see a counsellor, it would be to patch up his relationship with his wife. He called his action, "a bitter price that's too big to pay". "My career is gone. One stupid mistake".

Not only his career would be gone. If his wife is not supportive, she too would be filing for divorce soon. Who suffers the most? The innocent, little son.! And the vicious circle goes on. Sigh.....

I am glad I left teaching some 13 years ago. I had stayed up to mark essays, comprehension and creative writing till 2 to 3 a.m. almost everyday. Due to the lack of sleep, I was constantly losing my voice. When I lost my voice for 3 consecutive days I decided to quit teaching as I did not want to have to undergo the risk of surgery. One of my friends had such a surgery, and now she speaks more like a man, with deep and low tones! Since becoming a property agent, I have never once lost my voice!

Have you ever been so absent minded that you were searching for your glasses only to have your spouse point out to you that they were in you very own shirt pocket? Have you constantly been forgetting where you put your things.? How come you can remember incidents that had taken place some 2 decades ago, but can't remember what you have eaten the night before? Such is the complexity of the human mind. Hence when the teacher told the security that he was in a daze and had not realised his action, give him the benefit of a doubt.

I once went shopping with a friend during Christmas. She suggested Metro. Metro is not one of my favourite. I prefer OG, John Little, etc. Hence, I only ended up with one big teddy bear in my hands. Just as I was about to continue walking, my friend pulled me back and said, "The store stops here - merchandise must be paid before this point." Thank God I had my friend with me. It was my first time in Metro (Far East Building) and these stores just "run on and on" and one can get lost in them. If it had not been for my friend, I would have suffered the same fate as the teacher. I was still teaching then, and constantly thought of my work and students. Of course, a person intending to shoplift would never carry a big teddy bear, loud and clear, for all to see. However, in a country like Singapore, where we just follow law, this explanation would still fall on deaf ears of the security, police and ministry.

My heart goes out to the teacher, his wife and son as well as the student who witnessed the whole episode. It must be quite traumatic an experience for them. I hope the Ministry and the school and all his colleagues will give him the benefit of a doubt and to give him a second chance.
Who knows.? In stressful Singapore, you and I may one day also need that precious, second chance.

Perhaps Jack Neo should come up with a sequel to his movie, "Just Follow Law". Shoot a movie to touch the very core of compassion in the hearts of Singaporeans and perhaps entitle the movie, "Just Follow Our Compassionate Hearts".

Singapore constantly needs replacement of teachers because of the high resignation rate. Though I have quit teaching, the schools often call me up for relief teaching. Thanks, but no, I am enjoying my work as a real estate agent - the freedom of time and monetary rewards that come along with the job. Yes, I still love teaching, and am a volunteer teacher in my church and a volunteer Languuage Evaluator in toastmasters' clubs.

It is time that we focus on the welfare of the teachers instead of just the distinctions and track records of students and schools. The Ministry of Education must seriously look into improving the work load and problems of teachers before more of them end up "making more stupid mistakes" and no one will say, "Stress made me do it".

Gan Chau