3 Things That Make Good Teachers Great, to me

It is not easy to be a Great Teacher. To be a Great Teacher, I'm expecting someone in the likes of Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, Master Cheng Yen 证严法师, Jamshid Hosseini, Robert Kiyosaki, Master Ryuho Okawa, Oprah Winfrey, Tim Cook, Richard Branson, Princess Diana, 刘欢, and the list goes on to our everyday mentors and teachers who have shown us what it means to put others' feelings, achievements and development before ours.

So, what are the 3 things that make good teachers great? 

1. Great teachers are uplifting but they have the wisdom to know the difference between being uplifting as opposed to being misleading. 

Great teachers are able to spot the little spark in the child and develop it further and not focus on all the flaws the child has. I’m sure you have met that one teacher who made you feel how special and how you could be someone. I remember how Mr Ng looked at me in the eye and say, people with this DISC profile can sell just anything. And there you see the glimmer and curiosity in his eye, studying his subject closely with instinct, you know he meant what he said. You have any idea how empowering a statement like that could be to someone ambitious and driven? How do you discretely advice a child to not pursue something he or she simply would never make it? Say if I want to be the next Lee Chong Wei and you have played badminton with me on a few occasions? Have you seen great teachers who are able to make you leave your ambition or good career without feeling bad about yourself but on the contrary, feeling uplifted and hopeful? If you have not met this one person, meet Aasha, she’s good at showing underperforming staff to the door without feeling they are shortchanged but felt that they are empowered for the next big career change because this is just not the right one yet. If this hasn’t yet sold you the importance of a Great Teacher being uplifting but NOT misleading, youtube Dave Kenneth the SEX Soller on So You Think You Can Dance audition. I bet you’ll be amused.

2. Great teacher has a scholar, a scientist and a child in him. 

I’m not expecting a teacher to be academically excellent, though that would be ideal. However I think it is fair to expect a competent teacher to have a scholar mindset, meaning he or she would continually learn and improve. A scientist mindset is required because scientists are trained to hypothesize and then systematically experiment and research to support, improvise or reject her hypothesis. This is one of the best proven techniques for building active knowledge in this modern age of information. As for a child, the inborn curiosity, the naivety to insist we should give our best and continually believe the world is going to be a better place for us to live in. Personally I rely on my inner child as the litmus paper to test and maintain my sanity and resist the temptations of vanity. It is the child in me that dared to dream. It is the child in me that insisted I should be righteous when the world around says if you got to kill, you got to kill. If you got to cheat, you got to cheat. My inner child reminds me that if I do good, the world will return the favor. And I believe it. Steve Jobs once said, stay hungry and stay foolish. And I believe only a child is able to stay foolish and fight his growing ego as he gets recognized further for his might.

3. A great teacher practices Discretion. 

By Character First’s definition, it means recognizing and avoiding words, actions and attitudes that could bring undesirable consequences. What great teachers practice as a rule of thumb is to consistently bring out the best in their children or students. What they do not and should not do is to shatter the kids’ dreams without proper Discernment, understanding the deeper reasons why things happen; and trying to help the kid reach his sky before telling the kid humans were never meant to fly. I tried and I failed pretty miserably. I was a teacher in SMK Taman Bukit Maluri and I was given the final class in Form 4 to teach Modern Math. This boy has no interest at all to learn in class despite the relatively small number of students. The girls at least tried to listen and follow; they would copy the explanations I did on the blackboard even if they eventually lost the notes. But the boy slept even after the third class I had with them. I was concern and I needed to see how I could help. I couldn’t accept rejection, even if it is only 1 student out of 70. It’s a genetic default in me. Something I’m trying hard to fix. He told me, “Teacher, don’t take it personally. It’s not your fault I do not want to listen. There’s no point trying. I’m a failure and I would never ever be able to understand what you teach no matter how hard you try. I know you are a good teacher but do you know what it feels like trying very hard to get to an answer that is not even the least challenge to everybody else and be ridiculed for taking so long to get 1+1=2?” Enough said. He must have been through the hands of some teachers or parents so critical to him that he will never ever love Math for his entire life as long as he is learning alongside someone better. I wished him luck; I admitted defeat because I did not have extra time to squeeze out for a free personal tuition for him.

I had the privilege and still have the privilege to learn from many Great Teachers in my life today. I once wished for one great mentor to help me reach somewhere in this rough road to freedom. Only to get disappointed again and again because nobody's perfect to your standard and you got to know at some point that we are all genetically built different to be the best of our very own versions. Nobody else but we ourselves could be our 24/7 mentor. And until you are willing to let go your personal pride and ego, open your heart and mind to learn from even a street sweeper, you will never be able to create your own path to freedom and ultimate fulfillment. I've only started to acquire the love of reading after 23 and this passion is only growing stronger as I realized there is so much hidden treasure in books, which are now my most reliable teachers.

To end this, I wish to impress upon all aspiring teachers that I am nowhere near to being a Great Teacher today and am glad that my Manager, Patrick Khoo reminded me time and again how important it is for me to work on Patience & Discretion to reach somewhere. Let's work towards being a Great Teacher and attract more people who aspire to be Great Teachers and Mentors to others to make this world a better place to live in.