Anak Murid Idaman Cikgu

Last Monday was the second time I celebrated Teachers' Day.

While World Teachers' Day falls on Oct 5 every year, Malaysia's Hari Guru falls on May 16. According to Wikipedia, May 16 was chosen as the Penyata Razak was endorsed on that day in the year 1956. As we all know, the Razak Report "became the basis of education in Malaysia ever since".

Teachers' Day always makes me feel glad to be a teacher. It's not just about the presents (though I like receiving them... hehe). It's the little, little things that make you feel appreciated.

For examples:

1) J surprised me with a bouquet of white roses very early on in the morning. He asked to make sure, "Saya orang pertama yg bagi hadiah kat Teacher ke?"

2) Students wishing you "Happy Teachers' Day" with their bright smiles and gave you hugs and kisses.

3) The students put up wonderful performances for their teachers. My favourite performance had to be the Dikir Barat. The slightly mad "Enjit-enjit Semut" was a close second. I knew the students put in a lot of effort practising for the performances. That made us teachers feel celebrated and special :)

4) Dakshan & Paul played me a song with their ukulele. Sgt comel.

5) Received a very personalized gift from R. A lot of thought went into it so I love it a lot!

6) I also received Happy Mothers' Day wishes. The sweetest SMS came from Atiqah:

"Teacher,atiqah's here,i just want to say happy mothers day to u!i know sounds strange right?but u're like our real mther..the way u teach us!mmg mcm our mther,even though,u x kawen lg,hahah!thanks for everythng!sorry because im not a good studnt in your clss!!i love u!"

One student even combined the two celebrations together and wished me: Selamat Hari GuruIbu!"

7) Four days after the celebration, D said, "Teacher tak pakai pun lagi tudung yang saya bagi" *Err...*

8) Another teacher told me this: A student of hers came to see her to wish Happy Teachers' Day. He said something like, "Saya doakan Cikgu diberkati Allah selalu. Cikgu tolong doakan kejayaan saya. Terima kasih atas segala pengorbanan Cikgu"

His heartfelt wish made her cry along with 2 other teachers who were in the staff room, listening. Her story made me teary-eyed as well.

I remembered H asking me a few days before Teachers' Day, "Cikgu cakap je nak APA, nak BERAPA?"

I replied, "I don't mind. Surprise me".

Now (and though this sounds cheesy) I would have replied, "Your prayers would have sufficed".

This year's celebration also reminded me of the following poem. It's written by my beloved former principal, Dr. Fatanah Mohamed. She read out the poem during the 2001 Teachers' Day celebration (if I'm not mistaken) at MRSM Jasin. I was a fourth-former then. The poem was later published the the school's mag.

Being a teacher has made me appreciate the poem's content better. Hopefully, my students would aspire to be such an Anak Murid.

Anak Murid Idaman Cikgu

(Aspek Minda)
Mindanya positif tidak bercelaru
cerdas otaknya, tidak mudah ditipu,
bersinar matanya mendengar kuliah guru
tidak hanyut atau layu
baik dan buruk dia tahu
membaca bahan bernilai ilmu,
menuntut ilmu tiada jemu
mempunyai wawasan
memikirkan masa depan
mindanya aktif, luas fikiran.

(Aspek Jasmani/Fizikal)
Anak didik idaman cikgu menjaga kesihatan diri
sihat jasmaninya bersarapan pagi
membuat senaman setiap hari -
berjalan, berjogging serta berlari,
memilih makanan dan minuman
rokok, air bergas dijauhkan,
atau apa saja yang menjejaskan kesihatan
asrama dan kelas dijaga kebersihan
tidak membuang sampah merata-rata
menjaga kebersihan alam sekitar kita

(Aspek Rohani)
Hidup bersemangat, percaya, reda pada Allah
berjiwa besar, tidak mudah mengaku kalah
bertanggungjawab, kerja sungguh-sungguh
segalanya beres tak pernah bertangguh
jujur dan sentiasa benar pada kata-kata
sentiasa mempamerkan akhlak mulia
tidak haloba tiada buruk sangka

(Aspek Emosi)
Jiwanya besar, berbudi bahasa
berasa dirinya berharga,
kebolehan diri dia percaya
potensi dirinya tidak dipersia,
yakin diri, berpaksikan agama,
tenang, sabar, tidak putus asa
dia berusaha dan terus mencuba.
Mematuhi perintah, tabah, berfikiran terbuka,
barlapang dada, suka bekerjasama
sentiasa berazam memperbaiki diri
stabil emosi, unggul peribadi,
tidak bersedih dengan kekurangan sendiri.

(Aspek Sosial)
Hati yang lain tidak disakiti
benar ucapan dan memenuhi janji
bersopan santun, tidak mengutuk, tidak memaki
tidak menghasut, tidak membenci
manis wajahnya riang berseri
tiada hasad tiada dengki,
mengasihi dan murkai kerana Ilahi
ibu bapa, guru, dan rakan dihormati dan disayangi,
menjaga maruah dan harga diri.
Pemaaf, bertimbang rasa, luhur hati dan budi.
memberi pertolongan dan berbesar hati.
Tidak membiar rakan hidup susah dan sepi
mendahulukan orang lain daripada kepentingan sendiri,
tanpa menjejaskan kesejahteraan diri.

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HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY TO ALL THE AMAZING EDUCATIONAL ARTISTS OUT THERE!! :)