TEACHER'S DAY WISHERS

Family members and me treated for a special lunch at a prestigous hotel in Penang by a former student and currently a colleague on the Teacher's Day

Last 16th May was the Teacher's Day. However, not many university students, current and past, realised that it was not only for school teachers, but also for any other teachers everywhere, including lecturers in universities.

On this year's Teacher's Day, I only received a sms early in the morning of the Day from a lecturer in a university in Terengganu, who though not my formal student but quite frequently followed my talk in conferences and sought my advices, and a phone call from a close former student, who is also a university lecturer in the North at the moment, wishing me a happy Teacher's Day. Later in the Day, another on-going Master student of mine wished me through my facebook while four or five other on-going students only wished me a happy teacher's day when I met them coincidently at my office.

The fact that a total of only about eight of my former and present University students wishing me happy teacher's day out of thousand students of mine during my about 30 years of teaching and nearly 70 ISDEV students at the moment, is a very very very small proportion indeed. I realised now how I have failed to penetrate and stay in their hearts and mind. It was my fault therefore, not theirs.

This was definitely very different from what my wife, a teacher in a school in Penang, experienced. She brought home a bundle of gifts from her students, reflecting how they honoured their teachers with all thankfulness.

However, this year's Teacher's Day actually was not really as bleak as it may seemed. Despite the small proportion of my students wishing me a happy Teacher's Day, as usual without failed, annually, not only me but also members of my family were treated for a special lunch at a prestigous hotel in Penang by one former close student and now a colleague of mine. Together with us was another former student of mine from Medan who honoured me with a special gift consisting of two books, one on Islamic State by Musdah Mulia and another one on Development Politics by Zulfi Syarif Koto. Both of them were sufficient to represent all other students I think. Alhamdulillah.

Books presented as Teacher's Day gifts by Dr Warjio of Medan