The Horse and The Water

Star Q

i.  Sambutan Maulidur Rasul

ii.  Fish in Pomegranate Sauce

I have always heard about teachers telling tales about how difficult it is to teach a group of students who just refuse to learn.  I have always thought that such a thing would never happen to me and even when it did, I would be able to handle it to the best of my ability.  

This would be my third decade in the teaching profession and I must confess that weak students are still weak; just as they were when I first started teaching.  The only difference is, many years ago weak students were only that; weak!  They did not disturb the class even if they found the lessons totally incomprehensible; they did not make loud noises even when they felt like they did not want to learn anything; and above all, they were never disrespectful to their teachers; no matter how much they hated the subject (or the teacher for that matter!)

Weak students nowadays are a far cry from weak students I used to teach.  Weak students nowadays are not only weak, in fact they are also lazy.  Not only are they lazy in doing the tasks given in the class, they are even lazy in bringing their books to do the tasks in the first place!

Weak students nowadays express their dislike for particular subjects by making loud noises (probably in a bid to muffle what the teacher is saying!);  weak students nowadays get agitated and become restless very easily that they find it difficult to sit down in their places for more than five minutes (running about in the classroom usually ensues!);  and weak students are also articulate in expressing their dislike towards the subjects (much to the dismay of the hardworking teachers who trudge on even when he/she knows that he/she is snubbed!)

In addition, these students also show their dislike towards some subjects and their refusal to learn anything by going as far as to erase all the notes and exercise already written by the teachers on the board (see picture above!) and then making a quick dash to God-knows-where!

There is an old Chinese saying that goes; You can take the horse to the water, but you cannot make the horse drink the water!  When I ponder upon this Chinese saying, I lament to myself that if I were the horse's owner, I could probably sell off the horse or put it to work in the fields.  Worse come to worse I could put it to sleep.  I wish it were that easy with these students!