Teacher     by Kong Shiu Loon

Those were years of social transition
When teaching was still an admired profession
Young men and women saw it as a lifelong career
Helping children grow and thrive was a challenging frontier

I watched Ms Ho handling a pupil sent to her for disciplining
He had wronged a classmate with swearing and spitting
Ms Ho asked and patiently listened to the pupil his story
He showed defiance and elegance telling her not to worry

It was a long counseling session lasting for half an hour
In the end the pupil recognized his wrongs with tears and a deep bow
Ms Ho was in charge of disciplining pupils other teachers could not handle
Soft-spoken and sincere she approached them to win their hearts almost in total

Teaching to impart knowledge is one easy job
To help children see themselves and to be free and good is another job
Children of the computer age require not information from books
They must learn to know self and others to develop perspective outlooks

I remember Ms Ho handling eight or nine difficult pupils every week
There were times when she and pupil came to terms together weeped
I asked once why she had accepted such nervy tasks so willingly
She said giving herself to teaching came only naturally

[Before the 1997, Teachers’ Day 教師節 was on September 28. After the handover to the People’s Republic of China, the day was changed to September 10, which is when the PRC celebrates the holiday — Wikipedia]