The month of May every year is
the most anticipated month for teachers, for this month has the teacher’s day.
This day is the day when teachers are being celebrated for their hard work and selflessness.
For the past three years, McDonald’s Malaysia had honoured Malaysian Teachers
by the Anugerah Guru Inspirasi
(Inspirational Teachers Award). This award is meant to recognise teachers
on how they had inspired and set the life of millions of students.
When I first knew about this
award, I can’t help to think of a teacher who had inspired me not just to
become a teacher, but also set the teaching attitude of myself. This teacher is
the one who basically lay the foundation of my most prized work so far:
teacherfiera.com.
Teacherfiera.com has grown from a
small online storage site into a multi-award-winning, English teaching
materials website, benefiting more than 40000 teachers, while the contents were
used and accessed by more than 3 million students, across 150 countries around
the world. It provides huge materials library,
and most importantly the platform to discuss, share and help each other, supported
by more than 40000 awesome, hardworking, excellent teachers and members. The
best thing is, everything is provided for free! Still, I never think that
teacherfiera.com could ever be a “finish product”, it’s a perpetual
work-in-progress, for teaching and learning is never-ending.
Many asked me, why troubling
myself to do this?
Before getting to the answer of
that question, a little introduction of who I am. Honestly, I’m just a regular
Primary School English Teacher in Pasir Mas, Kelantan. That’s it, and there is
nothing special about me. But
what made me want to put my effort in teacherfiera.com is a true
inspiration, and that is a teacher of mine. He used to teach me during my
primary school years in SK Zainab 1, Kota Bharu, from Standard 1 to Standard 6.
He also happened to be my father, Mr Wan Zainudin Bin Wan Deraman.
He was posted to SK Zainab 1 in
1980 and retired from the same school 37 years later in 2017. Teacherfiera.com is
genuinely inspired by the way he worked.
My father, circa 1980
My father, 2017
My father and me, circa 1995
When I was first posted in Jeli,
Kelantan back in 2012, I struggled to adapt to the teaching world. It was so
frustrating when students did not understand what I was trying to teach them.
After a while, I started to think that I might be a lousy teacher. So, I turned to my favourite teacher: my
father, for help. I asked him many questions about teaching, and his answers
made me realised that teaching is supposed to be fun for teachers, as well as
for students. He told me that students, especially the young ones that I am teaching, will need
much more than just “chalk-and-talk”, they need visuals, sounds, textures and
tastes to help them understand better. Not only that, I also understand that
students way of learning is always evolving, and it is the teachers’
responsibility to catch up.
I remember when I was a primary
school student, my father will stay up late to prepare his teaching aids for
his lessons. Back then, computers were inaccessible, so he used “stencil paper”
instead. Honestly, I do not know what the exact name of the machine or printing
technique was, but in Kelantan, we call it “Mesin Gelek” (Rotating Machine),
because a hand crank will rotate the machine, and produce copies of the
teaching aids and worksheets on papers. At night, my father will write on the
stencil paper using a pointed metal pen, and print them the next day at school
using the “Mesin Gelek”. I remembered he would first change to his special “printing
shirt” because the machine was very messy, and black ink will be smeared all
over his shirt, and of course his hand as well. He did this almost every day
until he can afford to buy computers and printers some 15 years later. This dedication
is what inspired me the most in my way of teaching.
“Mesin Gelek”
Once the era of computers and
digital printing arrived, he quickly learned how to use them in teaching. He
was so passionate about using computers and technology in teaching; the school
made him the school’s head of computer lab. Despite me being born and raised in
a rural village in Tumpat, I am quite familiar with how to use computers,
because my father taught me how to use it, and it proved to be extremely
beneficial for me as a teacher.
Whenever he made teaching
materials, whether it’s picture cards or worksheets, he will always share them
with other teachers. He simply loves to share his works. He believes that
sharing is very powerful, and it is the key to make our life really unique and
worthwhile because sharing has a certain unique magic of its own. He told me
that sharing his works and ideas doesn’t make him lose anything, but instead he
gained much more: knowledge, experience and good friends.
Sharing his teaching materials
was one thing; my father also loves to help other teachers in handling problems
in teaching. Some teachers had trouble in classroom management, while others
grapple in teaching mixed-ability students. To help them, my father would share
his teaching experience and gain some while doing it. He never looks down on
anyone, even new teachers, or felt inferior to experienced teachers, for he
believes that he can learn from anyone, and anyone can learn from him.
My father believes in the
importance of teaching materials, technology in education, the power of
sharing, and the beauty of helping each other. His beliefs are my inspiration.
This is the answer to the question of why I started teacherfiera.com and
eventually shaped the teacher in me today.
What about you? Who is the most
inspiring teacher in your life?
The award recipients of Anugerah Guru Inspirasi
McDonald’s 2019 will be announced this month and I am so excited to hear how
these teachers have inspired their students. I am sure that these teachers,
like my father, are constantly going beyond their call of duty and going the
extra mile for the benefit of their students. No demand for glory, no ask for
recognition; just pure, hard, genuine work. I look forward to celebrating
Teachers’ Day with the recipients of the award as well as all fellow teachers
in Malaysia. To my father, terima kasih abah, terima kasih cikguku!
#AnugerahGuruInspirasiMcDonalds
#AnugerahGuruInspirasi
#HariGuruMcD
#TerimaKasihCikgu
**Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by McDonald's Malaysia **
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