A Mu'allim and the Innocent Child

It was 2:20 pm. Finally, the final class of the day. He walked to the class thinking of the relief afterwards. What a long day, he thought. As a newbie, everyday is a challenge for him.The first challenge was a new working environment; all of a sudden he got children. Not only one, but hundreds of them. As a single, he was struggling to define the true meaning of fatherhood.

The other challenge was a new bunch of colleagues. He couldn't deny that all of them were great persons, with great visions. They even had greater commitment than him as some of them had a family of their own. The problem was, that commitment had become an undisputable justification to put on most of the burdens to singles like him. He sighed but never made any complaint. There's always a rainbow after a rainy day.

He made his walk with pride carrying all the burden on his broad shoulder. His new children greeted him. He replied with a smile. He taught and did everything to the best of his limited knowledge and skill to discharge his responsiblity for the day. So far, so good, he thought. The children were doing what they were asked. Everything was good until suddenly, he started to lose his grip. The children started to lose their attention. Some started to play. He moved around and patiently asked them to sit and do their work. They obeyed except for one particular child.

With a badminton racket on his hand, that child ran out of the class and aiming the racket like an M-16 and started making firing sound along the balcony. It was a very hot day, and the teacher lost his patient. Almost losing his mind, he shouted to the child. Suddenly there was silence. Suddenly, there was order. But it didn't end there, the teacher kept on scolding the child in English until the end of the day.

The next day, he went to the same class. To his surprise, the child he scolded yesterday came to him and helped him to carry his things. He thought that this child had learnt something from yesterday's scolding. Before he began the class, the child looked at him innocently and asked him in Malay, "Mu'allim, apa yang mua'llim jerit-jerit dekat saya semalam? Saya tak faham lah." Dang!