A tribute

My makeshift PSP (NX's) works wonders. It allows me to forget my jacket (which means that I'm probably going to freeze to death in the office today) and all those things which I'm supposed to do today (which includes ordering a new air-conditioner remote control and updating my bank book and paying Uni registration fees). But well, it's useful as long as it distracts me from those baby roaches which infest the bus I take to work every day.

My aunt's retiring today, after nearly 40 years in the teaching line. She really needs a HUGE break, as far as what I can see from her worked-up behaviour yesterday. She seemed a little reluctant to leave the school (because of her HUGE garden which those students are probably going to use as a dumping ground without her around), as it's conspicuous that she still has unfinished business to attend to, and loads of students she can't bear to leave. Seriously, after tangling in the apron strings of the education system for more than 10 years, I could finally overlook this entire situation from the perspective of a teacher. No matter how hard the educator might try to push his/her students to greater heights, there will be inevitable bugbears and barriers to overcome on the teacher's part. Students, colleagues and personal matters may collide and form a dead knot which cannot be undone. I have utmost admiration for my aunt, not just because she was adamant about her job and teaching style, but also because of her extraordinary ability to devote to educating her students over the years. It broke my heart countless times to watch her mark assignments and test papers until 2am in the morning but be of little help. The helplessness I felt must have also been what she had felt at times, when students refused to comply and when assignments were done haphazardly. She had given her heart and soul to the job, but what she got were misunderstanding students and tedious attempts to compromise. We, as students, should be ashamed of outselves. Ask ourselves, when was the last time we blamed a teacher for too much work? But alas, when was the last time we openly (or even silently) thanked our teacher? So who are our teachers to us? Are they someone we'll be entirely grateful towards all our lives, or are they just "the one who makes the tea"?