Showing the ego or being childish?

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you in regards to an incident which happened in one of the secondary schools in East Malaysia and this incident has brought much trauma to the students involved in it. Therefore, I would like to bring your attention to this matter in lieu of restoring the students’ psychological confidence and to be fair to all parties involved.

On the 3rd of November 2010, my brother who is a 5th form student in S.M. St. Anne, Labuan approached me about an incident which happened at school that day. According to him, an environmental talk was held in the school. As the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination is just around the corner, the students were feeling anxious with the final preparations for the examination. Hence they have decided to bring along their book to the talk to fit in some revision during the course of the talk. Their books were then confiscated by one of the teachers in the school, and were not returned to them at the end of the day. When questioned by the principal the next day, they admitted that they did intend to study while the talk was on but my brother specifically eventually did not read during the talk. Instead, he only studied whilst waiting for the talk to begin.

The students were indeed wrong to begin with, and they have admitted their wrong-doings. Most of them returned home that day without their revision books but my brother and a friend of his decided to take their book back from the staff room that day as they needed the books for their revision that night. On the next day, several students approached the teacher to apologise and claim their books back but were brushed off without any consideration. The teacher then entered their class and started shouting at the students. When questioned, my brother and his friend admitted that they had taken the books back without permission the day before as they needed the books for revision. Some arguments sparked off, the teacher said to them in a very threatening manner, “if it’s not because of the school rules, I would have slapped you”.

Putting aside all the issues mentioned above, I was most devastated with her curse towards the students. Specifically referring to my brother, she cursed him to fail his English. In my opinion, regardless of whether the students have made a mistake or not, a teacher SHOULD NOT curse her student, especially in such a manner. Few students continued to stand strong and continue with their journey but many, especially the girls broke down into tears.
We all know that SPM is a very important examination for secondary school students in Malaysia. Being an educator and a role model to the rest of her students, she should have been able to manage this issue more effectively. For instance, solving the issue of bringing books to the talk right after the talk has ended and not keeping mum, then leaving for home after the school session has ended.

On the 5th of November 2010, a Prizes Presentation Ceremony rehearsal was organised by the school. During the course of the rehearsal, the 5th form students who were involved in the issue above were once more verbally harassed* when making their way up to the stage. My brother also mentioned that the teacher was giving him stares throughout the day.
Being just two weeks away from the national examination, such treatment from a teacher is totally unacceptable. It is known that teenagers are psychologically vulnerable. Such words uttered from the mouth of a teacher would definitely affect their concentration and confidence in their studies as well as the upcoming examination.

Although the school management has urged the students to apologise to the teacher, I have advised them to withhold the apologies as the teacher is not even open to accepting apologies. I would classify it as a very childish act coming from a matured teacher. I am confident that should the teacher be open to accepting apologies, the students would be more than willing to say sorry. But from my own past experience, she would just brush off apologies with sarcasm. Years ago, I was once chased out from her English class as I was absent for her class to attend sports training in preparation for the MSSM tournaments. I was then told that I need not attend any of her class anymore in the future. Similarly, I approached her the next day to apologise but received a response, “Whatever, do whatever you like”. It is really unacceptable having that coming from a teacher.

I am extremely appreciative of the actions taken by the school management (including the Parents & Teachers Association) thus far. Regardless of the outcome of their discussions, I am determined to make this issue known to the public as 10 years of mistreating the students, is far more than enough. The teacher needs to realise that her acts and behaviour are both unacceptable in the society that we are living in today. This letter is not intended to ruin the image of the school but to bring everyone’s attention to the existence of such educator in the education system.
Lastly, I must stress that S.M. St Anne is a brilliant school and I am very proud to have graduated from this very school. The big flaw however, needs to be fixed before the image of the school continues to be ruined by this teacher’s act. Her receipt of the “Guru Cemerlang” award is also questionable to a very measurable extent.

8th November 2010
*Harassment in this context refers to a form of behaviour that offends, humiliates or intimidates a person (as per www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au)