A Boy in Punishment - a Tribute to Teachers by Lee Fei Fung

It was a hot sticky afternoon, or it must have been so for a boy who stood in punishment in front of class Form 3. The teacher was sitting at her desk marking exercise books, while the lad was standing beside the blackboard at one corner,his body almost leaning against the wall, fidgetting in an uneasy manner. As for what reason he was made to stand in front of the whole class, I have not a clue now.

The teacher, in between marking her work , pushed up her spectacle from her nose, and with sharp piercing eyes, observed the boy.Then with a tinge of amusement , she remarked : ' You know something, I could tell what kind of a person you are by the way you stand...' The boy, whose body posture formed a 's' shape, and sometimes interchanged to '2' shape, looked alarmed at what the teacher was going to say.

' I think you must be a sloppy, and wishy washy person in your work , for you can't even stand straight.

The teacher continued : 'And I can also tell what type of person you are by the way you dress..." With his head down, the lad looked shameful and unbearable.A look at his shirt revealed that it was creasy, half tucked in and half falling out of his trousers from the waist. The teacher continued : ' I can tell that you are a very untidy and perhaps disorganised person.' her voice was without any malice, instead was filled with motherly concern.

Gosh, how the lad must have wished that there was a hole for him to hide in! The poor lad clung even closer to the corner wall, and his face red with embarrassment. Apparently he was extremely uncomfortable to be in the lime light. All eyes were focused on him.

I was filled with a mingled feelings of sympathy for the boy, and an awed feeling for the teacher's 'prophetic' power of character analysis. After what seemed a century long ordeal ( actually only a few minutes long ), the lad was finally ' released '. Hastily he fled to his seat,brushing me by and leaving me wondering what the future would hold for him after such a comment from a highly respectable teacher.

This historical account was so vivid in my memory that it was like a strong imprint in my brain.

Have you ever wondered who the boy was ?

Well......he is none other than our Dato Neo Say Yeow!

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Hi, Say Yeow,

I wonder whether you remember this incident of your school days. We were classmates since primary 6 from Tah Tong school in Pontian Besar, remember? Thousand apologies if I cause you embarrassment by my article. The whole point what I want to make here is :- I am really glad that you proved the teacher ( Mrs Mathew ) wrong by your subsequent brilliant academic results, as well as your achievement in life.I tend to think.... perhaps it was Mrs Mathew's remarks that jerked you up, so that you pulled up your socks and worked hard, who knows....

( Hi, Say Yeow, I think I better be discreet before e-mailing the above to the ssp group, in case you may find it offensive or embarrassing. However, I can see that you are a humorous person who can take things with a pinch of salt in life, after all the incident was so long ago in the past. The above article is subject to your kind approval, amendment and/or ' censorship'. If it is ok, kindly forward th same to the ssp group.)

From : Lee Fei Fung