Tribute to Teachers

Tribute to Teachers

My son Alexander is a very active boy. From the time he was in kindergarten to Primary 2, I would sometimes receive feedback from teachers about him being playful in class. My son also tells me that his teachers would scold and criticise him in front of his classmates.

Then came Ms Adeline Ong, who is his Primary 4 form teacher in Tao Nan School.
I used to attend parent-teacher conferences with a heavy heart, fearing what I would hear about my boy. The experience with Ms Ong was so refreshing. She is the first teacher I have met who had nothing but praise for my son.
Other teachers would comment about my son’s uniform being very dirty and that I should bleach it. They would say his handwriting is very untidy and he needs to work on it.
But Ms Ong does not focus on these. She chooses to see only the good in my boy - his eagerness to help her or his classmates, or the use of a nice phrase in his essay. As a result, my boy now believes in himself and loves going to school.
He was even made prefect this year and, for the first time in his report book, he got an excellent grade for his conduct - all because Ms Ong believed in him and he did not want to disappoint her.
Alexander said she has never yelled in class and chooses instead to remind the kids that they should not be doing something. I think the kids respect her because she does not yell. He says when she enters the classroom, everyone keeps quiet, not because they fear her, but because they respect her.
She is an inspiration to me as a parent. I see so much change in my son’s conduct and his desire to do well in school. It all stems from her belief in my child and her choosing to focus on the good in a child.