Life is... something that should be seen through the eyes of a child ( Part III )

Having posted to a secondary school tucked away somewhere in the remote area of Negeri Sembilan soon after completing my undergraduate studies might be one of the best experience that I ever had. Apart from the fact that I did my teaching practical training at an urban all-girls school ( where the girls sent me off with a huge chocolate cake and lots and lots of presents on my last day there ), I guess that it taught me a lot about life other than the one gained from various text books, reference materials and endless lectures meant to help us prepare for this particular moment – the posting.

Throughout the short stint here, I came to meet two special characters – Mazlan Pokok Kelapa and Isa, simply Isa, two special children in an otherwise all-As class. Being the first of the four classes in Form 3, the rest of the classmates wore dark blue uniforms ( translated: school prefects ) where else the duo wore white ( or what used to be white ). Ask any of the classmates, chances are they aspired to further their studies at a neighbouring MARA Junior College or Technical School when they proceed to the next form. As for the duo, I’m lucky enough if they could master the simple grammar rules.

Ask them to take out their Grammar 1 exercise book, you could guarantee that it would be the same book utilized for Bahasa Malaysia, Sejarah, Pendidikan Islam, Sains and even Matematik subjects! They could not read, especially where English is concerned. While others always competed to answer my questions or participated in class discussions, both would be seen ( and heard ) snoring! Often I found myself screaming my lungs off, drilling those two with simple tenses, leaving all of us feeling tense and tired. In the beginning, I could not comprehend the reason for their existence in Form 3 S. After being with them for a few weeks, I saw the rationale. You could not send the two to the last class – they were not slow, they were simply different, special.

Mazlan got his ‘pokok kelapa’ title ( doesn’t this remind you of Marsha’s pokok klapak? ) from his infamous Bahasa Malaysia essay. I could not really blame him, actually. When he was in Form 2, he was asked to write on “ Jiran-jiran Saya ” ( My Neighbours ). When he asked his teacher of the definition of ‘neighbours’, he was given ‘ yang duduk berhampiran dengan kita, contohnya di sebelah rumah awak ’. The explanation certainly had helped shed some light into this pour soul, who confidently came up with an essay that tickled the BM teacher ( and the rest who occupied the staff room ) when he read the piece.

This is what Mazlan had written: Saya ada ramai jiran. Jiran-jiran saya adalah pokok kelapa, pokok mangga, pokok betik … Thus, Mazlan got his title.

The PMR examination was around the corner. As a move to motivate and encourage ( and making sure! ) the PMR candidates to study, the Principal had called for daily morning assemblies especially for the third formers. During the assemblies, he would ask one or two students to share with the others what they had read the day before. Without knowing the duo’s background, the fierce-looking Principal asked a question that saw one hand raised up in the air – Isa’s hand. ( All the teachers stood still – we were holding our breaths for what was about to happen. )

Principal : Siapa buat kerja rumah malam tadi?

( Isa’s hand came up. Others kept silent. )

Principal : Bagus. Apa awak buat?

Isa : Saya tolong mak saya racik bawang, cikgu.

We tried hard to suppress our laughter.

Isa’s antics certainly did not stop there. Once, as we were on our way to a sports meet in Kuala Pilah, we saw him standing at a nearby bus stop – obviously waiting for the bus that plied Kuala Klawang – Seremban route – on an obviously school day. Upon seeing us, he put his finger on his lips, making the “Shh” signal.

A friend of mine remarked, “I wonder whether he knew that we ARE actually his teachers!”

I responded, “ Look at it this way. He actually treats us as his friends, instead of his teachers!!! ”

Why did I come up with that remark? Simple. A few days before, my housemate and I actually caught him coming out of a snooker center after a few days of not seeing him in school. When asked, he answered, “ Aku kena tangkap dengan polis lah… Dorang serbu tempat snooker minggu lepas….Tu aku tak datang sekolah tu.. Polis tu pun gelak je bila tengok aku lagi… ” ( I was arrested by the police who raided the snooker center last week. That explains my absence. Even the police laughed upon seeing me. ) It was the first time ever I heard someone using the pronoun ‘aku’ when speaking to his teachers! Had it been other students, the usage of ‘aku’ would send us into fit – but with Isa, you know that he is just different. Don’t waste your precious time lecturing him on the different types of appropriate pronouns – after all, he only has one exercise book. Who needs more when going to school is not a priority?

I left the school a year later. Every time I encounter incidents that are likely to drive me up the wall, I would take a deep breath and think of those two duo – Mazlan Pokok Kelapa and Isa – and wondering what might have happened to them now. Has Mazlan settled down and surrounded by real people as his neighours, and has Isa learnt to use different pronouns especially when dealing with the elders and authorities?