To Our Very Own Unknown Teacher

May 16 is the official date on which Teachers’ Day is celebrated in Malaysia. What with the hubbub generated by the 13th General Election (GE 13), it is not easy to pen anything about this day without touching on politics. Certainly not when racist statements are being thrown here, there, and everywhere along with a call to abolish all vernacular schools in the country.

“Great generals win campaigns, but it is the Unknown Soldier who wins the war. Famous educators plan new systems of pedagogy, but it is the Unknown Teacher who delivers and guides the young.”

Waves of a newfound political awareness have been sweeping across various parts of the country since the GE 13 on May 5. There is a sense of hope and a new beginning. Are you, the Unknown Teacher, going to celebrate the Teachers’ Day of 2013 with a renewed spirit regardless of your political allegiance or inclination?

For too long, and thanks to the Universities and University College Act 1971, Malaysian teachers have known to be a subservient lot indifferent to politics. What has this servitude brought to the country other than a constant decline in the standard of Malaysian education and the quality of Malaysian students?

So, one thing you should do as you celebrate the day is to ask: Are you going to be part of the problem or part of the solution? There can be loads of complaints you can hurl at the government. There can be a long list of flaws you can make about the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025. But just remember the words of Henry van Dyke: “Famous educators plan new systems of pedagogy, but it is the Unknown Teacher who delivers and guides the young.”

He lives in obscurity and contents with hardship. For him no trumpets blare, no chariots wait, no golden decorations decreed. He keeps the watch along the borders of darkness and makes the attack on the trenches of ignorance and folly. Patient is his daily duty, he strives to conquer the evil powers which are enemies of youth.

At this point in time, our young need your guidance more than ever. The people have exercised their democratic rights to go to polls and they have duly cast their votes and made their sentiments felt. Although the GE 13 produced no titanic change in the identity of the government, a major local newspaper and a few irresponsible and selfish politicians have chosen to interpret the results of the elections in a way that serves their own interest. One of the major communities that make up the Malaysian society has thus been unfairly singled out for some racist attacks.

One of these self-centred men has even called for the abolishment of the vernacular schools without knowing that the Razak Report, which was written in 1956, provides for the existence of Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil schools at the primary level.


May 16 was chosen as Teachers Day in Malaysia because on this same date in 1956, the Razak Report was endorsed by the Federal Legislative Council of the Federation of Malaya. So, are you willing to be one of our very own Unknown Teachers ready to “make the attack on the trenches of ignorance and folly” and “strives to conquer the evil powers which are enemies of youth”?

Those who are consumed by their own desire and self-interest do not care, to quote English novelist Joseph Conrad, that “a word carries far, very far, deals destruction through time as the bullets go flying through space.”

But the unknown teacher does --and much more than that. He knows his duty goes beyond helping his students to ace the subject he teaches. And he knows he has the responsibility to instil virtues in them. He is a builder of man, not a destroyer.

If there is one message you wish to pass to your students on this Teachers’ Day, tell them that racism has no place in this land – not when the peoples of different colours and creeds all over the world have embraced Mother Earth as the home of mankind that needs to be protected and saved.

With that, I wish to greet you a happy Teachers’ Day by sharing this piece by American author and educator Henry van Dyke:

I sing the praise of the Unknown Teacher.

Great generals win campaigns, but it is the Unknown Soldier who wins the war. Famous educators plan new systems of pedagogy, but it is the Unknown Teacher who delivers and guides the young.

He lives in obscurity and contents with hardship. For him no trumpets blare, no chariots wait, no golden decorations decreed. He keeps the watch along the borders of darkness and makes the attack on the trenches of ignorance and folly. Patient is his daily duty, he strives to conquer the evil powers which are enemies of youth.

He awakens sleeping spirits. He quickens the indolent, encourages the eager, and steadies the unstable. He communicates his own joy in learning and shares with boys and girls the best treasures of his mind. He lights many candles which, in later years, will shine back to cheer him. This is his reward.


*This is a personal opinion of the writer. William Tan is a former journalist who went astray into teaching after making a vow to never marry a lady in the teaching profession.