“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Arthur Ward, American Writer
I received a message on my Facebook a few days ago from a former student of my late dad, Yee Mun Mow (余漫谋). She had attended the recent wake. A classmate who is now based in Indonesia is in town and wanted to meet with me. I agreed. Four of them met with my brother and I at a coffeeshop in Siglap, not far from where my dad used to live in. They were from Yock Eng High School in the 1970s.
The former student is an Indonesian. He had come to Singapore to study in the middle of Primary 4. My dad taught him Math. He shared that dad’s explanation was very clear and laid the foundation for him to do well in Math because he could understand the concepts. What other teachers would take weeks to explain, he understood in a single lesson. In Primary 5, dad taught him again, this time in Art and Moral Education. In Primary 6, he was their form teacher and Chinese teacher as well.
He shared that outside of his own dad, my dad was the one who influenced him the most. I was surprised. Dad only taught him for 2.5 years. He told us that dad taught widely, often beyond the syllabus but in a very clear manner. It inspired him to love the Chinese language. You have to bear in mind that he came at 10 years old to Singapore. The Chinese language was banned in Indonesia since the 1960s from the start of the Suharto’s administration until Suharto fell from power in the late 1990s. It was illegal to sell or distribute any materials with Chinese text in it. Yet he picked up the language fast and excelled in school. He went on to an English medium school, where he naturally topped the school in Chinese. He returned to Indonesia at the end of Secondary 2, where the language continued to be banned. He credited his continued interest in the language to the strong foundation that dad gave him. Other than that, he and the rest too shared that dad took an interest not just in their studies but also in their personal well-being. For another student, he advised her to apply to Nanyang Girls High because he saw the potential in her to do well. She made it to NYGH and remained grateful that dad took an interest in her future.
They shared old memories, including their visit to dad at his home and could even name the dishes that dad cooked for their dinner. They recall his old yellow-coloured round Fiat car and how dad dressed humbly. Dad was strict with his students, yet caring as a teacher.
We parted today’s dinner as new-found friends. One of them texted this to me shortly after:
一位好的老师
不在于他教学生的时间有多长
而在于
对学生好的教诲有多深
影响有多远
纪念我们敬爱的
永远怀念的
小学五、六年级（1975、76）
的华文老师
余漫谋先生
The above translates as a teacher who is good is not about how long he had taught the students, but how deep he had left the impressions and how far the influence had gone. It is heartening to know that dad’s influence had reached far and long. He may have taught them only briefly, but the fact that they sought me out to tell me these really touched me. Thank you.
Yee Jenn Jong 