Dear Sir, I Miss You

Dear Sir,

I miss you since yesterday. Throughout the whole Anatomy & Physiology Finals, I can't stop thinking about you. Even when after the test and I got home to get some rest, I was still thinking about you. And today, while I am revising my Maths, I miss you even more.

Yours truly,
Yun Xin the "Bumpin' "

Yes, this entry is written as a tribute to my beloved teacher Mr Chee. He was my tuition teacher since I was in Form 1 and he was the one "sending me off to SPM hell" in Form 5. He is my mentor, my motivation and my guide in the very big forest of knowledge.

I remember vividly when I first entered his class in the morning when I was a Form 1 midget. I was totally lost and blur. Nope, he did not spend time teaching me patiently, with the oh-so-fatherly-love or anything. Instead, he called me a "pig" and a "bumpin' " (that is the female variation of "bump", meaning idiot.) When I answered a question wrongly in class, he openly insulted me, calling me names and making fun of me. When I was sleepy in class, he made me repeat answers or nonsensical sentence many many times. When I made a careless mistake, he humiliate me in front of the whole class. He even writes in illegible handwriting that the whole class can only guess what he is writing. When we asked him what he wrote, he would rudely tell us that "This is a Biology class, not a 5 year old spelling class."

Many of you will think that either I am crazy or I am one sado fellow who likes to be treated badly. Sorry to disappoint, but I am neither crazy nor sado. His very sarcastic and cynical methods had propelled me into a huge part of who I am today. His insults made me finish all the exercises in the workbook just to prove him wrong that I was not lazy. His name calling made me read thick academic books, yes, university modules, when I was just in Form 2, so that I don't get called a "Bumpin" in class. Him making fun of me in class made me read all my text at least twice before entering tuition room so that I don't make silly mistakes. His humiliation made me brave and not afraid to make mistakes and take risk in class. His incoherent grunts and illegible handwritings made me think and consider a lot of things, not to mention the encouragement to read more in order to understand his class. His method that seemed so rude and pointless to others, actually motivated me into becoming who I am today.

When I graduated Primary school, I was determined that I will hate science. But his was of teaching made me curious of the world around me. He made me inquire into things, ask questions, look into things from different angles, and think out of the box. Slowly, I took an interest in Science and here I am, doing a Bachelor's degree on Biomedical Science. I miss those Thursdays where Biology tuition was the ONLY class that taught me how to be street smart instead of book smart. I miss those Thursdays where I will bombard Mr Chee with questions during break time, got scolded in return but returned to class with a big grin on my face with answers. (No, I am not crazy) I miss those Thursdays where I get called "Yun Xin the Bumpin' " (Yea, slowly, everyone in the class took pride in being called a Bump or a Bumpin' an academic honour.)

Being in University for over a year now, I am deeply disappointed in the system. We are not encouraged to think or even ask. We just need to swallow, and regurgitate. Digestion is not even needed. Sad to say, I've succumbed into this system in order to survive in it. I don't know how long I can keep the "learning for knowledge" thinking as it seems like knowledge is not even needed in exams.

I miss Biology tuition classes in that small room with a class of less than 20 students where you will insult, scold, humiliate and throw us insane unexpected questions. I miss that clipping sound of your suitcase and the silhouette of a limping man strutting into the class. Hell, I miss being called a "Bumpin' " by your ever so rude voice.

Dear Sir, I've watched many many episodes of House and realised that the 2 of you, work the exact same way. You are cynical, sarcastic, have bad manners, yet you always right, until I prove you wrong, which is extremely rare. And you are certainly the best teacher I've ever had.

And you and Dr House share another similarity:
You two LIMP!