Wednesday, August 1, 2012

A charismatic SMK headmaster

Recently my cousin sister sent me a newspaper clipping of a headmaster I respect a lot.

He was once the headmaster of my son's school. During his short stint in that school, he has improved the discipline tremendously (My son said he is STRICT but GOOD). Parents, teachers and students could see his sincere effort and passion in running the school. Apart from improving academic performance, he also encouraged students to take part in extra curriculum activities. During the school marathon, he ran with the students. He is the main reason why I put my son in that secondary school. Too bad he was only there for less than a year...

However, one school's loss is another school's gain. He is now in a secondary school in Sri Kembangan (He taught in that school for many years before being transfered to my son's school. And now he is back as the headmaster of that school). It used to be a notorious school with serious discipline problem. He has turned around that school and improved the ranking from 1930 (2010) to 561 (2011).  Students who once felt inferior are now immensely proud of their school.

The star online : Sir, you are my inspiration
(do scroll down the page until you see a man pointing at a wall of pictures...then scroll down further until you see the subhead "The Community Builder")





Extracted from Sin Chew:
Mr Tay is determined to help the underachievers. In view that many of his students speak dialect, he has specially arranged a full day Bahasa Malaysia lesson per week for those who stand a chance of passing BM.

A student said, "...I can see the big difference under the leadership of Mr Tay. He strives to improve our academic performance. If students are unable to attend the school tuition, he will try to arrange transport.

I'm a scout, and ever since Mr Tay joined the school, he gives us more freedom to explore, and as long as what we do is right, he will support us. Our school was looked down by others, but now it is so outstanding and we are very happy about it."

Another student said she could deeply feel how much her teachers and school care for her. Some teachers have helped her to instill interest in subjects she once disliked. The school offers many activities and she has transformed into an active student. She has a strong sense of belonging.

Mr Tay is a great headmaster who has inspired and motivated teachers and students to give their best. He is the type of headmaster parents want for their kids.

Do take a look at the school's Facebook. I can tell this school offers a Positive, Caring and Respectful learning environment.  I truly salute him.

2 comments:

norick said...

Thanks for the link to the star news (have not read star for few months already- boycott!!)and SMK SK fb page.. Yes we need more dedicated teachers like them... It touch my heart..
Here.. check this blog.. of a teacher who join the TFM program.. She was a graduate from US. I have the same name as the writer.. I wish I can be noble like her.. but too bad..I did not qualified to be one.. www.sweatlee.com

YuinTing said...

Hi Norick, thanks for sharing the TFM teacher's blog with me. It is for a nobel cause, and I salute her. I notice TFM is more for the high need school, especially for the rural area.

For the urban public school, we still need to rely heavily on the existing group of teachers (civil servants). Parents can only pray that their kids have a good headmaster (such as Mr Tay) because when the head is good, even the not so good teachers will have no choice but to buckle up. But bear in mind those hopeless teachers will still be hopeless. Sorry I sound pessimistic but I have witnessed it myself for many years. That also makes me truly respect those dedicated and qualified teachers in the public school...with or without a good headmaster, they still perform their duty well.

I feel that it is important to set a good foundation for our kids. Encourage them to read more story books since young (and take tuition only when necessary), and be disciplined in studies. When they are in secondary school, at least they can rely on themselves more, and less affected by those unqualified teachers. (they may need some good tutors by then)