Teaching beyond the norm in this day and age

SHAH ALAM - A teacher’s success is the success of their students.

This was what it meant for English teacher Che Fathiyah Che Hamid, as an educator.

Her hope was for all of her students to become great people in the future.

The 33-year old who hailed from Kota Bharu, Kelantan said it takes a lot of strength and resilience to be an educator especially in this era.

This, she said was due to the fact that nowadays, teachers were no longer the only educators for their students, as students were able to gain knowledge outside of the classroom.

“That is the most challenging part of being a teacher.

“Students have access to knowledge outside and receive unfiltered input whether good or bad. Basically, everyone around them is their educator, not only their teachers and parents.

“But this is their era, so we (teachers) have to try to fit in, in order to provide them with the best education,” she told Sinar Daily.

After graduating in 2013, Fathiyah who is living her dream became a lecturer in several private universities in the city centre for seven years and now she is a teacher under the Education Ministry.

Passionate in what she does, she said she once learnt the Chinese language while she was a lecturer as most of her students at that time were Chinese.

She said as some of them were not proficient in English, the language barrier made it difficult for her to teach at first.

That was when she decided to learn the Chinese language and when she was able to communicate better with her students, it made the learning process smoother.

“No doubt language barriers could be a hurdle in the learning process.

“At that time I was not able to communicate with them, so when this happened, I knew I had to do something about it.

“I then slowly learnt the language and once I was able to communicate with them better, I felt so happy to be able to share the knowledge with them,” she said.

She said she had also learnt throughout her career that a teacher must prepare themselves by becoming more connected with the students and be the source of support and encouragement for them.

Recollecting one of the happiest moments as a lecturer, Fathiyah said she had managed to help a student who was going through depression and on the verge of quitting studies.

She said she tried to talk to the student at first and to make the student feel comfortable to talk about it, in which the student eventually did.

“There are times when people are just stuck and they need people to bring them back. So, I did that and held the student’s hands when she was at her lowest point.

“At the right moment, she bounced back.

“She is now pursuing her studies overseas to achieve her dreams and this makes me so happy as a teacher,” she said.

Fathiyah also pointed out that teaching was beyond just academics and preparing teaching materials and that it was about fostering the students’ development in their relationship, identity, emotional skills and overall well-being.

She said there was a time that she had to deal with a ‘problematic’ student during her time as a practical teacher in Selangor, but little that she knew, that student was the one who would still contact her and ask how was she doing until now.

“When my life started as an educator I was assigned to a school in Selayang and there I met a student who had gotten into all sorts of trouble.

“I remember yelling at her once in the classroom as she had gone overboard and then I saw her facial expression changing.

"But when I was no longer teaching at the school, she was the one who kept in touch with me and would always ask me how was I doing.

“So, to me if a student often creates trouble, there might be some underlying issues. There must be a reason why they are acting in such a way,” she said.

Fathiyah said it is the dream of every teacher for their students to become better than them in the future.

"As teachers, we do not want our students to just do ‘okay’, but we wish for them to be the best in all aspects.

“It is May 16, today and I would also like to take the opportunity to wish all teachers in Malaysia Happy Teachers’ Day.

“We have all done our very best for the students and I hope we will continue to do our best in educating them,” she said.