theSun | MONDAY MARCH 30 2009 13

speak up!
We believe that the young
should have a say in how
things are run, because
they have everything at
stake in our future. This col-
umn creates that space for

Wise to keep
our panel of bright young
sparks to debate a whole
range of issues that they
feel strongly about.

teachers in the loop

by Ng Tze Yeng
HISTORY and feminism are two pleasures
of mine. Studying World History in Form 4
brought me close to the greatness and fallacies
of humankind. I revered the thought that ideas
and actions are interconnected across time and
space. I don’t recall my history teacher being
particularly enthused with the sub-
ject, nevertheless, I left secondary
school with a fondness for history,
left in the backburner.
My infatuation for the subject
simmered until my last year at
university where I took a module
in history. My history professor
infectiously spread so much delight
in the sharing of every morsel of
historical fact, interpretation and
anecdote that it was impossible
not to be moved by the marvel Freespace
of history that he held so dear. I
sometimes wonder what my aca- Where young views rule
demic path would’ve been if I had
a teacher like him when I first discovered the
joys of history.
An offshoot of taking his class was the dis-
covery of feminism and subsequently joining
the Malaysian feminist movement. Although
I’ve never been formally schooled in feminist
theory, the invaluable philosophy of working
towards a just and equitable society breathes
life into me. The teachers for me are the activ-
ists, some of whom are academics as well, who
selflessly guide me, spurred by their own faith
in the work that they are doing.
So, when I was offered the chance to share
lectures on the independent feminist movement
in Malaysia at a local university, I jumped. I was duty to carry out whichever policy is adopted.
overwhelmed and yet excited about the idea of
the opportunity to pass on what has inspired
me. “I know the material, I’ve successfully
delivered it in English, I did pretty well in my
Bahasa Malaysia paper in SPM, all I need is
some translation, so it shouldn’t be a problem,”
or so I thought. Only when I took the plunge I
realised how out of my depth I was.
Most of my intellectual development post-
SPM has been in the English language. Antici-
pating some difficulties easing back into Bahasa
Malaysia, I translated the points into Bahasa
Malaysia to supplement the notes in English.
I was prepared. But what I wasn’t ready for
was the psychological and emotional aspects of
teaching, when communication is a barrier.
My brain was severely taxed by two hours of
constant translation. Often, towards the end of
the first hour, I find myself looking searchingly
at the more pro-active students to throw me a
word that I have just uttered in English to sup-
plement my broken Bahasa Malaysia.
Not accustomed to the choppiness of my
presentations, I began to accumulate grains of
self-doubt. Despite my dry-runs before lectures,
nightmares of my students failing their exams
haunted me. Though I did a good job projecting
the exact opposite as I stood in the lecture hall,
my self-confidence begin to trickle away each
time I thought I didn’t do a good job. No longer
was I aspiring to inspire them, I had lowered
the bar, hoping against hope that
I would not fail them as a person
who was meant to guide and
impart knowledge. I was discour-
aged. I was prepared to quit after
the first year.
Thankfully, pep talks and
guidance from an experienced
lecturer reversed the downward
spiral. Marking the occasional
brilliant exam script also restored
snatches of confidence, which
swung back to disheartenment
when an atrocious script passed
through my hands. Nevertheless,
I went back for a second year, this
time, preparing a little more by reconnecting
with the academic level of Bahasa Malaysia.
The experience was more enjoyable. And now,
I am looking forward to my third year.
The debates on teaching science and
mathematics are very much shrouded in the
discourses of language politics. Some quarters
argue for the preservation of language, others
the “logical” acceptance of English as the lingua
franca of these two subjects, and some argue for
the language that will serve the students best.
Teachers to me – with their concerns and abili-
ties – seem to be left out of the public debate.
Some have argued that it is the teacher’s
Others sweepingly blame the weak delivery
on the current crop of teachers who are as-
sumed to have pursued the noble profession
as an occupation of last resort. Frankly, either
view does a disservice to those who sincerely
signed up to serve. I was fortunate enough to
have been schooled in both languages and yet
I found it a challenge – what more for those
who have been trained in one language and
callously thrown into their new role? What
will be the impact, not only in their quality of
teaching, but also their self-confidence? Which-
ever policy the Education Ministry decides to
adopt, it should be done conclusively with the
assessment, training, monitoring and caring
for the wellbeing of those whose ultimate role
is to illuminate the minds of the nation – lest
we forget.
Tze Yeng is blessed to have had wonderful teach-
ers in her life. Comment: letters@thesundaily.
com

Earth Hour the first step letter

letters@thesundaily.com

AS A conservationist, I am proud and thankful that
so many of my fellow Malaysians have voiced their
concern about climate change. By supporting Earth
Hour 2009, we are all sending a clear message to
the governments of the world that we want them to
take urgent action to mitigate climate change. Each
supporter’s signature matters, especially as 2009
is a critical year in determining the future of our
planet. In December this year the world’s leaders
will meet at the United Nations Climate Change
Conference in Copenhagen to write and potentially
sign a successor to the Kyoto treaty. Earth Hour
2009 aimed to provide a platform for 1 billion people
from around the world to express their desire for
unified and urgent action on climate change in the
lead up to Copenhagen.
With reference to the letter “More to saving the
planet” (March 23), WWF-Malaysia is not presenting
Earth Hour as a long-term solution to mitigate cli-
mate change; this global effort is an important first
step in the fight against global warming. People will
only be motivated to take effective action against
environmental threats like climate change if they are
first made aware of the issue through campaigns
like Earth Hour. After Earth Hour has raised public
awareness about the need to combat global warm-
ing, WWF-Malaysia hopes that Malaysians, and the
people of the world, will continue to demonstrate
their concern about climate change by taking steps
towards achieving energy efficiency.
Among the simple steps that everyone can take
to help save energy are: switch off unused lights;
switch unused appliances off standby; switch to
energy efficient light globes; reduce use of hot
water; and minimise the use of air-conditioners.
Businesses that would like to explore methods
of developing and implementing more environmen-
tally-friendly and energy efficient business practices
are most welcome to contact us at corporaterela-
tions@wwf.org.my.
WWF-Malaysia sincerely thanks every person
who has taken the important first step in the fight
against climate change by signing up and pledging
to switch off at www.earthhour.org/malaysia. Hope-
fully, we can all continue to take action towards
energy efficiency and mitigating global warming
– not only on March 28, 2009 but every day of the
year.
Datuk Dr Dionysius S.K. Sharma
Executive Director/CEO
WWF-Malaysia