Hari Pelanggan

It was Customer Day again. Many parents accompanied their children to collect their result slips at school.

From 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., the teachers issued result slips to the parents of Secondary One, Two, Four and Five students. As for the parents of Secondary Three students, they were required to attend a briefing by the principal in the school hall from 8.30 a.m to 9.30 a.m. The purpose of the briefing was to keep the parents up to date with the latest school issues. They would collect their children’s result slips from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

During the briefing, I was shocked to hear that a female student had used her mobile phone to take a naked photograph of herself. Naïve and unsuspecting, she had sent the photograph to her boyfriend as a sign of love. The boy, who was also her classmate, had been thrilled by the photograph and, out of recklessness, had circulated it among his friends. The photograph had then gone viral, and by the time it had come to the knowledge of the school authority, almost everyone in their class had seen it. “Disciplinary action was taken against both students,” said the principal. “The photo has tarnished our school’s image. As parents, you should be wary of your child’s conduct. Instil a strong conscience in him or her based on religious teaching.”

The principal also brought up the issue of morning express classes, which start at 6:20 a.m. every morning for the students who come to school early. “I am disappointed with the attitude of some teachers,” he said. “They refuse to come early to take care of the early-bird students.” I understood the principal’s intention very well. He was planning to change the starting time of my school, which begins at 7:00 a.m. The rationale behind his plan was the following: The earlier the students study, the more knowledge they are able to retain.

            I found myself unable to agree with the principal. My house is a forty-minute drive from school, and I have to battle bumper-to-bumper traffic every morning, so it is unlikely that I will arrive at school before 6:20 a.m. Besides, many students come to school in school buses. After picking up the students, the buses arrive at school at around 6:40 a.m. The principal’s idea is impractical, to say the least. Only a smattering of teachers and students can attend the early classes because they live in the vicinity of our school. Is it wrong for our school to start at 7:00 a.m. like the other schools? Why should we be any different?

After the briefing, all the Secondary Three class teachers were busy issuing result slips. As the assistant class teacher of Three B, I was also involved in this job. Concern was written on the face of every parent as Helen—the Three B class teacher—and I gave them comments on their children’s academic performance. Many of them were not pleased with their children’s results and scolded them on the spot. Some parents asked me why their children did badly in my subject, and I told them that their essays did not meet the requirement of the examination questions. “Why are there so many failures in English,” asked one parent, “while there are so many good passes in Malay?” Although I caught his drift and the implication that I was incompetent at teaching English, I smiled as wide as I could and said, “To be good in English, you have to read and practise writing on your own initiative. You can’t depend on your teacher all the time.” He rolled his eyes, shook his head and left after saying a curt thank you.

Helen and I spent the longest time talking to Kong, a father of two boys. 

            “I know my children are lazy, but what can I do?” he lamented. “Enough has been said, but they are still very headstrong.”

“Be patient,” advised Helen. “Give your children time.”

“They don’t have much time,” said the father. “In two years, they’ll be leaving school.”

“Alvin, Andy,” I said, turning to Kong’s two boys, “study hard, and don’t let your father down.”

The two boys smiled and did not say a word.

“You know what they told me at home?” said Kong, pointing at his boys. “We study because of you. It is not our business if our results are bad.”

The boys blushed and smiled sheepishly at us.

“How could you say that to your father?” Helen exclaimed.

Conversations like these are normal on Customer Day. We always sympathize with the parents. Today’s kids are notorious for their stubbornness, and it is not easy to make them learn. They always succumb to the lure of mobile phones and online games.

When the session ended, Helen and I returned to the staffroom. On the way, I bumped into four students.

             “How were your results?” I asked.
             “My results were not up to the mark,” said a Malay girl named Siti.
             “I achieved a borderline pass,” said Fatimah, another Malay girl.
             “Work harder,” I said. I then looked at the other two students and asked, “What about you, Angeline and Lesley?”
             “Our positions dropped,” they said, smiling, unashamed of their declining results.
             “Don’t lose hope if you don’t do well in your exams,” I said. “Be determined to improve, and never disappoint your parents.”

The four pairs of eyes glinted mischievously at me, and their mouths expanded into wide grins. Did my advice sink into their minds?

Perhaps yes, perhaps no.