In this edition of Classroom Thursday, 2012 Fellow Tan Kai Lee gets some inspiration on teaching and leadership from an unexpected source: a former student.
“This morning, I conducted an extra class for one of my Form 1 classes. Happily, 23 out of 38 students showed up, and nearly half of the library was occupied.
I was having a difficult time in teaching and assessing students’ work at first, but I was very grateful to receive help from a former student of mine. Her name is T. Initially, she was just watching and showing interest in my students’ learning. Without second thought, I invited her to join us and teach her juniors how to measure angles using a protractor.
She spent nearly an hour with us, and at the end of the session, the seven students she was tutoring had achieved their objective – their faces glowed.
I am touched and grateful to be able to witness this love of learning and the ability to teach and share among my students. Although it has been almost a year since I was T’s teacher, seeing her leadership, interest in teaching and sincerity in helping others warmed my heart. This has reminded me just why I Teach For Malaysia!”
ENG 
MY 