Turn on the switch

Take a look at this picture...How many deer can you see ?

At first glance, you may notice only one. However, after some serious concentrations, you may find another which is partially hidden. Right ?

Well... the reason I put up this picture in today's post is to make you ponder into our daily lives. More often than not, we usually make judgements based on the initial outlook. We rarely look deeper into it but already decide on the results. Just like how we judge people.

Hmmmm....as a teacher, I dealt with thousands of human beings in the course of my duty. I often judge my students based on first glances.

"Oh...he's terrible...he can't even identify the alphabets...."
"He likes to disturb his classmates and never does his homework nor pay attention in class...he's a real nuisance.!"
"He'll surely fail his UPSR.....cannot even read a simple text.."

A familiar conversation between teachers in the staff room during break. That was just a scene within the school compound. This could also happened in our daily encounters with people around us.

No matter how open minded we may claim to be, everyone of us make presumptions about others based strictly on first impressions. Seeing someone for only a split second, we may start to make assumptions on that person's attitudes, personality, and character.

We may tend to notice things about some one's appearance, mannerisms and features that we feel are grounds to pass judgement upon that person. We choose our friends based on these judgements.

Is this the right thing to do ? Let's ponder about it.

Let me share with you a personal experience I had encountered way back in 2004/05. I was put charged of this class. This is supposed to be the weakest class among the Year 3. I taught them English and Science. There was this boy whom often sat at the corner of the classroom, a very timid looking child whom often bullied by his peers. He never opens his mouth to utter anything and never writes anything as he had difficulty holding the pencil.

Though timid he was but he was a stubborn lad. No matter how hard I forced nor guide him to grip the pencil after some time he would just fall asleep face down on his desk.

Nevertheless, towards the end of the school term, he finally speaks up....but he only manage to repeats whatever the other person says like a parrot ! He would says the exact phrase or sentence we said to him. Considered an achievement for he started from a tight lipped child.

Fast forward 5 years ahead. The similar boy that I used to label as 'timid' is now in Secondary school. And a month ago, I was surprised to see him in Facebook requesting to add me as his friend. Wow....! I could recognise him through the mug shot he placed in the site.

This made me recalled that all geniuses too were slow learners during their growing years. Einstein and many others. True ya....when the right switch in a child is triggered then he would excel. It's just a matter of where, how and when ...to the switch. Dear teachers..it's our job, our duty, our responsibility to find the switch !

"TURN ON THE SWITCH"

Any comments...dear teachers..?