Happy Teachers' Day!

When I came to my tuition student's house.....

"Er, this is a Teachers' Day card for you. Happy Teachers' Day."

"Oh! Thank you!"

"And, er, I forgot to do my homework because I thought today was Saturday."

"..............................................."

Haiyah...... scold or not to scold, like that?

But at least I got something. Teachers' Day in NIE this year was..... dismal at best. In the days before yesterday, posters were put up all over the campus, advertising the "Teachers' Fiesta!" promising games! Food! Stalls selling great stuff!

I came out of class on Thursday, and saw...... maybe a 3 or 4 makeshift bazaar stalls at one far, far end of the canteen, selling some stuff? [One stall looked like it was selling secondhand stuff]

Ok, frankly, it was a dismal affair. These stalls were stuck at one far end of the school, out of sight of half the main traffic, so already there was only a trickle of people heading towards them. Not only that, but each stall was just 2 tables joined together, and stuff was just listlessly piled onto them. Plus, everyone had classes anyway, so no one paid them much attention as most people were just running from class to class.

As I said, dismal.

Funny thing, that a school full of teachers is not very keen or supportive of celebrating a day which pays tribute to the work of teachers. One tutor explained that the People Upstairs thought we were celebrating too hard, and so discouraged Teachers' Day celebrations in school, lest we, I don't know, have too much fun here, and forget that we're supposed to be here in humble servitude. God Forbid!

*Sigh* Why don't you just change the name to "Happy Underappreciation Day"?

But anyway, HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY to all. Here's hoping that your students all score full marks, your red pens never run dry, and that you all get the appreciation and thanks you deserve. :)