(Part 2) My Teachers Taught Me …

This Teachers’ Day, alumni of Special Education schools share life lessons they learnt from their teachers. This is the second of a two-part series.

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Life lessons beyond the classroom

By Ummi Yasserah

I had a teacher in my educational journey who was important to me in various ways beyond classroom teaching. Her name is Mrs Ismail Noraini and she has been teaching in Lighthouse School for 13 years.

Mrs Ismail taught me in Primary 3 and 4. I enjoyed her English lessons, as she would use sign language when she told us stories, in order to help us understand them better. Apart from that, she also often shared with us stories of other Deaf adults around the world. Because of this, I felt less alone in my disability, and knew that it did not have to limit what I could do.   

Currently, I am working as an intern in the food and beverage industry, and Mrs Ismail’s advice to me when I was a student still helps me today at work. She advised us to be resilient, put in effort to what we do, and always be punctual for work. These important values and skills that she has taught me have allowed me to do well in my internship, and I will remember them as I continue my work in the future.

I think of Mrs Ismail as not just my teacher, but also a very good friend in my life. She is a sweet person who is kind and loving to all her students. I will always remember her for her sweet smile and encouraging words. I am very grateful for having such a wonderful teacher and friend in my life.

Ummi Yasserah graduated from Lighthouse School in 2017. She is now working as an Ice Cream Ambassador at The Daily Scoop.

Mr Jack Lim Tian Hwa (middle) looks on as Seah Guan Yi (right) is congratulated by fellow Pathlighter at the 2014 GCE ‘O’ level results release (Photo taken before COVID-19)

The meaning of success

By Seah Guan Yi 

I joined Pathlight School in 2008 when I was in Primary 5. I was struggling academically and socially then.

One teacher who made a huge difference in my life was Mr Jack Lim Tian Hwa. He was my class coach in 2013 and 2014, and taught me Maths. He recognised my strengths and weaknesses, and would always remind me to pace myself and to rest if I wanted to succeed and not burn out trying to tackle everything in my path.

Mr Jack and my other teachers in Pathlight believed in us and celebrated our every success. They also encouraged my classmates and me to clarify our questions and seek academic help, to cope better with the curriculum. As a result, we became more independent and self-directed in our learning, and understood that success was something that we had to take the initiative to work towards.

I will always remember a Youth Day gift from Mr Jack that said, ‘Success is not about how far you go in life, but how you manage to overcome challenges!’ When I achieved stellar results for my GCE O levels, I cried tears of joy—not just at the results themselves, but what I had to overcome to achieve them.

Even to today, I still call Mr Jack for advice. He is my mentor. I am very inspired to be like him. When I complete my Degree in Social Work at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, I hope to contribute and give back to the disability and special needs sector with my unique life experiences, as well as knowledge and competencies as a social worker. That will be the most meaningful way to spend my life!

Seah Guan Yi graduated from Pathlight School in 2014. He is now pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work with Minor at Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), and is on the SUSS Academic Achievers List 2019/20 for excellent academic performance.

For more stories like these, check out the first article in this series: https://www.schoolbag.edu.sg/story/(part-1)-my-teachers-taught-me-to

For more information, you can view this guide for parents of children aged 0 to 6 years old.