JANUARY
2nd Januray 1975. The first day of school – we’ve graduated from 1C to 2C. Except for a few unavoidable changes, like Li Ching’s increase height or Molyani’s gain in weight, we remain as constant as ever. For your information 2 ‘C’ stands for ‘crazy’ and ‘creative’. Of course our definitions of ‘crazy’ and ‘creative’ differ from yours:-
When Meena sings Paul Anka’s ‘You’re having my baby’ to Hamzah — that is being crazy plus creative.
Or Wee Seng sports a close-cropped head and covers it now and again — that’s what we call a creative boy.
Or when Ah Lee answers when we call her Muhammad Ali…
Since we don’t have any lessons today, what else do you expect us to do — but talk. In the midst of our talk, Hurriah notices a book lying on Mary’s desk.
Hurriah : “Wow! The Longest Kiss!” (title of the book)
Murniyati : “What’s so great about that?”
Hurriah : “Nothing, but don’t you think it’s tiring?”
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During Modern History lessons everyone seems to be attentive and alert. But sometimes Chin Seon, our economist-cum-noisemaker cracks a joke and therefore relieves our brains (if we have any), for a while. We are studying ‘Burma’ today when Mrs Chung questions the class.
Mrs Chung : “What is a ‘pongyi’ class?” (A ‘pongyi’ is a Buddhist monk).
Chin Seon : “Oh! It’s a combination of Punggol and Changi.”
Mr D’Almeida, our Literature teacher, seems always to be ready with Shakespearean quotations or supernatural references. He has this tendency to talk about ‘transmigration’ or ‘nirvana’ and when we are so interested in his narration, he terminates in the middle of the story, which really infuriates us.
However, he has other devices to entertain and sustain our interest. Take this incident, for example:-
We are discussing a poem by Wilfred Owen ( the poet who wrote about ‘Exposure’ in a decent sense) when Mr D’Almeida stops and tries to grasp the right word to describe a particular action. Chin Seon helps him with the word. A grateful (?) Mr D’Almeida has this to say :
Mr D’Almeida : “Yes, yes that’s the word. I was all along thinking of that word but it just failed to come to my mind. Yes, you ‘re definitely right, thank you. Well, they always say that ‘great men think alike – but fools seldom differ.”
We never loved Literature as much as we love it this year, (and perhaps you know why).
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FEBRUARY
28th February 1975. Our form teacher, Mrs Toh’s last day in school. She will leave for Jakarta this afternoon. (I guess she’s quite relieved to be away from us devils.)
Mrs Toh : “I hope you will write to me when you pass your ‘A’ level exams.”
Female Student: “Don’t worry, I’ll send you my wedding card as well.”
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MARCH
Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’, Miss Krishnan always finds it difficult to choose the ‘actors’ for this tragic play. Everybody becomes a mute when it comes to compulsory talking, especially when Miss Krishnan wants someone to play the part of the ‘Fool’. (It’s a sage fool not real one.)
Miss Krishnan : “Anyone wants to be the Fool?”
Class : No answer.
Miss Krishnan : “Anyone wants to act out the part of the Fool?”
Class : Still no answer. Everybody looks at everybody else.
Miss Krishnan : “Well, Chin Seon, would you like to be the Fool? You were the
Fool last week.”
And from that day onwards, the Fool’s part is always reserved for Chin Seon.
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Mr Sim, our temporary Form Teacher, comes to our class and finds us talking (as usual).
Mr Sim : “Don’t you have any lessons?”
Rahim, our Monitor, answers : “No, most of us are not taking Biology”
Mr Sim : “Who takes Biology?”
Rahim : “Only Keng Thok and Ravinder.”
Mr Sim : “You all should take Biology
because it’s really useful…”
Girl : “But, Sir, you don’t know why both
of them want to study Biology…its
because they are so curious and
want to know in great detail
about man’s (or rather, woman’s)
anatomy.
When Mr Sim tells us that we’ll be getting a new form teacher soon, the whole class becomes excited. Everybody starts praying that we shall not get a married woman teacher. It’s because a married woman teacher usually treats us like children, not as young adults.
Then :
26th March 1975. We get a new Form Teacher – a lady and a married one too! (God has forsaken us again.) She shatters our preconceived idea of married lady teachers. There’s something remarkable about this teacher of ours (as we get to know her later). She’s young yet married, liberal yet strict.
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A relief teacher ( a Chinese undergraduate from an Australian University) comes to school to teach Mathematics. He’s so tall and good-looking that many of us — from Julie to Mary and from Ah Lee to Jennie — all fall madly in ‘love’ with him. Many of us regret for not taking Mathematics this year.
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APRIL
Miss Eden talks about Psychology during General Paper/GP today. When she associates people playing slot-machines with rats in a controlled experiment (and demonstrating it physically too!) we all can’t help it but explode in laughter.
Miss Eden, don’t you think we are all rats?
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We are so noisy that Chew Moi, our bespectacled monitress (her specs look as if they will give way any time now) begins to talk to (or rather shout at) us.
Chew Moi (arms akimbo) : “Class, why are you so terribly
excited? Can’t you remain
quite?”
Hamzah (who never fails to tease anyone) : “Why don’t you keep quiet and
stop acting like my nagging
grandmother?”
Chew Moi : “Nagging grandmother? What you
mean is majestic grandmother!”
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Most of us are like potatoes – our cells are always not tuned to do any given work especially when a festive season is nearing. Look at this, for example:
Mrs Sng : “I want you to do Report Writing for homework which you will
have to pass up this Monday. Since tomorrow is a holiday,
you should have sufficient time in which to finish it.”
Girl : “But Mrs Sng, tomorrow is Labour Day and we are not supposed
to waste our labour on any school work. Anyway, I’m
allergic to homework.”
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MAY
It’s a ‘Court Session’ in progress during General Paper today. Two persons, a policeman and ordinary fellow, are brought to the ‘court’ presided over by Teng Hui, Wee Seng, Priscillia and Chew Moi. There has been a brawl. The defending lawyer for the man is Chin Seon while that for the policeman is Devadasan.
After a long debate by our two promising lawyers, the judges come to their decision. Our ever-judicious Teng Hui gives the verdict: “The parties are acquitted due to lack of understanding of both parties.”
The accused : “Do you mean to say that you don’t understand us?”
Result : Wrangling between the two accused and the judges.
16 – 23rd May 1975 – mid-year exams. We realise that the pen is mightier than the tongue.
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JUNE
23rd June 1975 — we get our exams results. Lalitha rehearses these words to be spoken to her father when the ‘Big Day’ arrives (that is, when she takes her report card home).
“Father, it’s the law of nature. What goes up must come down — like my marks.”
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Mrs Sng tells us about the scholarships offered by the government to further our studies abroad. However, since many of us did not take the pure sciences in secondary four, we are not eligible. But there are still a few of us, like Eik Gee, Joo Seng and Song Hwa who still recall that they took (or rather gazed at) ‘Physiques’ while in secondary four.
And talking about furthering our studies next year… Evelyn, Kim Hwa, Ah Lee, Molyani and Li Ching (our over-creative class artist) have decided to study ‘Paktorlogy’ (it’s Chinese word meaning ‘dating’ –— get what I mean?) next year. Meow Huay, however, does not want to study ‘Paktorlogy’. Why should she when she gets occasional visits from the boy next door…
The rest of us have this in the mind if we ever get to the U:
- To get a degree.
- To grab somebody (preferably someone who is tall, dark and handsome — copyright controlled = Barbara Cartland.)
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General Paper period. Shanta presents her points as to why students should take part in politics.
Shanta : “Because students are the conscience of society and they
are uncorrupted, like some politicians…”
Overheard : “Uncorrupted? You can say that again!”
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Miss Goh, our Economics Teacher, has her way of making us laugh at ourselves and enjoying the lessons. For example, when she spots Ravinder dreaming…
Miss Goh : “Ravinder, are you still of this world?”
When Ravinder starts talking to Wee Seng and Hake Seng without a pause, Miss Goh has this way to say…
Miss Goh : “Alright, if you are keen on talking, why don’t you come to
the front and conduct the lesson? If you don’t want to
teach the class, then be quiet. I want to hear my own
voice!”
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JULY
While discussing the functions we have to attend, like Youth Festival, the Athletics Meet, etc .. Mrs Sng suddenly realises that we are making too much noise and the classroom looks so disorderly.
Mrs Sng : “Now then, why are you making so much noise? Do you know
this class is reputed to be the noisiest class in Pre-U Two and …(pause)… this class is so disorderly…”
Student : “But we like this way, Mrs Sng – it’s informal and conducive
to studying.”
Mrs Sng realising that she’s only one person against us 30 devils, finally ‘compromises’…
Mrs Sng : “Well, looks like I’ve got to get used to your disorderliness.”
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Mr Gan, our friendly P.E. Teacher, has this to say to Hamzah :-
Mr Gan : “Hamzah, how can they describe you as ‘pencil-
slim’? Last year they described you ‘lanky’. Don’t know where they get their ideas from.”
(Referring to newspaper reports on Hamzah’s athletic achievements).
Girl, assisting Hamzah: “They’re short of adjectives, Sir.”
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AUGUST
Guess what? Chin Seon wins the prize for General Paper on our Speech Day and there is also another person from our class who wins the top student award for the Arts and 3 other academic prizes. (Perhaps they were inspired by us.)
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SEPTEMBER
The examinations again. We realise that some teachers are capable ‘surgeons’ too — especially when they cut our marks mercilessly!
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OCTOBER
The last month. So we are finally going to leave school. Will we ever see each other again? Many feel this sudden invasion of nostalgia…next year there will be no more uniforms to be ironed, no more childish and immature ideas clouding our brains, we will have to go out as men and women of this universe with our own principles and without any teacher’s guidance. Perhaps Lulu knows what this last month means to us when she sings this old number, ‘To Sir With Love’ :-
Those school girl/boy days
of telling tales and biting nails are gone
but in my mind I know they will
still live on and on. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The time has come
for the closing books
and long last looks must end,
and as I leave
I know that I’m leaving my best friend,
a friend who taught me right from wrong
and weak from strong that’s a lot to learn
what, what can I give you in return. . .
To all our teachers who have helped us make 1975 an enjoyable year and perhaps imparted that little bit of knowledge to us — we thank them.
To Mrs Sng whom we teased, bullied and most important of all — loved and respected — what else is there to say but ‘Arigato Guzaimas’. We hope that she won’t get any more ‘crazy’ and ‘creative’ kids like us in years to come.
And perhaps years from now, she will always think of us as the ‘Disorderly Lot’ while we shall always think of her as the petite youngish lady who never seem to be able to scold or hate us.
Voice I (overheard from Shakespeare) : “When will we all meet again? In
thunder, lightning or in rain?”
Voice II : “When the hurly-burly’s done, when the battle’s not lost but won.”
*All names of teachers have been changed but names of students remain as they are.
Yours sincerely,
THE RUSSIAN KGB
PRE-U ARTS 2C, 1975
Published: The Bartleyan Annual, 1975.
Wriiten by: Rasiah Halil.
Taman Ilham Rasiah Halil 