Part time and full time teacher training courses were offered. Part timers had to teach in one session (morning/afternoon) and attend classes in the other. They were paid an allowance. Full timers (like me) paid the College to study there for two years, but had no teaching duties other than when we went out for teaching practice, one term each year. I was in the Physical Education course.
Last night, 10 of us met up for dinner. We would often get together each time we had one of the girls living overseas visiting. This time it was Shirley. Bubbly as ever, she recalled all the funny things we
did while in College.
As we ate and laughed over old times, I wondered what kept us
together over all these 41 years! I reckon it must have been the hours spent at the TTC. We practically lived there - eating, playing, showering and "studying" at campus far into the night. We played netball and tennis and badminton and swam during our training hours and did much of the same during our leisure hours. We practiced gymnastics twice a week at nights under the bright floodlights of the basketball courts. It did not matter that we were not very good. We simply had fun doing it together.
When called upon, we would go out and represent the College. It never bothered us that we were ill prepared or even new to the event. The College needed us and we responded. Often we would come close to embarrassing ourselves and sometimes, we would bring back a medal or two!
We attended camps, canoed till our hands blistered and hiked till our feet were sore. We went on expedition to Mount Orphir in Malaysia. We put up gymnastics displays at graduation ceremonies and on National Days. We mounted our own adventures and walked from Newton Circus to Johor Bahru town, hitching a ride when it got too hot and our feet hurt. We looked out for each other and was always there when needed. We helped each other get better and helped the better ones excel. We were a team ... a great team.
But what really kept us in touch was ... habit. The habit of meeting up every year without fail on the second day of Chinese New Year at the home of our PE lecturer Miss Ong Siong Ngo. Her Open House at her Neptune Court home at Marine Parade was always packed with her ex-PE students as well as her colleagues. So we went, killing many birds with one stone. We had the chance to meet our other lecturers, friends from the PE fraternity of different years and we were always treated to a sumptuous lunch. Usually, very very good Malay food like mee siam or mee goreng or lontong. Some years, it would be rice with rendang and curry chicken. After all the chinese food and goodies, we often looked forward to the spicy "sedup and shiok" lunches at Miss Ong's. The amazing thing was that we went EVERY year without fail. it became much like a tradition, a habit. We had to go ... we wanted to go ... and we went.
When Miss Ong passed away, the CNY gatherings and eating at her place stopped.
But the habit of meeting at least once a year continued. And so it did last night. Thanks Miss Ong! I hope you are proud of us.An Ode to a Lecturer
You taught us more than just sports and games
You taught us how to live
You taught us that life is never fair
But we will always have the chance to even things out
You taught us fair play
How to lose graciously
And why we should get back to training
So we don't lose again!
You taught us tenacity and perseverance
How we should never give up
Fighting for what is right
And why it was worth the fight
You taught us to question
With our brains and not our hearts
Logic over sentiment
Mind over all else
You taught
And we learnt
And we became
Great teachers!
Much like you ...
In stature
And in principles
But never ... in size!
elizabeth poey
8 February 2011
(I know Ms Ong is laughing!!!)
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