My Geography Teacher

2 days ago was RVHS open house. I brought Yi Fan to the Alexsandra campus to have a look...thinking also maybe to know abit more about their DSA program. Hopefully he can have a realistic chance of either using his PSLE score or his music talent to enter the school.

While going through the various stalls of exhibition, I caught a glimpse of a somehow familiar yet different image from my view. After about 1-2 seconds, I finally recognise him...and proceed foreword to greet him. He, is my Sec 3 geography teacher in Chinese High School...Mr. 陈建存。

Was he was my teacher 30 years ago, his is taller than me, hair was still black. now, I am taller than him by 2 heads, and his hair are all white...that is why it took me about another 2 seconds to reconfirm the person I saw is the person I used to know.

Its not easy to remember someone for 30 years...yet of course MrTan is no ordinary teacher, to us. Who would imagine Geography is our favourite lessons in school in a science stream class?
His lessons were funny, witty, full of laughters...so much so that teachers from the next door have to come over and see what so funny about Geography and the student made so much noise...by laughing.

Not only he is articulate, he is also surprisingly artistic. His most famous showpiece : Drawing the China country outline in details - including the big slump near Mongolia, the protruding peninsula of northeast, the big belly of the south cost guang zhou area and finally wrapping it up with another protruding land of the east - all these in great details..and ALL IN 1 STROKE OF THE CHALKSTICK.

I think he set the example for me how one would conduct lessons and get the students to learn...in a joyous environment. 20 years later, I met Micheal Podolinsky and he also inspired me alot with his teaching style. In both of them...they mould me to what I am and aspired to be.

Mr Tan did not remember me straight away, after some help of recollecting some of my class top students...he finally know which class I came from. "Oh yes!! oh yes...i remember!! you are from the very special class of 高手班. Of course he was not referring to me but my brilliant classmates.

We had dinner outing for 3 times, then my overseas assignment for 7 years on and off broke the contact. Now I knew where he works...I can find him easily. :)

He made a difference in my life....and I have to say this to him...谢谢你， 陈老师。