Be the Change – A reflection by educator Donna Koh

To be a teacher is to do very hard, heart work. And in a month where we celebrate both the Transfiguration of the Lord on 6^thAugust and Singapore’s 59^th National Day, our role as Catholic educators helping our students to understand their place in — and serve – both country and world, is a tremendous privilege and responsibility alike. It can feel like our youths have a lot to grapple with: pressure andexpectations from their parents, academic and school stress,peer pressure and self-esteem issues exacerbated by technology and social media, all amidst the added uncertainty about theirfuture, accumulated on their young, weary shoulders. Also, living in Singapore can be both a blessing and acurse. There is so much to be grateful for and yet it can be challenging to explain or justify to our children whyexactly they should be grateful. War, poverty, suffering, and injustice may still seem like abstract concepts whose scenes do not immediately paint a vivid enough picture for our youths to understand them fully. It is only right and fitting that we shine a light on what’s important, to help illuminate their way forward.

A while back, I found out that my students would be playing a ‘B’ Division game against students from my alma mater. When I remarked that this made me conflicted about which side to root for, one of my students raised an eyebrow at me and intoned very seriously: “Remember who’s paying your salary.” It was astatement that amused and offended me. My student’s cheek (and insolence) aside, I found this 15-year-old’smindset striking. We strive to have gratitude and teach our students to do the same, but at what point does gratitude become fear of authority, an obligation not to bite the hand that feeds you, and morph into amisplaced sense of loyalty through pragmatism? Many years ago, during a game which required my Secondary One students to choose only 10 out of 20 passengers to save from a capsized boat and transportonto a life raft, a student’s rationale that “the teacher should not be saved because they are less useful than the scientist and doctor” both tickled me and stung. What messaging are students receiving at home and from elsewhere, that has made them so cynical and pragmatic? More importantly, what exactly can Catholiceducators do to ring home the gentle but critical truth and message: that we are not our job titles nor pay-checks, and that no human being has more dignity or value than the next?

I think of Isaiah, who told God so earnestly “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) as he volunteered to deliver God’s message to the people of Judah, and I ask myself if I can be as willing and passionate in my role as ateacher. I think of how important we are “on the ground” but also to the ground: we can role model the values, dispositions and behaviours we desire to see in our dear students – to exemplify a brazenness and flexibility in taking the road less travelled; to have an open-mindedness and appreciation for what is diverse andunconventional; to stand up passionately for what we believe in and not bow to popular opinion, or worse,keep quiet when we see injustice taking place; to make life more than just a list of goals to check off, according to societal expectations that gnaw at us. This is easier said than done, of course. Aren’t teachers supposed to be the most dutiful civil servants to exist? Throw in our cultural context, this wonderfully safe and efficient cocoon that we live in, and one would be hard pressed to justify howexactly we can demonstrate breaking out of the mould and role-modelling this for our young charges. But we don’t have to look very far for inspiration. Jesus can be our ultimate role model:

• “While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with himand his disciples, for there were many who followed ” (Mark 2:15). Jesus challenged the cultural attitudes and limiting beliefs of that time and always acted justly and in good conscience.
• Jesus healed lepers despite strict laws not to come into contact with them (Luke 17:11). He accepted the outcast and marginalised just the way they were, no matter what the authorities said, or how people were told to and thought to act or treat
• Jesus challenged religious authorities when he overturned the tables of money- changers in the temple(Mark 11:27), unfazed in the face of their demand to know “by what authority are you doing these things?”, forcing them into a corner to challenge their own hypocrisy instead. This also reminds me of John 19:11, when Jesus tells Pontius Pilate “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from ” In my mind, this line is always delivered stoically, calmly, and maybe even with some pity for Pilate.

How infuriating His words and actions must have been at that time! And more importantly, how kind, just, and visionary Jesus was. Catholic educators are called to teach: but more important than sharing contentknowledge is the need to share what we believe in and dream of, what we can do, and how we can show up in this world for others, especially the disadvantaged. It is a complex world that our young charges are growingup in, and if we don’t help them make sense of it in a way that gives them courage and love to face life head-on, who will? Every year when the Student Council President nominations are held, a Student President-hopeful would invariably spout this line in their election speech: “Be the change you want to see in the world”. Jesus epitomised this perfectly; called to follow Jesus and educate our students, we too, can exemplify this toour young people too, and watch the ripple effect in their lives and in the world. May God be our strength, Jesus our inspiration, and Isaiah our reminder.