TEACHER ( a little )

MY STORY

A little teacher

It was a bright sunny day in November and clocks were striking twelve. I stared at my desk when suddenly my memories were back to my childhood. I obviously remembered when my father told me “son it’s now time to study, it’s your day to go to school”. It was lodged in my mind and seemed unfamiliar in my ears. Those words became a ghost ghosting me everyday. I truly felt bothered since studying was the most unpleasant thing for me. I did not like to study so I would not study, but my father was persistently remaining me studying and going to school. Once, I asked my dad, “Father, why do you always ask me to study?” He then just smiled nicely and replied “someday I want you to become a teacher and use your knowledge to educate others”. Time by time, I tried to understand what my father told me. I was born from middle economic level so if I grew up someday I wanted to collect much money but not as a teacher because teacher salary was horrible here in Indonesia. Being a teacher to earn for living is not enough for daily needs that is why I would not to become a teacher.

For sure, he did it because he had purpose and I started to understand it. One day I asked my father again “father, why do you want me to become a teacher meanwhile we hardly live just to be a teacher and you know it. Why don’t you suggest me to become an accountant or an engineering who earns lot of money?’ He put his right arm on my shoulder and began to say “my son, you may live with no money but without knowledge you are nothing, I believe there are many people needing a person like you to educate our people in Indonesia and please do not only judge everything with money.” The night came, the stars were brightly shining and the moon was seemingly smiling at me while I was trying to close my eyes but I couldn’t. My mind is flying over the sky and my heart was fighting. Father wanted me to become a useful person for others particularly in education. I thought I was a lucky child who could enter to school and felt the school‘s atmosphere. It was totally different with children who were unable to go to school as they were living in poverty and had no money to pay the school tuition. It was very expensive here to pay the school fee. Many people and children lived under the bridges as well as stayed along the river in a slum environment. They became beggars, street singers, street sellers, and even shoplifter. I won’t be like that.

It was brightly shining on Sunday morning in June when I saw my father was working in the rice field with a cigarette smoking in his mouth. We had a rice field in the village which the rice plants were still green and it indicated that we needed to wait in a couple of months to harvest it. He was a very hard worker. In the morning, he began to go working at school teaching student and in the afternoon he worked in the rice field until the late afternoon to meet our daily needs. “It’s breaking time, Dad..” I shouted telling him to take a little rest for a while. “Father, I would love to be a teacher someday” I told him gently. He just smiled at me and whispered me softly “that’s my son” and he hug me tightly. We then went home happily and started from that moment, I won’t disappoint my father since I would like to be a teacher as he wanted.

I had been schooling for four years in the university to finish my undergraduate degree and I took teacher training and education program as a requirement to be a teacher. I was proud of myself and my parents as well because I could complete my study no longer than four years.

Now, I am making my father’s dream coming true as I am a teacher now. I work in one of the local school outside of my hometown Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I work in Semarang, 150 km far from my hometown.

One day I got phone calling from my mother telling something crucial about my father at home. She won’t tell me what was exactly happening with my father but she asked me to go back home as soon as possible. Yes, I arrived home in the next day when I found my father was lying down on the bed smiling at me. His face reflected that nothing happened. He greeted me “hi….. my little teacher I miss you much” I replied “Me too” It was to my surprised that my father was suffering from stroke. His left body was paralyzed and unable to walk. I hardly believe it. It really broke my heart.

I am his little teacher now and proud of it. Learning a lot of things from my father was the most fabulous thing for me. I will always be thankful to Mr.Agustinus Sutarjo, my dearest father for telling me meaning of life. Trying to be a useful person for others, a hard worker, living honestly and become a humbly human being are the greatest lessons from my father. Hopefully you’ll get better soon. Don’t give up my dearest father. I love you.