You must be Mr Yeoh

I went to enquire about bus route to my daughter’s place. She is studying outstation. What surprised me was the woman who handled the booking and sale of express bus ticket was one of my students whom I taught in Sungai Petani, Kedah in the late 70’s. Of course it was she who recognized me but I could not because a student’s appearance would have changed greatly from a teenager to a woman. According to her, I changed a little only and that was why she could addressed me as ‘Mr Yeoh’ correctly. When I asked for her name, she told me that she was Kang Hui Ming – a girl active in sports at that time.

This is not the first time I failed to recognize my students after years of leaving them. Just a few months ago, I went to an eatery to have my lunch. The man who served me ‘Wan Tan Mee’ was one of my pupils. He told me that I taught him Science in Form 2 and that he was not a very smart boy and I most probably would not remember him. I asked about his classmates and from the names mentioned I began to recollect the classroom situation and faintly could remember him as the fat boy sitting behind.