(S) double pow-wow style!

;D I did two compos for Mrs Neo and Miss Tang ! ===> R33d !

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Age
Age. A word associated with many conundrums and paradoxes. So wide is its application that a simple reference of it in a sentence can bring joy or wistful longing to the recipient.
Such an application can be in the form of a person meaning well to a senior of slightly past...40 years of age. “You’re ageing well,” says the well-wisher. The senior bristles at the non-existent insult.
Talk about ageing to anyone in their forties and prepare to face a wall of uncomfortable silence. Yet, women say they like their men older, as they are stable in both financial and emotional states. This would be true, would it not? Naturally, the longer one lives, the more opportunity one has to grow in character and to earn money, however, when we look at the older men, they say, “I’ll give anything to be young again.”, reminiscing on their youth and all those mysterious young women that seemed to abound in that long-past era. Little know that they stand an equal or perhaps even a higher chance at their current standing.
It is also said that, to age, is to acquire wisdom. Many a times it has been preached to us by our parents; we should listen to them, for they know better. Yet again, this seems to hold some truth to it, as obviously, the longer we live, the more experiences we gain and ultimately, the more we learn. Does this not mean that older people are to be treasured due to the immense hoard of ‘wealth’ they possess? For knowledge is also said to be wealth. Surely we, younger people, have something to glean from our elders, our superiors? Then if so, why, in our current society nowadays, is filial piety on a declining trend. Why, are young teens disrespecting their elders, turning a deaf ear to invaluable advice? Do we not realise what we are losing out? Or has the investment in ‘wealth’ taken a turn for the bad in this changing of times. Does what the seniors know hold no truth or substance in this modern era? Like a rotting carcass, does knowledge age and decay, leaving nothing but a shadow of its former glory in the form of a skeleton?
So taking a step back, we have women who like older men and older men who want to be younger in order to get women. Elders, with their invaluable knowledge that young people seem unable to treasure. There are people who take ageing with a pinch of salt and others that are in plain denial. Yet, there are some things in this world that everyone can look to and say, yes, age has done this one good. One of those would of course be wine. Is it not valued in terms of age? It is common practice for people to purchase a bottle of wine, look at its age and if it is ‘old’, exclaim and say, “This is good wine!”
Age, a word so broad, that it fits topics from all walks of life. Truly, it is a word that brings about many conundrums and paradoxes, yet holds its share of pleasure.


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Teachers

My name is Bryan Freeman. Currently, I’m the top student in my year three cohort. Teachers use me as a good role model for everyone to emulate. Life at home and in school is stable. But it was not always the case, because you see, just a year ago, I was merely the second rank in my batch...second, from the back.
I was the school’s ‘Pai Kia’, a term commonly labelled to students that were, in their behaviour, more...expressive, notoriously of course. Not that my form teacher did much to curb my ‘free’ spirit. In fact, my form teacher was so lackadaisical in the conduct of her duties to a point that my class could go all out, falling short of rioting during class contact periods. Mrs Gahan, she despised us. Often hurting the class with her snide remarks on how ‘far’ we would make it in life, completely devoid of any pity.
Not surprisingly, we hated her as much, if not more. That was why in the week she was absent; our morale perked and then, was when a stranger changed my life.
Welcome Miss Tang, our relief teacher. In her first day of taking our class, she exuded warmth, warmth that we had never felt from Mrs Gahan. She interacted freely with the students and boosted their flagging spirits. Most of all, she respected us for who we were, and not what the school wanted us to conform to. Yet she held on to a measure of discipline, keeping our rowdy boys in check, if barely. Something that Mrs Gahan still had not managed to and most probably never will. She had heard about my...reputation in school and constantly talked to me. After awhile, I started feeling a close affinity to her. To me, she was the only one who truly understood what I was going through. Brought up in a broken household and abused by a father whose hands rarely held anything other than a can of beer, could really screw up a kid. Miss Tang showed me that however little we would like it to be, there was still some justice in this world. She managed to uphold the integrity of her profession.
Taking over lessons also meant that she taught us Physics, unlike Mrs Gahan, when we were unable to grasp the concepts of the lesson, she would go about it in another fashion till we caught on. Not to mention, she had a great sense of humour.
The week went by quickly, too quickly for anyone’s liking, before we knew it, Mrs Gahan was back. Inspired by Miss Tang’s engaging lessons, I continued working hard, even when the initial hype of her lessons dropped due to the sharp contrast of Mrs Gahan’s teaching. Pretty soon, I saw my subjects improving; I quit fooling in and after school. By the Mid-Year exams, I did well enough to rank in the second best class in the level. By year-end, I topped the standard. My family life improved after I sat down to talk things out with my father. Everything was changing.
Till this day, I hold Miss Tang in high esteem, admiring her willingness to go beyond the call of duty. That one week with her will forever remain etched in my memory.