8 LUMEN | LEARNING
Young Alumni
Paying Forward
By Ryan Colond
Many days of my youth in SJI had been spent learning from teachers who taught me lessons in and out of the classroom in SJI .
The thought of stepping into the shoes of an SJI teacher made me feel that I had bitten off more than I could chew . After all how could I live up to the standards set by my own teachers ? Yet , despite the anxiety and apprehension , fitting in as a relief teacher for Mrs . Deborah Tan was made easy by the caring and altruistic teachers who once taught me .
It has always been said that SJI is a family but I thought that only referred to the students . Not only was I made to feel at home by my former disciplinarians but I was doted and mentored by my former tormentors . This built a bond between us that enabled me to cater my lessons and structure my pedagogy to the classes assigned to me .
No greater joy can be felt than that of the satisfaction I get when I see a weak student succeed . However , my curriculum time with my students is limited and there is so much more we can accomplish together . Inspired by their willingness to learn , I came up with the idea of meeting them after school for some focused teaching sessions . From a spark to a fire , the success of the programme spread . The boys benefited immensely from the additional and more directed teaching sessions . As a result , the programme was adopted by the school officially and more old boys were called to serve their alma mater and help their juniors .
Phua Hsuan Te and Ong Heng Yang , both from the class of 2006 , were the first two to