Dinesh Kumar

I have this Indian boy in my own class, Dinesh Kumar. The other day I was filling up the register book with the details of all my students and I came across this name. It reminded me of a Dinesh Kumar whom I taught in Standard 1 in 2005 when I was a temporary teacher.

I can remember this Dinesh so vividly because I had a very hard time dealing with this little hooligan. I seriously thought there was something wrong with his behaviour. For no reason he would start throwing stones at his classmates while I was in the class. There was once, my heart skipped a beat when he carried a huge brick into the classroom. There were so many conflicts between him alone and all the other students.

Then I started to count from 2005 till 2010. That Dinesh would be 13 years old this year. The same age as the Dinesh Kumar in my class. The Dinesh in my class looks a bit like him except that he's a little on the heavy side. The primary school Dinesh was a very thin fellow.

Today I asked him which primary school he went to before. He said 'Bukit Bintang Boys School'. That was a surprise. (my father was the guru besar of that school for many years). He continued and said he was sent there after standard 3. Then I eagerly asked him which school he went to from form 1 till form 3..aah, and he said MES. My heart felt so warm.

I asked him whether he remembered me teaching him and he answered with a smile 'Yes, I still remember Teacher'. Today, he is a very different person. He still has the tendency to be in little conflicts with other students but he has certainly improved a lot since 2005. He is quieter now and speaks rather good English. I think he is so easily misunderstood by others...and by maybe teachers too.

While I was waiting at the school gate to cross the road, Dinesh stopped my car and asked me to drop him off at another school on the way back because the school bus to that school (from my school) always comes late. He had to catch another school bus to go back home. If he misses that bus, his mum would have to fetch him home from work.

I found out in the car that Mum and Dad were seperated since he was standard 3. Mum has a very low-income job.

I thank God I went to school today even if it was only for 3 hours (rushed back home from a very crazy place). It made my day but it really got me thinking........