25 M'sian Teachers Just Won Awards For Impacting Their Students' Lives. Read Their Stories
These teachers have truly gone above and beyond the call of duty!
By Gowri Chitra — 19 May 2020, 05:19 PM
McDonald's recently announced the 25 winners of the Anugerah Guru Inspirasi 2020
The annual McDonald's Anugerah Guru Inspirasi celebrates and gives recognition to inspiring teachers who have gone beyond their call of duty to make long-lasting impact on their students.
The sweetest part is that the students themselves are the ones who nominate their teachers for this award, awwww! So, you know that these wonderful teachers really have made a difference in their students' lives.
This year, McDonald’s received close to 5,000 nominations from across the country!
The students poured their hearts out, sharing stories about how their teachers have impacted their lives.
The 25 winning teachers are truly exceptional ones, and McDonald's is proud and happy to honor them for instilling strong moral values, becoming a pillar of strength for students going through the ups and downs of life, and never once giving up on helping their students grow.
“As a teacher, you don’t expect anything when you help your students. It always feels like it's part of the job as we succeed when our students succeed,” said Ms. Selvamary from SMK USJ 12, one of this year's winners
She was nominated by one of her students who was immensely taken aback by the teacher's compassion and dedication for her students. Not only did Ms. Selvamary make Biology easy to understand with her effective notes, she also stayed back for five hours every day to provide extra classes for students who needed it.
She is known as a pillar of support for many of her students. Long after they've graduated and moved on with their lives, they still continue to visit her and send her gifts on her birthday or Teacher's Day.
Another winner is Cikgu Darrel from Sekolah Kebangsaan Limpaki in Sarawak. He never gave up on students who were deemed less likely to succeed.
Persevering despite many setbacks, Cikgu Darrel gave each of his Standard 6 students equal opportunities to learn. Some of his students were illiterate and he even had to find ways to win over some unsupportive parents. His students love that he always takes the time to understand each one of them.
Recently, Cikgu Darrel even created a YouTube channel to introduce his students to 'flipped learning', and also started a program to encourage parents to read with their children.
"Thank you McDonald's, for awarding me McDonald's Anugerah Guru Inspirasi 2020! It's a nice feeling to have your efforts recognised and was certainly not expecting this," he said.
Malay students in a small village in Gelang Patah, Johor have successfully picked up Mandarin, thanks to the efforts of Encik Muiz
"I was not expecting my story of teaching students Mandarin at a small fishing village to get appreciated from McDonald's and it is an honour to be one of the winners for McDonald's Anugerah Guru Inspirasi 2020," said Encik Muiz.
He has never had any proper Chinese education himself, but grasped the language from a friend when he was in college. He taught it to his students at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar, as he felt it was important for them to learn the language as an added advantage.
Ms. Ash from Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Height truly goes the extra mile to capture her students' attention in class
She brings lessons and stories to life by dressing up as various characters, such as Little Red Riding Hood or Maleficent. This no doubt gets her students excited to learn and engaged with the subject material.
She also contributes to the teaching community by putting her learning materials on her blog and on her Telegram group which has over 30,000 participants.
Mr. Leo from Sekolah Kebangsaan Ba'Kelalan tries his best to come up with innovative ways to teach and educate his students
His creative teaching methods bring a breath of fresh air into the classroom. For example, he created an English Corner by recycling plastic bottles into mailboxes. This was done in order to bring students and teachers closer together, by encouraging the students to interact with their teachers through written notes.
Here are all the other winners of McDonald's Anugerah Guru Inspirasi 2020:
Cikgu Yahya (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Rancha-Rancha)
When a student fell into a coma weeks before SPM in 2019, Cikgu Yahya visited him on alternate days to recite the Quran at his bedside and pray for his speedy recovery.
Cikgu Shah (Sekolah Kebangsaan Tunku Laksamana Nasir)
He was the first to notice that one of his students had mild intellectual disabilities and committed himself to bringing out the best in said student.
Cikgu Khairul (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan La Salle Sentul)
Seeing the potential in a student who was mixing with the wrong crowd, Cikgu Khairul would often motivate and encourage him to do better. That student's life was forever changed and he is now finishing his third year in Civil Engineering.
Mr. Fathil (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas Setapak)
He helped build the confidence of visually impaired student diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. With his guidance, she represented Malaysia and the Global IT Challenge 2019 in South Korea.
Mrs. Sharinoor (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tun Haji Abdul Malek)
When her student lost her mother in 2018, it was Mrs. Sharinoor who stood by her side and showed support to help her through the difficult time.
Mrs. Ilavarsi (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kuala Ketil)
She helped her student who is an orphan and had lost sight of her goals in life, guiding her towards a better path. That student was motivated to pursue her Bachelor's Degree and will be graduating soon.
Mrs. Rosnah (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Teja Putra)
She helped a student who was always teased to build his confidence and leadership skills. He went on to participate in multiple district and national level competitions.
Ms. Wong (Sekolah Menengah Pendidikan Khas Vokasional Shah Alam)
She helped collect donations to sustain the education of a financially-troubled student, and never once asked for anything in return.
Mr. Kamel (Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanah Liat)
As the school's cross-country coach, he trained with his students every morning before school, and even sold a pair of expensive shoes to buy new apparel and shoes for his students.
Mr. Alvin (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Nabawan, Sabah)
By constantly giving them the opportunity to take up responsibilities within the school, he helps his students become outspoken and develop strong leadership traits.
Mr. Khairil (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Perempuan Alawiyahh)
Besides teaching Pendidikan Seni in the classroom, he also involves his students in big art projects such as Street Art Kangar 2.0, which has attracted the attention of tourists.
Mdm. Nor Sahida (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Abdullah)
Mdm. Nor Sahida turned her student's life around when the girl was chosen to participate in a cooking competition. This includes sponsoring most of her student's financial needs, especially during STPM, and providing her with a motorbike as a gift.
Ms. Siti Norziah (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Lembah Bidong)
One of her students disliked the English language and was often up to no good. She conducted extra classes for him every day, and he eventually passed all his subjects.
Mr. Hairul (Sekolah Kebangsaan Felda Ulu Penggeli)
Not only did he train his students for poetry speaking and traditional Malay dance competitions, even sewing their costumes himself, he also made sure they succeeded academically too.
Ms. Shee (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Man Ming)
With her effective teaching methods and by incorporating fun interaction into her lessons, Ms. Shee helped her students who are weak in English.
Ms. Peisha (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sulaiman Bentong)
She brought out the best in a student who was facing self-esteem issues. With her guidance, he felt empowered to participate in a public speaking contest, and subsequently had more courage to try new things.
Mr. Kamarulzamri (Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Jaafar)
When a student of his was chosen to compete in the World Skills Competition in Russia, Mr. Kamarulzamri worked hard to collect RM12,000 to send him there.
Mrs. Nurlisa (Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Berampah)
As a teacher and filmmaker with 20,000 subscribers on YouTube, she posts videos that feature her students in school activities and short films, which allows them to experience acting and be exposed to the process of filmmaking.
Ms. Dayang (Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, Putrajaya)
Though she's a temporary teacher, she is known for being a great teacher who tries her best to help her students, and puts in extra time to help them improve.
Mr. Hakim (Sekolah Menengah Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris)
He always goes out of his way to assist students in various ways, such as helping them get camping supplies or simplifying their lessons.
In conjunction with this year's Teacher's Day celebration, each one of the 25 winners received RM5,000 in cash, a trophy, and a certificate of recognition
Meanwhile, the students who nominated these winning teachers received RM200 worth of McDonald's vouchers as a token of appreciation for submitting their stories.
With the Movement Control Order (MCO) making things different this year, McDonald's worked with each teacher's respective schools to surprise the winners via a video call with their students.
Check out the super touching video below:
Plus, in the spirit of Teacher's Day, McDonald's is also offering an exclusive deal in honour of all educators
From now until 22 May 2020, you'll be able to get two medium iced lattes and two Oreo McFlurry for only RM14.99 via the McDonald's app!
Congratulations to the winners of McDonald's Anugerah Guru Inspirasi 2020! Check out the website to read all 25 moving stories of these silent heroes. <3
