What's that, Teacher?"

“What’s that, Teacher?” a question was shot in the air and caught on my ears, coming from cute little lips…

“You mean, that one?” said a man in his thirties, pointing his fingers to a cluster of tall brick towers in the distance, with the same brick walls encircling .

Something about the children and everything else, made me stopped in my tracks. I just had to listen to the teacher’s explanation. My family and I were taking a walk beside the Thames, venturing from the Tower Bridge and we were approaching the Tower of London.

Then, there was laughter… the children running, their steps changing to small steps right after these words from their teacher, “Walk in pairs, please! And hold your partner’s hands. Don’t run! Have you forgotten what I said earlier?”

The sweet faces nodded sheepishly.

“We will be going in now! There are going to be a lot of people around. So, please remember my words, okay?” said the teacher, shaking his head, hands on hips.

I smiled a long smile.

At a corner near to the exit, a group of children were sitting on benches and the curbs, enjoying their packed sandwiches and drinks. Yet another group were hunched on the grass, their fingers holding crayons and coloured pensils, their faces intent on the white sheets spread in front of them.

This is how children are exposed to the subject of history in this part of the world. Since small, they were instilled with this type of learning, spurring inquisitiveness and the love for quest of knowledge through experiential learning. Not through spoon-feeding and boring sessions in the classroom.

Through discussions with a number of parents who have had the privilege of having their children going through their early years in school in this part of the world, I could gather a few things.

“Our children just love school. They are ever so excited here…they insist to be at school even when they are sick!”

I was in Chester, a medieval city, a short distance from Manchester early last year. At the excavation site of the Romans (only just recently discovered, i.e. in the year 2006), I bumped into a group of small children, dressed up in Roman costumes, in pieces here and there. One of the teachers was a man, all dressed up, complete with a bright red cape. He also took the liberty to act out a short skit, depicting a comical Roman emperor. Of course, the children (especially the boys) were squealing with laughter. It was January, I had three layers of clothing, including a thick jacket and gloves covering my fingers. The teacher had his legs bare to the mercy of the cold winds…

I salute the teacher, for his selfless efforts and dedication. In this western part of the world, there are still men who love teaching and being around small children. I do wonder… Do we still have such men back here in Malaysia?