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The English teacher is on a quest to prove that orang asli children have what it takes to excel academically
The orang asli community of Malaysia are among the poorest and most marginalised groups in the country. In 2019, The Orang Asli Development Department reported that 99 per cent of them live below the poverty line. While education is normally the path to a better future, many orang asli students are stigmatised as being lost causes. English teacher Samuel Isaiah wants to prove that orang asli students are just as bright and talented as other students.
After graduating from Teacher’s Training College in Penang, he hoped to serve at an elite urban school with all the best facilities. Life had other plans for him though as he was assigned to teach in Sekolah Kebangsaan Runchang, a rural school near Pekan in 2012.
“There are so many issues affecting rural schools like the one I was assigned. Many lacked basic amenities, there was also high dropout rate and low school attendance among students,” explains Isaiah.
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Above Samuel Isaiah with his students
Samuel Isaiah with his students
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Nevertheless, Isaiah was not going to give up on his students. Every day he would travel 200km to and from the school, which was located deep in the forest.
“I wanted to prove to Malaysians and the world, that indigenous communities are not hopeless. By using the right systems and methodology, they are capable of succeeding academically.” But the most challenging obstacle Isaiah faced was the negative stereotype on orang asli students. On his first day at school, he saw first-hand the negative perception other teachers had towards the orang asli students, deeming them to be a waste of time and effort. This was compounded by the fact that there were students in Standard 3 or 4 that struggled to read and write.
The 34-year-old teacher knew he could not solely rely on the existing syllabus, so he embarked on using unconventional methods to educate his students. This included a crowdfunding project to create a fully equipped 21st-century English classroom, complete with tablets and computers. This enabled the students to experience digital learning as a way for them to connect to the outside world. To help improve his students’ mastery of English, he launched an email exchange project, where students could communicate in English with other students from all over Malaysia and overseas.
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Despite all his efforts, Isaiah says he could not have succeeded without getting the support of his students and the local orang asli community. He bonded with his pupils and even embraced their culture, allowing him to see their true potential. Having spent so much time building rapport with the orang asli community, Isaiah says he was accepted by them and regarded as one of their own.
He is seen by the community to be a role model for the young to aspire to be; proving to them that nothing is impossible. After a few years, his efforts paid off as he raised the average passing rate for English from 30 to 85 per cent, a feat that was previously thought to be impossible.
Isaiah won numerous accolades including the Best Teacher Award at the ASEAN-ELT Conference in 2018, and in 2019 the Star Golden Hearts Award and the National Hero Teacher Award. He was also nominated for the Global Teacher Prize in 2020 and was among the top 10 finalists from 12,000 teachers worldwide.
To Isaiah, no challenge is too great. He often assures his students that even though others may give up on them, he would still support them. Isaiah wanted to prove that every student, no matter their background, has the potential to succeed when given the right opportunity. He still keeps in touch with some of his students, especially those in secondary school. Isaiah says he occasionally gets calls from older students who seek his advice in school matters, particularly when it comes to distance learning.
Beyond educating and uplifting the students in his school, Isaiah is going beyond the classroom and helping his fellow teachers discover new innovative teaching methods while building up leadership qualities. He is reaching out and helping more teachers by conducting workshops and training sessions with them in both rural and urban schools.“I would like to think that I’ve helped redefine the teaching space. We have very capable talents here, and they can make it not just here, but internationally as well.”
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With the closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic, education has become more challenging than ever. He says a lot of teachers have asked for help in implementing best practices for online learning. The pandemic has revealed that education in Malaysia is still a linear affair and more needs
to be done to create educational experiences that engage and excite students. He is of the opinion that teaching is a collaborative process.
“Teachers need to be problem solvers, and have to go beyond the classroom to start engaging with parents and the community to understand their views and needs, ensuring all parties understand one another,” he says.
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