When Ms Taha was Principal of Fuhua Primary School, hardly a day passed without her feeling that she’d received the royal treatment. “Whenever I walked past a classroom and the children caught a glimpse of me, they’d give a little wave,” she recalls. “Primary school students are lovely. They’ll even tell you that they like the style or color of your dress.”
During her eight years at Fuhua, Ms Taha brought fun, joy and an abiding respect for nature into her interactions with students. Step into the school and you’ll be struck by how green it is. The vegetable garden has cherry tomatoes, papayas, and chye sim; the corridors are lined with hanging plants grown in recycled plastic bottles.
“What did I like about teaching? The children,” says Ms Taha, 63. “As educators, we don’t teach English, Math and Science – we teach students English, Math and Science. It’s the children who’re important, not the subjects.”