the most memorable memory was the ceremony of paying respect to teacher. It was great,
impressive and unforgettable ceremony.
Ceremony of paying respect to teacher is held on the third Thursday of every
January. It is a Thai traditional ceremony in which students need to pay respect to their
beloved teachers. It is all students’ intention to make this ceremony. It is a traditional
ceremony of my high school.
In 2002, which was my last year in high school, the ceremony was held on
Thursday 17. The auditorium was set for the ceremonial place which was decorated
gracefully. The door façade which was in the front, was decorated with many beautiful
and colorful flowers. In addition, the fragrance of these flowers were very nice, like the
smell of perfume. Next to the door façade was a ceremonial area. In front of the stage
was a brown podium, which was adorned with the white embroidered cloth. The stage
was embellished with yellow and green cloths that were the colors of my high school .
There were many white chairs, which were covered with unbleached cloth that were
placed on the stage. The white chairs were divided into three lines. They were the chairs
for teachers. On the left side of the stage was grand orchestra, which composed of all
kinds of Thai musical instruments. At the back of the stage was a big poster, which was
written neatly as “Teacher’s day ” in old Thai style.
The ceremony started when the door opened and the president of the ceremony,
teachers and honor dignitaries entered the auditorium. Students standed in two lines,
which were separated on both sides of the pathway. They turned their faces toward each
other. When the teachers walked in the auditorium, students began to sing “Oh-koon-kru-
ka (Oh!my beloved teacher)”, which created a cordial welcome to all teachers. While
students were singing, they were saluting by placing their hand palms together and raising
them to the face (Wai or Thai salutation) at the same time. They bowed and rise gradually
like domino. This was the special characteristic of the ceremony in my high school.
When the teachers were on the stage, students sat facing toward the stage. Then,
the master of the ceremony who was the president of senior students, gave a meaningful
and impressive speech to teachers. The speech was concerned with being grateful to
teachers and how teachers treated students as second family, since they had taught
students many valuable lessons from how to read and write the ABC’s to being aware
of the world nowadays. They had been significant guides, like a candle that lighted
students’ lives to the future. Moreover, the teacher was like a ferry-boat. Teacher provided
knowledge to students and lead their paths to success, like a ferry-boat which took
passengers to reach opposite side without dangers. Reaching the opposite side did not
mean that the relationship was ended. In fact, the relationship between teachers and
students never ended and died. The speech was very touching and profound that made
many people in the ceremony cried. I also cried because this year was my last year in
the school and I highly respected to my teachers so much.
When the speech finished, the grand orchestra began to play old-style Thai
song which made the ceremony perfect. The representatives of each class walked from
outside to the auditorium. They hold bouquets of beautiful flowers, which were put into
a special tray. Each kind of flowers in the bouquet had its own meaning. The first one is
called “Dauk-kem”. Daul-kem is a red flower, which has the shape like a needle. It is
believed that it is the flower of intelligence. The second one is called “ Dauk-ma-kur”.
It is a green flower, which is believed that it is the representatives of being effort.
The last one is called “Yah-praek”. It is not a flower but it is a kind of grass, which is
symbolized as obedience. In addition, they put a candle in the tray in order to show
the respect to the teachers. The representatives of students crawled and went down on the
knees with palms pressed together. Then, they gave the flowers to the teachers.
The next step was awards ceremony. There were many kinds of awards and
scholarships for students who had good average grade. When the name of the first
student was announced, the clamour of applause also made me congratulated with that
person. The student who got the award, got a very big smile when she took a picture.
It was an honored ceremony. People had applauded continuously since the first person
until the last person. Although, I did not get any awards, I felt that I already got an
award. I was very lucky that had an opportunity to study in this great school. For me,
this was the award of my life.
The ceremony finished by senior teacher’s blessing to all students. Moreover, she
told her impressive stories about being teacher to students. Her stories made me more
appreciated about the importance of being teacher. When she finished the speech,
all teachers began to walk out from the stage. Students turned faces toward each other
again and they sang “ Pra-koon-tee-sam”, which was another meaningful song. Students
did the same thing like the beginning. They saluted by placing their hand palms together
and raising them to the face like a domino while they were singing. It was the most
beautiful picture that I had ever seen.
For me, Ceremony of paying respect to teacher is really meaningful to me. I
believe that being successful in study need to pay respect to teachers for the first thing. I
am a student so I spend a lot of time in school. Therefore, teachers play a major role in my
life. All of the memories about my high school teachers are my impressive memories
including this ceremony. It is always in my mind and I will keep it forever.
