TEACHING is no easy task and it comes with a great responsibility.
More than just imparting knowledge in schools, teachers have an essential role of nurturing students into ethically responsible citizens while helping them to understand their abilities to become a better person.
In honour of teachers, McDonald's Malaysia celebrates these unsung heroes with its McDonald’s Anugerah Guru Inspirasi.
The annual initiative is dedicated to recognising inspiring teachers who have gone the extra mile for their students.
"Reading this year’s extraordinary stories of teachers’ commitment, unwavering dedication and overwhelming compassion towards their students has reinforced our belief that teachers should be given as much recognition as possible for all that they do.
“Through McDonald’s Anugerah Guru Inspirasi, McDonald’s Malaysia aims to build a platform for teachers in the country to have their stories exemplified, where we can showcase their efforts and passion as exceptional educators, ” said McDonald’s Malaysia managing director and local operating partner Azmir Jaafar.
Selvamary with her beloved students at SMK USJ 12.
This year, 25 exceptional teachers were recognised for instilling strong moral values, becoming the pillar of strength for students who are going through life's ups and downs, and never once gave up on students.
One of the award recipients was teacher Selvamary Lourdesamy from SMK USJ 12, Selangor, who was nominated for her compassion and dedication.
“As a teacher, don’t expect anything when you help your students. To me, that is part of our job and when our students succeed, we succeed, ” said Selvamary, who has also become the pillar of support for many students.
She is known for her effective notes for Biology and would stay back for five hours every day for those who need extra classes. Her former students continue to visit her and send gifts on special occasions like her birthday and Teacher’s Day to show appreciation.
Darrel Wong Lee Sze from SK Limpaki, Sarawak, thanked McDonald’s for the recognition of McDonald’s Anugerah Guru Inspirasi 2020.
“It feels nice to be recognised and I certainly did not expect this, ” said the teacher who never gives up on students who were deemed less likely to succeed.
Wong can brave through any setbacks with the encouraging smiles and enthusiasm from his students.
He takes the time to understand each of his Year Six students. All are given equal opportunities to learn despite many setbacks including having to deal with unsupportive parents of illiterate students.
To introduce his students to 'flipped learning', Wong started a YouTube channel as well as a programme to encourage parents to read with their children.
In a small village in Gelang Patah, Johor Baru, some Malay students have successfully picked up Mandarin, thanks to Abdul Muiz Hussin from SK Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar.
Abdul Muiz has never had proper Chinese education but learned the language from a friend when he was in college.
“I did not expect my story of teaching students Mandarin at a small fishing village being appreciated by McDonald’s. It is truly an honour to be awarded the McDonald’s Anugerah Guru Inspirasi 2020, ” said Abdul Muiz.
Abdul Muiz utilises fun online learning materials in his Mandarin class.
Every award recipient will receive RM5,000 cash, a trophy, and certificate of recognition while nominators will receive RM200 worth of McDonald’s vouchers as a token of appreciation for contributing their stories.
In compliance with the nation’s movement control order, McDonald’s planned along with each teacher’s respective school personnel to surprise the winning teachers with their nominator via a video call.
Since McDonald’s Anugerah Guru Inspirasi’s inception in 2017, McDonald’s Malaysia has awarded 82 teachers for their unique and unconditional efforts and receivedover 16,000 story nominations from Malaysians nationwide on how their teachers have impacted their lives.
This year alone garnered close to 5,000 story nominations.Visit www.mcdonalds.com.my/en/anugerahguruinspirasi to read all the stories of the unsung heroes.
In celebration of Teacher's Day, McDonald's Malaysia is offering an exclusive deal on the McDonald's app.
From now until May 22,2020, get two medium iced lattes and two Oreo McFlurry for RM14.99.
The McDonald's app is available on Google Play store or Apple app store
