Importance of Teachers: I am sure all of us remember at least one teacher who had a tremendous impact on lives -- and made all the difference. My Standard 1 teacher, Mr Subramaniam, for instance, was a marvelous person who made me believe in myself, in my own talents.

However, in Malaysia, teaching profession over the years, have lost much of its allure. Seldom do we find students who top their classes end up as teachers. Blame materialism, if you want, but it is a problem, and one that could leave an indelible mark on our future. On this a NY Times has this to say:

"How to measure the impact of a teacher is a tricky question, though experts are trying. Ronald F. Ferguson, an economist who does research in education at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, correlated teachers' test scores with the test scores of their students, and found that teacher expertise accounts for more difference in student performance -- 40 percent -- than any other factor."

You decide.