The 77-year-old is also an engaging storyteller, often recounting in great detail fascinating stories of his teaching days.
Although not his first choice, he credits teaching with making him the man he is today, saying there was so much he learned in the course of his work.
“It does make you an all-rounder. And there’s never a dull moment – there’s so much to learn from your students, or about yourself as a teacher. I enjoyed every moment of my teaching career,” he told FMT in conjunction with Teachers’ Day today.
Reminiscing about his younger days, Victor said he initially wanted to join the police force but his poor eyesight put an end to that job prospect.
So, he turned his sights to teaching instead since there was a shortage of teachers in the country at the time. But being only 17 years old, he was one year short of the entry requirement to train at Brinsford College in England.
Disappointed, he worked odd jobs to earn a living but by 19 years old, he was finally a full-fledged teacher, and was posted to Kuala Pilah to teach English and Geography.
An active sportsman at the time, Victor soon became popular with his students. His enthusiasm and good nature made it easy for him to teach co-curricular activities under the guidance of the senior teachers.
Besides sports, he taught English. But then one day in 1975, the headmistress of SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Gemas, where he was teaching, instructed that he teach art as well as they were short on teachers.
He said she picked him on the basis of a mural in school that he had worked on with his students.
“I love art. But to teach it was an entirely different ball game. I had to mark exam papers and grade students’ papers. I had no choice but to take art courses.
“But I was hungry to learn from the best. I took up lessons from the late Siow Mei Shin, an art teacher. I also participated in batik-painting workshops because I had a knack for it,” he said.
“For me, teaching unravelled the artist in me. I was in love with it; I wanted to learn to teach it well to my students.
“I learned from my students too. A simple origami that my student gave me fascinated me, which made me learn from them. I think that helped fuel my passion for teaching art,” he said.
Making a difference in his students’ lives
While Victor gained a reputation for being one of the top art teachers in Negeri Sembilan, he was also known as a disciplinarian.
“There was once where I was in town and a student came up to me and thanked me for punishing me. At first, I didn’t recognise him, and then it hit me that he caused a ruckus in class during my time in Bahau.”
According to Victor, the student came from an abusive background and used to vent his frustrations on his teachers, including Victor.
“He kept thanking me and told me that if it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t be a talented ‘thevaram’ teacher in Singapore,” Victor said of the devotional songs that his student now teaches others to sing.
According to Victor, all his students are equal in his eyes whether they come from affluent backgrounds or not.
“I think one of the things that my students know about me is that while I can be nice, there’s no such thing as disobeying or playing the fool with me in class,” he said.
Sitting on his favourite sofa, he proudly displayed the various WhatsApp groups he belongs too, mostly those with his former students. And whenever a group reunion is held, he tries his best to attend.
“When we all get together, we reminisce about the good times. Sometimes, I’m in town or in a restaurant, and a former student of mine comes up to me and tells me about the time I taught him either in Kuala Pilah, Bahau or Gemas,” he said, adding that this humbled him.
“But most of all, the profession gave me a sense of identity, and harnessed my talents. I never knew I could be an art teacher. Nor would I have known I could be a footballer, if it wasn’t for my teaching career. I enjoyed every moment of it,” he said.