Local musician with PhD shades ex-teacher who looked down on him

Karma sucks and a certain secondary school teacher is about to be schooled on why.

In a Facebook post made by Levan Wee on Saturday (June 28), the musician and social-media specialist posted pictures of an email that he sent to his ex-teacher in Victoria School.

Calling him a "great teacher", Wee added that this unnamed educator was one of his "favourites" ever but "not for the reason you might think".

Wee went on to reveal a memory from his days as a student where the teacher "singled" him out for not paying attention in class and apparently said: "You'll be lucky to achieve what the rest of the class will achieve."

When Wee tried to clarify what that meant, the teacher responded: "You know what I'm talking about. You'll be lucky to get half of what everyone gets."

According to Wee, at this time, the teacher then rubbed the skin of his arm for a moment and added with a smirk: "You're not like other people."

"YOU SAW ME AS AN ALBINO IMBECILE"

Wee confessed in the email that he believed the teacher was making a "subtle" but "pointed" remark on his albinism.

He said: "In addition to the fact that you never really thought highly of me to begin with.

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"You made it clear that you saw me as an albino imbecile."

However, the "condescending, bigoted, judgmental" remark spurred Wee to work harder, gave him "the determination to go against the grain" and the ability to believe in himself.

As he further revealed in the email, he went on to live a "fun and fulfilling" life as a successful musician and used the money he made to further his studies in Australia where he graduated top of his cohort.

Wee is the lead vocalist of local rock band, Astroninja, and according to his Facebook account, graduated with a PhD in anthropology at The University of Melbourne.

"IT'S OKAY IF HE DOESN'T READ IT OR RESPONDS"

Wee told AsiaOne that he has yet to receive a reply from the teacher.

"But it's okay if he doesn't read it or responds," he said.

And that's because Wee is "not actually angry at him".

He explained: "I would be the idiot if I held onto such negative thoughts for that long! But I did want to write a message just to point out that it's not okay to say such things to impressionable kids.

"Even if he doesn't read it, I hope that teachers will be more aware of what a crucial role they play. Teachers are really important, and what they say can affect how a teen's belief system in themselves."

SUCCESS IN SPITE OF THE COLOUR OF HIS SKIN

And work for it he did.

Now that Wee is back in Singapore, he has gone on to be a social-media strategist at online music community, WHABBY Music, and he "couldn't be happier" to be doing what he loves and "helping other artistes to live their dreams".

He wrote in the email: "I'm lucky I had a god-awful teacher like you to inspire me to work harder.

"But, above all else, I fought for many years not to prove 'people like you' wrong, sir. I did it to prove myself right, in knowing that I can live the life I choose, if I put in the effort.

"I proved myself right in knowing that fools like you thrive on belittling others, to make yourself feel better."

And the kicker?

Wee concluded: "Oh, and by the way, sir - you can call me Dr Wee."

OVERFLOWING SUPPORT BUT SOME DISAGREED

The Facebook post has since gone viral with many users flocking to the comments to voice their support and share their own stories about their teachers.

However, there were commenters who didn't look too kindly on Wee's email and his decision to put his teacher on blast.

In light of how much attention his initial Facebook post had received, Wee made a subsequent post yesterday (July 1) to clarify a few points.

He revealed that while he wasn't the only kid that the teacher had talked down to, Wee himself was no angel either; however, he hopes that teachers will "try to lift kids up where they can".

"It's a very big role to play - and I'm grateful most of my teachers were wonderful," he said.

He also explained that the use of his "Dr" title was more for "dramatic effect" and isn't something he uses in his daily life.

In fact, he believes that it's more important for people to "do what they love, whatever their education levels".

THE POINT ISN'T TO VILIFY THE TEACHER

Wee emphasised that the point of the post wasn't to "vilify" his former teacher - something that he had repeated in response to commenters.

When asked by a Facebook user whether he had ever approached the teacher to share how hurtful the comments were, Wee said that a bunch of old classmates had actually messaged him privately to tell him about their own experiences.

He admitted: "Some of them shared a similar experience to me, I think some were worse."

He continued: "That being said though, I really don't want to vilify this particular teacher. Also, back then, the context for teaching was different to today.

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"Then, it was a lot of an old 'tough love' kind of approach.

"I can understand how that might be helpful in some cases, but I do believe tough love can be coupled with genuine encouragement."

Wee also explained that neither he nor his friends confronted the teacher because they felt that it was hard to do so then "in the face of authority".

"Kids also tend to assume authority figures are 'right' as well," he added.

The point of him sharing his story was because he felt concerned for children who could possibly misconstrue their teacher's actions and believe that they aren't "good enough".

He said: "We are always bombarded by messages that tell us 'You're doing it wrong!' or 'You aren't cut out for this!' etc. So much so that I think, psychologically, so many limit ourselves before we even begin.

"And it's a shame."

bryanlim@asiaone.com