Seek FIrst to Understand, Then to be Understood

Tuesday, 2nd March 2010, at a school in Brunei.

Ditandang-tandangnya barang-barang rah kawasan admin. Not just that, he even gagar-gagarkan the pintu to make big noise to show his kemarahan and menarik perhatian cikgu-cikgu dan students. Mengamuk lah ia ani. Masatu, aku lapas ambil test papers (untuk test esuknya) yang telah siap diprint. And I saw this event.

Ada this one female teacher tried to comfort him down. And I was just observing. Ia masih marah. Then, ada the other female teacher ani berani mengaga ia (I also made a move) and memigang ia. Guess what this student did to the teacher yg tried to comfort him down?

Ditumbuk2nya, dicakar2nya, and kan digigit2nya tangan teacher atu. Merijap yo.

Seeing a female teacher being punched, I made a move. Then, aku lagi yang migang this student ani.

I tried to dzikir2, and I can’t. Sal barangkali aku alum biasa to this kind of situation and so on atu kali. The only thing I remembered at that time was that aku pasrah 100% to Allah. While I was holding this student, another female teacher tried to comfort him down. This student tried to bite my hand. And, alhamdulillaah, he didn’t punch me.

And finally, this female teacher successfully calmed him down and brought him somewhere.

However, alum lagi jauh perjalanan, ditumbuk2nya lagi this teacher. At that time, syaitan took the opportunity to menghasut aku. With a frowning look dan hati yang panas baran, I said:

“Ehh, brani jua…”

“Au, andangnya tu. Ia autistic…” Another female teacher responded.

“Ohh…” Hearing that ‘autistic’ word made my heart cool, cool and coooool…

I did saw this student for the first time masa ku signed-in paginya, And I was, like, wow, he looks so matured. Mcm urg basar lah.

The lesson?

Stephen Covey’s fifth habit: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Kupasan ayat di atas: sebelum tani mau kana fahami uleh seseorang atu. Tani mesti memahami seseorang atu dulu. Just like what that teacher did. Rupanya teacher yang comforting that autistic student atu biasa dah dengan ia. I have to admit that I did wrong there sal naik panas baran meliat teacher atu kana tumbuk. I should have understood the situation first.