| |
|
| |
|
|
....................................................
|
|
|
|
| |
At the recent NIE Teachers’ Investiture, 364 beginning teachers formally joined fellow educators to be part of the Singapore Education Service. Beginning teachers are often thought of as wide-eyed idealists with ambitious hopes and dreams. Contact spoke to some of them, including valedictorian Megan Seah, on their enthusiasm and optimism.
Stars In Their Eyes?
Beginning teachers, like all new job entrants, are eager to please and filled with world-changing ideals.
‘Newbie’ Olivia Tan admitted that her first few weeks in teaching had been great, “Busy but in a good way.” She is surprised with how different one student can be from another, although this was something she had steeled herself for earlier.
 |
Mr Shanmugaratnam with the prize winners.
(From left to right): Daniel Koh (Association of Mathematics Educators Book Prize winner), Olivia Tan (Justice Choor Singh Gold Medal winner), Megan Seah (Valedictorian & Singapore Teachers’ Union Book Prize winner), the Minister, Loh Mew Chew (Singapore Chinese Teachers’ Union Book Prize winner), and Clinton Yew (History Association of Singapore Book Prize winners).
|
|
“You have to tailor-make your teaching methods,” she explained. “I look forward to seeing these students every day though and I want to win them over, to connect with them. I’m new and this is the first time I’ve had to really get to know my students. They’ve been respectful and I do think the smaller age gap can be an advantage.”
She is still overwhelmed by the excitement of a new school and a fresh career, as is Clinton Yew from Serangoon Junior College, who enthused, “My first few lessons have been encouraging. I can see that my students respond to my lessons.”
In the meantime, there are others who enjoy teaching for the sheer joy of seeing a classroom of expectant faces. Loh Mew Chew, a Chinese Language teacher at Northbrook Secondary and winner of the Singapore Teachers’ Union Book Prize, revealed that each day, she looks forward to “spending a happy day with my students, helping them to love learning Chinese!”
|
Megan Seah on the inspiration behind her chosen profession - that she can make a difference and change lives.
|
|
Valedictorian Megan Seah also eagerly explained what the best part of her teaching day was - “Entering a classroom of enthusiastic students who wait to receive what you have prepared for them. In the class I’m currently teaching, I can see they’re willing to learn.”
As Megan mentioned in her speech, veteran peers have told beginning teachers that the latter could lose their enthusiasm in a few years. While she agreed that they would get tired after a while, she hoped that they would never become jaded, as there was a difference between being naïve and being idealistic. The former could be done away with, but it is the latter that would see them through difficult days.
“The best part of my day is actually being in the classroom and having students look at Mathematics in a different way,” said Maths tutor Daniel Koh. For example, movies like A Beautiful Mind and Proof could help the young generation see Mathematics as analytical principles rather than some figures on paper.
It looks as though this cohort of teachers have got their feet firmly on the ground, while holding tight to their ideals.
|
| ..................................................................................................................................................... |
Related Link
|
|
|
