Mind your language!

This is one of my favourtie sitcoms! I started watching it on Okto and after watching one episode, I downloaded the entire first season. The show is about an English teacher, Mr Jeremy Brown, giving english classes to a group of foreign students. The show may not seem entirely politically correct because it was first screened in 1977, where most of the characters were portrayed as foreign stereotypes. For me, the funniest character in the show is Ali Nadim, the Pakistani!

Barry Evans was the actor who played Mr Brown and he was fantastic. Unfortunately he died in 1997 at the age of 53. 

This February: Spotlight on teaching profession

The news in recent weeks has put the career of the teaching profession under the spotlight. Just a look at some of the headlines and you'll know what I mean.

This article was published on Wed 11 Feb 09 and it commented about one of MOE's recruitment advertisements. The advertisement reaches out to potential candidates to apply for MOE's teaching scholarships. Clad in dark jackets and boots, the people in the ad are actually education professionals and they include a teacher, a principal, an HOD, a level head, a senior manager and a project manager from MOE HQ. And I thought they were models! They list the name of their respective schools too!

Some concerned readers felt that the ad "over-glamorised" the profession and it raises doubts about the motives and aptitudes of applicants.

Coincidentally, another MOE recruitment ad was printed on the exact same newspaper, and it was on the previous page!

Unlike the previous ad, this one, I feel, targetted the mid-career professionals because it featured a lawyer, a PR executive and an economist.

It seems like the advertisements are trying to make the teaching profession more "cool!".

I still prefer the tv advertisement. I think that's the best. I can't remember much of it but it's the one with different individuals saying things like:

"He's the reason why I..."

"Thank you Mr (something)..."

"Mrs (something)..."

I still like that advertisement. It is a good advertisement because the display of honesty and sincerity touches the heart.

The print advertisements above on the other hand, are very much similar to the army ones! Like a lemon - looks good on the outside, until you actually try it!

So maybe the days of grey-haired teachers with thick black-framed spectacles (once synonymous with our aging population) are over. We are moving to the era of a younger breed of teachers who, outside of conventional teaching methods, communicate with students via sms, facebook, MSN and friendster.

That's when I saw the above article in today's Sunday Times. The article talked about a new age we are in, where students and teachers can communicate outside of conventional mediums. It highlighted cases of inappropriate text messages sent by students to teachers, and in one case even sexual relationships between a 15 year old student and former teacher. It raised issues like what should be the extent of teacher-student communication? What is appropriate and acceptable behaviour?

I guess this is a shout-out to all you private tutors out there! More so because tutoring is mostly on a one-to-one basis. I also don't see how it's possible to not-give your contact number! My advice: don't put yourself in a position where your professional values are compromised, you are after all an educator more than a friend.

Scrapping of exams

It was recently revealed that the scrapping of exams for Pri 1 and Pri 2 students was put forward as a recommendation by MOE's PERI committee. 

As much as how some parents may feel opposed to the idea of multiple mini-assessments, I am in the opinion that the move is a good initiative to promote a more holistic approach to the education of our little ones.

I believe that learning should be fun, more so for children at the ages of 7 and 8. Why should they be rushed to be put under the pressures of semestral examinations? They are already gonna be doing yearly examinations for more than ten years of their educational life, consecutively if I might add. As the years progress, there will be more than enough opportunities to assess their learning. So why rush them so early? Will they be less smart?

I admit that Singapore is a very result-oriented society, but there should be more to life than exam skills. Without the stresses of semestral exams, there is so much more that students can learn and so much more that teachers can teach. It's good that greater emphasis has been placed on the development of lifeskills and values.

CNY Musings.

Happy CNY to one and all (it's still CNY, albeit the last day) I hope that amidst the gloom and uncertainty of this economic recession that we have managed to find some bit of festive cheer this year.

For students, I hope that a sufficient quantity of hongbaos have come your way. We've already come to the end of the 5th week of the academic year (the 1st week for JC1 students) and by this time, you should already be settled comfortably into your classes and have a sense of familiarity about your curriculum. If you are having difficulties with your subjects, the first person you should ask is your subject teacher. However, if you feel that he/she does not have enough time or is unable to provide comprehensible instruction, only then should you take the next step and consider tuition. However, if your parents have already made tuition arrangements for you, then consider yourself lucky that you have another channel of instruction to learn from.

For parents, if your are considering tuition for your children, you should keep in mind that tuitions are meant as a compliment to lessons taught in schools and not as a replacement for them. Also, tuitions should not add to, but rather reduce the stress on a student by making him/her feel more comfortable and confident about his/her subjects. That said, having more tuition does not necessarily guarantee the academic success of a student. I have seen students who have performed dismally in spite of having 1 tutor per subject. Rather, it is the motivation of the student to take charge of his/her learning, that is the best driver for academic success.
This is a factor that I notice is not understood by some academics. One may be brilliant in his studies, but may fall short when it comes to passing his knowledge on to others. If a tutor is needed, parents should not just simply look for one with the best qualifications, but rather, one who can motivate and push his/her students to their potential. This is the essence of motivation in tuitions, and the topic will be discussed in my next posting.