going beyond the classroom

To the four recipients of this year's President's Award for Teachers, being a teacher is more than just imparting knowledge.

At Anglo-Chinese Primary School, Mr Terry Tan, 51, writes his own games to pique his students' interest in Mathematics.

"Students nowadays are IT savvy so it's difficult for teachers to continue to use traditional methods (of teaching)," said Mr Tan, who describes himself as being a "second parent".

One of his fondest memories is of a gifted education student who, at Primary 5, sat for O-Level Mathematics and scored a distinction. Mr Tan had walked into class to see that boy chasing another with a chair. "He had problems with his classmates. He was very good in the subject, but lacking in social skills." After months of counselling, he turned into "quite a gentleman".

Ms Sharon Ann Cardoza, the subject head for Pupil Development at Farrer Park Primary School, recalled a troubled student who was often listless in class.

His mother had lost her job, so they had to go without food.

"Because he lives near my area, we went to the grocery shop and bought some basic necessities. He was very relieved," she said.

She also ferried the student to and from school after he fractured his leg and tutored him after class.

The other two recipients are Ms Lucy Oliver Fernandez from Catholic High School, and Mdm Wong Lai Fong from Anderson Secondary School.

About 9000 nominations for the award were received this year, a record since it was introduced in 1998.

- TODAY, 2 Sep 09

this article brings back fond memories of my anglo-chinese primary school (acps) days. mr terry tan was my first chess coach in the acps chess club from 1995 to 1998 and i owe a lot to him. we used to train from 7.30am to 12.30pm every sat during term time, more during the school holidays. ironically, he never taught me mathematics.

[in those days, singapore did not have any professional local chess coaches, let alone internationally-titled foreign chess trainers (ie. international masters and grandmasters). the teacher-in-charge of your school chess club was your chess coach by default, whether he or she knew the rules of the game. of course, times have changed.]

it is unfortunate that within the civil service, the ministry of education has one of the highest (if not the highest) turnover rates of staff. being a teacher is a noble profession (alongside being a prison officer haha) which is crucial in moulding the future of our nation.

going upstream

speaking of being a prison officer, we try our best to rehabilitate and reintegrate individuals downstream. however, there is only so much that we can do without going upstream.

it was significant that at a recent inter-ministry course (developments in public policy seminar) where we discussed the challenges facing singapore on the horizon, most of the solutions offered centred on education. citizens not friendly towards citizens of other races? educate them. citizens not tolerant towards citizens of other religions? educate them. citizens not welcoming towards foreigners of other nationalities? educate them.

of course, we can and should go even further upstream by focusing on the family, but that's for another time.

happy (belated) teachers' day!