Why Teach..

Why teach? The first and most asked question I get when I tell people my occupation. Neh, my answer doesn't go "I have a passion for teaching" or "I love kids" or "I get a sense of satisfaction when I see a kid change or improve" or "I was inspired by Teacher X". The above are model answers that one gives during the interview with a certain organization. But of course, even though I don't tell people that, it doesn't mean there isn't a tinge of truth in those answers.

Have been getting calls from unknown insurance agents and bankers regarding financial planning. Upon knowing that I'm a trainee teacher, their first question, "You love teachiing?" Being a person who doesn't know how to lie, my instinct answer is "Not really." I would either be greeted by an awkward silence or a cynical laugh.

What's wrong with that answer? Teaching has never been a childhood dream of mine, so 'love' would be too strong a word to use. Not loving teaching doesn't imply hating it. How in the world does one know whether one loves to teach when one has hardly taught a class of 40? Giving tuition is entirely different from teaching in a school. Giving tuition is simply giving attention to one child with the main aim of covering the syllabus and teaching the child tips to be exam smart. In a school, teaching is about providing holistic education to each and every student under your care, being a counsellor, being a friend, preparing lessons, doing administrative work etc. There's a vast difference being a tutor and a teacher.

Next about loving children. Generally, that's true but there are always exceptions. Lower secondary, especially the secondary ones, are on the whole still adorable and harmless. But from secondary two onwards, the kids go through puberty stage and start getting defiant, rebellious and having a mind of their own. These kids grow up to become teenagers. Of course I'm not saying every kid starts growing into a 'monster'. Most are still angels who would not cause any kind of trouble for the teacher. Let's just say I love kids, but I don't love teenagers. I don't dislike them either. I am basically neutral towards them.

After 2 months of being a trainee teacher, I've learnt much about the current education system. There's a move away from the traditional teacher-centred learning towards a more student-centred learning. Rote-learning, along with drilling, is strongly discouraged. Also, more emphasis is placed on problem based learning, with the focus on collaboration with other peers, higher-order thinking and independent learning. Sounds like an advertisement for SMU? There's also a whole bunch of theories regarding students' learning, thinking and development.

The above are what we are learning on paper. In reality, which is in the schools, is there really a shift in the way students are being educated? I doubt so. From my contract teaching, I can still see that finishing the syllabus and scoring high marks are still the main priority. This is especially for upper secondary, where there are hardly any project works. The mode of teaching is still the same: White board, transparencies and markers. With students who are academically weak, projects definitely won't help them learn concepts faster. Yes, it may help them better prepare themselves when they enter the workforce. But let's be realistic here. Paper qualifications are still essential in this nation. You are not going to get a high starting salary job with lousy qualifications. Student-centred learning will only work well with more intrinsically motivated and academically stronger students. Armed with the basic concepts, they will be able to explore the projects further. Academically weaker students may be able to enjoy the project and learn from it with proper scaffolding from teachers. However, this means that the projects would most probably have to be done in class, which ultimately translates to less time left to finish the syllabus and eventually, not being able to prepare the students well for examinations.

The Ministry has made changes and reduced the syllabus considerably. But from what I witness in schools and hear from current teachers, it seems that there's still not enough time to cover the syllabus. Even if the teacher has covered the entire syllabus, it doesn't mean that students have understood everything.

I'm not sure why but I seem to be very sceptical about every new proposal that is being implemented or whether a certain theory will work in reality. A tutor assured us that it's normal to have such thoughts regarding the latter. It goes to show that we are thinking. I greatly need this assurance from her. As for being a cynic, at least it isn't as bad as previously before I entered this training course. My tutors and peers have managed to convinced me a little about some new implementations to the education system. However, whether I'll be fully convinced will only be known when I become a full-fledged teacher.