How often does a teacher come across something that a student does outside school and actually praises it. I would say close to never. But it happened to me in my 9th year of school. Gotta stop before i get too bhb.
A wise person once told me that she wanted to be a secondary teacher, even though she knew it was going to be hard work. She said that she wanted to do something to understand people in their period of growth, both physical and mental. She wanted to help teenagers to learn and help themselves. Try and guess who she is.
I know of teachers who can connect to their pupils, not just because they are young and know what students do at home. They are generally more accepted as they actually make an effort to care about students, and they respect us at individuals. Thus when we feel that, we in turn care and respect them as a form of appreciation.These are the types of teachers we come back to visit when we graduate. A very good example would be Miss Jacqueline Nai( dunno if i spelt it right). She really helped us through our lower secondary life.Thanks!!
Then when there is a good side of things, there will definitely be the dark side. Teachers who have a philosophy of " My job is a teacher, I get students to pass their O levels and nothing else." These types of teachers are usually less significant, mainly because we 'switch off' during their lessons or seriously dislike them due to harsh punishment or useless lectures which can help us. They should not be mistaken with teachers like Mr Jamil, who is a really nice guy. This type of teacher do not care about their students, even if its their form class, they just take care of the admin stuff, make sure the class is alive and running. They also take credit if the students get good grades, which they do not deserve since its the pupils hard work and not the teachers. I shall call them the objective teacher
Teachers like that should really get another job. Students in primary or scondary school are growing up and the people around them are going to be the ones that mold them in to what they will be. The objective teachers simply act as a form of communication like a postman. Then why does the government pay them so much more than a postman. The government pays the teachers a lot because the children are the future of the country, the teachers are responsible for its well-being and growth, apart from friends and parents. However, the government is paying that much because it truly takes a lot have effort and talent to be a teacher. He needs to think like an adult, a friend, as well as a social worker at the same time. Only so, will the children be able to learn and grow. but the objective teachers only focus on the academic aspect of their job and thus is "cheating" the government and parents of their time and money. I can honestly say that at least 30% of the teachers in Singapore are objective teachers. There are many people around us that should become teachers, but they lack the knowledge and drive to be one, thus they would rather have another job.
Children and teens need someone to help them grow. Their friends can influence them a lot but they also sometimes do not know the light from the dark. The parents know whats right and wrong, but their efforts are ignored more often than not. A caring teacher is the balance between the two and they have more influence on the kids if the children trust them. These are the people we should really celebrate, not some guy who sings about change and doesnt do anything.
Teenagers between ages 13-18 are very vulnerable as they are given a
lot more freedom and responsibility than they can handle. But parents dont keep them under check, most of the teens stray away due to peer pressure( parents are uncool).If the teachers onli focus on teaching O lvls, they will feel that the classroom is just another place where the unpleasant always seem to happen.
In this post, I really want to commend the caring teachers that have helped me in my life from pri 4 to now. I will list them down another time.
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