lets be straight here, i was not a bad kid in school but neither was i a good one. we all have gone through all the turbulent years in secondary school and would have been involved one way or another in a fight or something with the teachers. who wasn't rebellious during those days?

but the kids nowadays are not respectful at all of the teachers and what they have done for them. trust me, i have done a few tuitioning before and this coming from a fellow teacher who i believed was having quite a tough time in school struck a chord in me.

how can parents nowadays be so protective of their kids? i was surprised to see a pri one student, with his uniform on, playing with his psp and his *coughs* girl was sitting beside him in the bus. What the f$#@?!?! i didn't remember whether i was even thinking of having a gurl at that age!

whats more, because of the globalisation and the widespread powers of the internet, porn, violence and all the other BS are coming through so fast that you don't even realise that your beloved son / daughter are exposed to it. it does and you better watch out for it lest it makes your beloved son / daughter the gremlin he /she is.

i do not abhor change, or progress or parents protecting their young ones. that i noe is the basic human neccesity and capacity of growth and safety. in fact, i welcome the growth that our country has done, but just like the administration in the highest level of governance, parents put on a cloak over their child thinking that it is preventing the child from facing all the crisis that the parents had faced. but do they check on the child? i think not.

they blame the world world including themselves except their offspring. just look at the incident in the bus. oh i tell you, if i was in that bus, seeing that idiot of a JC student punching the driver, i would have tackled him a la Goldberg, punch his face and throw him out of the bus kicking his ass! a freaking JC student!! like what the F@%$! and what does the dad do, begging forgiveness on behalf of the kid. i can't believe such stupidity exist in Singapore. and we are what, a first world country? (or did i get that wrong?)

heck, if i was you when that Sec 3 kid mocked you, i would have said out loud, "what stare stare? you think its funny right?" and promptly bring him to say what he did at the school PA system and let everyone know what an idiot he was.

anyway, hope you do put this up. i'm sick and tired of whiny kids and whiny parents.

the first year is the most crucial year as that is the year when you get CONFIRMED. if you don't get confirmation from the school (in which case, its endorsed by the PRINCIPAL) within a year, you would be reviewed again of your performance before that year ends and you would be given the choice to either stay for another six months and get yourself confirmed, or u can request to go to another school and get yourself confirmed. Now what happens if the school refuses to confirm you? YOU WOULD BE FORCED TO QUIT AND PAY BACK THE BOND. and that is over SGD$30,000. So why the heck did they make u sign the bond first before the confirmation period? if you are not sure whether your employee will perform, then put him under probation but do not bond him. That is a lose-lose situation for him/her. Which is not fair. The bond thing is VERY UNFAIR AND IS NOT BENEFICIAL TO THE EMPLOYEE. What is the purpose of training your employees if you have no intention of retaining them? Stupid right?

And of course, your confirmation is subject to how you suck up to your HODs and Principals. The politics is one aspect which i was not prepared to face when i joined the school. My HOD does not like me, cause i had trouble keeping up with the amount of work that was given back then. AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY POLITICS. For me, i will not suck up to anyone, even if it earns me a few hundred dollars more. I will just do my job, whether you like it or not. Can you imagine, i had to prepare lessons every week (lesson plans to be handed in every friday) for 8 classes and mark (basic job). Then, the department gave me extra work like handling departmental duties like planning and executing programs for some school events in which i have to hold quizzes for the whole school, train MCs, prepare quiz questions, train kids for public speaking skills and making announcements every morning. On top of that, i have CCA in which i have to plan for activities. PLUS i have classroom observations every month in which i have to prepare for and this is the main determinant of my confirmation status. I also had to attend courses every now and then and even on sundays, have to bring students for some stupid field trip. And i have to carry out remedials and extra classes EVERY DAY. its crazy. i only have 24 hours a day and how to do all these? its really crap. just because i am new, they dump all kinds of unthinkable duties on me and i tell you, i lost weight and almost became crazy. my normal school hours are from 7.30am to around 9pm at night. I stayed in school late every day cause i can't finish my work. i even came back on sundays just to catch up on my marking. and even then, with 8 classes, how to finish? i am not a robot and i need rest, i need to relax. with that kind of workload, i suffered A LOT.

Unless i worked smart (by playing politics), maybe i can get around the system. But i guess i was just a hard-worker that i just tried to cope. The stupid thing was, my confirmation is subjected to only classroom observation. so all those hard work that i put in in other things is not counted lah. if i don't do, i get a bad remark. if i do, i can't seem to manage my basic work. so i tried to juggle. On top of that, one of my colleagues was backstabbing me cause i trusted him. and this made it worse for me. until at last, my P refused to confirm me. i almost wanted to quit and pay back my bond, but i don't know where to get the money from. so i decided to leave that school and was posted to another school in the same zone. Thanks be to God, this school is wayyyy better and i am so happy here. the management and the Principal who confirmed me are really people with a heart. i am so thankful and happy to be in this working environment. and i have completed the bond finally!

And another complaint i have of the school are the students. every morning, the school compound will be filled with cars. somehow, students here are pretty rich (but not so smart, and spoilt). i was given 2 2NA classes who are so rude and foul-mouthed that hearing the word c**&% and all those cheenah vulgarities is very commonplace. my lessons are spent just trying to manage the class. the discipline master is not effective and i don't see students changed even after i sent them to the department. i tell you, during the first 3 to 4 mths, i went to the toilet and cried after my lessons with them ended.

cause it hurts so much to hear students hurlting vulgarities at you when all you wanted to do was to share your knowledge with them. that there isnt even an ounce of appreciation for all the things that you've done for them. preparing lessons and all. when all i get at the end of the day is not a 'thank you' but a f*** u, k***** and c****. i even have students throwing chairs at me. i don't know where these creatures come from. back then, i truly regretted joining teaching. moulding the future of the nation? its not MY JOB! its the parent's job, not the maid or even the grandparents'. Its no use providing these 'creatures' with all the comforts (big cars and all) when the parents don't even teach them what basic manners is. and they want to blame the teachers for their child's red marks. goodness...i almost gave up on our society. and i myself am scared to raise a child in this type of environment. I was truly jaded. my noble intention has been jaded by the harsh reality of working life.

Anyway, the reason that i was NOT confirmed was because 'YOU DON'T HAVE GOOD CLASS MANAGEMENT'. GOODNESS!! WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? WHY DON'T YOU SHOW ME THROUGH EXAMPLE, MR PRINCIPAL. NOT THROUGH OBSERVATION. in fact, i see experienced teachers having problems with the same kids that i have problems with. come on, teaching is a life-long skill, its not an overnight thing. how can you measure a young, inexperienced teacher against a much older and experienced one? What kind of assessment is that? I truly hated the management of the school, not to mention the politics and students there.

made me smile and laugh for the first time in weeks.

I find your articles regarding moe and teachers are things that are lingering at our lips but not spoken. Thank you for making the "rest" understand the position we are in.

Two things to share if you can spare the time, that is with the new project at hand, i'm sure you are super busy and tired.

First, the streaming, whilst i understand that you are so against that, it does makes sense. In my current school, i am surprised to find that even in Sec 2, the Tech students are what we call "illiterate".

Without streaming, it's tough for them to catch up with the "faster" students and they would resent being in school as they see no point in studying as other students are always doing better. And the "faster" students are set back because classes will be at a much slower pace and they in turn will be restless and resent being classmates with the "slower" ones.

These "slow/monkeys/ADHD/rude" students need a different approach to studying, as they have VERY SHORT ATTENTION SPAN, they response to visuals, anything they can do with their hands and anything that moves sooo much better than the "faster" students. That's why, maybe, the goverment came up with streaming. To cater to diverse needs. (Now where have i heard this before?)

Second thing is, from my short experience and observations, these "slow/monkeys/ADHD/rude" students actually response SOOO much better when we treat them like an adult and lay down our simple and clear expectations that they can do.

Example, the very basic and "born with it" RESPECT for the other person. Rationale with them the meaning and how respects work, don't make it all about how they should respect the teacher, rather how it's a 2 way street. When the don't see you so much as a figure of ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY, they soften and are able to compromise better.

TALKING AND RATIONALISING is what get these students to behave. And when this approach fails, then turn to "monster" mode but still rationale and give them the option. They will soften and behave. All the things that i said have been "tested and approved" (but with alot of trial and errorrs) to work with students who are really a nightmare and the cause of all stress and depression in teachers.

All they want to know is that you care for them, and will go to great lengths to help them to learn.Don't need to wreck your brain over it, just compromise, and do activities that you know they can do and is fun. Heck with what the syllabus says, do what you think is the best way the students can learn.

Don't be surprise, they WANT TO LEARN, it's just that when they don't understand, instead of saying they don't get it, their inflated egos get in the way, and they just act up, and soon, everyone follows.

I've been in my new school for 3 weeks, together with my classmate from NIE, and this method works for us, especially her, as she have the Tech classes. And i swear, i see a 360 degree change in them. They are POLITE, WON'T DISRUPT lessons, EAGER to LEARN and showcase an OVER-ALL BETTER ATTITUDE.

I know this is sooo long, but just my 2 cents worth. Keep up the great work, and with the effort, sincerity and this selfless things you do, i THANK YOU for this noble deed. You have made thousands if not more people happy when they are at their lowest or just plain bored =p

The very least i can do, is to pray for your health, better opportunities that PAYS $$$ and your passion to never die. Take care and all the best with your new project!

Although I understand that it is practical to set up different classes to cater to special students with special needs like a kid suffering from dyslexia or attention span problems, discipline problem; micromanaging and splitting up the kids into different levels of Normal, Express, NormTech streams have no significant benefit. And more importantly, streaming did not proved ANY significant results. I can say that the MAJOR BULK of our University students (the supposedly the best of what the education system have to offer) are working with the GOVERNMENT right now. Even though they have gone through the current administration style of education system, they are INCAPABLE in creating world recognise brand names like Yamaha, Google, EA Games etc.


Or let me explain in diagram form on what I mean: