CareerChat with a Teacher: What it’s like to teach in Singapore
This Teacher’s Day, we spoke to someone who has been teaching for over 10 years now about the highs and lows of the job and why they continue to teach.
We had the chance to speak to someone who has been teaching in a Junior College for close to three years. They shared their teaching experience, challenges, fears and dreams for their students. If you’ve ever wanted to know the hard truth about teaching, whether you’re a student, parent or aspiring teacher, hear it straight from a teacher’s mouth…
Why did you become a teacher?
I think teaching is fun. People often say don’t be a teacher, but I was confident that I could handle the admin work. It was never a deterrent for me, not when teaching brought me so much joy. Nothing compares to that sense of satisfaction when you see a student’s eyes light up when they finally grasp a concept they’ve been struggling with.
What is your biggest challenge as a teacher?
The biggest challenge I’ve faced in this job is time. I see close to two hundred students on a semi-regular basis every week and there’s no time or emotional space to connect with that number of people, no matter how hard you try.
There are daily rituals like assembly and other shared experiences that allow you to build regular relationships over a 2, 4 or 6 year time period. There are systems in place that allow teachers to be involved in more facets of the students’ lives, whether through CCAs or enrichment programmes. That’s why tuition teachers sometimes make the shift to formal teaching to get that emotional connection.
But there is a fundamental lack of time that both students and teachers find difficult to cope with. On top of that, students in a highly competitive school see their self-worth battered, that should not be the case. That’s why alternative pathways like CareerContact matter a lot.
Imagine a student comes to you with a problem. (This is outside of your own lessons, CCA, community, enrichment and other projects.) That one-hour consult is your lunch break. In a week, you might see five students and miss lunch that week. The scariest thing about that is once you start, you become a magnet — more students come to you and it keeps piling up.
But even helping one student is worth it. Most teachers would never ever say no. No one in our profession should ever say no, and we all agree. Because when the worst-case scenario happens (and it does, more often than is reported), you can’t help but ask yourself, “Is there anything I could have done?”
When students find it hard to cope, they turn to teachers, but who can the teachers turn to?
What is your philosophy to teaching?
Our school has a policy of not giving students standardised answers to memorise, even though we know they’re fully capable of going to Popular bookstore to buy the Ten Year Series answer key.
Many of my colleagues share the sentiment that there is no answer key to life. Sometimes students laugh this off, but I continue to try to instil the joy of learning in them. I want them to be generally curious about why things are the way they are.
Uncovering the ‘truth’ matters more than your ability to regurgitate information.
What is it like teaching during the pandemic?
There’s a profound sense of social isolation and frustration. Students can’t express intimacy the way they used to. Girls like to hug each other to express affection, we get that, even guys need that connection. But when we see it, we have to scold them and that raises tension in an environment where everyone’s already quite estranged, which is incredibly taxing.
From a contact tracing perspective, regulation changes constantly. If there’s even one suspected case, I’d have to contact the student, their siblings, their parents, report it to the vice-principal and go through multiple levels of bureaucracy, which becomes another administrative load on top of sanitising tables and taking temperatures on a daily basis.
Teachers also need to exercise a level of judgement on whether the student requires an Antigen Rapid Test or PCR test. When we make the wrong call, we get the blame. And it’s 24/7. You might get a call on the weekend about a suspected case and you’ll have to deal with it.
What would you say to students?
Don’t cry over grades, it’s not worth it.
There’s value in learning basic arithmetic and science. You need to be able to interpret information. Reading comprehension, as stupid as it sounds, helps you see through scams in life.
Apart from these basic competencies, it’s important to appreciate beauty, and the world outside school. There’s life beyond instant self-gratification like social media, suspend that temptation to distract yourself.
Hopefully, one day you’ll find your place in the world.
What would you say to fellow teachers?
Let’s not drone on too much about grades.
A lot of basic skills, the way we process knowledge and what we knew about careers is no longer relevant. You’re out of the job industry and there’s a lot to learn.
Stay in the teaching profession because you want to and not because it’s a stable job. There are many other stable jobs out there that don’t have collateral damage.
Have fun because the students will have fun too.
Every teacher has a life outside the classroom that they genuinely believe in. Try to bring that into the classroom, because when you do, it allows students to see that the person in front of them is also human and they also care about something other than grades.
What would you like to say to parents?
It breaks my heart when you beat your child in front of me. I’ve seen it a few times. Whether verbal or physical, there’s no need for that. They beat themselves up plenty.
Just as teachers and students should learn that there’s a life beyond grades, I hope parents will understand that too. Try to see your child beyond their report books and celebrate the achievements outside the classroom. Your child will be happier. A lot happier.
For parents who struggle to communicate with your child: I’m sorry, I was also a difficult child. Your child shares a lot with me these days and I try my best to share this information with you but there is a way to get through to them. Give them time and, as annoying as they might sound now, they still care for you, even if they don’t express it in a way you understand.
As for parents who are too hands-off…
When I see siblings attending Parent-Teacher Meetings, they seem confused, and even start to wonder if you’re around for them. Your care matters. Even if your child looks like they’re doing extraordinarily well, they still require a level of care that teachers cannot substitute or compensate for even if we tried.
What would you like to say to future teachers?
Join because you want to. Espouse the spirit of lifelong learning even if it’s difficult to maintain.
You need grit. Beyond going through the daily administrative tasks, the way you carry yourself, the vibes you bring into the classroom, your ability to go through exceedingly pointless things; being able to act your part matters so that the students can smile in your presence.
Suspending all your worries before you enter the classroom is almost performative, but that’s what professionalism means in this career.
Why do you do what you do?
If not me, then who?
