I would like to share this article which I read on Straits Time Interactive ( April 28 2004 ).
It summarises how every teacher in Singapore feels.


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Preserve dignity of teachers
I HAVE been doing relief teaching for the past few years and have asked myself countless times whether it is worth it.

I used to believe teaching is a meaningful job. I was wrong. My experiences have been discouraging and disappointing. My conversations with many trained and experienced teachers tell me that they feel the same way.

Children today have no respect for anybody. They talk non-stop and teachers have to shout to be heard. The top students don't bother to listen as they have had enough tuition to make sure they score, not that they are really smart. The bad ones look at their teachers as though they are nobody.

Many teachers carry personal loud-speakers because it is very hard to shout the whole day.

Should you try to discipline a pupil, the parents would file a complaint and you would be called into the principal's office.

When children do not perform well in their studies, it is the teacher's fault.

I heard recently that a student slapped a teacher. I was hoping to see it in the news but it wasn't.

I hope the Ministry of Education will take action to preserve the dignity of teachers. Only motivated and high-spirited teachers can contribute to the moral development of our children. Only morally correct children can build a better Singapore.


CHIU MUNG HING (MS)
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