In Singapore, education is placed as one of the top priorities which can be inferred from its rank of 2nd out of the total expenditure of the government as compared to other ministries (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011). Education possesses many roles in the perspective of different realms: the nation, the school, the teachers and the students. At different levels, different objectives are set. Over the years, we have seen several radical changes and transformations of our educational objectives according to the dynamics of the globalised world.
On the national level, Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (TSLN) was adopted in 1997 while a new pedagogical approach of Teach Less, Learn More (TLLM) in the year 2004 during the inaugural National Day Rally speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was made to guide schools and teachers. Last but not least, the vision for the teaching fraternity came in 2009- Lead, Care and Inspire.
Clearly, we can pin-point a top-down approach that the government has integrated in the different levels over the years to shape our education system. With such teacher-centric developments flowing in, we can see that the emphasis is now on the stake-holders of the system – the teachers. From my perspective as a trainee teacher, the vision is achievable, however in some instances; I foresee an addition to the countless dilemmas that I would face as a beginning teacher due to the contradicting objectives of the different management levels. It is too simple to pass one-size-fits-all policies and assume it may be carried out in the same way in different schools due to the dynamic nature of schools and students. This essay will be a reflection of determining my role as a teacher and also to look at...
... middle of paper ...
...urpose and value of the school experience (Tan C. , 2008).” There is no one perfect solution with regards to achieving the purpose of education in society. Governments must balance the nation’s objectives with the people’s interests at heart.
In order to follow the vision of – Lead, Care, Inspire, one has to overcome the complexities of teaching. From the below figure take from Education Statistics Digest 2011, we can see that most teachers leave the service during their initial years of teaching.
(MOE, 2011)
New teachers’ experiences are, in many cases affected by perceptions and expectations formed even before their teaching preparation programmes. Any incompatibility between future teachers’ perceptions of teaching and the realities of work and the workplace may lead to job dissatisfaction and possible attrition from the teaching force.
Reforms in education always occur when the educational system is in a period of unrest or crisis. Century after century show how hotly debated this topic is. Moreover, individuals, including, business leaders, parents, school boards and presidents feel they have the right ingredient to solve the problems of our educational system. It is unfortunate, but history is repeating itself, and we are now in a period of crisis in the education system in the 21st century (Tyack and Cuban, 1995).
Throughout many years, education has played an important role in improving our minds and society. However, what many people tend to forget is that our education is not at the best it can be. Education is defined as receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. Many people today questions whether or not our education depends on the people teaching it or if it’s the student’s responsibility to want to learn. "To what extent do our schools serve the goals of a true education?" Education helps people learn new things, but it can be changed. Although education helps students learn and plan for the future, it can be improved to help benefit students ahead of time.
For generations teachers have been developing our future through harmony, wisdom, and intellectual adventure. A teachers' role in society is to help our youth grow and further their understandings in the principles of life. The expository essay The Role of the Teacher by Irving Layton provides a different perspective on education in the 21st century. Similar to Layton, I firmly believe that education is for the expansion of the young mind and nothing should restrict a student's ability to do so. Layton touches on a view where teachers need to be passionate about their jobs, however, teachers are not always responsible for every action the school makes, but the responsibility may lie in the hands of the school board. Layton also displays his concern for the decreasing rate of young readers and the use of humanities and how that will affect society. Personally I have been influenced by teachers in my own family. There have also been other teachers who have influenced me like I have also had other educators such as in my math course where the diversity in the techniques and skills used affected my overall experience.
Sharifah Maimunah Syed Zin and Lewin, K. M. (1991). Curriculum Development in Malaysia. Bristol: The Falmer Press.
Yum-Teo, T.H. (2004). Reforming Curriculum for a Knowledge Economy: The case of technical education in Singapore. Education that works: The NCIFA 8th Annual Meeting. NCIFA
I never realized how many teachers leave their profession within their first few years of teaching until recently. Teachers leave their job because they experience burnout. This is when teachers decide to leave their profession because they feel that they cannot do it anymore. There are several different reasons for this that I will get into later on in this paper. I want to research more about how bad the burnout rate of teachers is in America, but more specifically in Georgia. When I thought about teaching, I had no idea of the cons of teaching. I feel like any student going into any profession does not always look at the bad parts of the career they would like to go into. I think it should be a part of classes in every profession. It is
Life is hard and putting teaching as a career into your life can sometime add on another level of stress. The reality of teaching can hit you all at once when you first step into the classroom. You may realize that teaching is not as fun as you thought it would be. There will be challenges that will come your way that you will have to face. It is very likely that you will see and hear things in schools that are contrary to what you have learned. The strategies that you were
Novice teachers, or those in their first five years of teaching, have an exceptionally high turnover rate. Ingersoll found that half of all teachers leave within their first five years of service (2003). It is over this span of time that teachers learn the most about the art of teaching (Ingersoll, 2003). Districts many times spend the most money on teachers during this five year phase. Those teachers that aren’t able to create a sense of success with students are less likely to find teaching a rewarding profession and have a higher rate of turnover (Johnson & Birkeland, 2003). While the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) has created a cost calculator to estimate the actual teacher turnover costs to schools and districts, the calculator doesn’t include the largest cost which is lost teacher quality and effectiveness (2007).
There is an over simplified generalisation often bandied about in Westernised countries that belittles the job of teachers. The phrase goes along the lines of “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” While the argument against this statement could fill pages the reality is that teaching is by far one of the most demanding but fulfilling jobs in the world. Teaching may be a job that requires a university degree and some on the job training; however effective teaching is a continual process of reflections, questions and decisions. This essay will examine in depth the cyclic process of effective teachers’ reflections, questions and decisions. Effective teachers will reflect on both their own knowledge and critically evaluate their work; they question both themselves and their students in a way that digs beneath the surface and effective teachers make decisions big and small throughout their day and within their planning. An effective teacher is a professional who incorporates reflections, questions and decisions, knowing that these tie together and are part of the very essence of being a teacher (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010).
Teaching is a daunting task that I do not intend to take lightly. Becoming a teacher has been a dream of mine for several years. I always knew that teaching would be the career for me, especially when I began working in the school system as a substitute secretary. I loved working in the school environment; coming in contact with children everyday made me realize how much I would enjoy teaching a classroom full of students.
Education is a vital part of society. It serves the beneficial purpose of educating our children and getting them ready to be productive adults in today's society. But, the social institution of education is not without its problems. Continual efforts to modify and improve the system need to be made, if we are to reap the highest benefits that education has to offer to our children and our society as a whole.
Education is man’s most valuable possession: it is the concept through which one’s love for learning stems, and the equipment used to pave an individual’s path to success. Although easily influenced by the opinions of others, education is one of the few concepts that neither internal nor external stress can strip from our being. The future of our society lies in the hands of our educators; the values and morals instilled by such figures govern the actions of the earth’s people.
Between 40% and 50% of beginning teachers leave the profession within the first five years (Ingersoll, 2012). The main reason for teachers to leave is stress and burnout (O’Brien, Goddard and Keeffe, 2007). Exact figures are a lot of harder to obtain in Australia. A recent report (Attrition of recent Queensland graduates, 2013) estimated that teachers who leave within first five years in Australia range from 8% to 50%. In a large scale survey, this report found that more than 30% of teachers consider workload and stress as very important factors in relation to their decision to leave teaching. Since it is an important issue, due attention has been given to this in the literature. The synthesis of literature is done here in 2 parts – sources of stress and strategies to manage
Along these two weeks we have been prompt to make a recall to our own way of learning and why we became a teacher: Was it because coincidence, due to life circumstances, maybe because family tradition, was it a conscious decision or because someone influenced us? Whatever the answer is, we have to face reality and be conscious that being a teacher does not only means to teach a lesson and asses students learning. It requires playing the different roles a teacher must perform whenever is needed and required by our learners, identify our pupils needs and preferences, respecting their integrity and individuality but influencing and motivating them to improve themselves and become independent.
In a society where kids must go to school up to the collegiate level, teaching is an impactful career choice. Teachers help contour the minds of future leaders of the world. Furthermore, teachers play a crucial role in guiding students to the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in life, and teachers lead students to make informed decisions on any topic the meet in the future. As a teacher, a person must relinquish their knowledge onto students. Finally, they must prepare their students for all the obstacles they will face later in life.