Speeches
Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the NIE Teachers’ Investiture Ceremony on Wednesday, 21 January 2009, at 2.30pm, at the Nanyang Auditorium, Nanyang Technological University
Mrs Tan Ching Yee, Chairperson, NIE Council
Professor Lee Sing Kong, Director, NIE
Colleagues
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good afternoon.
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to share your joy, as you celebrate a new milestone in your life. Let me extend my heartiest congratulations to all 313 graduands of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary), PGDE (Physical Education) (Secondary), Diploma in Physical Education (Primary), Diploma in Special Education, and Bachelor degree programmes. I would like to extend a warm welcome as you join the MOE family. I hope that your career within MOE will be a satisfying one and that will make the most of the opportunities provided. I also hope that you will achieve your aspirations as a teacher, that you will have a positive impact and make a difference to your students as you mentor and nurture them.
While the global economic conditions remain uncertain, you join MOE at a propitious time. We have announced that we will not let up on our efforts to improve our education system. Indeed, we will accelerate some programmes and bring forward recruitment targets. Over the next few years, new initiatives will be introduced to enhance education for primary and secondary school students. At the schools level, where many of you will be posted, the presence and assistance of more allied educators will help you achieve better learning outcomes.
MOE recognises that professional development for teachers is a life-long quest to hone their craft. We have put in place expanded pathways to help you develop yourselves to your full potential.
The immediate challenge for you will be to put into practice what you have learnt in NIE. I suspect that the students under your charge will be the most effective teachers and accelerate your learning curve. They will show up your strengths as well as weaknesses. They will challenge your assumptions and test the practical relevance of theories. I expect that there will be momentary setbacks for some of you and I hope that you will persevere and do your best to create conducive environments for their learning, and help them to realise their potential.
Preparing students for life
I talked about ongoing changes to our primary and secondary education. Beyond the specific programs, the general direction is to provide an all-rounded education. Academic achievements are important but must also be complemented by developments in other areas of students’ lives. An all-rounded education is not only something we want to do, but need to do if we are prepare adequately our students with the necessary mindsets, values and skills to excel in the 21st century.
Louis Lim and Lin Xiaojun, who are amongst you at this investiture ceremony that exemplify such a belief in holistic education. Their group’s service learning project was conducted for 29 at-risk teenagers who are under the care of Students Care Service at Clementi. A camp organised by their group provided the teenagers with adventurous challenges and, at the same time, taught them skills such as dance and photography. The camp allowed the teenagers to discover their interests, build their confidence through little successes, and develop their ability to collaborate with others. I encourage you even as budding teachers to create such avenues and platforms in your school. Yes, it takes imitative, boldness and sometimes a thick skin to criticisms. But it will be worth it, if your students know that you have made a difference.
Samuel Tan and Ivan Kwan, who are here in your midst today, understand this challenge. They wanted to find a novel and engaging way to raise students’ and teachers’ environmental awareness of Singapore’s biodiversity. Together with a group of like-minded classmates, they prepared an education package for Primary 6 students of Zhenghua Primary School, to teach them about the biodiversity of our ecosystem and the impact of industrialisation on the environment. The lesson culminated in a trip to Chek Jawa at Pulau Ubin in June last year, where the students could experience and appreciate the wonders of nature. On that trip, many students saw hermit crabs for the first time in their young lives. The group also set up a blog to sustain students’ interest in environmental issues. An excursion to Chek Jawa is not a revolutionary step. Indeed some would say it is not even a big step. But that’s the point - you may not need spectacular programs - just well thought out and implemented ones - that you are personally committed to. Your beliefs and conviction can have a catalytic effect on your students, and those around you. Passion is better caught than taught.
Supporting our teachers
At the outset of your career, adjusting to your new school and adapting to a new environment will be one of your first priorities. You will have to understand how your school works, and how best you can contribute as a new teacher. I would like to assure you that you are not alone during this transition period. Your mentors will provide you with the necessary support to ease you into your new role.
A Structured Mentoring Programme (SMP) is in place in all schools to provide guidance and support to beginning teachers. When you start work in your school, you will be guided by experienced teacher-mentors, who will support you in various ways, depending on your strengths and needs. Madam Manjula d/o Ponnusamy, a senior teacher from Hougang Primary School, has mentored many beginning teachers like you. As a mentor, she tailors her mentorship to help each beginning teacher settle into his or her new role. To Madam Manjula, it is all about “passing it on” - sharing her experience and her love for teaching. Tap on the expertise, wisdom and experience of your mentors, like Madam Manjula. Learn well from them because soon, you will be mentoring others who come after you.
Developing our teachers
Besides learning from your mentors, you will also have access to a range of professional development opportunities throughout your teaching career. Working with NIE and other professional bodies, MOE provides teachers with courses in content, pedagogy and assessment as well as in other key areas such as classroom management, counselling skills and reflective practice. Schools have also set aside dedicated time for the professional development of teachers. Our Teacher Work Attachment programme (TWA) gives teachers opportunity to experience work attachments in external organisations to broaden their perspectives.
In short, your learning does not end today with your graduation. Instead it marks the beginning of a phase of continual upgrading. Guided by the ethos and values of the teaching profession, and with each of you taking ownership of your development, I am confident we will continue to build a strong teaching fraternity in Singapore that will continue to make a difference not just to our students’ education, but to their lives.
Choosing the right teachers
Today, you have reason to be proud of yourself, and your achievements thus far. You are here because you have passed a rigorous selection process - beginning with the Ministry’s short-listing and selection interview. Even as MOE steps up recruitment of teachers in this weak economic climate, we still maintain a stringent selection process to ensure that only candidates with the right attitude, passion and aptitude join the profession. Many of you who did contract-teaching in schools or participated in the four-week Enhanced School Experience before joining NIE stayed the course because the experience affirmed your passion for teaching.
You would have heard about the Ministry’s plans to recruit graduate teachers or those who qualify to study for one of NIE’s Bachelor degree programmes for our primary schools by 2015. This is a natural progression, given that our local universities are increasing their cohort participation rate from 25% to 30%. With more degree holders graduating each year, the Ministry hopes to attract more of those with the right attitude and aptitude for teaching to join us. At the same time, we continue to welcome ‘A’ level and Polytechnic diploma holders with a keen passion for education to join the teaching service. Many of your contemporaries at NIE are enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts /Bachelor of Science (Education) degree course, and will join the teaching force after three or four years of study. Some of your peers who have chosen to teach specialised subjects such as Art, Music and Home Economics, will also continue to enrol in the Diploma in Education programme.
Conclusion
As you begin life as a teacher, I wish you a meaningful and fulfilling career ahead. I challenge you to not merely teach but to raise a generation of well-educated men and women inspired to influence and touch other lives whatever their chosen vocation.
Thank you.