President’s Award for Teachers 2003 - MOE Press Releases (28 August 2003)

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1 Three outstanding teachers who have demonstrated selfless service will receive the President's Award for Teachers this year. They are Mdm Long Miaw Ying from Jurong West Primary School, Mrs Kheng Samuel nee Chua Mui Yee from Lakeside Primary School and Mrs Teng Siok Fun, Roger from North View Secondary School. The three teachers will receive their awards from the President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr S. R. Nathan, at the Istana on Monday 1 September 2003.

2 The annual President's Award for Teachers is the nation's highest accolade for the teaching fraternity, and recognises the teaching profession's commitment to the total development of students and its contribution to nation building. The award honours the recipients as exemplars who have demonstrated the passion, courage and perseverance to inspire and nurture the nation's young.

3 More than 3,000 nominations from principals, teachers, students, parents and former students were received this year. A total of 936 teachers from 148 schools were nominated. A Selection Panel, comprising prominent members of the community and senior officers from the Ministry of Education (see Annex B), identified the three recipients for the award this year.

ANNEX A

RECIPIENTS OF THE PRESIDENT'S AWARD FOR TEACHERS 2003

Mdm Long Miaw Ying, Jurong West Primary School

1.         Mdm Long Miaw Ying, 31, is Level Head for English in Jurong West Primary School.

2.         Mdm Long believes in expanding her students' horizon and creates many opportunities for them to learn and excel. She encourages all her students, even the very young ones, to be responsible for their own learning. For example in 2002, she guided a class of P2 students to produce their own collection of story booklets. She is currently guiding the P6 students to produce their own revision aids for PSLE.

3.         Mdm Long believes in the power of stories to impart values to the students. Through her own "grandmother stories", she teaches the importance of strong family values and instills in her students the passion for continual learning from life's experiences. She also uses news articles from the local papers during her lessons to illustrate the importance of sound moral values.

4.         She is an exemplar of continual learning. She has recently completed her Masters in Arts in Applied Linguistics. Her MA supervisor had described her as alert, extremely capable, intellectually independent, diligent, and one of the few MA students who managed to complete her thesis within the first year of research time. She is highly motivated, and shows great enthusiasm in what she does. She is currently pursuing an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Life Sciences.

5.         Mdm Long also believes in contributing to the growth of other teachers by sharing her strategies and guiding new teachers. In 1998, she was seconded to NIE as a Teaching Fellow to assist in teacher training programmes in the area of English pedagogy. Her former Senior Fellow at NIE was impressed by her efficiency, work ethic and passion towards education. She had also commended her for her initiative, diligence, excellent planning skills, willingness to accept advice and willingness to share.

1.         Mrs Kheng Samuel nee Chua Mui Yee, 37, is a teacher in Lakeside Primary School.

2.         Mrs Kheng believes in fostering strong relationships with her students in order to influence their attitude and behaviour. She is a friend and a guardian to her students. She makes a difference in their lives by providing them emotional support when they need it and at the same time encouraging them to be independent when they are ready. Her warmth, patience and sense of humour endear her to her students.

3.         She makes school a conducive and stress free study environment so that her students enjoy coming to school to learn. She provides specific guidelines for her students so that they know what is expected of them. She also creates opportunities for all her students to write words of affirmation to one another. Her students have attributed their improved results, not only to her excellent teaching, but also to the positive learning environment she has created.

4.         Mrs Kheng is well respected by parents and peers. Testimonials from parents have illustrated her as an approachable and helpful teacher. They are very thankful of the guidance and support she has provided for their children, and attribute their children's improvement work and conduct to her hard work. Trainee teachers who have come under her charge have also written to applaud her for her dedication, excellent attitude, and selfless contribution towards education.

5.         Mrs Kheng believes in lifelong learning for professional growth. She constantly upgrades herself through attending in-service courses and shares her wealth of knowledge and experience in teaching pedagogy and classroom management with teachers within and outside the school.

1. Mrs Teng Siok Fun, Roger, 44, is a Senior Teacher in North View Secondary School. She teaches English, Humanities, Civics and Moral Education.

2. Mrs Teng's dedication and commitment to the profession is seen in her ability to motivate underachievers to strive for their best and not just settle for mediocrity. Her persistence and dedication in guiding them and her belief in them have motivated them to improve their academic results and more importantly, build their self-esteem and find their purpose in life.

3. She takes an active interest in the well-being of the students. She shows deep compassion for her students and spends much time in counseling them. Students with problems seek her out to confide in her because of her warmth and caring disposition.

4. Mrs Teng also encourages her students to participate actively in Community Involvement Programme activities and fund-raising projects to help the community. As a teacher dedicated to developing students' compassion for the community, she arranges for her Leo Club members to attend the Leo Forum held overseas annually during the June holidays so that the students would have opportunities to network with and learn from Leo Club members from other countries. She is the organiser for the school's participation in the Terry Fox Run and outings to the old folks' home. She also works closely with the Lions Club of Singapore to organise community projects for the members.

5. As a role model of continual learning, Mrs Teng shows a keen interest in keeping herself abreast of developments in the her teaching areas through courses, seminars and workshops. She believes that the professional upgrading that she receives will also benefit her students. She shares her teaching materials with colleagues and is always ready to mentor and guide young and inexperienced teachers.

6. Mrs Teng has received much praises from both parents and students for her devotion in nurturing the students. Her colleagues, especially the young teachers, hold her in high regard for her positive esteem, wealth of experience and knowledge.