TODAYonline

Stumbled across this article on my staff's notice board in the pantry area when I was getting my cup of water.

Struck a chord with me. Worth a read.

HO KONG LOON

IN 1983, my school head nominated me for the post of vice-principal.

.

But he was shocked when I turned it down, persuading me to reconsider my decision because that rejection could adversely affect my career advancement.

.

He relented when he realised how resolute I was. I thoroughly enjoyed doing what I loved most: Teach with passion, dedication and, compassion.

.

A decade or so later, the education landscape underwent great change with improvements in salary scales, better and faster prospects for promotion, attractive study bursaries, generous sabbaticals, annual performance-based bonuses and so on.

.

Still, there were teachers who much preferred teaching to fast-tracking their way up the pecking order to become heads of department, subject or level heads or senior teachers.

.

The ranking of teachers set many teachers working feverishly to come up with the best possible professional portfolios, one that their reporting officers have an avid interest in.

.

Differentiation took on an added significance when ordinary teachers and their hierarchical counterparts worked from different rooms.

.

Staff camaraderie nose-dived. Contact time, originally intended for busy teachers to interact professionally or socially once a week, was transformed into lengthy staff meetings, in the guise of sharing sessions, mini meetings and briefings.

.

Walk into any school before assembly, during the breaks and after dismissal, and it is not uncommon to see teachers working at a frenzied pace — marking written assignments, keying in data at the computers, responding to the voluminous work-related emails from colleagues or superiors, keeping an eye on the kids at the canteen, supervising silent reading ... and the list goes on.

.

Gone were the days when teachers could take time off to relax with their colleagues after school hours.

.

But I soldiered on. The children in the class were my main concern and if my portfolio seemed embarrassingly slim, it did not unduly bother me.

.

When it was time for the battle-weary horse to move on, he did. I was an anachronistic remnant from a bygone time. I was nurtured and trained to be the front-liner in the education of the child, who held centrestage in the process.

.

It is the passion, creativity, love, care, concern and commitment, which collectively make the learning process enjoyable, productive and permanent.

.

Now, it is rare for the teacher to have all that time with the kids.

.

Teachers today have an overflowing plate attending to issues well beyond the classroom. There is only so much they can accomplish daily.

.

The better-qualified ones are not necessarily more committed, nor are they, in comparison with their lesser-qualified colleagues more effective teachers.

.

Grow 2.0, while welcome and comprehensively packaged, aims at institutionalising the culture of reward for diligence, upgrading, multi-tasking and versatility.

.

A tsunami-scale mindset revolution, to get back to the basics of dynamic, creative and dedicated classroom teaching, is hopefully attainable, too.

.

The author is a retired teacher.

TODAYonline