WHAT MATTERS MOST

7.20am: Getting ready mentally for the session

12.05pm:  Had popiah for lunch

12.30: Tried my hand at batik painting

12.45pm: At the Science booth



12.55pm:  Our AST  Master Teachers



1.00pm: Testing the ph value



1.10pm:  Using natural ingredients as  indicators


 

1.25pm: Our Malay Language Master teachers



1.30pm:  With Rani, a Geography Master Teacher

 

 

1.45pm:  Do you see what I see?

2.10pm:  The theme: What Matters Most



2.45pm:  The inspiring speaker, Mr Jason Wong

   

4.20pm:  The start of the concurrent session

4.30pm:  BTs penning their thoughts

4.33pm: How's your CCA involvement have
been?

4.50pm:  Add value to the students' life 
when you interact with them



5.00pm:  I love my CCA!

 

5.20pm:  Thanks Jeffrey for teaming
up with me

5.20pm:  Farisah with me

5.22pm:  Chase your dream to be an
effective teacher, Farisah

5.34pm:  The BT symposium package

5.35pm:  A token of appreciation from AST

 BEGINNING TEACHER SYMPOSIUM 2012

This inaugural Beginning Teacher Symposium was held on 6th November 2012 and it was meant for Beginning Teachers (BTs) of Year 1-2. The presenters were mainly the Beginning Teachers of Year 3-5. It is more meaningful to get the BTs to share together among their contemporary who have gone through the same teaching experience, but in varying depth and width.

The symposium revolved round the theme ‘What Matters Most.’ As teachers, we strive towards the Teachers’ Vision of “Lead. Care. Inspire.” We desire to make a difference in the lives we touch...our students, colleagues, the parents we interact with. We face questions like “how do we influence change?”, “how do we cope with obstacles and challenges?” and “what keeps us going when the going gets tough?”

We seek motivation and the drive from others around us. As such the objectives of the sharing sessions are for teachers who are 3-5 years in the service to share learning experiences in areas related to teaching and learning, nurturing students and engaging parents, share useful ideas and skills to engage students and encourage Beginning Teachers to reflect on what matters most in their journey as teachers.


The symposium was a professional development experience for BTs and it sought to provide a platform for personal and professional learning among BTs; reiterate the importance of teacher ownership and teacher leadership; and inspire BTs to pursue professional excellence.

The invited guest speaker for the event was Mr Jason Wong who is currently the Senior Director of Rehabilitation, Protection & Residential Services Division at MCYS, and oversees the secretariat of Dads for Life. In 2004, he initiated the Yellow Ribbon Project and chaired the Organising Committee for two years. In 2009, he helped conceive and launch the Dads for Life movement in Singapore. Mr Wong was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2002.


Mr Wong’s speech was inspiring as he shared of his works with inmates from Changi Prison and how he pushed for the Yellow Ribbon project to be accepted by the community. It left many of the audience teary-eyed when a video on of his projects – ‘Mother’s Day’ was aired. It showed how the women inmates were reunited with their children on that special day. Mother and child refused to be parted when it was time for them to leave.

So why was Mr Wong invited to speak to the BTs? One of his messages was that there would always be challenges in our work and if we could impact a life, it could be considered an achievement. We have to believe in our belief and never give up when the tasks ahead seem impossible. These messages resonate strongly with the BTs who are still trying their niche areas, level up their strengths and address thier weaknesses.

There were several concurrent sessions for participants to select from. The two key strands of the concurrent sharing sessions were to build rapport with and engage students and to nurture student’s holistically.I facilitated a concurrent session with Jeremy on how co-curricular activities can shape students’ character.

I teamed up with Mr Jeffrey Yuan who cetred his sharing on shaping character through Co-Curriuclar Activities (CCA). While the demands of teaching are tremendous, teachers still need to balance spending time outside the formal curriculum to nurture students and shape their character through involvement in student-centric activities and programmes. Engaging students in active learning through CCA is important as CCAs help shape character, and teach a range of skills and attributes such as determination, patience, discipline and working as a team. Jeffrey shared his journey from beginning as a CCA teacher, to the overall NPCC IC, and eventually SH /CCA. Through his sharing, he iterated important lessons learnt in the course of growing to be an experienced teacher.

One of the participants who attended the session was my ex-student Siti Farisah. It felt so gratifying to meet your own student who has also joined the teaching fraternity. Farisah was a very serious worker who knew her goaIs. I taught Farisah Geography and she is now a Geography teacher. I know how impactful teaching can be.

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

~ William Arthur Ward