Read the above article from ST Forum dated 26 August and was fuming! Crazy fellow trying to close down the whole tuition industry? Why doesn't she ask what has tuition done for the education society in Singapore? Without tutors, i believe many students would have become road sweepers. Singapore is clean enough and we dont need to fight with the Blangah for jobs! the extremist who wrote the article MUST be a teacher, if not, why ask for more pay. More pay = better output and education system? Crazy.was so furious, I made my first post on ST Forum:
Janice_W
Posts: 1
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Today, 02:19 AM
I was totally taken aback when I read what Mdm Josphine Koh had written. I'm not saying this just so I can protect my rice bowl as a full-time tutor. Education is about the quest for greater knowledge from all avenues. Why should knowledge seeking be only restricted to schools? There are some very good tutors and tuition centres out there, imparting vast general knowledge to students. In fact, having tutored students of various levels over the past 10 years, I'm contantly appalled by the basic knowledge that teachers impart to students. Children often come home not grasping the very gist of the topic. It makes you wonder if it is the child or teacher who is at fault. I guess to be objective, it takes two hands to clap. Very often I'm taking over the role of a teacher, whose job is to teach students the basics of a topic at the very least. I've even encountered a Primary student, whose teacher asked him to go back home and ask his tutor to explain the topic to him! Many of the younger teachers these days are losing passion and have no time to deal with students individually even if they want to. Most of them chose teaching as a career as it's one of the higher paying jobs for a freshgrad. Often, this group of teachers would quit once their bond has been served. By increasing their pay, it would only deplore the matter. Children have different pace of learning, as such, having help from other avenues may not be all that bad. Also, the reason for the growing need for tuition is due to the fact that examinations are becoming increasingly challenging. Schools are often not able to cover such a broad base. In anycase, does increasing the pay for teachers translate to a better education system? I don't think the link is all that strong.
Janice_W
Posts: 1
Join Date: Aug 2008
-->
Today, 02:19 AM
I was totally taken aback when I read what Mdm Josphine Koh had written. I'm not saying this just so I can protect my rice bowl as a full-time tutor. Education is about the quest for greater knowledge from all avenues. Why should knowledge seeking be only restricted to schools? There are some very good tutors and tuition centres out there, imparting vast general knowledge to students. In fact, having tutored students of various levels over the past 10 years, I'm contantly appalled by the basic knowledge that teachers impart to students. Children often come home not grasping the very gist of the topic. It makes you wonder if it is the child or teacher who is at fault. I guess to be objective, it takes two hands to clap. Very often I'm taking over the role of a teacher, whose job is to teach students the basics of a topic at the very least. I've even encountered a Primary student, whose teacher asked him to go back home and ask his tutor to explain the topic to him! Many of the younger teachers these days are losing passion and have no time to deal with students individually even if they want to. Most of them chose teaching as a career as it's one of the higher paying jobs for a freshgrad. Often, this group of teachers would quit once their bond has been served. By increasing their pay, it would only deplore the matter. Children have different pace of learning, as such, having help from other avenues may not be all that bad. Also, the reason for the growing need for tuition is due to the fact that examinations are becoming increasingly challenging. Schools are often not able to cover such a broad base. In anycase, does increasing the pay for teachers translate to a better education system? I don't think the link is all that strong.
