Career as Teacher

Originally Posted by Unregistered

s://.straitstimes.com/singapore/teachers-need-not-share-personal-contact-numbers-answer-messages-after-school-hours-chan-chun-sing

Talk is cheap. I bet this guy doesnt even know how things are on the ground. I get messages from parents 24/7.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is there a bowing culture in school? A BT walking past a senior teacher bowed halfway. Is this an unspoken rule in teaching industry? Im curious to know before i decide to sign on to NIE. Seems pretty outdated and backward to me.

No... never heard of such a case or rule. Perhaps your school is especially traditional. Just check in with your SCM.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Talk is cheap. I bet this guy doesnt even know how things are on the ground. I get messages from parents 24/7.

This is precisely the problem being addressed by Minister, right?
1. Reset expectations amongst schools and parents about what is appropriate for teachers to address, what timing is appropriate for teachers to respond,
2. Create official channels of communication, that veer away from personal contacts being shared.

I am thankful for and in full support of both initiatives. I've looked at the WPS summary (https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/20240918-supporting-our-teachers-and-parents-through-refreshed-guidelines-for-school-home-partnership-and-new-parenting-resources) and both Annexes. They are a great baseline recommendation.

Let's puncture simplistic views of our top leadership. The MOE EXCO do school visits regularly (I have seen a top leader this yr in my school), they get data from focussed group discussions, they know some of the pain points and are working to address them.

Anyone here has done a stint at NIE as Teaching Fellow?

Would appreciate some info about life as a Teaching Fellow in NIE, workload, holidays/breaks, work culture, and how they compare to work in school?

Would also appreciate your insights about the selection process and any other reflections.

No speculators or hearsay please, just ppl who have genuinely done a posting. Thanks.

How much does a subject head earn?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

There is a leave system just like the rest of the Civil Service.
Leave is subject to approval.

Only for EOs in HQ.

In schools, only have school holiday scheme. No annual leave.

Don't spread lies.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is there a bowing culture in school? A BT walking past a senior teacher bowed halfway. Is this an unspoken rule in teaching industry? Im curious to know before i decide to sign on to NIE. Seems pretty outdated and backward to me.

Which area of singapore is this?

I wouldnt be surprised actually and this is coming from my own experience. I jave 15 years under my belt and im close to my 40s, but i do look much younger. The way people talk to you will differ according to your perceived age and level of experience. I have had people talk to me in a different light once they are aware that I am not a new teacher. It really matters, and they do treat me more seriously.

Let me give you another example. Suppose we have newbie teacher A and a senior teacher. Both had a bad day in the class where the students were chaotic. People would say that newbie teacher needs to brush up on his/her class management. For the senior teacher? They would lament that kids nowadays are an entitled and rude bunch and they ought to respect teachers more. See the difference?

They are also other unspoken rules. A junior teacher should never address/highlight a mistake of an older/more experienced colleague. The list goes on.

If you are not comfortable with such an environmemt, please do look elsewhere. I heard its common in other public sectors too, but to a lesser degree. Perhaps try out the private sector?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Which area of singapore is this?

I wouldnt be surprised actually and this is coming from my own experience. I jave 15 years under my belt and im close to my 40s, but i do look much younger. The way people talk to you will differ according to your perceived age and level of experience. I have had people talk to me in a different light once they are aware that I am not a new teacher. It really matters, and they do treat me more seriously.

Let me give you another example. Suppose we have newbie teacher A and a senior teacher. Both had a bad day in the class where the students were chaotic. People would say that newbie teacher needs to brush up on his/her class management. For the senior teacher? They would lament that kids nowadays are an entitled and rude bunch and they ought to respect teachers more. See the difference?

They are also other unspoken rules. A junior teacher should never address/highlight a mistake of an older/more experienced colleague. The list goes on.

If you are not comfortable with such an environmemt, please do look elsewhere. I heard its common in other public sectors too, but to a lesser degree. Perhaps try out the private sector?

Not surprised here too. It doesn't only have to apply to education. I like to base my observations on data as well.

Statistically, many public agencies have a higher proportion of older people these days (hence the congestion in career progression). A lot of such subtle things happen. There is also the usual pushing down of work to the younger ones, or even the "perceived" younger officers because it is to "groom them for professional growth and development".

The older ones will give remarks of "no energy", "old already", "tiring", "I did before, so now it's your turn", "not good at IT", "young people all IT experts".

Do we consider this a form of ageism as well?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not surprised here too. It doesn't only have to apply to education. I like to base my observations on data as well.

Statistically, many public agencies have a higher proportion of older people these days (hence the congestion in career progression). A lot of such subtle things happen. There is also the usual pushing down of work to the younger ones, or even the "perceived" younger officers because it is to "groom them for professional growth and development".

The older ones will give remarks of "no energy", "old already", "tiring", "I did before, so now it's your turn", "not good at IT", "young people all IT experts".

Do we consider this a form of ageism as well?

I always roll my eyes when people say such remarks. Let me add a few more to the list. I am very sure anyone would have heard of it before

"You are so young! You have lots of energy" --> offloads a task
" Im older than so and so.. i can handle them" --> this person then funnily screwed up the task
" I have a son/daughter. I am not free this saturday" -
"Uniform group? Im too old already"
" Let the young people do it"

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I always roll my eyes when people say such remarks. Let me add a few more to the list. I am very sure anyone would have heard of it before

"You are so young! You have lots of energy" --> offloads a task
" Im older than so and so.. i can handle them" --> this person then funnily screwed up the task
" I have a son/daughter. I am not free this saturday" -
"Uniform group? Im too old already"
" Let the young people do it"

Let me add a funny one i heard, "so and so has 40 years of teaching experience. When she opens her mouth, all you can hear are words of wisdom, woww"