Recently, I received a call from a tuition agency for an assignment.
What really pissed me off was the comments that the previous tuition teacher made about the assignment.
I asked the person from the tuition agency whether anyone else had applied for the assignment. She told me about the conversation she had with another teacher.
Tutor Anonymous: "Normal tech ah? No hope lah.. Don't want to teach."
WTF?
I admit I'm not a good teacher nor qualified enough, but seriously.. that pisses me off.
You can state quite honestly that the student might have a lack of discipline in studying, lack of interest, little time management or prioritisation and the assignment is difficult.. etc but no hope?
To tutor Anonymous, if any teacher made that comment about your kid, what would you feel?
The student might just be better at business, making stuff, dance, design.. just not that interested in the standard curriculum offered by Singapore's education system.
Howard Gardner - Theory of Multiple Intelligences
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences
I think it's sad.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the starting pay of being a teacher (from MOE) is relatively high compared to most other jobs out there and I feel that a lot of people went into teaching because they wanted the money. This is because sometimes I can conclude from their actions that they lack passion (they won't go all out). Teaching is just like any other job to them. Doesn't mean that they might be bad teachers, but still... And the thing I fear most is the damage that a bad teacher can do is extensive. A bad teacher might make a student lose interest in gaining knowledge for a long time.
With all that being said, I don't think I'll be a good teacher, so I couldn't help the situation. I guess talk is cheap.
Also, sometimes it isn't always the teachers' fault. We know that the student is from normal tech, but we cannot judge if the student is passionate about gaining knowledge or not. Chances are rather good in this case that they aren't passionate. Maybe you could talk to the kid more to find out? =) There's nothing much a teacher can do if the kid is just not interested.
If he/she's asking for tuition that means the person is seeking help and wanting to improve. I guess there's hope. =)
Go Ryan! You can do it! =)