A Teacher's Race Course

"Ms Sie speaks to us from beyond, sharing heartfelt stories, moving anecdotes and sharp pedagogical insights in her authentic, understated, ever-concerned voice. Her observations of the Singapore education system, pedagogical scholarship and tips on what works are valuable for all involved in teaching, mentoring, nurturing — they come from someone who gave her life to education, in the fullest sense of the word."

"Learning is hard work. Teaching is even harder. This enlightening book reveals a teacher's personal journey and why so often teaching is a demanding vocation. It elucidates the author's authentic teaching and learning experiences, both as an educator and learner. A Teacher's Race Course will no doubt get teachers to reflect on where 'the course of the race' is leading."

"This is more than just a book on teaching and of being a teacher. It's a reflection of what it means to be an educator, to be human. It's about bringing out the best in another person and in yourself."

SIE SIOK HUI was an educator who believed in nurturing the potential in every student and a student who learned much from the school of life. A "reluctant teacher", she found her passion for touching lives through her work with young people for about 30 years. This was an impetus she felt because of the challenges she faced within her own family background. Learning to cope with her own sensitive nature as well as the difficulties life threw at her engendered a deep and compassionate understanding of some of the emotional, social and academic challenges Singaporean young people face.

Born in an era of Singapore's development when career options were limited for the lower middle classes, she found herself a recipient of a local teaching scholarship for which she was grateful as it brought financial security. With her sharp analytical mind, it was unsurprising that she was to be trained to teach Mathematics at the secondary school level. The remarkable aspect of her teaching scholarship was that she was also to be trained to teach English. These scholarship terms are an early indication of a gifted individual — but one who never regarded herself as extraordinary in any way — for most individuals are usually good in either numbers or words, but seldom both.

As a teacher, she was exacting. But students liked her because her lessons were creative and she was very witty. Her dissertation topic for her Master of Education thesis, "Teachers as curriculum designers for high ability learners: perspectives, capacity and challenges" was inspired by her observations in the range of institutions she had chosen to teach in. There are probably few teachers who can match the diversity in her teaching experience. She had taught in government schools (Bedok Green Secondary School, Boon Lay Secondary School, Jurong West Secondary School and Nan Hua Secondary School), an autonomous school (Crescent Girls' School), independent schools (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Singapore Chinese Girls' School), a specialist independent school (NUS High School of Mathematics and Science) as well as the National Institute of Education.

Her heart had always been with the underdog; she adopted two stray street cats and treated them like pedigrees; stayed after school (and Saturdays) to provide supplementary and remedial lessons without compulsion as well as gave tuition to groups of students at nominal fees. In her personal life, she was likewise generous towards others while living an austere lifestyle herself, providing financial help to friends and relatives in need and even doing voluntary work. Her decision to bequeath Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) with the proceeds from the sale of this book is another example of Siok Hui's humanity and purpose-driven life. Had she lived, she would have joined the social enterprise as she strongly believed that working with nature has a healing effect in re-balancing our relationship with not only the natural environment, but also the stressed Singaporean's relationship with himself and others.

Despite the increasing pain as her health and strength faded in the last two months of her life, Siok Hui drove herself with an iron will and a meticulous calibration of her medication to write. She desired to share with other teachers and parents, some of the truths she had learnt as she honed her teaching skills. She also particularly wanted to complete writing this book because she strongly believed that her research findings would have a significant impact on young lives when they have teachers with enhanced capacity in curriculum design. Given Singapore's small population size, hers is an urgent call for action to make changes for the sake of the future of the individual student as well as that of the country she dearly loved, her Singapore.

Sample Chapter(s)
Foreword
CHAPTER 1: OF VALUES AND VALUATION