Teaching, anyone?
For the first time in many months, I noticed an ad by MOE. OK, maybe they have been running the ad all the while but I may have missed it as I watch less TV nowadays. Anyway, the theme of the campaign is significantly different from past themes.
Rather than harping on the "joys of teaching" and "the sense of achievement" that one can derive from "moulding the future of the nation", the current selling point is "teaching as a career". Yeah, you heard me right - career.
I always believed that teaching is a noble and important job. Kids spend some 5 - 8 hours in schools a day, for 5 days a week and teachers indeed have a substantial amount of influence over them. What is required of teachers is great, preferably endless, amount of passion to teach and the right mindset towards their jobs. When one thinks of career, advancement, promotion and office politics cum backstabbing comes to mind. So, pray tell me, how does having the mindset of scaling "education-corporate" ladder aid the teachers in nurturing the next generation? Well, if MOE's intention is to expose the kids to the cutthroat reality of the real world, then I guess this would work out pretty fine.
Perhaps the MOE was trying some word play here. You see, other than the usual "career" definition we have in mind, career can also mean "a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling" (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/career). Under this definition, teaching is just as it is - a job. Oh, and notice that there's no mention of job advancement or the like? If that's the case, we are definitely going to see a lot of "career teachers" out there who think they have a wonderful "career" ahead.
Whether one wants to interpret MOE's "career" message as the getting of high pay/position or simply being trained and having a job, what matters most is having the right mentality and attitude towards teaching. You are not there just for the pay or the job security; your job demands that you give a 110% to ensure that the kids are well-endowed with your knowledge and experience, as well as to ensure that the kids grow up to be responsible adults, capable of contributing to the society. Say, my line sounds a whole lot better, more truthful and less ambiguous than MOE's line. But look, if they are gonna use my line, who's going to go into teaching?
Rather than harping on the "joys of teaching" and "the sense of achievement" that one can derive from "moulding the future of the nation", the current selling point is "teaching as a career". Yeah, you heard me right - career.
I always believed that teaching is a noble and important job. Kids spend some 5 - 8 hours in schools a day, for 5 days a week and teachers indeed have a substantial amount of influence over them. What is required of teachers is great, preferably endless, amount of passion to teach and the right mindset towards their jobs. When one thinks of career, advancement, promotion and office politics cum backstabbing comes to mind. So, pray tell me, how does having the mindset of scaling "education-corporate" ladder aid the teachers in nurturing the next generation? Well, if MOE's intention is to expose the kids to the cutthroat reality of the real world, then I guess this would work out pretty fine.
Perhaps the MOE was trying some word play here. You see, other than the usual "career" definition we have in mind, career can also mean "a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling" (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/career). Under this definition, teaching is just as it is - a job. Oh, and notice that there's no mention of job advancement or the like? If that's the case, we are definitely going to see a lot of "career teachers" out there who think they have a wonderful "career" ahead.
Whether one wants to interpret MOE's "career" message as the getting of high pay/position or simply being trained and having a job, what matters most is having the right mentality and attitude towards teaching. You are not there just for the pay or the job security; your job demands that you give a 110% to ensure that the kids are well-endowed with your knowledge and experience, as well as to ensure that the kids grow up to be responsible adults, capable of contributing to the society. Say, my line sounds a whole lot better, more truthful and less ambiguous than MOE's line. But look, if they are gonna use my line, who's going to go into teaching?
posted by hg @ 15:26
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