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SINGAPORE – Physical education (PE) teacher Francis Tang turns teams of non-swimmers into water polo champions and also makes them successful in their studies.
In the last decade, the Co-Curricular Water Polo (CCA) boys under their care at Outram High School have made a name for themselves in the sport, outperforming traditional powerhouses like the Anglo-Chinese (independent) school. Where they once languished at the bottom, the team now ranks in the top four in inter-school competitions.
Tang, 41, who was put in charge of the CEC in 2008, has played a key role in its success.
For his dedication, the senior teacher on Thursday (September 3) received the President’s Award for Teachers, the highest honor for educators.
Seven teachers received their awards from President Halimah Yacob in a virtual ceremony, which was also attended by Education Minister Lawrence Wong.
Besides Mr. Tang, the other winners were Madam Shanthi Deenathayalan from Guangyang Primary School; Madam Wong Bing Sum from Radin Mas Elementary School; Ms. Yeo Cheng Yong from Fuhua High School; Mrs. Ira Wati Sukaimi from Mayflower High School; Mr. Oh Chee Kiat from College East Institute of Technical Education; and Dr. Chia Hui Teng from Singapore Polytechnic.
All were selected from a list of 17 finalists who were evaluated by a panel chaired by Ms. Lai Wei Lin, Second Permanent Secretary for Education, and Mr. Wong Siew Hoong, Director General for Education.
This year, a total of 13,268 nominations were received for 3,399 educators from schools, institutions of postsecondary education, and the public.
The seven winners will be able to take a study trip abroad as part of their professional development.
Honoring teachers in a speech at the ceremony, President Halimah said, “As a teacher, your work has a lifelong impact on your students. Beyond academic teaching, you are also role models for your students.
“Therefore, it is important that we continue to develop our teachers with the right values and skills to meet the changing demands of our educational system.”
Hard work pays off for the underdog team
Tang said that he put pressure on his students during training because he wanted to show them that hard work and perseverance would pay off, rather than relying on pure talent alone.
“Every time we don’t get it right, we are quick to blame a lack of talent. I wanted to show that hard work really pays off, and it doesn’t matter what school or background it comes from,” he said.
When he first took over the CCA, student attendance was low and the team almost always finished last in interscholastic leagues.
Tang doubled the number of training sessions to six times a week, even during school holidays. “I gave my students talks about why we were doing this, to motivate them and help them believe in themselves,” he said.
The boys trained at school in a 25-meter-long pool, half the size of a typical Olympic-size pool, but Mr. Tang organized friendly tournaments at polytechnics or universities so they could be exposed to larger pools.
To make sure his academic qualifications didn’t suffer, he implemented a two-hour study session before each training session. She even spent hours talking to her parents to convince them that their children would be able to juggle studies and sports.
His efforts paid off.
“The parents were very happy because their children were studying and training without distractions such as cell phones and computer games. In six months, the student results really improved, so the parents were even more supportive and formed a support group “.
But in addition to turning a team of losers into winners, Tang emphasized that what was important was for students to become better people, learn to be disciplined, and take care of their teammates along the way.
He said: “It is not just my effort; the success is due to a village of teachers, coaches, parents and the students themselves.”
Motivate through play
For Mr. Oh, teaching at ITE College East has been familiar ground.
The 49-year-old professor of cyber and network security had studied electronic engineering at ITE before moving on to polytechnic and university.
He joined ITE in 2006 as a professor after eight years gaining experience in the public and private engineering sector.
“I come from the system, and knowing that professional training had allowed me to get to where I am, I have always had the inclination to give it back,” he said.
After attending a conference abroad, where he learned about game-based learning, Mr. Oh set up a lab called Tinkerspace at ITE College East, where students could play with tools and kits as part of their curriculum.
The lab uses Minecraft: Education Edition, a game-based learning platform, as well as Lego block kits.
“We allow students to use their hands to build things and this can give them the opportunity to learn more than just download content,” Oh said. For example, nursing students learned about hand hygiene practices through a simulation game in a hospital.
He is now conducting workshops at all three ITE universities on Tinkerspace and training teachers to integrate these tools into learning.
“People see skills as manual work and associate them with poor job prospects, but in the last 10 years, the industry has changed, and in reality, skills are just as important as academic qualifications on paper,” Oh said. .
Bubbling with ideas
She may have been teaching for 24 years, but Madam Shanthi has not run out of creativity in her lessons.
Madam Shanthi, 47, has made learning the English language fun in a number of ways, including having her students write letters to their fellow students abroad and making them go to school for interviews.
The students in her classes never remain seated while she asks them to choose activities based on their interests, be it drawing a short story, cutting out newspaper articles, or simply sharing her writing with their classmates.
In a particular project that he led at his previous school, New Town Primary, a group of Primary 5 pupils wrote once a month to their foreign counterparts at a partner school in New Zealand.
“They wrote about everything from their favorite food to sights in Singapore, or why the students here wear uniforms,” Madam Shanthi said.
At the end of the year, the group of students visited their pen pals in New Zealand on a two-week school trip.
Ms. Shanthi said that the students’ writing skills improved significantly when they wrote to their pen pals.
“They took pride in what they wrote and tried harder when they knew someone other than their teacher was reading it,” he said. “They would reread and edit their drafts, ask their friends to review them, add more details and research their ideas further,” he added.
Teaching for more than two decades has made Madam Shanthi aware of the different learning styles of students.
“When I was younger, I had a simplistic notion of teaching. You walk into the classroom, you impart your knowledge and skills to the students,” he said. But over the years, he has perfected his craft and is now able to meet the needs of different students.
“Teaching has kept me young and youthful, I don’t get bored at all,” he said.
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