Warning: this is really a super informal post.. more like a diary.
anyway.. here goes..
I would like to share my experience during my contract teaching.
When I first took over three Sec 3 Normal (Academic) classes for SS, I foresaw a big obstacle before me – students’ disinterest in the subject. For the ‘worst’ class, I walked in and was treated as invisible. The students were busy playing games that test their physique and physics; for the ‘best’ class, students sitting at the front rows were interested, while those at the back were busy doing work from other subjects. Then I heard stories from my ‘middle’ class about the relief teacher who took them (for quite a few months) before I did. According to ‘sources’, this teacher loved to “shriek and scream” at them. She would carry “big bags” with her everywhere she go, and wear low cut blouses when “no one is interested at all”. She would bring in the lap-top, “tried in vain to connect it to the projector”, and then “ended up playing games herself on her laptop”.
Oh yes, and before I took over, a colleague had told me to be prepared that the students “have been conditioned that SS lesson = do nothing”.
Looks like the stories from my students may be, perhaps, exaggerated, but they do carry some truth in it.
And I did hear that relief teacher speak before; her voice indeed is rather high-pitched.
Before I met my classes, I had envisioned myself to be a thought-provoking teacher, just like how my NUS professors have been. After all, part of SS is about developing reflective citizens, isn’t it? While preparing for the lesson on conflicts in Sri Lanka, I had even wanted them to think about citizenship rights in Singapore, whether everyone is treated equal. But after the first few encounters, I knew I had to change my mindset.
So, every time I took these classes, I made sure I was in full armor. I knew I would need lots of patience, and lots of creative ideas to get them interested in the subject.
So in came the controversial political cartoons, and I even let them watch “Brotherhood” (self-censored, since it’s M18. I am still wondering if I had violated copy rights law by mass-screening it). It worked. They were finally paying attention; they finally looked forward to my lesson and my presence. It was a pity, however, that I didn’t have the time to engage them more in critical thinking and evaluation of the movie.
I still hold on to my faith of wanting to become a thought-provoking SS teacher. I want to make students be more sensitive and reflective towards things around them, especially those taken-for-granted. I want to be the Devil’s advocate.
However, before that, I would want to be the patient and caring teacher who works with students, who responds to their needs. I want to be humane. After all, SS is about people and society, right?
And students’ comments keep me going.
“Cher, you make me want to study SS.”
“Cher, I hope you can teach us next year.”
That’s the type of social studies teacher I want to be.
