This is the second part of a 2-part series. If you have missed the first part, click here. Have you wondered what contributes to the high turnover rate of teachers in Singapore? Have a chat with educators who have left the service (or those still in service willing to speak the truth) and some of the following reasons come to mind.
#1. Long working hours and heavy workload.
A few years ago, a forum letter to the Straits Times from the wife of a Primary School Teacher went viral online. The lady who wrote the letter, Ms Quek, chronicles her husband's typical work day and questions the non-existence of work-life balance in a teaching job. Fast forward 3 years... and very little has changed. Work-life balance for teachers is by and large still not a priority and therefore virtually non-existent. Granted, working in Singapore is stressful regardless of the occupation. However, no other job besides the teaching profession requires one individual to play as many roles (refer to my earlier posts here and here).
My friends can attest that I am very efficient when it comes to work. Therefore I can say without shame, that despite my best efforts to optimize and manage my time without compromising on work quality, I work an average of 60 to 70 hours per week during school term (including weekends) as an ordinary school teacher. This number does not take into consideration staying overnight for camps or going overseas for school trips. Each ordinary teacher typically has a marking loading equivalent to 4 full classes, which works out to between 120 to 150 scripts to be marked for each assignment given. On top of that, teachers are required to attend school meetings (aka contact time), department meetings, level meetings, committee meetings and parent-teacher meetings. In addition to timetabled lessons, we also conduct CCA, remedial, one-on-one student consultations and supplementary lessons in the holidays. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
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| One of the greatest challenges in modern life is to find the middle path. |
No wonder 'No Work Life Balance' is an option that a resigning teacher can check on the MOE resignation form. I kid you not. So they know.
#2. PARENTS. 'Nuff said?
I can't think of any other occupation that needs to deal with such a unique group of stakeholders and their expectations. Parents are neither 'clients' (technically our clients are the students) nor part of the school nor experts in the teaching profession - but just speak to any teacher who has been in service long enough and almost every single one of them has a story to tell about insufferable or unrealistic parents.
In every line, one has to deal with unreasonable customers - those who will threaten to send complaint letters to your boss, question your professional judgement (and in a teachers' case, undermine your authority over the child) and never, ever admit errors made on their own end. Teaching is no different in this aspect. Yahoo News has described a typical modern Singaporean parent as 'pushy, unreasonable and self-entitled' - so to all new teachers or teacher-wannabes, be very, very careful when you handle parents.
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| If only people came with labels like these. Life would be so much easier. |
#3. A Teaching career in Singapore - A 'Consolation Prize'?
How is a teaching career regarded in Singapore? Refer to the Jan 2013 speech from the Singapore Prime Minister on meritocracy here. Let me quote the interesting bits for you.
Spelling out how it (meritocracy) works, PM Lee said that all would get a chance to compete fairly, and the best man would get the most difficult job and be rewarded accordingly, but there must also be consolation prizesfor the rest.
Later on, he added 'Within Singapore, we can say... you're a school teacher, you may not be a top lawyer, but I make sure you're also paid properly.'
Why is a teaching career the number one choice of Finland’s best and brightest students?
Pay is not the answer. Teacher pay in Finland is reasonably competitive but no more attractive than in many other European countries. In fact, the range of salaries among professionals in Finland is very small, compared to most other advanced industrial countries, which means that differences in compensation in Finland generally have less of an influence on career choice than in other countries.
The answer certainly has something to do with the age-old respect for teachers in Finland, but much more to do with the selection process, the work itself and the working conditions. Because Finland has very high standards that must be met to enter teacher preparation programs, getting in confers prestige on the successful applicant. The fact that Finland has moved teacher education into the universities also confers prestige on young people who go into teaching, because they are getting professional training in the same institutions providing training to the highest prestige professions.
I rest my case and leave you to draw your own conclusions.
#4. Workplace abuse in schools
I did a complete post on workplace bullying in schools, here. Suffice to say, the school may not be as nurturing an environment (for teachers) as you think. After all, most employees leave their managers, not their jobs. A teaching career is not any different. Encounter a really mean boss (ie P, VP or HOD) and you may pack your bags sooner than you think.
#5. Communicating with HQ
Communicating with HQ is a pain. When the organization is so huge, the middle management is so thick and the turnover rate of the ground level staff at HQ is so high, communication will invariably break down at some point. Of course, since what I have stated above is not the "right news", you will not find such politically incorrect information in the MSM (even if it is true). Internally, the Ministry conducts an organization-wide survey known as the School Climate Survey every 2 years - and I'm not surprised that they score poorly when it comes to communication with the ground and with schools. Before the Internet Brigade begin their rampage at this point, let me clarify that I do not expect the organization to be perfect, but I do draw the line when I hear the Ministrycalling themselves 'world class'. Give me a break.
My personal encounters with HQ have yielded the following observations - the average waiting time to speak to a Customer Service Officer from the MOE hotline is 20 minutes, an email enquiry sent to the generic email address never gets a reply unless it is sent through the P/VP and the MOE HR staff who worked directly with me has changed 3 times in 2 years. A good friend of mine who has been in service for more than 20 years spent 4 years of that time in a HQ posting - She described her HQ posting as the darkest years of her life. Of course, to each his own and I don't deny that all of my personal bad encounters could be mere coincidences.
#6. A Culture of Mediocrity (?)
Every teacher's Current Estimated Potential (CEP) is assessed by her Principal from his/her first year in service. For teachers who do not wish to take up leadership positions but remain in the teaching track, you will reach your CEP in 15 to 20 years - what this means is that you will not be promoted further beyond that. Couple this with the following realities of teaching in Singapore: (1) promotion is slow but sure, (2) good work is rewarded with more work, (3) young/unmarried teachers or teachers without children are given more work and Voila! What you have is a class of mediocre, relatively senior teachers sailing along, doing the bare minimum and avoiding duties like a plague. I once encountered a teacher who refused to be involved in any school activities that fell on a Saturday - when queried, she retorted that 'surely there were younger teachers who could do it' and 'she had kids so she should be exempted'. What kind of logic is that? The most infuriating fact was not her statement but that her HOD agreedand assigned a younger, unmarried colleague for all subsequent Saturday duties instead. Seriously??
Most teachers in their late twenties/early thirties (across several schools of different levels) whom I have spoken to agree that schools generally condone mediocrity in their senior staff and school leaders assess them using a different yardstick. In our observations, this practice is especially prevalent in the civil service. Of course, this point is admittedly very subjective and open for debate. I'm sure such a situation is not unique to the teaching profession.(I welcome constructive comments and personal stories, and would not mind being proven wrong.)
#7. Under the Media Limelight
This point does not require much elaboration, given how educators in general have come under heavy scrutiny and criticism from MSM and social media in the last couple of years. Noteworthy examples include:
The implication is clear. If you want to be a teacher, exercise extreme caution when handling students, parents and the media. Take a good look at your personal motives and reassess your suitability to become a teacher. Guard your personal life and keep your skeletons in the closet (if any) well hidden.
At the end of the day...
Go into your teaching job (or any job for that matter) with both your eyes open. Be prepared to take the bitter with the better. The Ministry and its recruitment officers will only sell you the merits of the profession, often with touching stories and catchy phrases (eg "Teachers make a difference. What do you make?"). It takes an actual practitioner to cut through the propaganda and present the true merits and downsides of the profession.
What are my reasons for writing this, you ask? Especially since I am no longer in the profession? The reason is simple: The teaching profession, which is key to nation building and sustainability, is often misunderstood. I have encountered too many Singaporeans of the following types:
- current students vehemently against the profession without good reason
- students who want to be teachers in the future because they are inspired by their teachers but do not have clear idea on what the job truly entails / only see the 'fun' side of the job
- teaching scholars who have broken their bond with MOE / thinking of breaking their bond to MOE even before they begin the profession... why??
- beginning teachers burnt out/resigning after teaching for less than a year due to incompatibility of the job with personal expectations
- a general group of ignorant public who think that teachers have a fantastic deal in their jobs, especially with regards to school holidays
- another group of ignorant public who think that teachers are essentially fools /'winners of consolation prizes' for choosing to teach
- Parents/social media/students being reactive and quick to criticize teachers
Studies in the UK have shown that the teaching profession remains the most unpopular profession among young people. I'm not sure whether this is the case in Singapore, though I have personally observed signs of teacher shortages in schools, as well as a notable increase in the number of teaching scholarships/bursaries offered by MOE.
Anyway, feel free to drop your comments!
- A
Neurotic Ramblings
*The writer blogs at http://neurotic-ramblings-sg.blogspot.sg/
