4 Decades past, Education System Still Appear in its Infancy
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Performance-based bonus structure may affect principals' willingness to retain poorer students
Time to relook appraisal system for schools?
How about:
Letting students play part in ranking of teachers and principals?
Letting ministry review assessment of D-grade teachers?
January 16, 2008
TWO reports in a row, coming just after the announcement that the Ministry of Education (MOE) was revamping its pay system based on performance, have set me thinking.
The New Paper 14th Jan 2008.
Has the time come for the Ministry of Education to review its appraisal system?
First, some background on the two reports.
The Straits Times reported on Saturday that an all-girls' mission school had advised some of its pupils to join the Institute of Technical Education even though they had qualified to study for the GCE O levels in Secondary 5.
As parents fumed over that advice, and the manner in which it was done, the school defended its stance.
It seems the principal had gone into a supposedly 'weak' class and displayed the results of the girls on a transparent slide.
Her point was that she was trying to give the girls a wake-up call and she argued that it was a fact that a student who just scraped through the N levels was not likely to do well in the O levels.
The students' emotions were quite clear.
One of them was quoted as saying: 'It is very sad when your principal doesn't have faith in you and will not give you a chance.'
Then, yesterday, this paper ran another story of N-level students discouraged from returning to their school for the Olevels.
In this case, the students had qualified to take the O levels.
Their results were above average.
Yet, they were asked to seek permission from all the teachers who had taught them to ask for a place in the school.
They were labelled 'disciplinary cases'.
Hurt and humiliated, some of them decided not to return.
F GRADE IN COMPASSION
In both instances, the schools failed in compassion, a basic virtue in education. Held up against their actions, talk about giving people a second chance seemed hollow, at least to the pupils and their parents.
But the larger question is: What is driving our schools to take such measures?
As suggested by The Straits Times, ranking and banding of schools could be a factor.
But there is another factor that needs to be looked at seriously.
This is the latest MOE initiative involving a performance-based bonus structure.
With this system, will we see more of such cases?
Especially since teachers and principalsaregoing to be rewarded financially, to a large extent, based on their students' academic results.
Naturally, they would want only the best and brightest to stay on. But is that fair to the clients, the students?
And that is why I say that perhaps the clients should also have a say in the appraisal system.
One thought that keeps coming to mind is: Should these students play a part in the banding and ranking of their teachers and principals?
Should school superintendents interview these students and find out about how they benefited from their teachers and schools?
The 360-degree top-down, bottom-up, peer appraisal system is notnew.
Some private companies swear by it. So why not schools?
Why not have teachers assess their Heads of Department and their school leaders?
Yet another idea is peer appraisal.
Teachers feel that the current system where the principal alone decides on the quantum of money each teacher is to receive is lop-sided.
It makes one person a bit too powerful in the school, they say.
And there is little room for appeal.
When asked what would help, the general consensus was: The MOE's personnel division should interview all D-graders and hear their side of the story.
A fair request, I thought, given that there are still teachers who, just like their students, feel that they have been unfairly dealt with. -
Because the despots prefer to have mindless obedient robots that let them screw and allow them to take away as much of the robots' money as possible and to put them into as much debt as possible.
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... hmmm.. very biased opinion from you...Originally posted by AndrewPKYap:Because the despots prefer to have mindless obedient robots that let them screw and allow them to take away as much of the robots' money as possible and to put them into as much debt as possible.
... but I like the observation; very relevant...
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hehehe I know, very biased...Originally posted by HyperFocal:... hmmm.. very biased opinion from you...
... but I like the observation; very relevant... -
...but but but ... it contains a nugget of truth
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Sometimes it's the execution that fails.
I think the concept is good, reward teachers for their performance. But difficult to implement.
360 appraisal is like a mini-democracy. It depends on the student's own ability to evaluate. When you realize that, problems pop up... eg, a primary 1 student is not capable of evaluating his teacher's performance. Good concept, difficult to implement.
Peer to peer appraisals. It depends on fraternity. Teachers may collude to give each other good grades. Anyone who does not participate is targetted by the rest and given bad grades. Again good concept, but difficult to implement.
I think it's great that people are concerned, getting involved and making suggestions.
Since parents are supposed to be involved in their children's education, I think getting the parent's participation in grading the teachers performance is a step in the right direction.
Set aside Parents / Teachers days so they can meet and talk and make plans for the students etc. to assist this. -
The apple polishers are in favour of any kind of appraisal sytsem.
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There's a lot of office politics and heavy backstabbing in a school. I've a friend who was backstabbed till very jialat...
The students like and support the teacher, and did very well in exams under this teacher friend of mine. The results do show. But because of backstabbing within the teachers, the principal think that this teacher is lousy,and cannot teach properly.
Even when trying to get the students to participate, the backstabbers will feedback to the principal that this teacher friend cannot control the students, and hence they are very noisy.
You should know what happens when a superior thinks your performance is bad... and especially when you did put in a lot of hard work... As a result, my teacher friend is already extremely discouraged in the teaching world; from being an enthusiasts to just wanting to quit right after the bond ends. Such dark politics are just not my friend's cup of tea.
This happens in a certain secondary school in Jurong East.
With staffs like these, how much can the education system progress in Singapore?
And that's not all, there are many other darker stories... These are things that our education minister, or any other cabinet ministers, will never know, simply because
1) they do not start as a teacher
2) the many levels of command till them will filter out all these bad information, and only return good things to them. -
You can safely say that at least all , except for one or two on show, came from elite schools and were academically endowed. So most would have no idea or concept of how it is like to be a struggling average students from average neighbourhood schools.Originally posted by eagle:And that's not all, there are many other darker stories... These are things that our education minister, or any other cabinet ministers, will never know, simply because
1) they do not start as a teacher
2) the many levels of command till them will filter out all these bad information, and only return good things to them. -
It's common... unfortunately, too many regular 'nice people' put the hearts to the work and they remain where they are... there're certainly more expensive houses than warm home.
Originally posted by eagle:There's a lot of office politics and heavy backstabbing in a school. I've a friend who was backstabbed till very jialat...
The students like and support the teacher, and did very well in exams under this teacher friend of mine. The results do show. But because of backstabbing within the teachers, the principal think that this teacher is lousy,and cannot teach properly.
Even when trying to get the students to participate, the backstabbers will feedback to the principal that this teacher friend cannot control the students, and hence they are very noisy.
You should know what happens when a superior thinks your performance is bad... and especially when you did put in a lot of hard work... As a result, my teacher friend is already extremely discouraged in the teaching world; from being an enthusiasts to just wanting to quit right after the bond ends. Such dark politics are just not my friend's cup of tea.
This happens in a certain secondary school in Jurong East.
With staffs like these, how much can the education system progress in Singapore?
And that's not all, there are many other darker stories... These are things that our education minister, or any other cabinet ministers, will never know, simply because
1) they do not start as a teacher
2) the many levels of command till them will filter out all these bad information, and only return good things to them.