Teacher Dillema

• vinlys

  2 Nov 04, 13:31

  I'm beginning to wonder what constitutes to "duress", does being put through hours of "advising" to sign the resignation be considered "duress".
  Or can he claim "misrepresentation", quote "None of the appeal cases to MOE ever suceeds".
  Anyone reading this can advise?
  
• fymk

  3 Nov 04, 22:31

  Originally posted by vinlys:

  I'm beginning to wonder what constitutes to "duress", does being put through hours of "advising" to sign the resignation be considered "duress".
  Or can he claim "misrepresentation", quote "None of the appeal cases to MOE ever suceeds".
  Anyone reading this can advise?
  

  Duress is usually used in criminal law , not in civil proceedings.
  
  Misrepresentation is defined as presenting false information. Usually used in products.
  
  I pretty much guessed your friend signed the resignation letter, did he? No hope unless he can prove he was threatened with bodily or psychological harm.
• CX

  3 Nov 04, 23:07

  (a) if he's under a bond, he'll be stupid to resign.
  
  (b) if he's terminated, he DOESN'T have to pay back and the principle must be a jackass if he / she thinks can get away with firing a bonded teacher... its money down the toilet for MOE...
  
  (c) does your friend like teaching??? if he/she's still there merely cos afraid of having to pay back bond, then its obviously the wrong career choice.
  
  (d) even if they terminate your friend, he's got a degree and a pair of arms and legs... will not starve one... would probably not make the same amount immediately, but hey, u ever saw anyone become rich by being an MOE teacher??? does he have to include in his resume "failed teacher" ???
  
  (e) teachers with degrees enjoy one of the highest starting salaries in the civil service... u think its free money offered for nothing? everybody gets crap... not just teachers.
  
  forget lofty aspirations about changing the world and moulding the future of our nation... its a JOB... pure and simple. it COULD be a profession... but are the teachers themselves treating it like one?
  
  i'll be honest... i know a lotta pple who really shouldn't be in there... but went in anyway cos of the money... respect? please...
• vinlys

  4 Nov 04, 14:42

  In reply to CX:
  
  (a) I agree. The other option is termination, which in the light of things is a "better" alternative to me. Cos at least then he can still appeal.
  (b) Not true. He's still on probation, which means he have to pay back.
  (c) According to him he does.
  (d) We're not going into that yet.
  (e) Everybody gets crap, just more or less.
  
  But if you
  (1) perform the duties of your job which translates to 12 hour work day
  (2) Never had any major "screwup" on the job
  (3) becomes a target board for the blame game
  (4) are given an appraisal which you're not allowed to question
  (5) are faced with termination, unless you resign (No diff to me)
  (6) having to payback one year's pay with both options.
  That's some major crap.
  
  Like I mentioned in my first post, if you have a lousy boss you just quit. What happens when you're stuck in this situation?
  
• vinlys

  9 Nov 04, 16:36

  STI Home > ST Forum > Story
  
  Nov 4, 2004
  Don't let teachers suffer in silence
  
  I MET UP with several of my old friends who are in the teaching service recently. Inevitably, the subject of teaching cropped up in our conversations.
  
  The experience of most of them is, however, far from that portrayed in the recruitment advertisements. The main grievance is not with the nature of the profession. All of them expressed great satisfaction in being able to improve the grades and lives of their students in their own way.
  
  From my anecdotal findings, the chief cause of contention is that of the management of the schools. The common complaints are:
  
  # Long working hours. Most teachers spend more than 12 hours on the job every day during term time, arriving in school before sunrise and leaving after dark.
  
  Not only do they have to hold remedial classes - until about 2.30pm - but they also have to clear a barrage of administrative and 'special' projects imposed by their heads of department or principal.
  
  The day, however, does not end after they get home as, with no time to mark scripts in school, they have to bring them back as homework. They would probably have to sit under the table lamp with the pile of papers till 11.30pm or later. I know of teachers who have only two to three hours of sleep each day for the entire week.
  
  # While many of my friends seem to be able to cope with the emotional strain of managing their students (as well as their parents), they appear to be significantly more pressured by their superiors in school. In most cases, the management of their schools is unreasonable in its demands and unsympathetic to their needs and welfare.
  
  # Teachers are unable to spend more time with their students or are just barely clearing their workload as they have to attend courses and workshops mandated by the Ministry of Education (MOE) which they found at times to be irrelevant and frivolous.
  
  While these may be common grouses in all industries and professions, the situation seems to be endemic in the teaching profession. From what I heard, there are apparently few meaningful avenues for teachers to seek help and redress at a higher and more impartial level without facing repercussions.
  
  They therefore feel that they are in a situation where when their principals or heads of department say 'jump!', they have to say 'how high?'. Hence quitting has become one option for many. While figures are not publicly available, I am sure that the turnover is relatively high.
  
  The once-noble profession of teaching has been undermined by mismanagement. One teacher said: 'In the past, we were like gods. Now we are like dogs.'
  
  From the concerns about the broad changes to the education system down to even the details of a PSLE science exam, it seems to me and many teachers that more attention is being paid to the student. In the process, we have left the teacher out of the equation.
  
  While I am not in the teaching profession, I feel the need to bring into the open the difficulties faced by teachers in carrying out their duties. While parents and students have their own prerogatives, I urge them to show more respect and understanding to teachers.
  
  The same goes for school managements which should see their staff as human beings to be nurtured, instead of machines to be exploited.
  
  For the MOE, I think it is necessary to provide a more sensitive bureaucratic system that allows the needs and problems of the teachers to be carefully addressed.
  
  Teachers should not be treated as gods or dogs. Neither should we leave them to suffer in silence, for their problems would inevitably become those of the school and society as well.
  
  Liew Kai Khiun
  
  (This article was published on the Straits Times Forum on Thursday, Nov 4, 2004. Hope that more people who know's about plights of teachers will speak up.)
• mayham321

  21 Nov 04, 01:44

  best don;t sign on civil service: my friend who sign on airforce as a technician has to pay back $20,000 coz he cannot passs the exam!!