Singapore Teachers Overworked

• The Aldric

  17 May 10, 19:14

  Are Singapore teachers overworked?

  By Ion Danker – May 16th, 2010

  http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/05/16/are-singapore-teachers-overworked/

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Many people call it one of the most under-appreciated career choices in Singapore today.

  In a forum letter in The Straits Times on 15 May 2010, a teacher’s wife, Ms Aishah Quek chronicles her husband’s typical work day. She bemoans her husband’s punishing workload and questions the seeming non-existence of a work-life balance.

  A teacher in a local primary school, Ms Quek’s husband wakes up at 5am every weekday, and leaves home by 6am, to reach school in time for morning ‘guard duty’ at 7am. After remedial lessons, co-curricular activities and administrative duties, her husband reaches home at 8pm for dinner, before, surprise, surprise, he starts to work from home.

  If these normal working hours are representative of a typical day in the life of a teacher, do teachers; the people who play an integral role in shaping young, impressionable minds, have sufficient time to relax and recharge, before the next day comes around?

  A student in the morning session has about 6 hours of lessons per day (from 7.30am to 1pm). But that’s just about the time a teacher’s after-teaching hours begin.

  “On a typical day, we mark assignments, conduct remedial lessons and complete many administrative tasks, which often extend long beyond our official working hours,” said John*, 35, a married primary school teacher with a one-year-old son.

  Another educator, Seline*, 27, who called it quits after three years, said, “When my husband and I were both teaching, we hardly had any quality time in the evenings because we’d both be busy marking assignments, preparing for the next day’s lessons or just be too tired.”

  Added another teacher, Lionel*, “I already feel drained by the time I start marking my students’ work after 5pm. This increases the likelihood of making errors.”

  KJ*, 23, a fresh graduate from the National Institute of Education, knows that the teaching road ahead may not be an easy one.

  “I believe we just need to find a balance, set our priorities and hope our senior colleagues will share tips with us on how best to handle different situations,” she said.

  My informal survey revealed that most teachers joined the profession to pursue their passion to equip the young with knowledge, and invaluable life skills. However, teachers today are feeling the strain.

  Are our teachers overworked? How do you think the Ministry of Education can help teachers have a better work-life balance?

• UltimaOnline

  18 May 10, 01:01

  For those interested in this topic, do read the 2,767++ visitors' comments posted over 56+ pages within the last 5 days alone :

   

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• eagle

  18 May 10, 09:47

  My gf is a teacher, and I can say teachers are workers without much benefits.

  Copied from my posts in CNA forum:

  I can see the amount of stress she gets. Contemplating to break the bond every day, but it's only 1 year more, so decided to bear with this final 1 year.
  
  Sch holidays are merely time for
  1) more meetings and projects
  2) CCAs
  3) Remedial lessons for O level students
  4) Enrichment classes
  
  She was told straight in the face for:
  1) When too much work and can't finish marking papers or setting test papers in time, she was told: "You are supposed to continue at home at night and during weekends!"
  2) When want to take leave to bring her aged mum to hosp for check up, she was told: "You can only take leave during school holidays"... But sch holidays aren't that free too.
  
  Her colleague, wanted to take childcare leave to bring his feverish child to see doctor, was blocked from taking leave.
  
  
  In addition, you have to face sch children (40 a class) who can be a noisy bunch. No matter if you are mildly ill, or down with sore throat, or anything, you still have to face up with a bunch of people, ranging from express, NT, NA classes.

   

   

   

  The worst thing about being a teacher is, half the time, you are bogged down with dumb admin stuff instead of concentrating on the teaching job. You are worked like a admin clerk.
  
  I.e. Sch events like sch anniversaries, sch open house, sch donations.... You will need to do things like liase with plant nurseries, balloon shops, etc, after you are slapped with a stupid title like decoration IC.
  
  So as a teacher, your job scopes are equivalent to the following combined:
  1) Teacher, as in teaching the syllabus during school hours
  2) Tutor, as in after school hours
  3) Student Counsellor
  4) Caring Parent
  5) Mentor
  6) CCA Admin Contact
  7) Author of notes and exercises
  8) Admin Clerk for misc events, like sch donation drives, etc
  9) All sorts of positions like decoration IC, sch plants IC, etc
  
  Basically, all-in-one power-house.

   

• eagle

  18 May 10, 09:56

  It's so bad to the point that teachers also bear the brunt of parents verbal assaults on the phone nowadays.

   

  The impressions on a teacher job out there are too good.

  In fact, there is this tutor who actually told me that he thinks teachers should go for customer service training and learn to absorb all the "insults" both verbal and non-verbal from parents and students. ==> Teachers are a professional bunch of people, and I have no idea why they have to be subjected to this kind of abuse. This particular tutor also thinks that teachers have one of the best jobs in the world because they are highly paid and relaxed, yet he absolutely refuses to be a teacher ==> I wonder why.

   

• wee_ws

  18 May 10, 10:24

  Hi,

    Teachers may be overworked because of high, unrealistic, and numerous expectations of school's leaders on them.

    Teachers may face burnout because they have been given the impression that everything matters and should be urgently resolved.

    Thanks.

  Cheers,
  Wen Shih

• Rock^Star

  18 May 10, 10:55

  MOE should consider hiring administrative specialists in every school. Those who purely do admin work, projects and events etc. Imagine a move like this can create thousands of jobs for those fresh out of uni and poly.

• kopiosatu

  18 May 10, 10:58

  Originally posted by Rock^Star:

  MOE should consider hiring administrative specialists in every school. Those who purely do admin work, projects and events etc. Imagine a move like this can create thousands of jobs for those fresh out of uni and poly.

  that's not gonna help the budget at all

  money comes first

  i dunno what is second

  but quality is right at the bottom

• ahtansh

  18 May 10, 11:11

  One holds their own destiny. Unhappy?! Just quit the profession and work else where. MOE conduct recruitment drive yearly. If teachers are really over worked why are there so many teachers at the Speakers' Corner signing the petition on Mother-Tongue issue.

• ditzy

  18 May 10, 11:13

  I guess you could say that. One of my army mates is a full time secondary school teacher. He also gives external tution outside, to supplement his LOW income.

• Rock^Star

  18 May 10, 11:14

  Originally posted by kopiosatu:

  that's not gonna help the budget at all

  money comes first

  i dunno what is second

  but quality is right at the bottom

  well, if these people seriously do not want the education system to go into shambles soon, then they had better do it lol. After all, money is required to create jobs.

• small-man

  18 May 10, 11:17

  I see alot of female teachers in Boy clubs.

• Rock^Star

  18 May 10, 11:37

  And these days students talk back..they challenge teachers on the rights and wrongs. No longer the days when the teacher talks and student listens.

• dangerboi

  18 May 10, 13:38

  Originally posted by Rock^Star:

  And these days students talk back..they challenge teachers on the rights and wrongs. No longer the days when the teacher talks and student listens.

  blame it on globalization?

• -StarDust-

  18 May 10, 13:39

  Poor teachers. Pity them. They need to see a anger managment expert to help them. Teachers alway get angry.

• MaNyZeR

  18 May 10, 16:18

  With teaching becoming a last resort career pathway, i am afraid that our teachers in the future are not capable of teaching the students.

  because these teachers may actually be unwilling teachers that teaches due to their difficulty in finding a job in which they like to do in the real world.

  Look at the amt of stress. From principals, from parents, and from the problematic students themselves. You cant punish the students as parents will complain. The principals stresses you to teach the students well to push up the rankings, all the CCA, all the markings and setting of exam papers, blah blah blah....

  The only good thing being a teacher is the canteen food is cheap.. that's all!!

• TYING

  18 May 10, 17:46

  May I ask what is the pay for teachers in Secondary school? Is it really that uncompetitive as those in private sectors??

• TTFU

  18 May 10, 17:48

  2.5k i guess, primary its 1.8

• eagle

  18 May 10, 18:24

  Originally posted by TYING:

  May I ask what is the pay for teachers in Secondary school? Is it really that uncompetitive as those in private sectors??

  Salary wise, comparable.

  But for the amount of work to be done and work hours to put in, it's peanuts.

• Dragonaxe

  18 May 10, 18:47

  Originally posted by eagle:

  Salary wise, comparable.

  But for the amount of work to be done and work hours to put in, it's peanuts.

  You won't understand how stress a job as a teacher is.

  Most teachers plan their lessons till as late as 12am

  The teachers works an average of 60 hrs / week compared to a business man of an avg of 56 hrs/week

   

• The Aldric

  18 May 10, 18:48

  True, secondary school teachers are doing too much work. They should reduce the amount of administrative work for teachers so they can focus on teaching.

• ~PEPPER~

  18 May 10, 19:05

  Originally posted by Dragonaxe:

  You won't understand how stress a job as a teacher is.

  Most teachers plan their lessons till as late as 12am

  The teachers works an average of 60 hrs / week compared to a business man of an avg of 56 hrs/week

   

  
  OMG stressful .

• Forbiddensinner

  18 May 10, 21:27

  Originally posted by TTFU:

  2.5k i guess, primary its 1.8

  The pay does not depend on the level you teach.

  It depends on mainly:

  1) Education level

  2) NS

  3) Work experience

  Dip holders are paid 1.8k, and after CPF, well, they are not really left with much left...

  Degree holders are paid according to their honors. At one end, we have those just-pass who earn 2.45k before CPF deduction, and on the other end we have the 1st class who earn 3.2k+ before CPF deduction.

  Performance pay is not included.

   

• eagle

  18 May 10, 22:40

  Originally posted by Dragonaxe:

  You won't understand how stress a job as a teacher is.

  Most teachers plan their lessons till as late as 12am

  The teachers works an average of 60 hrs / week compared to a business man of an avg of 56 hrs/week

   

  I understand how stressful. That's why I said the pay is peanuts for the amount of time put in (although numerical value is comparable).

• The Aldric

  18 May 10, 23:15

  Indeed, that is why they should have increment or lighten the workload off the teachers by hiring more admin staff to handle administrative work, it also provide more work opportunities.

• UltimaOnline

  20 May 10, 13:14

  Amongst the many insightful posts in the 52 pages of comments, here is one that is particularly revealing :

  Lanlan on May 17, 2010 at 9:48 am

  I used to know 2 guys, one’s a lawyer and the other a banker. Both complained of hectic work life in the private sector, joined teaching eventually, wanted to do something meaningful in life and for a ‘more relaxed’ job. Both however quit teaching in less than 3 years, citing that working in private sector is much less stressful than teaching.