| It's potential and passion | 
MOE looks beyond the top cohort for its teacher-training schemes Tor Ching Li
chingli@newstoday.com.sg SOME first year junior college students — fresh from the O levels — were slightly taken aback when they received letters recently from the Ministry of Education (MOE) inviting them to attend a teaching recruitment seminar conducted last Saturday.. They had an aggregate O-level pass of around 17 points on average.. "Can we teach?" asked one student, who turns 17 this year.. The Ministry thinks they can.. According to the MOE, the flyers were sent out to "selected students" to inform them of various teacher-training schemes for O-level holders in the specific fields of Mother Tongue, Home Economics and Art and Music.. "Other than graduates with the suitable subject background, MOE also has schemes to train teaching officers with aptitudes in specific or specialised areas," said the spokesman.. In general, five O-level passes in the relevant subjects — including English as a first language — would suffice. Applicants for the Mother Tongue Languages Teacher Scheme (MTLTS), however, should have a total O-level aggregate score of not more than 20 points. Every year, around 5 per cent — or 100 teachers — from each 2,000 strong teaching cohort are recruited via such schemes.. NIE introduced the Home Economics Teacher Training Scheme in 1998 in collaboration with TP. The Arts and Music Teacher Training Scheme is conducted with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.. Said the MOE spokesman: "The intake numbers for these schemes are kept small to ensure that only very good candidates who have demonstrated the potential and passion to teach in specialised areas are selected.". As many as 200 to 300 students attended last Saturday's recruitment seminar to find out more about the MTLTS. Some had learned about the seminar from media advertisements.. Selected candidates undergo between two and three years of training in their specialty subject before completing their fourth year of training at the National Institute of Education (NIE) and serving out a five-year teaching bond.. "The rigorous four-year training scheme is specially designed for selected O-level holders who have an aptitude and passion for the languages. These teacher-trainees are trained specifically to teach these subjects at our primary schools," said the spokesman.. Madam Chua Yeong Joo, 27, left Temasek Polytechnic (TP) to join the pioneer batch of teacher-trainees when the MTLTS was introduced in 1997.. She now teaches Chinese Language at Bukit Panjang Primary School and intends to keep teaching after completing her bond next year.. "I had 17 points at O levels but scored an A1 in my mother tongue, Chinese. In TP, I was studying electronics but was always more interested in the Chinese language. I also like children. So I left TP and gave the teaching scheme a try when I saw the advertisement," said Madam Chua.. Madam Chua met her husband, Mr Loh Thiam Fong, 30, when he joined the MTLTS in 1998 after completing his National Service. He now teaches Chinese at Compassville Primary.. Said Mr Chua: "I scored 15 points at O levels and my A-level grades at Serangoon JC were not good enough to pursue a degree, so I chose this alternative path. I always had a passion for Chinese and being a teacher allowed me to share that passion." MOE looks beyond the top cohort for its teacher-training schemes Tor Ching Li
chingli@newstoday.com.sg SOME first year junior college students — fresh from the O levels — were slightly taken aback when they received letters recently from the Ministry of Education (MOE) inviting them to attend a teaching recruitment seminar conducted last Saturday.. They had an aggregate O-level pass of around 17 points on average.. "Can we teach?" asked one student, who turns 17 this year.. The Ministry thinks they can.. According to the MOE, the flyers were sent out to "selected students" to inform them of various teacher-training schemes for O-level holders in the specific fields of Mother Tongue, Home Economics and Art and Music.. "Other than graduates with the suitable subject background, MOE also has schemes to train teaching officers with aptitudes in specific or specialised areas," said the spokesman.. In general, five O-level passes in the relevant subjects — including English as a first language — would suffice. Applicants for the Mother Tongue Languages Teacher Scheme (MTLTS), however, should have a total O-level aggregate score of not more than 20 points. Every year, around 5 per cent — or 100 teachers — from each 2,000 strong teaching cohort are recruited via such schemes.. NIE introduced the Home Economics Teacher Training Scheme in 1998 in collaboration with TP. The Arts and Music Teacher Training Scheme is conducted with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.. Said the MOE spokesman: "The intake numbers for these schemes are kept small to ensure that only very good candidates who have demonstrated the potential and passion to teach in specialised areas are selected.". As many as 200 to 300 students attended last Saturday's recruitment seminar to find out more about the MTLTS. Some had learned about the seminar from media advertisements.. Selected candidates undergo between two and three years of training in their specialty subject before completing their fourth year of training at the National Institute of Education (NIE) and serving out a five-year teaching bond.. "The rigorous four-year training scheme is specially designed for selected O-level holders who have an aptitude and passion for the languages. These teacher-trainees are trained specifically to teach these subjects at our primary schools," said the spokesman.. Madam Chua Yeong Joo, 27, left Temasek Polytechnic (TP) to join the pioneer batch of teacher-trainees when the MTLTS was introduced in 1997.. She now teaches Chinese Language at Bukit Panjang Primary School and intends to keep teaching after completing her bond next year.. "I had 17 points at O levels but scored an A1 in my mother tongue, Chinese. In TP, I was studying electronics but was always more interested in the Chinese language. I also like children. So I left TP and gave the teaching scheme a try when I saw the advertisement," said Madam Chua.. Madam Chua met her husband, Mr Loh Thiam Fong, 30, when he joined the MTLTS in 1998 after completing his National Service. He now teaches Chinese at Compassville Primary.. Said Mr Chua: "I scored 15 points at O levels and my A-level grades at Serangoon JC were not good enough to pursue a degree, so I chose this alternative path. I always had a passion for Chinese and being a teacher allowed me to share that passion." MOE looks beyond the top cohort for its teacher-training schemes Tor Ching Li
chingli@newstoday.com.sg SOME first year junior college students — fresh from the O levels — were slightly taken aback when they received letters recently from the Ministry of Education (MOE) inviting them to attend a teaching recruitment seminar conducted last Saturday.. They had an aggregate O-level pass of around 17 points on average.. "Can we teach?" asked one student, who turns 17 this year.. The Ministry thinks they can.. According to the MOE, the flyers were sent out to "selected students" to inform them of various teacher-training schemes for O-level holders in the specific fields of Mother Tongue, Home Economics and Art and Music.. "Other than graduates with the suitable subject background, MOE also has schemes to train teaching officers with aptitudes in specific or specialised areas," said the spokesman.. In general, five O-level passes in the relevant subjects — including English as a first language — would suffice. Applicants for the Mother Tongue Languages Teacher Scheme (MTLTS), however, should have a total O-level aggregate score of not more than 20 points. Every year, around 5 per cent — or 100 teachers — from each 2,000 strong teaching cohort are recruited via such schemes.. NIE introduced the Home Economics Teacher Training Scheme in 1998 in collaboration with TP. The Arts and Music Teacher Training Scheme is conducted with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.. Said the MOE spokesman: "The intake numbers for these schemes are kept small to ensure that only very good candidates who have demonstrated the potential and passion to teach in specialised areas are selected.". As many as 200 to 300 students attended last Saturday's recruitment seminar to find out more about the MTLTS. Some had learned about the seminar from media advertisements.. Selected candidates undergo between two and three years of training in their specialty subject before completing their fourth year of training at the National Institute of Education (NIE) and serving out a five-year teaching bond.. "The rigorous four-year training scheme is specially designed for selected O-level holders who have an aptitude and passion for the languages. These teacher-trainees are trained specifically to teach these subjects at our primary schools," said the spokesman.. Madam Chua Yeong Joo, 27, left Temasek Polytechnic (TP) to join the pioneer batch of teacher-trainees when the MTLTS was introduced in 1997.. She now teaches Chinese Language at Bukit Panjang Primary School and intends to keep teaching after completing her bond next year.. "I had 17 points at O levels but scored an A1 in my mother tongue, Chinese. In TP, I was studying electronics but was always more interested in the Chinese language. I also like children. So I left TP and gave the teaching scheme a try when I saw the advertisement," said Madam Chua.. Madam Chua met her husband, Mr Loh Thiam Fong, 30, when he joined the MTLTS in 1998 after completing his National Service. He now teaches Chinese at Compassville Primary.. Said Mr Chua: "I scored 15 points at O levels and my A-level grades at Serangoon JC were not good enough to pursue a degree, so I chose this alternative path. I always had a passion for Chinese and being a teacher allowed me to share that passion."
true anot? dunno. judge urself nor.. haha..
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