Dear Minister of Education,

I read that you have been deluged with lots of feedback to improve the education system and the work load of teachers in Singapore schools. I have only one suggestion to make:

Get rid of the high stakes examinations system!

Thank you for your attention.

Many teachers come into the profession with great ideals about what it means to be a teacher. While many find great satisfaction being in the line, many emerge from the trenches of teaching in schools, shell shocked or even mortally wounded.

Teaching in schools has all too often been reduced largely to getting students to jump over academic hoops which get higher each year. In addition to these academic hoops, teachers are expected to meet the commercialized expectations of principals and parents. Many teachers soon find that much of the ideals of the teaching profession have become subordinated to the commercial KPIs set by school principals and parents who have been fed the idea that education is mainly about getting stellar academic results.

The mad chase after these KPIs have resulted in stressed out teachers, students and parents. In Singapore, there is a rising number of students who have been diagnosed with mental problems with the emphasis in doing well in high stakes school examinations being the number one cause of these problems. Many still have chosen to opt out by their “unconscious yet voluntary’ non-participation in these academic activities through missing school or being simply “disruptive” or “not putting in the effort”. Yet, we all believe that education should make us better.

If education is truly to be a better experience for all of us, then perhaps education should be repositioned as being part of the wellness movement where all who are connected with it, will be in the best of spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health. The teacher’s position is redefined as someone who makes everyone he or she comes into contact with, healthy. The teachers nourishes all “the sick”, back to health and grows the already “well” to become even healthier in mind, body and spirit. In doing so, the teacher, stays well too rather than become broken or maimed. This is simply because what is done will be more consistent with the ideals of being a teacher rather than just being the producer of economic units that the teacher is generally regarded as today.