Being Kind

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Term 3 was no doubt one of the most busy period of the year, I remember spending many afternoons in school grading GI, HI, setting/vetting of papers, revision packages etc... Nevertheless as I look back there were a few things that struck me and made me reflect on my role as an educator.

Mental health

The River Valley High School incident was definitely shocking and heartbreaking to many.  It hit close to home as it was my alma mater and it saddens me that such a tragedy took place. As a parent and teacher, it also made me realise the importance of education beyond the academics. As much as we do our best to prepare our students to excel in their studies, the time we have with them also allows us to mould them into a better person and we must not neglect the intangible aspect of education.  It also reminded me to be more alert and aware of the struggles that some of my form class students are going through in this crunch time as O-levels approach, to check in regularly with them and encourage them. I especially like this simple and relevant online learning that we did during the level meeting about how to go about checking in on our students.  https://hivirtualjourney.hpb.gov.sg/


While we care for our students, we also need to be mindful of our well being. Recently CNA published an article about the mental health of teachers and some of the things shared are rather relatable, having heard about it from fellow teacher friends or having gone through some of the challenges. 

As we approach the end of 2021 with Term 4, may we also learn to be kind to ourselves. 

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