Parents who expect too much of teachers may end up depriving their children's ability to be resilient and overcome uncertainties and difficulties, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in Parliament on Monday (Sept 12).

Parents and teachers must have a shared set of expectations on what the role of the teacher should be, so as to create a school environment where children can grow up to be independent, resilient and creative, he said.

He was responding to a question posed by Mr Seah Kian Peng, the Member of Parliament (MP) of Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency, on whether the Ministry of Education (MOE) could draw clear boundaries on the matters that parents can or cannot involve teachers in.

The minister cited an example of how one school had deployed teachers for "corridor duty": Keeping a lookout for children who fall down along the corridors, so that the teachers could inform children’s parents about accidents that occurred and how exactly they happened.

“(In) the larger scheme of things.. it is useful for us to take a step back and ask ourselves what is the kind of environment we want in the schools in order for us to bring up our children who are independent, resilient and creative," Mr Chan said.

 “And sometimes, if we overdo things by removing all uncertainties and difficulties, untidiness from the child’s life, it may not be the best way for us to bring up our children."

Mr Seah and several other MPs had filed parliamentary questions about the measures that MOE was taking to improve the work-life balance of teachers.

This comes in the wake of several news reports, including by TODAY, about the increasing pressures faced by teachers.

Mr Chan said in response that while MOE has taken steps to alleviate teachers' administrative work and put in place more resources to help them manage their time, parents also play a key role in supporting teachers’ well-being.

“By respecting teachers’ personal time and minimising non-critical communication with teachers outside work hours, parents and the public can work closely with teachers to establish positive partnerships and set appropriate expectations on the teachers’ responsibilities for our children’s development,” he said.

In a supplementary question, Mr Seah noted that many teachers had informed him that one of the things that caused them stress was the direct and indirect expectations imposed on them by parents.

To this, Mr Chan said that MOE already has a set of rules and guidelines for all schools on issues that parents can involve teachers in. These rules are communicated to the parents, he said.

He added that while not all parents cross the boundaries, there are still a “fair share of them”.

“One difficult parent can take up a substantial amount of time from the teachers, which then makes it unfair for the teachers to take care of the rest,” said Mr Chan.

He noted that while there are parent support groups who do help to build positive relations between parents and teachers, there remain some parents who do not abide by the ministry's guidelines.

“Some of these negative examples would be going after the teachers for the slightest of issues which require the teachers to spend an inordinate amount of time to try to answer those questions,” said Mr Chan.

He added: “So I think we take Mr Seah’s points very seriously because such clear expectations on the roles of the teachers are very important for that healthy relationship between parents and teachers, and at the same time for our teachers to manage their time well."

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by NAVENE ELANGOVAN

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