Dear Cathy, teachers dun earn a lot these days. Last time even worse.
http://www.moe.edu.sg/careers/teach/career-info/salary/
For so little money you want them to work like dogs is it?
Come on lah. Give them a break.
Handling a bunch of 30 idiots who have been pampered by their parents no end is no joke. And that too for such a measly pay.
Would you do their job for this pay?
The teachers themselves spoiled and pampered these days. They shove their responsibilities to us parents. Don't make sure that the children understand what they are teaching. Expect parents to suppliment the children with extra tuitions so as to cover for their incompetancy, expect children to have a attain a certain standards before joining the primary schools. Prune out remedial lessons to outside individuals. Don't mark worksheets so the children have the chance to copy answers when they go through in class instead of doing it themselves...etc
Just what are teachers doing? They concentrate on the better students so that the better ones could do the school proud by producing good grades in their PSLE. The weaker classes are given less attention. HODs are all in classes with weak students and you know why? They are always absent. They go for frequent meetings, and trainings after trainings. They don't teach composition lesson that frequently and expect you to sign up for extra enrichments which the school arrange with outside private schools which serve non other purpose than to use up all the money in your's children's edusave account.......
I can go on and on about the difference between teachers of yester-years and now. Its all boils down to one thing, are they really passionate about teaching or are they just there to hide themselves from their incompetancy in the private industries?
Sigh! :(