How much effort do we need to be a teacher?

Thank you for your enquiry.

There is no easy or correct way to answer your question. The amount of effort needed to be a teacher is very much dependent on the individual and other factors. For example, one may argue that teaching in a kindergarten requires more effort than teaching in a university due to having to run after the children all the time and taking care that they do not hurt themselves. However, the university lecturer may in turn argue that teaching in a university requires more effort as they are preparing young adults for the real world and have to ensure that their skills and knowledge are up to date and that they are not passing on the wrong information. The amount of effort an individual puts into his work would also differ from person to person depending on factors such as how committed he or she is to the job, how much time the person has, or whether the person is aiming for a promotion and so on.

In general, teaching is considered much tougher now than it was, say, 20 years ago. Teachers have a set of restrictions they have to abide by in order to carry out their profession. They can no longer enforce corporal punishment as a means to discipline and parents have in turn spent more time at work and less with their children, both instances which has resulted in a new generation of unruly and disrespectful kids. There is also the pressure of ensuring that their students perform well so that the school would in turn do well enough to get a good position on the annual school ranking exercise.

Therefore, there is no doubt that teaching is an arduous task. Please refer to the following resources should you be interested in further reading.

Books
Title 1000 best new teacher survival secrets
Author Brenny, Kathleen
Publisher Naperville, Ill. : Sourcebooks, c2005.
Call No. English 371.1 BRE

Title How to survive your first year in teaching
Author Cowley, Sue
Publisher London : Continuum, 2003
Call No. English 371.102 COW

Title The call to brilliance : a true story to inspire parents and educators
Author Brown, Resa Steindel.
Publisher Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Fredric Press, c2006.
Call No. English 371.0420973 BRO

Database
Saturday Special Report
Teaching - it's all about giving kids wings to fly
891 words
1 September 2007
Straits Times
English
(c) 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Saturday Special Report
Because of the children
1183 words
25 August 2007
Straits Times
English
(c) 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

President's Award for 4 inspiring teachers
Jane Ng
572 words
31 August 2007
Straits Times
English
(c) 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

ST Forum
Satisfaction from seeing students succeed in life
252 words
12 April 2005
Straits Times
English
(c) 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

ST Forum
Lighten their load before more quit
302 words
26 March 2005
Straits Times
English
(c) 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

You can access Factiva via NLB corporate website at www.nlb.gov.sg. Follow the steps below:

Click on eResources
Click on eDatabases
Under Titles, click E - I
Browse down and look for Factiva.com


We hope that the above has been useful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance.

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