It would be nice if educators can only be educators; focusing on transmitting 21st century education and skills to our children. It would be a perfect environment if all the secondaries jobs could be handle by the non teaching staff. More non-teaching staff such as accountants, student nurse, technician would benefit our school. It would open more for jobs. It will help teachers to focus the primary task. Easy say? but something must be done. Last year in few weeks, some teachers had the opportunity to be attached to the elite schools. Yes, adapting their academic factors is important for best practices; but why can’t us accept and learn from their management facilities? A full time bursar, etc. Less admin work, more time for student attention.
Some school infrastructural is inadequacy. Its beautiful, but not adequate for function. A very high student-teacher ratio is in fact (sometime) due to the lack of rooms available in school. Then comes the no. of teachers. This may not be suffered by all schools; but think about the some. No conference room? No parking spaces for teachers? No adequate field and tracks for sports activities etc. Little that we care, this facilities is actually important. We teachers hoped and waited and can only envy for those schools who have already got it. Once a while we also pray for it.
Crying for budget. We love money to buy resources. But we are limited due to understanding the money issues. But sometime, we school require more and at urgency. Sometime we are lucky; sometime we waited. Waited for the Photocopy machine to be fixed for years. In some districts it wont really matter; but for some we had to catch a ferry which cost about 8$ for the round trip. But we did this because for our students. Other words, help and give us what we need, for the best of our school at speed and we will be at efficient too.
Management and Program. I think teachers does not mind it at all, until it is too much. Too much until we barely remember the meaning of being in the class. I think they want us to be great on being a leader and practicing all the leadership values, tools and skills. Seriously who doesnt? But sometime, its not the teachers that need to be upgraded or fix. Its the environment that prohibited and hindered our potential. We can do just about anything until resources, environment slow us down. We did try our best out of anything and everything we have, but it is not enough to push to our students excellency. If some then say, governments schools are spoiled, well thats ok. Because its all meant for our students, Brunei’s future and simply not for our own personal wealth.
Passionate teachers, we may need to stay hungry, stay foolish and be more stronger. After all we are not alone. :D Someone said to me, as long as we are happy working together in schools that’s all matter. If you dont have heart, can’t handle and accept some of these hardship; you may check out for the benefit of all. (The last sentence is the MOST advise i got from MOE’s retired directors.. ALL about Heart of the teacher! haha, but true.)
