Horror stories

Curse of fhe teacher

Legend has it that if you can't do anything else, teach.

Only in the 1990s did the perception of teaching changed for the worse. Teaching had always been a noble job that nurtured the young because the noble cared about the weakest in society and had the calling to teach the young skills for survival.

For a number of years now this vocation has carried with it a stigma. Now, in the new century—the 2000th, not many want to teach anymore. The erroneous perception of the former generation has done irreversible damage to the teaching reputation. People started shunning this career afraid they may become doomed to a lifetime of spinsterhood or bachelorhood.

Whether a curse or just a self fulfilling prophecy, teachers remained single—especially the ladies. Some even go as far as thinking demons were monitoring theirs and their students' happiness: Teachers are possessed to behave in an indifferent manner towards the students, and the students are influenced into seeing teachers as mindless and emotionless administrators.

Sadly in Singapore, education is so emphasized upon in that students find themselves caught up in the vicious cycle of school, teacher, studies, and homework—an absolute social-less lifestyle. This lifestyle creates stress and frustration so much so that students begin to hate the only human figure in the deplorable education equation—the teacher. Hence, the teacher feels targeted, unappreciated, and cursed.

With no human care and concern: parents working too hard and have no time for their kids, and teachers becoming insensitive administrators, the socially-smarter students have found a way around it. They switch their minds off to escape this dread of social emptiness. Only the "good" students follow the school's agenda. They end up being obedient zombies lacking happiness.

In Singapore, the motto is: "Educate yourself, or be left behind." The fear of being left behind with no prospects for the future has made Singaporean parents fearful. So fearful that they inculcate in their children the belief that chasing degrees is the main living purpose for the young. The prime years of these diligent young taken for education has disrupted nature's course of procreation when the seeds are the healthiest, not to consider the impairment of their social nurturing and sexual development.

It is daunting to think that all this is due to the mind set society has on "teaching". But, it seems to be true. The smarter or the rebellious students who were able to switch off their minds to their teachers' droning, have been spared from the clutches of never having a social life. They have freed themselves from the mental programming of the institution and have successfully gotten hitched and are producing babies.

Unfortunately, without successful education, they can't find good jobs, and hence are not financially apt to support a family. A catch-22. (The well-educated with a good paying job has been emptied of the need for the warmed of a family while the less educated and without a good paying job is lost without the warmth, comfort, and happiness of a family.)

Not only have the educated been emptied of human warmth and kindness, they are also devoid of initiative. They have a well-paying job with good positions but find that they are totally dependant on the administration and do not dare initiate anything on their own.

These people are ironically the pillars of our economy. The government realises that these pillars are too weak to hold anything up, so enter the "Foreign Talents".

With the government only tackling the symptoms and not its cause, the education system will forever remain cursed. If this curse is not lifted, this nation will continue to be stupefied.

Knowledge is power. Removing knowledge will remove power. If the perception of teaching is not changed, then knowledge will not be imparted, hence power cannot be attained. Singaporeans will always remain powerless.

Kion 21, Teacher.