Celebrating Our Heroes: NIE Caring Teacher Awards

The Caring Teacher Awards (CTA) is a biennial event that recognizes and pays tribute to local school teachers who have gone the extra mile to show care and concern for the holistic development of students. First given out in 1996, the CTA abides by a stringent set of selection criteria, including a teacher’s effectiveness at student outreach, ability to transform students’ lives, capacity to inspire colleagues, and leadership in demonstrating care, concern, love, consideration, affection and dedication.

The 12th CTA Presentation Ceremony was held at Yu Neng Primary School on 5 April 2018. Mr Ng Chee Meng, then Minister for Education (Schools) and Second Minister for Transport, was the Guest of Honour at the event organised by NIE with support from ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd and the Ministry of Education.

This year’s CTA garnered over 3,700 nominations from 225 local schools, out of which three National Award and seven National Commendation Award winners were recognised for their outstanding commitment to students. The three National Award winners were: Mrs Sharon Choo-Tan from Kheng Cheng School, Mr Emmanuel Chng from Compassvale Secondary School, and Ms Choo Lay Kian from Jurong Junior College. Click here for full list of 2018 winners.

Said Mrs Sharon Choo-Tan, a veteran teacher with 29 years of experience, firmly believes that her profession affects students’ lives. “It’s about wanting to share and make a difference to all our students, even beyond the academics. When students feel safe, are motivated and have had their basic needs met, they will want to learn and make meaning out of what they are learning. That feeling of safety starts on the very first day the child comes into the classroom. They may not remember what I have taught, but they will remember how I made them feel,” she beamed.

For Mr Emmanuel Chng, a teacher’s sincerity is what matters most. “Taking a sincere interest is important to gain a much better understanding of what I can do to help each student learn better. Then I can come up with a strategy appropriate for my student in order to bring learning forward. In addition, students recognise when a teacher puts in a genuine effort to understand them. They would then become much more receptive to what the teacher has to say and take the advice more seriously.”

According to Ms Choo Lay Kian, interactions with her students are typically friendly and authentic experiences. “Thankfully, this comes naturally for me because caring for students is something I must do as a teacher. Because I play such an influential role, I know I can do wonders to affect my students’ lives. I make time to get to know them, talk to them outside of their lessons, hear them out, listen to their problems, and try my best to be there for them.”