She’s there for students who ‘come to school to be loved’
11 Jul 2024
For Ms Kua Li En, it is important that all her students feel loved and supported. She goes the extra mile to journey with students facing difficulties in school and at home, and views school activities such as debates as opportunities to instill empathy and promote perspective-taking.
Ms Kua teaches English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Character and Citizenship Education at Alexandra Primary School. She is also a Recipient of the Outstanding Youth in Education Award 2024.
A teaching win for me is … when my students feel supported enough and can enjoy learning.
While I was training to become a teacher, I came across a quote by US educator Nicholas Ferroni: “Students who are loved at home, come to school to learn. And students who aren’t, come to school to be loved.” This quote resonated deeply with me, and has shaped my teaching philosophy.
One of my students, Sam (not his real name), had found out that his mother was not his biological mother. He was struggling academically, often skipping remedial sessions and neglecting his homework. I had a tearful conversation with his mother, who shared with me the difficulties the family faced.
After that heartbreaking conversation, I was determined to help Sam. I spent time with him after school, got to know him better and helped him with his homework.
As Sam grew older, his mother reached out to me, concerned that he was staying out later and not communicating with her. I had multiple heartfelt conversations with Sam about this, emphasising the love that his parents had for him, and reminding him that we all cared for him.
In his final year of primary school, I started hounding Sam to practise Mathematics with me as his goal was to pass his PSLE and I wanted to help him achieve it. Fortunately, he came to realise my intentions and the tables were turned when he started asking me for help with questions. When the PSLE results were released, I was so proud of him! His results improved from his preliminary examinations, and he achieved his goal.
Recently, a colleague showed me a review that Sam had voluntarily written about me online. Those few words he had penned mean the world to me, and I know that he has not only learned academically but also felt loved and supported. And that is a win for me.
An effective teaching tool for me is… real-time online activities.
I have been exploring and enjoying the use of EdTech interactive teaching tools such as ClassPoint, which allow me to create engaging lessons through real-time quizzes, polls and activities. Using iPads in my lessons increases student engagement, and because they integrate seamlessly with Microsoft PowerPoint, it eliminates the need to toggle between different applications. More importantly, it allows every student to participate, even those who are more reserved. Gaining real-time insights into my students’ thoughts helps me to gauge their understanding and facilitate class discussions so that they get to learn from their peers’ perspectives too.
A project I find meaningful is… coaching students for inter-school debates.
I was initially apprehensive to take up the challenge of coaching students for the Wits & Words: Inter-school Debate Championship. Debating was a territory outside of my comfort zone and I did not have prior experience. Through the steep learning curve, I have learnt much alongside the children, including beneficial life lessons.
Besides sharpening critical thinking and communication skills, gaining insight into trade-offs in decision-making, and experiencing both winning and losing, we also learnt more about perspective-taking and empathy.
For example, when considering whether schooling should be restricted to a four-day week, the students’ immediate response was that it was a no-brainer “yes”. However, after considering different perspectives, they realised how the answer might vary for different people such as parents, or even students who viewed school as a respite from their challenging home environments.
This project is meaningful to me as it affirms my belief that we should always try our best in all that we do, even if it may be challenging. It is also a privilege to be able to see my students grow in confidence and develop empathy through the debate competition journey.
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