Ms Adelene Guo had an unexpected visitor one day; a former student who shared her childhood dream of being a pilot. This student of hers was too afraid to ask the librarian for a book on aeroplanes, until Ms Guo stepped in to help.
The boy, now older, dropped by to tell Ms Guo that he had enrolled in the Singapore Youth Flying Club, and that she had a big part to play in it.
“It is incredibly empowering for children to be able to envision the possibilities of their future. That is why I encourage them to explore and pursue their dreams,” says Ms Guo. “For them to return and share their progress means so much to me – it’s their way of showing their gratitude.”
This is but one of many meaningful connections that Ms Guo has fostered throughout her 17-year career, testament to the teacher she was born to be.
Inspiration: Making students feel at home
Her sense of adventure made her dream of a life in the skies, but when the time came, Ms Guo decided to embrace the heart of service that came from her parents, who were teachers. From them, she learned to always respect and be patient with others – values that she lavishes on her students today.
Her classes bear hallmarks of a tightly knit family; she creates safe spaces where students can feel comfortable making mistakes and learning from them together. She role models good habits such as tackling difficult tasks with resilience. A ringing achievement to her Primary 6 students was how she led them to finish top of their level in a schoolwide Maths challenge for four consecutive terms.
“For creativity and purpose to thrive, students must be given an avenue to take ownership of their learning. Be passionate, take action and find ways to make positive change.”
Ms Adelene Guo
Ms Guo is also known for her readiness to lend a listening ear, whether it is about her lessons, or something that is bothering a student.
For her, it’s important for students to see that she is on the same page with them. “When students know they’ll be listened to with kindness and understanding, they feel more comfortable opening up about their challenges. Fostering a compassionate environment strengthens that student-teacher relationship.”
Transformation: ‘Having a voice leads to creativity and action’
To spice up her teaching with various EdTech tools and materials, Ms Guo taps into MOE’s digital community of educators, SG Learning Designers Circle, and scours the web and social media platforms for ideas. A reflective practitioner, Ms Guo can always be seen finding new ways to explain a concept till she is sure her students have grasped it.
Her lessons, whether for English, Mathematics or Social Studies, are supplemented with activities such as debates and discussions, to hone the students’ soft skills and broaden their knowledge of the world around them. As they take on topics like ‘should zoos be abolished?’ or ‘should plastic bags still be in use?’, everyone learns to take different perspectives, project their voices confidently for public speaking, and listen respectfully until the floor is open for questions and comments.
“For creativity and purpose to thrive, students must be given an avenue to take ownership of their learning,” she explains about her belief in the importance of student voice when compelling them to reflect deeper about issues they care about. With this agency, they can “be passionate, take action and find ways to make positive change”.
Admirably, immediate returns on her efforts can be seen in her students. One of her Primary 5 students passed her English test for the first time under Ms Guo’s tutelage. The girl shared that English became her favourite subject because of the confidence she gained from speaking up in class and expressing herself via EdTech tools.
Learning about the world may also take the form of experiential sessions, such as the exploration of urban and vertical farming to gain a better understanding of food security and how it affects us personally. As part of the school’s sustainability efforts, Ms Guo organises hands-on engagements with industry partners such as Tetra Pak to show her students real-life applications of sustainable packaging and the importance of the processes behind the products they use every day.
Reflection: Always with character-building in mind
Ms Guo sees character-building as an educator’s most important task, for its impact in determining the students’ future.
She advocates doing this in partnership with parents so the child receives a consistent message and sense of support from school and at home.
By creating opportunities for students to engage in giving back to the community, students construct a greater understanding of themselves and of others – that is when gratitude, compassion, confidence and resilience all come into play. She believes that it is through lifelong exploration and character development that children truly flourish.
She says, “The strength of a child’s character is developed through authentic experiences and reflection. This is a journey of self-discovery that children must embark on to truly prepare themselves for the future.”
