A teacher can be the most important companion and mentor on your child’s educational journey. It is therefore necessary that your child’s teacher be a good one.
But what makes a good teacher?
At Lorna Whiston, we believe in hiring only the best in terms of our teaching staff. Each candidate undergoes a rigorous interview process. Indeed, many don’t make the cut. So what do we look for when we hire teachers?
Of course, all teachers are different, and we value our teachers as individuals who can bring their own unique talents and experiences to the classroom. Yet all of our teachers share certain qualities.
They are engaging
We actively seek out teachers who are able to engage and motivate students to want to learn. We believe that teachers should teach with energy and enthusiasm, and give 110% in the classroom. Their language classes should be lively and should involve students actively in the learning process.
They are caring
We are firm in the belief that teachers need to be caring and compassionate. Even though they may only see their students once a week, they take a real interest in their students and often succeed in building a strong rapport with them.
They are knowledgeable
Our teachers need to know their stuff! Whether they are teaching the younger students or our secondary learners, they regularly attend in-service training during their non-teaching times, and are encouraged to continually upgrade their skills and keep abreast of changes within the MOE.
Moreover, each teacher within our organization undergoes a rigorous performance development review once a year. This helps ensure on-going improvement and professional development, which in turn has a direct impact on the children’s learning.
They are dedicated
A fair number of our teachers at Lorna Whiston have been with us for many years. They are very familiar with the Singapore education system, and readily share their accumulated knowledge with newer members of our teaching team. They put in many extra hours to prepare interesting lessons and activities for their students, and are all involved in curriculum development work.
They are adaptable
Our teachers teach a range of different levels and programmes, which allows them to develop a broad understanding of the curriculum and enables them to pitch their teaching accurately to the needs of different age groups.
Our teachers also deliver Outreach programmes in a range of different schools across the island, which further builds upon their knowledge of the Singapore education system.
Student’s speak up
The students at Lorna Whiston always speak their mind, and this is not different when it comes to telling us what makes a good teacher. We spoke to a few of them and this is what they had to say:
“A good teacher is someone who loves you, cares for you and would consider it a joy to be with you. A good teacher should help you to express your point of view to aid your learning and achieve your goals. They do not care about the money they receive at the end of the day and they look forward to teaching you. Whenever you excel in your studies, they will be bursting with joy because he/she knows they did well in teaching you.” – Saksham George John – Age 13
“A teacher who cares about every student in the class.” – Helene Huynh, 6+ years old,
“A teacher who knows everything about dinosaurs’’ – Javiar Chu, 6 years old
“When they love the children!” – Ng Yong Kiat, 6 years
This article is written by Helen Marjan,
Joint CEO and Director of Studies, Lorna Whiston
