I decided to become an educator at the young age of 18, fueled by my experience and the single-minded, simplistic belief that education is an engine of social mobility and could empower individuals regardless of their background. My experiences abroad later brought about cognitive dissonance as I realized my inherent privilege, narrow view of success and the myriad of unseen struggles that a child may face. The past year at NIE has enabled me to clarify, review and reaffirm my passion for education, to search deep within to define my teaching philosophy to guide me in the future.

It is currently a work-in-progress as I continue to advance through life, learning from others and my own experiences. In its current form, I will be addressing it in terms of my beliefs about my students, about teaching and learning, my subject, my role as an educator and education itself.

I believe that every child has an infinite potential. I believe that every child has an innate desire to learn and to grow. This is evident from when infants first learn to walk. From taking their first steps, their faces light up with joy and we can’t stop them from trying. They are trying to improve, they are trying to learn, they are trying to improve their skills. Similarly, I believe that all students desire to improve. The smallest failure can destroy a child’s confidence while the smallest catalyst can trigger explosive growth. This is why the role of the teacher is paramount, to believe in every child’s potential.

It is with this desire to cultivate that human potential to the fullest that I want to become an educator. However, it is not enough to just believe in my students. I must build a genuine and earnest teacher-student relationship with them that conveys this belief and enable them to tangibly feel it.

Secondly, I believe that every child is unique and they each need a champion. They are each a diamond that is yet to be polished. My role as a teacher is to warmly embrace each child, appreciate each student’s unique character and individuality, awaken them to their potential and nurture and encourage their talents to help them create value in their lives and the lives of others.

Therefore, I believe that education should encourage the youth to realize their precious potential and to display their unique individuality with enthusiasm and vigour. Success should not be conveyed as a narrowly defined goal but simply a process, made possible by the relentless will to overcome their obstacles which can only serve to help them grow as individuals.

Secondly, I believe that the essence of education is in character formation. Our Mathematics tutors at NIE often remind us that “We don’t just teach Mathematics, we teach students”. I concur with this statement as education is more than just the transmission of knowledge but involves developing our students’ learnability quotient and inculcating values and competencies that will enable them to achieve personal well-being, appreciate humanity and uphold a sense of social responsibility and global citizenship. As our knowledge grows, our hearts should also grow in greater proportion.

Education should also be about developing our students as independent learners to prepare them for the unpredictable future ahead. Thus, I believe that as teachers, we should be teaching our students how to learn, to be self-aware of their own learning process, the skills needed to tackle novel problems, encouraging them to be inquisitive and creative, to find the answers they seek and to learn for life.

Finally, I believe that education is a generator of opportunities and an engine of social mobility – empowering individuals regardless of their background, uplifting and integrating members of society. As a product of inter-generational social mobility because of education, I recognise how fortunate I am and I want to similarly empower the next generation with the skills, knowledge and experiences to make a better future for themselves, and also enabling a better culture of care and societal integration amongst our students.

My interest in biology was stimulated in Secondary 3 when a vivid lesson on cellular structure and function made me realise the sophistication of life and how every molecule has an important role to play. I began appreciating this intricate yet interdependent way in which life works and it dawned upon me that studying biology in university would be exceptionally meaningful as it has a practical connection to the challenges we face today in human health.

As I moved onto university, my initial inclinations towards molecular biology declined as I was introduced to the study of ecology and the environment by professors that were wildly passionate about their subject, underwent field trips that opened my eyes to the biodiversity around me and learnt about the pertinence of the subject matter in our age of Anthropocene.

Similarly, as I approached my two curriculum subjects in NIE, I was again awed by the fundamentals of Mathematics, how things made sense together so elegantly as my tutor designed experiences for us to re-learn Mathematics through the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) approach or by the simulations and varied experiential activities we could conduct to learn about biological concepts.

I believe that anyone can appreciate the nature of science and mathematics in their lives because it is prevalent, applicable and a function of the human endeavour. Therefore, I believe that in teaching and learning my subjects, I must share my joy of learning about the subject (and in general) with my students and bring in the relevance of whatever they are learning to the classroom. To do so, I believe that I must first invoke a sense of wonder and awe in my students and ignite their curiosity and interest through authentic, active learning experiences before they can have a sense of appreciation about the subject and then learn to love learning.

As a student, I was also offered many choices and opportunities to learn and these experiences inform my belief in the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) that students require competence, relatedness and authority to be motivated to engage in their learning.

As an individual, I believe that the key to constant improvement and evolution as a better educator in the 21^st century lies in reflection. I enjoy reflecting as I believe it will always lead to improvement in my teaching and eventually this will benefit my students as well. Reflection enables self-awareness of my professional knowledge, actions, biases, how my students learn and the best ways to teach them. As a reflective practitioner, I also believe that I must continually keep abreast of latest educational research, theories and incorporate best-practice methods into my instructional methods and strategies. Teachers must be diligent in their efforts to deepen their understanding of how learning occurs. For example, during my time at NIE, I learnt new educational theories and techniques and sought to improve upon my previous lesson plans to make theory and practice links and further develop my existing ideas. I also believe in lifelong learning as a great teacher never stops being a student.

As an educator in the classroom, I see myself as a facilitator of learning and my students as (co-)creators of knowledge and meaning. Learning is a relational activity based on Vygotsky (1978’s) zone of proximal development theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and I believe that it does not just apply to peer learning but also learning between student and teachers. With the attitude that the teacher can grow as a teacher and as a human being thanks to his or her students, keeps the teacher humble and in developing creative partnerships within the classroom. Thus, I believe that there is much to be learnt from my students as well and I am on this journey of learning with them as partners.

As an educator in the school, I want to create as many authentic learning experiences and opportunities as possible to enable students to develop their competencies, serve the community and experience life. Secondly, I recognize that I am not alone in the school and it takes a village to raise a child. With the “village” in school, I believe that it is important to share best practices and resources with my colleagues, learn from one another and collaborate harmoniously and in unison as part of a whole-school approach to teaching and learning and managing our learners. With the “village” in society, I believe that it is important to engage and partner parents in my students’ learning journey and treat them with respect, grace and kindness.

As an educator in the Ministry of Education, I want to contribute towards improving the current system to address societal issues of inequality, inclusivity and well-being of students, working towards the ideals of education.