Can there be respect?

Synopsis: The Usual Place host Natasha Ann Zachariah hunts for new perspectives on issues of the day.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing recently announced at the Ministry of Education Schools Work Plan Seminar, how parents should communicate with teachers from now on. He said teachers are not required to share their personal phone numbers, and do not need to respond to work-related messages after school hours.

Instead, they should use official channels like their e-mail and office number when contacting parents, and respond to work-related messages after school hours only in the event of emergencies, he added.

These guidelines aim to help schools and parents work together more “positively, constructively and respectfully” while also establishing boundaries so that teachers can have “protected time” of their own. 

In this episode, Mr Chan dropped by The Usual Place to chat with host Natasha and her special co-host Jaime Ho, who is also the editor of The Straits Times.

Why is this culture the way it is for now? Or is it just down to a seemingly larger issue of over-parenting or parents being unable to go with the flow in general?

Highlights (click/tap above):

0:00 Intro
3:40 The extent a few parents will go to, wasting precious administration time, depriving other more deserving cases
4:55 Is there a culture of over-parenting? Avoiding a 'crutch' mentality
7:40 Should we 'bail out' our kids constantly when they face challenges or difficulties? How Mr Chan was approached by some parents to re-score their children's PSLE results
9:50 Mr Chan on whether MOE should "over-protect, over-structure or remove all untidiness from life" for children in general
10:25 As a parent of three children himself, what is Mr Chan's advice from his own personal experience?
12:50 Social media impact today: The pressure of being compared, how children and also parents feel it in different ways
13:50 The 'spirit' of the new rule: why it matters, and how the culture could evolve
16:22 Addressing teachers' concerns about resistance from school management
17:25 On the culture of bypassing the system to "get their own way"; on the case example of orientation for parents - not children - at one school
20:58 Parental "arms race"?
22:37 Mr Chan on why teachers in Singapore are not here to "service us"
24:10 Who wants to be a teacher? Increasing complexities, emotional skill sets of new teachers
32:40 Looking at flexibility for teachers too, while maintaining the "ethos of teaching", in a "code of conduct"; respecting teachers, their "private time" to "recharge"
36:10 Mr Chan's memories of teachers who inspired him

Follow Natasha on her IG account and DM her your thoughts on this topic: https://str.sg/8Wav

Host: Natasha Zachariah ([email protected])
Read Natasha's articles: https://str.sg/iSXm
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN

Filmed by: ST Video
Edited by producers: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh, Jamie Koh and Rubeen Raj
Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

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