These are excerpts from a speech by Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Mr Ng Chee Meng at the Official Opening Ceremony of Spectra Secondary School in October 2016.
JOY OF LEARNING
Recently, at the MOE Work Plan Seminar, I spoke about the importance of helping our students experience the joy of learning, to nurture an intrinsic motivation towards learning in every student. Scoring well in school exams is important, but it should not be the end-goal of learning. Rather, learning is a lifelong journey of exploration and discovery, where one experiences deep personal fulfilment from acquiring new knowledge and skills.
SUPPORTING STUDENTS TO DISCOVER AND PURSUE INTERESTS
Our two Specialised School for Normal (Technical) students, Spectra and Crest Secondary offer a unique curriculum where students specialise in one of four ITE Skills Certificate (ISC) courses at Secondary 3 alongside some GCE ‘N’ level subjects. All final year students receive a valuable opportunity to immerse in a workplace and put their learning in school to practice in an 8-week long Industry Experiential Programme (IEP).
Students from Spectra and Crest have found that, even as they benefitted from the schools’ broad-based programmes, they have really thrived under this practice-oriented and skills-based approach. In fact, I am encouraged by the schools’ sharing that many students have, through this approach, built stronger literacy and numeracy skills, and received multiple opportunities to explore their interests through the ISCs.
CARING TEACHERS AND SUPPORTIVE PARENTS
Home support is also critical for a caring and nurturing learning environment, in school and at home. These come hand-in-hand to support our students’ learning. Parents are the teachers’ most valuable partners.