ASCD 20Th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION DINNER

ASCD 20th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION DINNER FRIDAY, 19 MARCH 2010, SHERATON TOWERS HOTEL

Dr Gene Carter, CEO & Executive Director, ASCD Worldwide

Mr Jimmy Tan, President, ASCD Singapore

Past Presidents, President-Elect, Council Members

Ladies and Gentlemen

Salutations

 Great pleasure – to celebrate 20th Anniversary.

 Extend very warm welcome to Gene and colleagues,

also to thank them for their strong support of ASCD

Singapore over the years.

Looking Back

. Looking back, I can’t help thinking how far we have

travelled in our journey as an education system.

1 . Overall, there is still much room for improvement.

Nevertheless, Singapore educators can be proud that

through the years, building on the work of past

educators, we have delivered on the fundamentals- the

languages, maths and science. These are the building

blocks to learning in the other disciplines.

. We owe this to the tireless efforts of past generations of

educators – school leaders, teachers, and officers in

MOE HQ. It is also a case of strong partnership

between the Ministry and ground-up initiatives started

by educators – an alignment of interest and will to

improve learning and teaching in our schools. A

hallmark of the Singapore education system is the

dedication and commitment of educators – a single-

minded focus to want the best for our children, and the

best for Singapore.

2 Role of ASCD (Singapore)

. And ASCD Singapore has been an integral part of the

Singapore education success story. Established in

1990, ASCD Singapore has contributed significantly to

building up the competencies of educators over the last

20 years, through conferences and workshops.

. Through the good office of ASCD, school leaders and

teachers in Singapore have been well exposed to new

ideas and developments in other parts of the world.

ASCD Singapore has been responsible for bringing in

expertise from all over the world, for the training and

development of educators here. You have contributed

to building a strong foundation in our educators in

Singapore.

3 Dr Ang Wai Hoong

. At this juncture, to pray tribute to Dr Ang Wai Hoong,

Founder President of ASCD Singapore, the first senior

educator helming curriculum during the time of Dr Goh

Keng Swee, then Minister for Education.

. Given the challenge to transform learning and teaching

in Singapore, Dr Ang went in with a missionary zeal,

and inspired generations of people who had worked

with her.

. She had a passion for learning and teaching, and a

passion to improve how teachers taught. “Impossible”

was never a word in her vocabulary. She was a

visionary, who went beyond conventional boundaries

(in all senses of the word) to bring in the best for

schools and teachers. I still remember the people she

had brought in over the years, who became catalysts

for the system.

4 . Dr Ang also saw the need for a body to support teacher

growth and development. Instrumental for bringing

ASCD to Singapore. Thank you, Dr Ang Wai Hoong.

Going Forward

. Going forward, what will be the next 20 years like for

us? Not easy to look so far down the road.

. Next 10 years certainly, what is clear would be the

continuous up-skilling and re-skilling of teachers and

school leaders.

. Number of areas we should work on:

(a) Need all teachers to have a clear framework

on how the various facets of teaching are

linked – from core teacher beliefs, to

classroom management, instructional

strategies, motivation, curriculum planning

and assessment for learning.

5 (b) Need to work on educators’ beliefs, that

regardless of learner types, we need to start

with where the child is – a child-centric, rather

than a school-centric point of view. We

should move away from the mindset that we

want the school to move up, so that only

“better” students come into the school. And

we only teach the “better” students. We

should have the mindset that whichever

student walks through the school gate, and

into our classroom, we own the student, are

prepared to take him where he is at, and will

bring him to the standards we have defined at

each key stage.

(c) For our students to acquire 21st century

competencies, we would need to see if we as

educators embrace them – a certain

globalised view of the world, communicative

6 skills – this includes good spoken and written

English for all English-medium teachers.

(d) For instructional strategies, to embed ICT into

learning and teaching – to engage a new

generation of learners who are digital natives.

. In many of these areas, going forward, we can leverage

on teachers themselves, many of whom are highly

skilful, and in the process, develop our teachers both as

teacher-leaders, as well as teacher-learners.

. ASCD Singapore will continue to have relevance in the

decades to come, working closely with schools, and the

Ministry of Education, to bring the Singapore education

system to the newer heights.

. On this note, may I wish you the very best as you

support the work of teachers and school leaders in the

years to come.

. Have an enjoyable dinner.