<p> ASCD 20th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION DINNER FRIDAY, 19 MARCH 2010, SHERATON TOWERS HOTEL</p><p>Dr Gene Carter, CEO & Executive Director, ASCD Worldwide</p><p>Mr Jimmy Tan, President, ASCD Singapore</p><p>Past Presidents, President-Elect, Council Members</p><p>Ladies and Gentlemen</p><p>Salutations</p><p> Great pleasure – to celebrate 20th Anniversary.</p><p> Extend very warm welcome to Gene and colleagues, </p><p> also to thank them for their strong support of ASCD </p><p>Singapore over the years.</p><p>Looking Back</p><p>. Looking back, I can’t help thinking how far we have </p><p> travelled in our journey as an education system.</p><p>1 . Overall, there is still much room for improvement. </p><p>Nevertheless, Singapore educators can be proud that </p><p> through the years, building on the work of past </p><p> educators, we have delivered on the fundamentals- the </p><p> languages, maths and science. These are the building</p><p> blocks to learning in the other disciplines.</p><p>. We owe this to the tireless efforts of past generations of</p><p> educators – school leaders, teachers, and officers in </p><p>MOE HQ. It is also a case of strong partnership </p><p> between the Ministry and ground-up initiatives started </p><p> by educators – an alignment of interest and will to </p><p> improve learning and teaching in our schools. A </p><p> hallmark of the Singapore education system is the </p><p> dedication and commitment of educators – a single-</p><p> minded focus to want the best for our children, and the </p><p> best for Singapore.</p><p>2 Role of ASCD (Singapore)</p><p>. And ASCD Singapore has been an integral part of the </p><p>Singapore education success story. Established in </p><p>1990, ASCD Singapore has contributed significantly to </p><p> building up the competencies of educators over the last </p><p>20 years, through conferences and workshops.</p><p>. Through the good office of ASCD, school leaders and </p><p> teachers in Singapore have been well exposed to new </p><p> ideas and developments in other parts of the world. </p><p>ASCD Singapore has been responsible for bringing in </p><p> expertise from all over the world, for the training and </p><p> development of educators here. You have contributed </p><p> to building a strong foundation in our educators in </p><p>Singapore.</p><p>3 Dr Ang Wai Hoong</p><p>. At this juncture, to pray tribute to Dr Ang Wai Hoong, </p><p>Founder President of ASCD Singapore, the first senior </p><p> educator helming curriculum during the time of Dr Goh </p><p>Keng Swee, then Minister for Education.</p><p>. Given the challenge to transform learning and teaching </p><p> in Singapore, Dr Ang went in with a missionary zeal, </p><p> and inspired generations of people who had worked </p><p> with her.</p><p>. She had a passion for learning and teaching, and a </p><p> passion to improve how teachers taught. “Impossible” </p><p> was never a word in her vocabulary. She was a </p><p> visionary, who went beyond conventional boundaries </p><p>(in all senses of the word) to bring in the best for </p><p> schools and teachers. I still remember the people she </p><p> had brought in over the years, who became catalysts </p><p> for the system.</p><p>4 . Dr Ang also saw the need for a body to support teacher</p><p> growth and development. Instrumental for bringing </p><p>ASCD to Singapore. Thank you, Dr Ang Wai Hoong.</p><p>Going Forward</p><p>. Going forward, what will be the next 20 years like for </p><p> us? Not easy to look so far down the road.</p><p>. Next 10 years certainly, what is clear would be the </p><p> continuous up-skilling and re-skilling of teachers and </p><p> school leaders.</p><p>. Number of areas we should work on:</p><p>(a) Need all teachers to have a clear framework </p><p> on how the various facets of teaching are </p><p> linked – from core teacher beliefs, to </p><p> classroom management, instructional </p><p> strategies, motivation, curriculum planning </p><p> and assessment for learning.</p><p>5 (b) Need to work on educators’ beliefs, that </p><p> regardless of learner types, we need to start </p><p> with where the child is – a child-centric, rather</p><p> than a school-centric point of view. We </p><p> should move away from the mindset that we </p><p> want the school to move up, so that only </p><p>“better” students come into the school. And </p><p> we only teach the “better” students. We </p><p> should have the mindset that whichever </p><p> student walks through the school gate, and </p><p> into our classroom, we own the student, are </p><p> prepared to take him where he is at, and will </p><p> bring him to the standards we have defined at</p><p> each key stage.</p><p>(c) For our students to acquire 21st century </p><p> competencies, we would need to see if we as</p><p> educators embrace them – a certain </p><p> globalised view of the world, communicative </p><p>6 skills – this includes good spoken and written </p><p>English for all English-medium teachers.</p><p>(d) For instructional strategies, to embed ICT into</p><p> learning and teaching – to engage a new </p><p> generation of learners who are digital natives.</p><p>. In many of these areas, going forward, we can leverage</p><p> on teachers themselves, many of whom are highly </p><p> skilful, and in the process, develop our teachers both as</p><p> teacher-leaders, as well as teacher-learners.</p><p>. ASCD Singapore will continue to have relevance in the</p><p> decades to come, working closely with schools, and the</p><p>Ministry of Education, to bring the Singapore education </p><p> system to the newer heights.</p><p>. On this note, may I wish you the very best as you </p><p> support the work of teachers and school leaders in the </p><p> years to come.</p><p>. Have an enjoyable dinner.</p><p>7</p>