Rajinder Kaur
Edith Cowan College
Growing up, I had an excellent role model- my mother. I used to sit in on her extra coaching classes that happened during school holidays and was in awe of her commitment to creating a classroom atmosphere that was stimulating and encouraging for her students. As she moved on to become the school principal, she continued to inspire me as I watched how motivated, enthusiastic and dedicated she was as an educator. I still remember one incident where she provided school shoes for a student. The student had not been attending school as he was embarrassed. Mum checked in on him regularly to ensure he did not miss any more classes.
As I got older and realised I wanted to be a teacher myself, and I kept my mother’s qualities at the front of my mind. I started out as a relief teacher in primary schools in Singapore. Every university break, I would fly back to Singapore from Perth to teach young children with an emphasis on developing reading skills.
As an English Literature undergraduate, I felt it was important to provide students with opportunities to respond to literature as it not only helps them develop an appreciation of their own cultural heritage but also of others. In a multi-cultural society like Singapore, this was crucial in striving to build student self-esteem and encourage cultural diversity and gender differences.