Oct 1, 2005
Should teachers seek to convert pupils?
I AM writing this letter because of some questions posed to me by a
friend's daughter, a Primary 6 pupil studying in a local
school.
This girl corresponds with her teacher on MSN Messenger and one day
while I was surfing, she started asking me about Christianity and
Buddhism. I found it strange that she would ask me these questions
and not her parents.
Apparently her teacher had been asking her to attend Saturday
worship services by The Rock, a Christian church based at Suntec
City. A Buddhist, she replied that her parents would probably not
let her go for the service.
The teacher told her it was not up to her parents to decide, that
she was free to make up her own mind, and kept pressing her to go
for his church's service.
I find this disturbing in many ways. For one thing, I feel that
teachers should not be communicating with their students on such a
personal level outside school. A teacher-pupil relationship should
always exist within the parameters of education and the
school.
Secondly, I am shocked that the teacher is encouraging his pupil to
disobey her parents and listen to him instead. This is not the kind
of approach our educators should adopt for impressionable
teens.
Thirdly, teachers, as educators and authority figures to be
respected in school and in society, should be the ones to inculcate
tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions.
As most teachers are young educated adults and they form a large
percentage of Christians in Singapore, are they allowed to impose
their personal values, morals and principles on their pupils?
Is there any restriction or guide that regulates the relationship
between teacher and pupil outside the parameters of the education
system?
Are teachers allowed to go on MSN Messenger to communicate with
their pupils on any issue and topic?
I would like to know the Ministry of Education's stand on this
matter.
Thio Sin Loo
