TEACHERS' DAY SPECIAL FEATURE

".. I discovered that I could engage

     and connect with young minds..!"

Morgan Zhou
Head of Department, English
ACS (Junior)

As a student, I desired membership with the OBA more than any other club membership. It did not take me long to become member number 6085. Becoming a teacher, on the other hand, was not as straightforward. There were several events and occurrences which led me into teaching.

Towards the end of my NUS Business Administration Course, I began to seek the Lord and questioned myself whether I wanted to spend the rest of my working life at a deskbound office job. At that time, together with a few ex-ACS schoolmates who were studying in NUS, we set up a training company and made a foray into tuition centres, conducting motivational and training workshops. At these workshops, I realized that I could connect and engage with young minds but it was highly desultory and random.

Not long after, I managed to share my struggle with our late teacher, Dr Teong Su Kwang, during a ACJS Primary 6.8 Class of '93 gathering. She took time to pray with me and for me. As she did this, the Lord began to speak to me and prompt me to take up teaching as a vocation. My Boys’ Brigade teacher and mentor at ACS (Independent), Mr Jonathan Ng also gave me confirmation through his prayers.

With newfound resolution, and an intense desire to give back to my alma mater, I applied to MOE and through Dr Cheah Fung Fong’s recommendation, I was able to speak to Mr Peter Tan, our principal then, to explore the possibility of coming in as a teacher of ACS (Junior).

After Teacher training, I was posted back to ACS (Junior) as an aided-staff. I really felt that I was re-entering the ‘Promised Land’! The Boys are a joy to teach. They have a lot of initiative, take pride in their work and display their individuality through sporting, academic and aesthetic excellence. Quick wit and acuity of mind make conversational interplay extremely enjoyable.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Teaching in a mission school is fulfilling and satisfying. In fact, I look forward to going to school every day! Being part of a larger family of ACS Schools also reinforces this tradition of camaraderie and kinship. This is evident through the love and care shown by my fellow colleagues, teachers and school leaders, Mrs Kathryn Koh, Ms Sharon Liat and Ms Christine Bok.

If you have just finished school or if you are thinking of switching careers, may I ask that you prayerfully consider teaching as a career? 

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