A Life Well Lived

Take us through your journey to becoming a teacher.
I started my professional career as a Station Manager at SMRT for about two years before I decided to further my studies, so I took up a diploma in Service Management and was posted to Chung Cheng High School (Main) as a Design & Technology (D&T) instructor.

Funnily enough, I contemplated resigning just three days into the job as I had to walk quite a distance to get to classes within the school, which is very big—it currently has seven buildings!

Ultimately, I decided to stay because of the people, the students, and the environment. It’s been 25 years in my first school, and I think it will be my last too.

What has been the biggest change you’ve seen in the education system in the past 25 years?
There’s been many innovations in education nowadays with the use of media and technology. Like it or not, we have to learn and adapt, or we won’t be able to survive.

In my case, I picked up 3D printing, laser cutting, and computer programming, which are some of the new subjects that have been added into the curriculum in the last five years.

Share with us a piece of advice you give to your students?
The most important lesson I teach my students is to respect their elders and everything will be in order. Some students start to lose balance in life because they don’t have respect for others.

You also mentioned that you used to be a photographer, is this something you’re still active in?
I used to do wedding photography, but I quit because it’s really tiring, although I do still share my skills with my colleagues and students sometimes.

Back in the day, we used a 35mm film camera so it wasn’t as instant as it is now, and you either succeed or mess up in every photo.

I’ve had a few experiences where I failed to wind the camera properly and only found out after taking about 30 shots. In situations like these, I would have to put my camera in a black box, stick my hands in, and feel around till I could wind the film up properly, all while the wedding was ongoing! But luckily, I would usually still manage to snap some good photos after.