Writer Of The Week

Mr Ee Teck Ee writes mostly about education. He believes that teachers are much more than instructors or "learning facilitators". Every teacher is a parent, just as every parent is a teacher.
Mr Ee Teck Ee writes mostly about education. He believes that teachers are much more than instructors or "learning facilitators". Every teacher is a parent, just as every parent is a teacher. PHOTO: COURTESY OF EE TECK EE

Who: Ee Teck Ee, 77, a retired teacher.

My family: Married to a housewife, who is also a retired teacher. I have one son.

My home: A five-room flat in Sengkang, with wonderful neighbours.

My passions: Collecting stamps, jokes and quotations; reading Chinese poems, idioms and histories; watching films on nature, especially about animals, and films on crime-solving; and travelling to see beautiful scenery.

But above all, I study mathematics as a hobby.

I first started writing to the Forum page: On Dec 22, 1982, under the name of Yu De Yi.

What I write about: Mostly about education.

Not all the old methods of education are outdated and to be discarded. Some of them have stood the test of time for thousands of years and, although not sufficient by themselves, are very necessary.

I firmly believe that teachers are much more than subject instructors or "learning facilitators". Every teacher is a parent, just as every parent is a teacher. None should be a teacher only to have a job.

Why I write: To share my views. I can be quite upset when I come across opinions that I think are absurd. On the other hand, as I read the feedback, I learn that there are other ways to look at the same thing.

I read the Forum page because: It gives the views of other people in my country.

My wish for Singapore: That Singaporeans will take learning as a lifelong hobby and not only as a means of earning a living.

I especially wish that Singaporeans will not be so sensitive to criticism and so averse to new ways of looking at things. Remember the Chinese saying: "Onlookers have a clearer mind than participants."

It is very necessary to see ourselves as others see us.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 20, 2015, with the headline Ee Teck Ee: Singaporeans should not be so sensitive to criticism. Subscribe