Newsletter Articles
Feature Interview with Ms. Nuraliza Osman
I was invited by the Apnea Association of Singapore (AAS) to interview Ms. Nuraliza Osman, the former Miss Universe Singapore and the first record holder in freediving in Singapore in 2021. The interview was published in June 2021 in the first edition of the Immersion magazine.
I was invited by the Apnea Association of Singapore (AAS) to interview Ms. Nuraliza Osman, the former Miss Universe Singapore and the first record holder in freediving in Singapore in 2021. The interview was published in June 2021 in the first edition of the Immersion magazine.
| immersion.pdf |
Pursuing a Freediving Dream in Roatán, Honduras
This article was published in MENEWS, the official newsletter of Mensa Singapore, October-November 2019. I was invited by Hajar Ali, the editor, to write an article about taking a path less traveled to pursue our dreams. So in this article, I share the story of how I met Anqi Lim while traveling in Colombia in May 2019 and how we decided together to form Team Singapore to participate in the CMAS Freediving World Championships in Roatán, Honduras in August 2019. This is our story.
This article was published in MENEWS, the official newsletter of Mensa Singapore, October-November 2019. I was invited by Hajar Ali, the editor, to write an article about taking a path less traveled to pursue our dreams. So in this article, I share the story of how I met Anqi Lim while traveling in Colombia in May 2019 and how we decided together to form Team Singapore to participate in the CMAS Freediving World Championships in Roatán, Honduras in August 2019. This is our story.
| pursuing_a_freediving_dream.pdf |
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Journal Articles
Storytelling in the Social Studies Classroom
Many teachers tell stories. They take a story, whether their own or another’s, and turn it into the experience of their students. This article showcases four stories from secondary social studies classrooms in Singapore that illustrated how teachers have used stories for various purposes. Stories were observed to be used to teach morals, inspire empathy and cultural understanding, engage students, and help them acquire thinking skills such as assessing the reliability of sources. Stories, when used effectively, can achieve multiple purposes, many of which are aligned with the kinds of citizenship qualities and skills we want to see developed in learners of all ages. Suggestions on how teachers can incorporate storytelling in their lessons are provided at the end of this paper. Even though the four stories are from the secondary level, the ideas and suggestions in this article can have application in primary social studies classrooms as well.
Many teachers tell stories. They take a story, whether their own or another’s, and turn it into the experience of their students. This article showcases four stories from secondary social studies classrooms in Singapore that illustrated how teachers have used stories for various purposes. Stories were observed to be used to teach morals, inspire empathy and cultural understanding, engage students, and help them acquire thinking skills such as assessing the reliability of sources. Stories, when used effectively, can achieve multiple purposes, many of which are aligned with the kinds of citizenship qualities and skills we want to see developed in learners of all ages. Suggestions on how teachers can incorporate storytelling in their lessons are provided at the end of this paper. Even though the four stories are from the secondary level, the ideas and suggestions in this article can have application in primary social studies classrooms as well.
| storytelling_in_the_social_studies_classroom.pdf |
Postmodern Patriotism: Teachers’ Perceptions of Loyalty to Singapore
The purpose of this paper is to explore humanities teachers’ perceptions of patriotism in Singapore by addressing two questions. First, what are teachers’ understandings of patriotism? Second, what are teachers’ attitudes toward patriotism as a quality of good citizenship? The qualitative case study approach was used, with semi-structured interviews and classroom observations as data sources. The participants were four teachers from diverse backgrounds with distinct perceptions of patriotism. Data analysis methods included writing teacher profiles and thematic coding. Teachers were generally positive toward patriotism and understood it in four ways: cosmopolitan, nationalistic, social-movement and person oriented. These themes were not mutually exclusive but distributed across the participants in varying extents. These findings show that patriotism is susceptible to individual meaning-making, and there are different scales and expressions of patriotism.
The purpose of this paper is to explore humanities teachers’ perceptions of patriotism in Singapore by addressing two questions. First, what are teachers’ understandings of patriotism? Second, what are teachers’ attitudes toward patriotism as a quality of good citizenship? The qualitative case study approach was used, with semi-structured interviews and classroom observations as data sources. The participants were four teachers from diverse backgrounds with distinct perceptions of patriotism. Data analysis methods included writing teacher profiles and thematic coding. Teachers were generally positive toward patriotism and understood it in four ways: cosmopolitan, nationalistic, social-movement and person oriented. These themes were not mutually exclusive but distributed across the participants in varying extents. These findings show that patriotism is susceptible to individual meaning-making, and there are different scales and expressions of patriotism.
| postmodern_patriotism_teachers_perceptio.pdf |
Rethinking Critical Patriotism: A Case of Constructive Patriotism in Social Studies Teachers in Singapore
Critical patriotism is an ideal in many liberal Western nations. Few studies, however, explore how teachers understand and teach critical patriotism and the possible tensions arising from its adoption, especially in non- Western contexts. This qualitative case study explores the understandings and practices of two Social Studies teachers from an elite girls’ school in Singapore to understand how they negotiate the tensions that arise when critical thinking and patriotism meet. The findings show that the teachers perceive little contradiction between patriotism and critical thinking and, hence, generally taught in line with democratic citizenship education. They encouraged students to discuss controversial policies, brought in diverse perspectives and challenged the status quo. However, sensitive to the socio-political context in Singapore, they sought consensus instead of contestation, gradual change instead of radical change, in contrast to the spirit of critical patriotism. These findings suggest that in Singapore, where communitarian values are promoted, critical patriotism was expressed differently. Constructive patriotism may be a better term to describe the type of patriotism observed in the teachers.
Critical patriotism is an ideal in many liberal Western nations. Few studies, however, explore how teachers understand and teach critical patriotism and the possible tensions arising from its adoption, especially in non- Western contexts. This qualitative case study explores the understandings and practices of two Social Studies teachers from an elite girls’ school in Singapore to understand how they negotiate the tensions that arise when critical thinking and patriotism meet. The findings show that the teachers perceive little contradiction between patriotism and critical thinking and, hence, generally taught in line with democratic citizenship education. They encouraged students to discuss controversial policies, brought in diverse perspectives and challenged the status quo. However, sensitive to the socio-political context in Singapore, they sought consensus instead of contestation, gradual change instead of radical change, in contrast to the spirit of critical patriotism. These findings suggest that in Singapore, where communitarian values are promoted, critical patriotism was expressed differently. Constructive patriotism may be a better term to describe the type of patriotism observed in the teachers.
| rethinking_critical_patriotism_a_case_of.pdf |
Crossing Boundaries: An Exploration of how Three Social Studies Teachers Understand and Teach Patriotism in Singapore
In 1965 Singapore became independent after a two-year merger with Malaysia and over 100 years of British colonization. Since then, the government has been inculcating patriotism in its citizens through educational policies such as the introduction of Social Studies at secondary school. This process of education for patriotism is interesting in the case of Singapore in two respects: how teachers understand the link between patriotism and loyalty to the government; and whether teachers dare to cross boundaries to engage students in discussions that may challenge pro-government views. This study explores the perceptions and practices of three Social Studies teachers to address two issues. First, how do Social Studies teachers understand ‘patriotism’? Second, how do they teach it within or beyond boundaries? The findings show that teachers did not think that patriotism meant loyalty to the government; instead it meant loyalty to one another as Singapore citizens. Though the translation of teachers’ understandings of patriotism into the classroom differed from teacher to teacher, in terms of helping students think critically, there were elements of crossing the boundaries set by the ruling party.
In 1965 Singapore became independent after a two-year merger with Malaysia and over 100 years of British colonization. Since then, the government has been inculcating patriotism in its citizens through educational policies such as the introduction of Social Studies at secondary school. This process of education for patriotism is interesting in the case of Singapore in two respects: how teachers understand the link between patriotism and loyalty to the government; and whether teachers dare to cross boundaries to engage students in discussions that may challenge pro-government views. This study explores the perceptions and practices of three Social Studies teachers to address two issues. First, how do Social Studies teachers understand ‘patriotism’? Second, how do they teach it within or beyond boundaries? The findings show that teachers did not think that patriotism meant loyalty to the government; instead it meant loyalty to one another as Singapore citizens. Though the translation of teachers’ understandings of patriotism into the classroom differed from teacher to teacher, in terms of helping students think critically, there were elements of crossing the boundaries set by the ruling party.
| crossing_boundaries_an_exploration_of_ho.pdf |