Latest news with #teaching
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Independent Singapore
Ex-teacher goes viral: How she's educating 'millions' without a classroom, but reactions are mixed
SINGAPORE: When an ex-teacher swapped her lesson plans for the cameras and ring lights, only a few expected she would become an online hit. But that's exactly what she became. Today, with millions of viewers learning from her through social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and recently via her feature on #DailyKetchup Episode 438, she's at the epicentre of a countrywide discussion about professional teaching, education, creativity, and the real meaning and purpose of 'instruction.' The ex-teacher in question? Kong Man Jing, better known online as Biogirl MJ, co-founder of Just Keep Thinking — a Singapore-based science and nature education channel that's won over a massive following with its fun, accessible content. Her catching the limelight and bursting onto the scene has sparked a rush of online commentary. Some congratulated her for daring to leave the limitations of the conventional classroom and share knowledge using her methods. Others are more cynical, doubtful about the usefulness and depth of her content. 'She's not really teaching foundational science,' one commenter said. 'It's more niche topics she's personally interested in. But I love that she's doing what she wants, free from a system that often stifles creativity.' It's a sentiment many teachers can relate to. Teachers are usually hidden behind an inflexible curriculum, administrative responsibilities, and a cutthroat system intended more for assessments than genuine learning and curiosity. 'The syllabus could be trimmed or restructured,' the commenter continued. 'We teach theories, but rarely the 'why' behind them. There's little emphasis on how science works, so students just end up memorising facts to pass exams.' Another viewer commented with a more personal reflection: 'She has the self-awareness to realise she might not be great at managing or communicating with people in a classroom setting. That's commendable in itself.' Others just relish her content for what it is. 'It gives me Saturday morning science show vibes,' one follower commented, recalling the wistful delight of learning for fun instead of just for grades. See also Gardens by the Bay's Christmas Wonderland 2018 Nonetheless, not all were persuaded that this shift demonstrates anything about conventional training. One commenter narrated that she used to work at The Learning Lab, a famous tuition centre, not a typical university. 'That's quite different from teaching in a public-school setting,' the commenter noted. 'And she even said she was quite satisfied with her job there.' But the most reverberating remark came from this Redditor: 'This just proves that teachers want to teach. The researching, planning, prepping, delivering, refining—that's the heart of it. It's all the extra bureaucracy, all the KPIs and admin nonsense, that drives teachers away.' And that's the real substance of the story here, not about a teacher abandoning education or her usual teaching duties, but about someone overhauling and reinventing what it means to teach. Whether via the classroom, a camera lens, or a viral video, she's doing what many teachers do best — sparking curiosity, nurturing interest, and prompting the imagination. See also Princess Diana's former abode gets a new look In a world where the conventional structures are often too stiff for novelty and too unyielding for innovation, her journey raises a compelling question: If the objective is to instigate learning and stir the imagination, do we really need a classroom at all?
Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Grown-up Gaeltacht: ‘The week I spent in Ring - the people I met, the culture - was the best thing I could have done'
Leah Foley had returned from a year in Canada , and was emerging from a significant break-up, when she decided it was time to 'revamp' her life. A second-level music teacher by training, the Co Clare woman found work in administration after graduating from college during the pandemic. Teaching jobs 'didn't exist then', she recalls. After several years in admin, she went to Canada. 'And then I came home to Lahinch and fell back in love with the place. My training was for post-primary but I always loved working with younger kids so I decided to do a master's in primary teaching.' To become a primary teacher, Foley needed to re-sit her Leaving Cert Irish exam. She spent nine months studying the language before taking the exam in June. However, before all this, and following the advice of her grandmother, she spent a week at the Coláiste na Rinne adult Irish language course in Co Waterford . 'That week I spent in Ring was a massive turn around for me – the people I met, the culture I dived into – six weeks after a significant break-up, it was the best thing I could have done. It also reignited an interest in education, something I didn't realise I was missing. READ MORE 'Five years ago I had no interest in speaking Irish but this has sparked a new passion. I think everyone should experience the Gaeltacht and its people – their outlook on the Irish language is so different from ours, it's a really beautiful thing to witness.' Foley is one of the growing number of Irish adults choosing, for personal and professional reasons, to spend time in a Gaeltacht region and improve their native language skills. Some 13 providers currently offer adult courses across Gaeltacht areas, ranging from Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge in Co Galway to Coláiste Uisce in Co Mayo and Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne in Co Kerry. Rónán Ó Dochartaigh, manager of the Oideas Gael adult Irish language and cultural courses in southwest Donegal, says student numbers are increasing year on year, notwithstanding the break in classes during the pandemic. In 2024, Oideas Gael welcomed 2,200 students during its summer, Easter and bank holiday weekend courses, accounting for 15,000 bed nights in the Gleann Cholm Cille and Gleann Fhinnne Gaeltacht areas. Leah Foley: 'Five years ago I had no interest in speaking Irish but this has sparked a new passion.' Photograph: Liam Burke/Press 22 Students are aged between 18 and 88, with courses ranging from beginner to advanced levels for fluent speakers. Some 60-65 per cent of students are Irish, while the remainder come from across Europe and North America, with recent attendees travelling from New Zealand, Argentina and Paraguay, says Ó Dochartaigh. Their presence in the Donegal Gaeltacht makes a 'two-way contribution', he says. 'We want to help people learn the language but they're helping us as well. People always focus on the economic, and that's great, but more importantly it strengthens the language. The Irish language has survived here but it's still under pressure and people coming here creates a strong incentive to speak Irish.' 'There has been a lot of talk of an explosion of interest in Irish in recent years because of popular culture but I think it's been a long time coming. There's been a general shift in attitudes and then you have the changes in recent decades like Raidió na Gaeltachta, TG4 and the Cailín Ciúin effect, with Irish language projects succeeding on the world stage. I think Covid also changed people's relationship to this country. A lot of the baggage has been removed.' [ An Cailín Ciúin study guide launched to help with Irish language education Opens in new window ] Ian Mac Gabhann, adult language education officer with Gael Linn, says numbers attending the organisation's adult courses in Gaoth Dobhair, Co Donegal, are also increasing. He believes people have 'eventually got over the hurdle of people solely seeing Irish as a school subject'. 'I didn't like Irish in school, I wasn't great at it and now I work fully through Irish. I think with the increase in different nationalities in our country, we hear other languages and ask ourselves, 'why don't I understand my own language'.' 'There's more respect for the language and a healthier mindset towards it,' says Mac Gabhann. 'The question 'an bhfuil Gaeilge agat' no longer means 'are you fluent in Irish'. It just means, do you have some Irish.' Visual artist Clare Henderson, who spent a week in the Waterford Gaeltacht last year, decided to spend €980 on the course (which covers classes, accommodation and full board) because she felt the 'loss' of not speaking her native language. 'I don't want to use the word shame but it's really sad as a postcolonial country we don't have our own fluent national language. As I get older, I realise how deep that goes, how much was taken away from us. 'I have friends who speak fluent Irish and it's beautiful and impressive, it motivates me to learn more. I think historically there was this idea Irish culture was passé but that's changing. And this isn't just because Kneecap are cool, Kneecap are part of that timeline of change.' [ Kneecap's use of Irish is perfectly in tune with Eoin MacNeill's vision Opens in new window ] While Henderson loved the Irish classes in Waterford, she was disappointed with the cultural activities offered in the afternoon. 'They were bad because they were in English and for me that was a massive loss of learning. I'm not a child and I'm not sad about speaking English with my friends. We had the best craic but I wanted to be a bit more immersed.' Clare Henderson: 'We had the best craic but I wanted to be a bit more immersed.' Photograph: Alan Rowlette Barbara, who requested only her first name be used, disagrees that total immersion is necessary to improve Irish language skills. 'If you're an adult and you want to learn you'll take the steps to do so.' Having decided to return to college in her 40s to become a primary schoolteacher, Barbara had to spend two fortnight stints in a Gaeltacht region over two summers. Her first experience in Ráth Chairn, Co Meath, was 'awful' she says. Accommodation and food standards were low and teaching was 'haphazard'. 'We were paying a lot of money to do this on top of our college fees, and those of us with children had to organise two weeks of childcare. It's a back-breaking commitment.' Her second course the following year in the Connemara Gaeltacht region of Carna was much more positive, she says. 'It was still strict, they took roll call three times a day, but you felt like you were attending proper Irish lectures and the accommodation was immeasurably better.' Barbara has 'mixed feelings' about the requirement for primary schoolteachers to spend time in the Gaeltacht. 'I think the cultural element is lovely and I did improve my Irish but I'd probably have learned just as much doing lectures Monday to Friday out in UCD. I know the Gaeltacht areas need more of a spotlight and I'm very interested in preserving the language but it felt a bit like an exercise in propping up the Gaeltacht.' Research carried out last year by Gaelchultúr, in collaboration with Údarás na Gaeltachta, found two-thirds of Irish people regretted not speaking better Irish, while three quarters agreed the language is essential to the identity of Irish people. Some 64 per cent of respondents in the Amárach Research survey of 1,000 people said the Government needs to do more to support Gaeltacht communities. A spokesman for the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht said the Government remained committed to the successful implementation of the official languages act and the normalisation of the Irish language as part of the provision of public services in this country. The act includes a provision that 20 per cent of new public service recruits be proficient Irish speakers by the end of 2030. Since 2021, the number of civil servants taking Government-provided Irish language courses has increased by 140 per cent. While the Government does not financially support Gaeltacht courses for adults, it continues to subsidise courses for second-level students and third-level undergraduate trainee teachers, he said. Last year, 27,000 students attended these Irish college courses, exceeding pre-Covid numbers. Pádraig Mac Brádaigh, vice-president for Gaeilge at Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (formerly the Union of Students in Ireland) believes Gaeltacht immersion is the only way to fully appreciate the depth of the Irish language. 'The type of Irish you learn in a Gaeltacht course is so much richer, it gives you that 'saibhreas teanga' (richness of language). There's a lot of ways to express yourself that you're not really taught in a classroom and you develop a much deeper connection with the language.' Pádraig Mac Brádaigh, vice-president for Gaeilge at Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn. Photograph: Barry Cronin Mac Brádaigh attended Gaeltacht courses in the Connemara village of an Cheathrú Rua in recent years during his Irish language degree at Trinity College. Attendees on the courses included undergraduate students training to be primary schoolteachers, he says. He claims some of 'these students didn't even try to speak Irish, they actually made fun of us Trinity students for speaking Irish. These are the people who will be teaching hundreds of children this language and they didn't care. It was shameful.' Unlike every other student on his Gaeltacht course, Mac Brádaigh did not learn Irish at school. The grandson of Irish emigrants from Co Cavan, he was born and brought up in New York. 'I grew up with friends in New York who spoke loads of different languages and they told me I was a basic white person with no culture. And as blunt as that may sound, they were correct. That's why I had to learn my language. And as soon as I started learning, I felt it was a huge part of me that was missing.' Mac Bradaigh, who passed A-level Irish and the TEG (Irish language proficiency exam) before studying Irish at Trinity, became the university's first full-time student union Irish language officer. He agrees there is a general change in mindset towards the language but is concerned the interest could be short lived. 'Irish has become trendy but action needs to follow. If you look at the last census the number of people speaking Irish every day is falling. Any person with a newfound passion for Irish should be praised but also encouraged to scratch below the surface and look at the real state of the language. The trendiness of Irish means nothing unless we do something about it.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Valley woman and son team up to promote brain health
Genein Letford is taking what she has learned from spending 15 years as a teacher to educate all of us about how to power up our brains for a changing world. She's hoping to raise awareness for things like brain disease, inspire more brain creativity, and also teach people about something called "Brain Capital," which she says is a combination of brain health and brain skills. To do all of this, she has recruited a pint-sized helper who is already having a huge impact: her son! Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Liverpool teachers retire after 67 years at same school
Three teachers who have notched up 67 years in the classroom at the same school in Liverpool are set to Jeremy Barnes, deputy head Joan Maguire and higher level teaching assistant Clair Fealey all described working at All Saints Catholic Primary School in Anfield as "an absolute joy".Ms Maguire, who has taught at the school for 15 years, said she felt "really sad" to be leaving, adding: "I've had such a wonderful time here. "It's been a privilege to serve the children here and the community of Anfield but I do know I'm leaving the school in really good hands and I know it will go on from strength to strength," she added. She said all the staff "look out for one another and we go that extra mile both for our pupils and for our staff" and she would take away with her "the joy and the laughter of being here".Mr Barnes said the school had "gone from strength to strength" and it was "an absolute haven". "I think the Ofsted team in March used that word, haven - a place of absolute joy - and it's a pleasure to be here," he Barnes said he had met past pupils over the last few days and what struck him was the fact they were "doing wonderful things, flourishing in their lives and in their careers, and that has made me so happy".He said he was now planning to work part-time for the Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust, alongside inspection work and some Fealey, who has been at the school for 33 years, said her abiding memory of her time there would be "the community spirit amongst the staff and children."I think it's second to none." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
University in Lincoln voted best in the UK for teaching
Staff at a university are celebrating after students voted it the best in the UK for teaching. Lincoln-based Bishop Grosseteste University, which has more than 2,000 students, ranked first in three categories in the 2025 National Student Professor Andrew Gower said it was "very encouraging to achieve such a notable performance".International Admissions Officer Heather Cliffe said samller campuses "are the future" as they allowed students to "be who they are and not get lost in a crowd". "We're a small campus and everybody is so friendly, you walk around, everybody will say hello to you," Ms Cliffe said. Bishop Grosseteste University is set to change its name to Lincoln Bishop University in September. In the 2025 National Student Survey, the institution was ranked as the best in the UK for teaching, for learning opportunities and for assessment institute was also voted second in the UK for learning resources."This sector-leading success is testament to the dedication and hard work of the staff team and the personalised experience we provide," Professor Gower said. Ms Cliffe said she believed any past "stigma" attached to the word "small" had changed . "People didn't want to go to a small university because they thought they were offering less," she said. She added she believed smaller campuses gave people "the option to really develop who they are". Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
