Today, all five of the US Fulbrighters went to the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST) to meet with the MOE and AST folks who are mainly responsible for “handling” us while we are here. Derek Tan gave us an overview of the Singapore education system, including a history of the main drivers of school policy since the country’s inception. It was very interesting and he allowed us to ask questions and talk freely with him.

I met my buddy teacher, Dorcas, today, too. She is working at AST in the professional development division of AST. As a former music teacher, she helps create programs to help other in-service teachers continue to learn. I learned that teachers can choose between three tracks for their career in education: teaching, administration, or curriculum. Teachers can apply to rotate out of teaching for 2 – 3 years to work at AST and then go back to teaching. MOE encourages this so that teachers have a seat at the table as policy is developed and so teachers can develop their own leadership skills. What a concept!

In the picture below, all five US teachers are along the wall and the MOE/AST folks surround us.

After our meeting in the morning, we went to a mall for lunch and then stayed for a bit to do some shopping. It was recommended to us to buy AIRism t-shirts to wick away sweat under our clothes. The schools that we will be visiting do NOT have air-conditioning, so we have to be prepared to be hot. I bought two.

After lunch, we went back to AST to ensure that we have all the documents read that we will need for matriculation at NIE, which Freddy is going to help us with. It seems to be a complicated process, which includes being issued a student pass. The student pass is the document that will allow us to stay in the country for more than 90 days.