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Making learning fun
Students must be the top priority for principals and teachers, says Madam Tham.
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
MADAM Tham Mun See, 39, did not aspire to move up and be a principal when she began her career as a teacher back in 1992.
Her simple aim was to teach mathematics in a junior college until she retires.
But she was inspired by supervisors and colleagues, especially those at the Ministry of Education (MOE), to be an educator serving a bigger pool of students, parents, and teachers.
The principal of Anderson Secondary School describes her career as a journey of personal and professional growth, and interactions with many people from all walks of life.
A Public Service Commission scholarship took Madam Tham to the University of Cambridge in England where she got a Master of Arts (MA) in mathematics.
She also spent one year at the National Institute of Education (NIE) to get a post-graduate diploma in education.
After teaching at Jurong Institute for three years from 1992, she was posted to MOE's curriculum planning and development division, where, as a curriculum specialist, she reviewed the mathematics curriculum for junior colleges.
She was encouraged by her boss to apply for the MOE scholarship to go to Stanford Un iversity in the United States to get a MA in education.
After completing the course in 1999, she worked in MOE's higher education division where she did policy work related to universities.
Two years later, she became vice-principal of Swiss Cottage Secondary School.
She has been the principal of Anderson Secondary School since December 2005 after completing the nine-month leaders in education programme in NIE.
Madam Tham works with a team of dedicated teachers who give top priority to their students.
It was tough for her and her teachers to reach out and help bright underperforming students with family and other problems to improve their marks.
But they accomplished their target through the persistent efforts and sincerity in wanting to help such students.
One of them is a national basketball player who scored good O-level results and was admitted into Hwa Chong Junior College.
She went back to Anderson Secondary School last year with a reporter from a sports magazine.
The reporter wanted to know how she was inspired by Madam Tham to do well in sports and in her studies.
"That was an unexpected high point for me," Madam Tham says, adding that many people have fond memories of Anderson Secondary School.
"I want to continue to maintain this tradition."
"As a principal, I want to help create a culture for people to love to come to school where they have friends helping them to learn and grow."
"I always tell my staff you have to continue to learn and grow."
"You need to learn and grow in any profession."
"Happy teachers building their skills and knowledge and the strong morale of their students are the key factors to improve a school's performance," Madam Tham says.