well not exactly a literary piece but an ex-colleague asked me that question and I felt compelled to reveal my heart and so, there you go

So I taught at Naval Base Pri from 2019-2021.
I think MOE has become more intense. You must come in with a strong sense of self and purpose. Otherwise you will get swayed along like driftwood.
Why is it more intense? My experience tells me:

• last time, we just had to attend a course and that’s it. But nowadays, it’s not uncommon for teachers to have to go through an OPAL course before the actual workshop. Some workshops also require us to submit assignments as part of the requirements.
• ⁠with the emphasis on mental health these days, students have to do a check-in survey every term. Or an anti-drug SLS package. Or Young Scientists Badge package. I spend a lot of time chasing after nonchalant students because it’s important to get 💯 participation.
• ⁠daily marking. Your afternoons will be as occupied as the ones in NorthLight. But you have to contend with marking. Let the marking pile up for a few days and you will fall behind
• ⁠traffic warden or canteen duty once or twice a week
• ⁠more students with ADHD who require medication. If one of them suffers a meltdown (not that it happens very often, but once a term is enough), you can forget about teaching

The long and short of it is that there are more things to do (and less bandwidth to accomplish them), so I feel quite suffocated actually. Haha. It’s daily firefighting. You got to be very systematic in the 1-2 things you need/want to accomplish every day and make sure you get them done. Your free periods can be easily consumed when you need to help take students to the sick bay or investigate some wrongdoing or do some counselling. More so than in NorthLight, I feel because the kids involve themselves in quibbles and even petty fights.

The good thing is I live near Yishun Pri Sch, so I drop everything on some afternoons and just go home to catch a breather first. Nap. Haha

I also consciously plan to have afternoon catch-ups at times so that I don’t let the work consume me.