On Feb. 18, Christian educators in Singapore will come together to start the year with fresh vision and renewed expectations.
By Yong Yung Shin
PHOTO: Shutterstock.
The recent cases of alleged misconduct among government officers have brought to light the increasing need for the right values to be instilled in the future leaders of our society. More than ever, schools are not just training grounds for a paper qualification and teachers not just enforcers of rules and regulations, but learning grounds for moral leadership, demonstrated by teachers committed to bring out the best in them.
IMPACT!, an annual prayer gathering happening on Feb. 18, seeks to inspire and empower local educators to rise up to these challenges through a time of sharing and prayer. It is co-organized by EduNet and LoveSingapore, a network of local churches.
The event will see Christian educators coming together to pray for the education arena on multiple levels: for Godly insight and foresight in the drawing up of sound policies and curriculums, for schools to be safe, creative and life-transforming communities for students, for favor to be upon all the educators to be agents of transformation in the lives of their students and for students themselves to be hungry for personal growth and be change-makers in their communities.
“Perhaps more significantly, this gathering of like-minded educators aspires to spark a connection and prayer support to galvanize our hearts and prepare us for the impact God has in store for each of us to achieve in our marketplace calling this year,” says Ng Yeow Ling, principal of North View Primary School and a member of EduNet.
The focus of the prayer meeting reflects the message shared by Ms Ho Ching at the “Start of School Year” Tea for the Academy of Principals on Jan. 11. In her address, she highlighted three major global forces impacting the societies of the future—ageing demographics, a digitized society and a global rebalancing of political and economic forces, all of which converge to create a future world for which there are no known models. As such, the leaders of tomorrow will need to know how to transform knowledge into wisdom, and to discern the difference between trifling and fundamental essentials.
“At the core, we can only hope that we can continue to equip our next generation with the best gift we can give them, as teachers and parents, and as a country and a people: the gift of education and thinking—education in values and character, education in knowledge and critical thinking. Wisdom they will have to acquire—to know when they have to make calculations for the larger good and for the longer “term,” she says.
For educators who are looking to refresh their vision in tandem with the changing times, this is a good way to start the new year.
IMPACT! is on Feb. 18 (Sat), 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a .m. at ACS Barker Road (Drama Centre). For enquiries, contact Terence Ng at terenceng@agape.org.sg or +65 6299 5560. More information is also available on http://www.teachermoment.sg
