(Picture: Mrs Francisca (middle) receiving her award from Minister for Education (Schools), Mr Ng Chee Meng. She is flanked by her school principal.)
As a teacher, it is commendable enough to want to bring out the best in every student you teach. What makes Francisca Lazar, a Tamil teacher with Innova Primary School, stand out more is the fact that she also helps students in need.
A member of the Singapore Tamil Teachers’ Union (STTU), the 45-year-old was a recipient of the recent The Most Inspiring Tamil Teachers Award 2017 jointly given by the union, Tamil Murasu and the Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee.
A Caring Heart
Mrs Francisca recounted that in the course of her work she has come across children from all walks of life, sometimes from the vulnerable segments of society.
Her personal motto has always been to help them to the best of her ability.
“A girl was absent from school for three days in a row. I called her parents to find out the reason. After much hesitation, the mother revealed that her children could not afford breakfast as she was unemployed and her husband’s earnings were only enough to feed them once a day. The school bought the family groceries for the month and told them that they will support the children’s food in school. This managed to get the children back to school. The good news is this child eventually scored an A for Tamil, a far cry from her earlier failing grades. She is a true inspiration to all my other pupils,” recounted Mrs Francisca.
An Innovator
Always keen to improve herself, Mrs Francisca is a keen innovator in Tamil teaching pedagogies and frequently shares her ideas with the teaching fraternity.
“I have presented papers at seminars organised by STTU and have been sponsored by STTU to the World Tamil Teacher’s Conference and participated in the International Tamil Seminar Conference. STTU has been a great support in all my contributions towards the Tamil Teachers’ fraternity”, she said.
Sharing his thoughts about Mrs Francisca's achievement, STTU general secretary S Nalluraj said, “The Most Inspiring Tamil Teacher Award serves to recognise the stellar performance of Tamil teachers in their role in educating and promoting Tamil Language among their students. Francisca is an active member of STTU. She has also contributed significantly to the professional development of her fellow members by sharing her best practices and research findings".
Source: NTUC This Week
