Unlike mainstream teachers who can readily exchange ideas with colleagues in their school or cluster, LSM Teachers are dispersed across the island. LSM Teachers have, therefore, formed a fraternity to help each other devise new approaches to teach and motivate their pupils. The LSM Mentoring Support group is a one-year initiative founded in 2007 to provide mentoring, mutual sharing and networking opportunities for LSM Teachers in their first year.

With a senior LSM Teacher as a mentor, new LSM Teachers can observe lessons in progress and share resources to gain knowledge, skills and confidence to support their pupils. The 13 LSM mentors have between 10 and 40 years of diverse classroom teaching experience as well as LSP teaching stints in English and Mathematics.

The Mentors not only teach pupils and guide their colleagues but also serve as School Coordinating Mentors to trainee teachers and new teachers. Some also mentor Special Needs Officers (SNOs), helping them to implement better specific support to pupils with various special needs.

What determines a successful mentoring relationship? For one, both parties must desire a “win-win” situation. According to LSM Mentor Mrs Linda Hou from Holy Innocents’ Primary School, there must be sincerity and mentors should be able to adjust their support to suit the needs of mentees. Each teacher also can serve as a source of moral support for the other, sharing their experiences, pedagogical knowledge and resources without judgement. LSM Mentor Mdm Joyce Cheng from Xishan Primary School aptly summarises a positive mentoring relationship as one that provides “comfort to all those we are trying to make a difference to”.

For LSM Mentor Mrs Lorna Eng from Raffles Girls’ Primary School, the satisfaction of teaching comes from touching lives and the fondness with which pupils will remember you in years to come. “Teaching is not only about imparting knowledge but, more importantly, the values and the personal touch”, she remarked.

No less fulfilling is the positive legacy one imparts to one’s school and pupils, as exemplified by Mrs Hsu Soh Khim from Yangzheng Primary School, whose philosophy is to “influence change as best as we can, where we are”. Similarly, Mrs Ding Suan Neo from Woodlands Ring Primary School suggests that one should decide on the change one feels one can have impact on and maintain responsibility by keeping to it.

To equip themselves for the important role of LSM mentors, teachers like Mrs Eng, Mrs Hsu and Mdm Cheng continue to further their knowledge and hone their pedagogical skills. LSM Mentor Mdm Fauziah Bte Mohamed Ali from Meridian Primary School also advocates the need to be “positive to changes and not remain stagnant - to upgrade and be open”.

So, what keeps them going? A nurturing mentoring relationship, a network of supportive peers, and a strong desire to make a difference for the child. With good collegial support and the passion to make a difference, LSM teachers know they are not alone as they strive to develop professionally so that they can provide struggling pupils with better support and personalised solutions.