NIE Registration

This is actually my second time in Singapore. Two years ago, I visited to celebrate a good friend's last days as a bachelor (Gino, what's up!). It was a week and a half of good times with good company. I'll just leave it at that. Entering the country was a breeze. I handed over my passport, received my 90-day tourist card, and went about my business. This time around, I'd need something a bit different for my five-month stay.

Immigration, like many things here, is rigidly regulated. About 40% of Singapore's population of 5.6 million people are foreign born. Most are here on work permits. In order to remain in the country, I'd need to apply for a student visa. Securing it has been a months-long back and forth between the Ministry of Education, the National Institute of Education, and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. The end is near, though. I've got an appointment at ICA on February 11. Hopefully I'll walk out of there, pass in hand.

At the end of orientation week, Jenn and I journeyed to the National Institute of Education with our MOE buddies to complete our university registration. My student visa is contingent on my enrollment there. My enrollment was contingent on my presenting originals of my postsecondary transcripts and degree scrolls. In the end, it all worked out, and within half an hour I was officially registered at the NIE. While there, I stopped in to chat with my faculty advisor, Berinderjeet Kaur, Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education. She will serve as a resource and thought partner for me as I implement my inquiry project. She is soft-spoken, wise, and a skilled practitioner of the two-handed handshake. I left her office after our half-hour meeting with a new book and an invitation for tea in tow. I am looking forward to learning from and with her over the next few months.

A bit about the course I'm auditing. It is called Understanding Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice. The class, led by Professors Jiang Heng and Fang Yanping, meets every Monday evening from 6 to 9 pm. This semester, we will explore several questions about teachers, teaching, and teacher education: How do teachers acquire the knowledge, skills, and values that form their professional identity? How has teaching as a practice been historically understood by scholars, practitioners, and policymakers? What does this look like in contexts around the world?

Most of us 30 students hail from Singapore, but others come from Spain, China, the US, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Poland. We are teachers at the primary, secondary, and university level. One woman teaches an online course to 10,000 (!!!) students. Most are full-time students on sabbatical. Having met twice already, I'm struck both by the ways our experiences differ in our respective systems and by the common dilemmas and frustrations that bind us together. What a community I've joined!

Next up, Singapore Art Week!

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