Born into a family of educators, Miss Ganeshini Sri Kanthan’s career path was predestined.
Her mother was a Tamil teacher for over 30 years, and her younger sister is a teacher at the Ministry of Education (MOE). “Even my dad, a police officer, was an instructor at the police academy, so he did some form of teaching too,” the 43-year-old said.
Her penchant for science led her to pursue an undergraduate degree in materials engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), but her passion for teaching prompted her to apply for the MOE’s Teaching Award in her penultimate year.
“After I graduated from NTU, I just crossed over the bridge to the National Institute of Education (NIE), and started my training in teaching,” Ms Ganeshini quipped.
She then spent five years as a science teacher at Junyuan Secondary School in Tampines, during which she took a gap year to complete her master’s degree in science communication from the National University of Singapore in 2011.
When the opportunity to join the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) as a teacher in the Youth Homes arose in 2013, Miss Ganeshini seized it.
She felt the role’s specifications suited her because they aligned with her prior experience teaching students from the Normal Technical (NT) stream.
“I really enjoyed teaching students from the Normal Academic (NA) and NT streams, because some of them do come from troubled family backgrounds,” Ms Ganeshini explained. “They look up to the teachers as role models for support, and the curriculum also allows you more time to engage the students in more interesting ways.”
Challenges with transition
However, Ms Ganeshini’s transition from mainstream schools to youth homes would not be easy.
She recalled an incident that almost led her to quit three months into the job, when she was threatened by one of the students. Her strict teaching style had not boded well with one student, who was in a bad mood at the time.
“I came into class, and he had put his head on the table, so I asked him firmly if he was ready for class,” Ms Ganeshini said. “It was my fault, because my tone was not right. It only triggered him further, and I did not give myself the opportunity to understand where he was coming from.”
The student then stood up, easily towering over his teacher due to his tall stature, and confronted her, “What’s your problem?” In a bid to retain control, Ms Ganeshini told him that if he was not ready for class, he should leave.
“At that point, I didn’t understand the psyche of the kids. In their language, they perceive things differently, and my ultimatum triggered him even more, because it was like a challenge.”
The student was later formally reprimanded for his defiance, which only deepened his animosity.
“For about a few months, he refused to look into my face or talk to me,” Ms Ganeshini said. “I literally had a breakdown in the staff room. I had always been the teacher the students were scared of, but this was the first time I felt scared of the student.”
With the support of her colleagues, she decided to stay on. One day, the student asked his friend how to answer a certain question in class, and received an incorrect answer. Upon hearing it, Ms Ganeshini immediately approached him and politely clarified the situation.
At that moment, she saw him realise: “Hey, I should let go of my ego, because this woman is trying to help”. The student eventually wrote Ms Ganeshini a letter, thanking her “for not giving up on him”.
It was in the same class that she also had issues with a very rowdy group of boys. Her uncouth impression of them would change when her mother was hospitalised with pneumonia in 2014.
“We knew that she was going to go, so I came into class, and my face was totally down. The boys looked so soft that day. They actually looked at me and asked if I was okay.”
Miss Ganeshini shared the truth with them, and the group responded with unexpected kindness and empathy. “These kids, even though they can have a very hard front, it’s just a wall,” she explained.
Throughout her 18-year career, Miss Ganeshini has maintained an effervescent enthusiasm in the classroom, which continues into her current roles as senior teacher and education officer at the Singapore Girls’ Home.
“Ms Ganeshini’s unwavering commitment to continuous improvement and staying current with the latest developments in teaching and learning reflects the high standards we maintain in our educational programmes,” said Mr Ow Keok Leong, principal for education at the MSF Youth Homes.
Separately, the Youth Homes also leverage digital tools to support officers in their daily work. For example, time-consuming processes such as paperwork and cross-referencing of files have been digitalised through the Home Central Information System (HCIS).
This helps streamline processes and allows officers like Ms Ganeshini to spend more time engaging with and supporting the youths.
