'Come and teach in Singapore'
REV DR JOHN BARRETT:
"Singapore is an exciting
place to live and work."
THE Rev Dr John Barrett, Principal of Anglo-Chinese School (International),
has challenged teachers in Britain to come to Singapore to teach.
"Why not come over to Singapore
for one to three years either at the start of your teaching career
or at the end of it?" he said. "I think you will find
it to be as spiritually fulfilling as I have."
In a letter to the Editor of Methodist
Recorder, a London weekly Methodist newspaper, he wrote: "Singapore
Methodism has always seen education as part of its Christian mission
and therefore understands that a Methodist school should not only
offer a broad curriculum, exploring all aspects of God's world
and equipping young people for work within it, but should also
train young people in Christian living and prepare them for Christian
leadership.
"The Methodist Church in
Singapore is bursting with spiritual life. The church my wife
and I attend has six services on a Sunday -- the two main English
services are usually packed, up to a thousand worshippers - and
there is an excitement and expectancy about the worship.
"I have to confess I never enjoyed attending church as much
as I have here each week. And the partnership between the church
and the school is wonderful - the support both in prayer and in
material ways has been amazing.
"I write this letter partly to commend this country and its
Methodist Church to your readers, hoping they will remember it
in their prayers, but also to challenge those who are teachers
to think of coming out to help us.
"We cannot afford salaries that are comparable to those of
teachers in the UK. But you can live very cheaply here and you
can do a lot on a Singapore teacher's salary. We may also be able
to offer basic accommodation and other allowances."
The Rev Dr Barrett said he had not planned to come to work in
Singapore. It was almost two years now since he received a surprise
telephone call from Bishop Dr Robert Solomon inviting him to be
the principal of a new international school -- ACS (International)
-- that The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) felt led by God
to open.
"My wife and I came to Singapore to talk over the church's
plans and explore its vision. Quickly we came to experience for
ourselves the church's sense of calling and to share its excitement
about this opportunity.
"So in the summer of last year I retired from the headship
of The Leys School in Cambridge, and came out to Singapore. The
new school opened in January this year with 120 students; in the
first six months numbers have grown to 200."
Singapore, he said, is an exciting place to live and work. "I
have been visiting the country bi-annually for nearly 20 years
and it is amazing to see how it has changed - not only in its
physical appearance (with its high-rise condominiums; its towering
hotels and office blocks and its designer-label shopping malls)
but in atmosphere. It has always been cosmopolitan, but there
is now a harmonious mix of Asian races living and working together
in a country they all feel is home.
"Furthermore, when I first visited Singapore it was regarded
by overseas visitors as restrictive and overly regimented (though
I don't think Singaporeans felt this). It has become a much more
open and relaxed society and much more obviously democratic with
an ongoing, open debate about its future."
The Rev Dr Barrett can be contacted at john.barrett@acsinternational.com.sg