IT IS heartening to read of the Government's emphasis on building a quality teaching force and necessary revisions on their compensation to retain good teachers. Even more assuring is the desire of the Ministry of Education (MOE) to seek out 'passionate' would-be teachers, minus the cookie-cutter process of selection.

The question of measuring one's passion comes to mind. How will MOE determine an applicant's level of passion? While we cannot deny the value of recruiting an experienced and more mature candidate, it is tricky to measure his ardour for teaching.

One potential inadequacy in determining a candidate's passion is to limit his record academically. At best, this merely gives an indication of one's ability to absorb and deliver hard information during exams. Many experienced teachers today do not always attribute their success only to their impeccable O or A levels results.

It is also inaccurate to equate passion with youth. Younger teachers may have higher energy levels but may lack the maturity and hardiness of an older colleague. Education Minister Ng Eng Hen himself commented that younger teachers 'pose a bigger challenge to MOE to develop and retain as many of them as possible' (Sept 6). The back gate is as wide as the front, so they say. The teaching profession is not one for the meek at heart. It requires high levels of energy, fortitude and integrity. Such virtues are more often than not acquired through years of experience.

Most important, a passionate teacher keeps his purpose in sight. One of my favourite teachers has to be the late Elizabeth Choy, Singapore's icon of endurance and courage during the Japanese Occupation. Even after she began her teaching career, Mrs Choy never lost faith in herself, her god and her students, many of whom had caught her vision and became teachers. In other words, she was truly a passionate teacher and mentor.

Passion is a measure of one's heart for a cause, person or profession. Taking such a definition into consideration when selecting our future educators will go a long way towards the good moulding of our young minds and hearts.

Raymond Koh

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 23 Oct, 2008.