'I was bullied': Marcus Chin recounts being a primary school teacher

While Marcus Chin is known for being multi-talented in hosting, acting and singing, he was also once a primary school teacher.

The 72-year-old revealed in an interview with 8World published today (Sept 3) that after graduating from secondary school, he attended a training college for teachers for two years as he believed teaching was a stable career then.

After he completed his training, Marcus taught Chinese at Permaisura Primary School for two years.

He recalled: "I was only 21 years old at the time and was assigned to teach the 'most capable' class, which included 15-year-old students who had been retained for two to three years. I wasn't tall and was 'bullied' badly."

He also shared that when he taught physical education, some female students would use their menstruation as an excuse to skip classes, which he "can't do anything about".

According to the Ministry of Education Heritage Centre website, Permaisura Primary School closed in 1992 and merged with New Town Primary School. From 2011 to 2020, the MOE Heritage Centre was located in the former campus at Commonwealth Drive. The campus was demolished in 2024 for housing development.

Marcus recalled while he was teaching, he was also a screenwriter for the local children programme Home in Toa Payoh (transliteration, 1977).

"During lessons, I would ask the students to copy from their textbooks, while I would be busy writing the script [for Home in Toa Payoh]. Now that I think about it, it was leading young people astray," he laughed.

Marcus said his experiences during his teaching stint had made him feel that there wasn't any future in his career and his interest dwindled over time. When he was scouted by Singapore Armed Forces Music and Drama Company later, he left without second thoughts.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com