Filmmakers Behind Award-Winning S'pore Docu On Normal (Technical) Students Weigh In On New Full Subject-Based Banding

If you’re an aspiring educator, then the documentary Unteachable is a must-watch.

Directed by Singapore-born, Chicago-based filmmaker Yong Shu Ling, Unteachable follows young teacher Meixi over a four-year period at Shuqun Secondary where she pilots a new curriculum called Tutorial Relationships, a peer-to-peer learning method designed to help students in the Normal (Technical) stream appreciate the joy of learning and debunk the notion that learning is a rat race for good grades, and more importantly, overcome the social stigma that they are “unteachable”

As a product of the Singapore education system, I find it fascinating and nostalgic to revisit what a day as a secondary student is like. Of course, during my time I had fewer distractions — no smartphone, no social media, no Netflix. (By the way, if you have a math phobia like yours truly, some moments might be triggering. Anyhoo…)

Elsewhere, watching Meixi and her colleagues trying to get the programme off the ground amid obstacles and pushbacks is inspiring, bittersweet, and heart-breaking even (her farewell scene in the end seemed straight out of a movie). But she was rarely seen with a frown, except maybe that time she was annoyed by a few latecomers in her class.

Meixi, currently an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, kind of reminds me of Quinta Brunson’s Janine Teagues in the Emmy-feted comedy Abbott Elementary — someone who is eternally optimistic no matter what life throws at her.

A labour of love seven years in the making, Unteachable debuted at the 2019 Singapore International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award.

The film came out a few months after the Ministry of Education announced that it’ll do away the Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streaming in secondary schools in 2024 and replace it with full subject-based banding (Full SBB).

Per MOE, with Full SBB in secondary schools, “Students will have greater flexibility to study more subjects at different levels that suit their interests, aptitude and learning needs. There will no longer be separate Express, N(A), and N(T) streams, and students will be mixed form classes where they can interact with peers of different strengths and interest.”

The Full SBB was piloted in 28  secondary schools in 2020. It would later be progressively introduced to more secondary schools each year between 2022 and 2024.

“We were already close to finishing the film when MOE made the announcement,” Yong tells 8days.sg. “That’s why it’s not mentioned in any filmed footage or interviews, but instead mentioned in a title card at the end.

"If MOE had not implemented that change, we would still have wanted to end the film on an inspiring note that would galvanise more people to keep trying to make a positive change in our education landscape.”

That said, after 40 years of streaming, how will the system reboot be received? Make no mistake, Unteachable will be part of that public discourse for years to come.

Unteachable is currently showing at The Projector and to mark its return to the big screen, we check in with Yong and producer Lisa Teh (via e-mail) and ‘star’ Meixi (via Zoom) and ask them about their memories of making the documentary, their thoughts on the subject-based banding, and the secret to Ng's perpetual cheeriness. 

8 DAYS: My first reaction after watching Unteachable, I felt like I was watching Abbott Elementary but for real. It’s funny, bittersweet and everything in between. When was the last time you saw Unteachable and when you reminisce about your experience on Unteachable, what will you likely recall first? 

YONG SHULING: It’s been a few years since I’ve watched the film in full. One of my favourite parts of making Unteachable has been seeing how audiences and communities are impacted by the film. As humans, there’s something really powerful and validating about seeing stories like yours being told, so when we hear feedback like “Wow, I feel like I just watched my everyday life on screen”, or “Watching the film made me realise just how much our teachers care about us”, it brings me joy. I believe that before we can change the mind, we must first touch the heart. It was really important to us that we make a film that’s authentic, relatable, and big on heart. It took significantly more time and effort for us to make the film the way we did, and I’m really proud of what our team has been able to accomplish together.

LISA TEH: (laughs)Abbott Elementary! That’s high praise! Thank you so much. The last I saw Unteachable in full was last year, in a room full of primary school teachers at a private event. Much like how we made Unteachable, I sat in the room like a fly on the wall and listened to them talk about the film and how it related to their own teaching experiences. Listening and witnessing authentic stories and experiences — that’s one of my favourite things about making Unteachable — stories connect us and make us feel less alone in the world. Also, can’t forget all the pratas and ice-creams I’ve had with Shuling over the years to celebrate the small and big wins in our journey of making this film!

MEIXI: Oh, man. I think the first time was in 2019, obviously. I have watched it a couple of times since then into the pandemic. As you said, those scenes — like in the classroom, at the assembly — are very raw and they trigger some sort of feeling. They're almost how I remember school life as someone who went through that system. The mundane everyday themes of school jumped back out at me. I think the other scenes that I reminisce fondly are being with the incredible students that you met through the film, and being able to see their growth throughout the four years. It warms my heart and just reminds me of the time that we really try to do something special together as teachers and students. It was a hard journey but I think it was one that will forever be a part of us.

We are all products of the streaming system. I’m amazed that I survived it. It didn’t teach me to appreciate the process of learning, even right till my uni days, I was still leaning on the old learning patterns. Looking back, for better or worse, how did the old system shape you?

YSL: I somehow made it through primary and secondary school by memorization and regurgitation. To me, the teacher was always right, and I got good at learning what kinds of answers would get the most marks on a test. When I got to Northwestern University in the United States, I’ll always remember the first time a professor called on me in class and asked “Shuling, what do you think?” I froze in my seat thinking “What?? You want to know what I think?”. Till today, I still struggle with making my voice heard in a public or large group setting, as self-doubt about whether my answers were good and critically thought-through enough always creeps in. There’s a slight chance I may have overcompensated for it in raising my daughter. She’s five and has no problems letting everybody know what she thinks, whether you ask her or not! Haha!

LT: Yup, there was a lot of memorising… but now ‘all return to cher already’ But similar to you, I found learning a chore, especially in subjects I had little interest in. And I wished there was time to develop a deeper appreciation of why we were learning what we were learning.

MX: That's a great question and I don’t fully have an answer (laughs). I grew up really afraid of being wrong. I remember in Mexico when someone asked me what I was thinking [about a question], my answer didn’t come from a place, ‘Oh, this might be wrong’. I carried so much fear of making mistakes as a student throughout the school system [because I was taught to believe] there's only one right answer. I was always trying to perform to get the answer that the teacher wanted rather than learning from my embodied experiences of the world and how to make sense of them.

The new subject-based banding goes full swing next year. Any thoughts on how Singapore will respond to it? 

YSL: It’s going to take some time to shift our mindsets from what’s been so deeply ingrained in us over the last 40 years of streaming in schools. That said, every marathon begins with a single step, and the move towards full subject-based banding and greater integration of students from diverse backgrounds are steps in the right direction! I look forward to seeing how these first few batches of students grow and flourish into adults, and help build a kinder, more respectful and cohesive society.

LT: Hopefully in the spirit of the joy of learning, and not competition over grades!

MX: I think it’s really exciting — it opens up possibilities for more interaction and social integration, and less focused on grades as a whole. But I also think the responsibility lies with us as a society to think about how can we create the learning cultures that we want. For example, even with no streaming, it'll be like G1, G2, or G3 bands, we could still ask, which subject band is your child in? The labels can continue.

The kids in the film are amazing. How did you make them stay focused? More importantly, how did you get them to be natural in front of the camera and not just put on a show?

YSL: They are amazing! So full of heart. We took the time to build relationships with the teachers, students, and their parents first and shared our vision and goals for the film. We also spent a tremendous amount of time in the classroom. It’s quite different to swoop in for an hour to capture sound bites for a 3-minute news piece, versus being there several times a week for a few years.

MX: I had such a beautiful time, a formative time during my years at Shuqun with all these students. And not to say that there weren’t heartaches and headaches, but I think overall, I’m so proud and in awe of these young people, what they were able to, and, and just, yeah, the wisdom that they brought into class too, about life, about society, about physics, about history. It was just incredible to be part of [their lives].

Speaking of heartaches and headaches, Meixi, throughout the film, you maintained this cheerful disposition. What’s your secret? Seriously, someone should write a song about you.

YSL: So true! I always imagined Meixi spewing sunshine and rainbows, lighting up rooms wherever she went.  

LT: Teacher Meixi, you're so cool/Teaching Tutorial in Shuqun School… That’s as far as my very limited to non-existent songwriting abilities go (laughs). Yes, Meixi deserves a full-on legit song!

MX: I don’t know if there’s a secret. I drew my strength from my relationships with other teachers, the students, and their families. It’s always one of the key motivations.  

Unteachable is showing at The Projector at Golden Mile Tower: Sep 29, 6pm; Sep 30, 5:40pm; Oct 1, 1.45pm; Oct 4, 5.40pm. For more info, visit unteachablefilm.com. For private screening queries, go to str.sg/iq8S

Photos: Media For Social Change