Raffles Institution (Year 1-4)

[Verysuperkiasu]

Any year 4 parent going for gap sem briefing on 29 July?

[iFirefly]

Verysuperkiasu:

Any year 4 parent going for gap sem briefing on 29 July?

Hi VSK..

How have you been ?

I'll be at the Gap Sem briefing on 29/7. Will also be attending another briefing for DS' International Course. Is your DS going overseas for Gap Sem ?

[iFirefly]

Wishing Raffles Institution,


Happy 192nd Founder's Day !! :rahrah:


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[gardenia64]

Dear all,


Can I check all of u whether there is ESIP at school ?

[mum02]

Hi parents,

With all the bad press abt the "crooks" who were past alumni of RI, I am wondering whether the school develop the child holistically or whether it is very results driven and neglect the moral aspects.
I have nothing against RI ( I was from RGS myself). I just hope to hear comments from parents of RI on their views on this – is the competitiveness driving the students to do whatever is needed to get ahead?

[ngl2010]

mum02:

Hi parents,

With all the bad press abt the \"crooks\" who were past alumni of RI, I am wondering whether the school develop the child holistically or whether it is very results driven and neglect the moral aspects.
I have nothing against RI ( I was from RGS myself). I just hope to hear comments from parents of RI on their views on this -- is the competitiveness driving the students to do whatever is needed to get ahead?

I think the so called crooks are around our age. :roll: Since you are a Rafflesian, was the competitiveness at that time has driven the students (alumni) to do whatever is needed to get ahead?

[RafflesianSnr]

Not a parent but I figured I’ll chip in as well. I believe that it’s just the press emphasising the ‘crook’s’ school when he comes from a prestigious one. You rarely see other schools being mentioned, if ever. It’s just that black sheep from prestigious schools are in the spotlight whenever the media has the opportunity to.


Personally, I think the school does develop everyone. In addition to character leadership classes weekly, leadership opportunities are offered to all capable. As for values there is some emphasis, but IMO it’s less than what he would have experienced in primary school. As far as I am aware, teachers don’t pressure you to achieve a certain grade point or the like. Most just want your child to treat the subject seriously and to do their best. Most, if not all, would be more than happy to offer help. The pressure comes mostly from students and more often than not, parents. Comparison of results are inevitable and occurs very frequently during the post-exam period. Of course, this varies with classes: some are more competitive and others, less. This, coupled with parents’ pressure to perform decently/ do as well as or better than classmates, is what eventually ends up creating the pressure to perform.

What would you consider as holistic development? I could elaborate more on certain aspects.

[Fairy]

Deleted

[pirated]

Fairy:

Raffles Institution now a ‘middle-class’ school, says principal, Education News & Top Stories - The Straits Times - http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/e ... -principal


I consider this a 'betrayal' by one of its own.
I believe this situation does not only exist in RI. How about ACS, HCI...?

Both my dc are Rafflesians from yr1-6 and we are not from the class that CPM refers to in his speech. Do we feel disadvantaged? Yes and No. Yes, when compared to the whole of Singapore, not particularly in RI. Admission to RI is in fact based on merit, just that children who are blessed with more resources have a leg up. This is a national issue, not school specific.

Do I feel envious, angry and disadvantaged just because most people around me are driven in cars while I take the public transport? Do I feel unjustified while others stay in private while I stay in public housing? The answer is NO. If we aspire towards Equality in resources, we may have to consider communism.

If what CPM says is true, then please abolish the 1823 fund and other assistance schemes in the school. There is no such need then.

Perhaps, CPM = communist party of malaya

Or, if they need to wayang, at least do a more credible show

[sushi88]

When I read the speech by the P and when I read remarks about his speech, first question I had was \"What triggered this?\"


As far as I know...RI can be well-attended by kids from elite families...but.... Well, LKY's theory largely is working in a big way here because if the kids are from highly educated parents genes and highly educated parents are doing well professional, it is inevitable that the kids can come from elite families. And we cannot fault them on that because no one can choose which family he is born into. Families can be better off but if the child has no grit to push himself, they cannot survive the learning journey too.

As for elitism, to me, that is a strong sense of entitlement. So far, this is hardly demonstrated from RI as far as I watch from afar. Whatever achievement the kids have made, they also put in a lot of hard work to achieve them. I do not think the kids ever felt that they were entitled to anything except through their sheer efforts.

Then....something struck me on the trigger.... :idea:
It must have been the budget reduction for the top schools by MOE and some parents were not happy with the way it was done without proper explanation. IIRC, it was an impact largely felt by parents from GEP schools and not limited to RI. And seriously, if it was due to this, then I feel that the media has blown this out of proportion because largely, I do not get the feeling that RI has a sense of entitlement to anything, they work hard. And if the P wanted to chide them for that incident internally, I feel it is something internal to RI. It is a dialogue that just need to be open internally, two-ways, since info from MOE was not clear either.

Being elite and exhibiting elitism(elitist) is definitely two different matters. Having more students from elite middle-class families does not necessarily make them exhibit elitism or behave like elitists...but perhaps there are some black sheep speaking in tones that marred the image of RI... :sad: Just to quote more boys schools with high presence of middle-class families, ACI, HCI, SJI, CHS, ST Andrews etc....so all of them elitists and showing elitism? No right? In fact, having more affluent families is a general phenomenon in SG.