Are good schools really necessary for our kids?

[Lock]

xxjustakidxx:

I think it is encouraged. They're feeder schools (NYPS, SNGS, MGS), they produce great results, even for mainstream (although their kids aren't different from others) and that proves that they have excellent teachers.

I beg to differ. The kids from NYPS, SNGS, MGS are different from neighbourhood schools. Not in terms of intelligence and capabilities but in terms of wealth and abundant resources available to help them obtain very good results. All my friends who have their kids in NYPS, MGS and RGPS have attested that a large majority of students there has tuition for every subjects, some even 2 tuitions for 1 subject. Students who do not do well are often those without tuitions. So these schools produce good results do not prove that they have excellent teachers.

Every school as their fair share of good and not so good teachers. Most schools have their top 2 classes and last class. From my experience, schools will usually deploy their best teachers to the best and worst class. The objective is to push the better ones to score and bring up the school's ranking and to pull up the weaker ones to prevent their low scores from pulling down the school's average scores.

Hence, in my opinion, it doesn't matter if your kid is in a branded school or not. What really matters is that the kid will be able to do well enough to be in the top 2 classes of the school he/she is in.

[Brenda10]

SAHM_TAN:

So glad to come across this thread becos debating the same question as well, my dd will be registering next year.


Is it true that every primary schools will have top classes? How is it differently managed from the \"average\" classess? Does the students in average classes learn less or have less experienced teachers?

Dear SHAM,

There is some different and the following are just the 3 areas that I observed:

Top 1-2 class would be using the different type of Math and Science Work Activity Books

The English dictation list is more profound

Teacher develops their own worksheets to ensure the children comprehend on the Science Magazine and the story book that they assigned

[HyperKiasu]

Lock:

All my friends who have their kids in NYPS, MGS and RGPS have attested that a large majority of students there has tuition for every subjects, some even 2 tuitions for 1 subject. Students who do not do well are often those without tuitions. So these schools produce good results do not prove that they have excellent teachers.

Hence, in my opinion, it doesn't matter if your kid is in a branded school or not. What really matters is that the kid will be able to do well enough to be in the top 2 classes of the school he/she is in.

have tuition for every subjects?:!: that is too crazy....
then still need to go to sch meh? to mark the attendance?

a bright kid doesn't need that much tuition and
a bright kid can outshine wherever put....

[vlim]

actually is real stressful for the kids to have tuition for all the subjects ( 4 subjects = 4 tuitions) plus other enrichment like piano lesson, ballet and etc ... :lol:

[hquek]

I can attest to the tuition bit. Know someone - her 2 kids had tuition for every subject (can imagine the logistical fun they had). And both performed brilliantly for PSLE…top school, got the govt award for top ??% (ie parents don’t have to come up with much money for the pte sec sch).


Then again, I have come across kids who never had tution and did just as well/even better. But then, I think these kids are very self motivated and fairly mature in their thinking.

In all honesty, I don’t think I want to take the risk. Once PSLE is past, it goes down in history…cannot change liao. So will not rule out having tuition on all subjects for my kids in future (although I still scratch my head why nowadays Chinese and English got tuition).

[CoffeeCat]

HyperKiasu:

a bright kid doesn't need that much tuition and
a bright kid can outshine wherever put....

You meant a bright + motivated kid. = P

[verykiasu2010]

if good schools are not necessary, why do they exist and why are they called "good" schools at all? why even bother about them ? why discuss about which schools to go to then ?


I mean, most parents are fairly knowledgeable and intelligent (ok not like Einstein) and can tell the difference between a "need" and a "good to have" versus "not necessary"

so, why some schools consistently year after year produce results that are way above the national average and setting the standard that other schools aspire to achieve ? if you been to some school open house, the way some schools talk and compare seems like they are a sore and sour loser to a competitor school…

I am puzzled…on one hand we are saying good schools are not necessary, on another hand we hope our kids can get in those good / branded schools…split personality perhaps ?

[HyperKiasu]

if a kid need that much tuition to go to a Top Sec, does he need tuition for all sec subjects to survive in Top Sec? :?


good sch for me means a best school within my proximity. if it happens to be a branded one like NY, NH, TN...just a handful of them, then i am happy. but if within 1 km, the best school is a good neighbourhood sch, i am equally happy.

CoffeeCat:

HyperKiasu:

a bright kid doesn't need that much tuition and
a bright kid can outshine wherever put....

You meant a bright + motivated kid. = P

a bright + motivated kid in a gd neighbourhood sch stand equal chance to go to top sec as those in a branded sch....

good sch are not necessary to be branded.
i won't shift my house to be within 1km of a branded school. it is unnecessary if parents can't afford property price in the prime location ....

i know one friend did that in 2003 to move to Bukit Timah to be near NYPS. definitely it is worth the investment becoz the property value has soared..... :lol:

[HyperKiasu]

verykiasu2010:

if good schools are not necessary, why do they exist and why are they called \"good\" schools at all? why even bother about them ? why discuss about which schools to go to then ?


I mean, most parents are fairly knowledgeable and intelligent (ok not like Einstein) and can tell the difference between a \"need\" and a \"good to have\" versus \"not necessary\"

think most post are saying good schools are necessay. and some post just equate good (inc. nghbd) with elite (branded), thus a bit confusing....

[verykiasu2010]

some one just spent $6.5m on a property to be very near to NYPS to perform PV …lol