Opinions of the Primary School Registration System
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absolut_vodka:
If they are in fact the same and as good, why wouldn't the minister themselves send their kids to a neighborhood sch and instead a so-called elite school?
U are prob in denial if u think that the standards are the same because they are not. Obviously, one may not necessarily do badly in a neighborhood sch (if they themselves work hard) or do well in a so-called elite school but an ave. student in a so called elite school will definitely perform better than the ave. student from a neighborhood school.
Just as an e.g., I was doing a levels GP paper when I was in upper sec to prepare for o levels.
And my sis from a neighborhood sec sch was not able to perform at the entrance test when my mom tried to transfer her to my sch. She is a brilliant student in case you are wondering, graduated with honors from NTU. The prob was that her sch didn't teach as much compared to mine. My mom recognized that and that was why she tried to get my sister into my school.
And I am obviously not talking abt the lee family. Everyone knows that the sons went to CHS.
:? Er your point?
Is it ..... Despite coming from a \"neighbourhood\" school, your sis was able to reach NTU and graduate with honors?
:? -
tankee:
Well, no two schools are the same and one would expect a certain degree of differences between a popular and a neighbourhood school. But the point is, are the differences so great that a child's future is bleak if he or she missed the chance to go to a popular school or that a child's future is well assured and bright if he or she attends a popular school?:? Er your point?
Is it ..... Despite coming from a \"neighbourhood\" school, your sis was able to reach NTU and graduate with honors?
:?
So ultimately the point is, am glad you gave a handsome example about your own sis having attended an average school yet being able to attain honors degree from a prestigious university. That is what matters most, in my opinion.
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3Boys:
I don't agree with this conventional thinking about PV. Of course, you have your view, and I had already stated the reasons behind mine. I have given this a lot of thought, and the 'face value' explanation you have put above does not cut it for me.
Why school does not spelt out PV requirements in the first place ?
PV system should be transparent as much as possible (ie if the school ultimately decided to select the person, then make the outcome transparent), otherwise how to convince the public from not speculating. -
If u read my post carefully, I did say that there is no guarantee - just that an ave. student in a good school will most likely perform better than one in an ave. sch. That is seen from the overall passing rates, overall % of students who scored distinctions and so on… I am not interested in which school(s) produced the top student(s) - because the student prob is brilliant to begin with (and most imptly, I do not expect my kids to be top students - just above ave. if they have put in their best. And it is my responsibility to give them a head start to enroll them in the best place possible). Obviously, in top schools, there are still failures but are they in the majority? U tell me…
No, my sis was a brilliant student who worked very hard and after my mom and she realized the ‘difference’ after she didn’t make the entrance test so they put in extra effort To ‘make up’ for the ‘difference’. And I am sorry, I do not happen to think that NTU is a prestigious uni… I believe my sis would have gone overseas to a better uni., on a scholarship even, if my mom has placed her in my sch to begin with. -
mummy168:
Yes..the vested interest is far too strong but I'm not gonna fall for it...
dont want to misinterpret - no comments -
absolut_vodka:
No, my sis was a brilliant student who worked very hard and after my mom and she realized the 'difference' after she didn't make the entrance test so they put in extra effort To 'make up' for the 'difference'. And I am sorry, I do not happen to think that NTU is a prestigious uni... I believe my sis would have gone overseas to a better uni., on a scholarship even, if my mom has placed her in my sch to begin with.
I beg to differ but I respect your opinion for placing so much emphasis on the school a person attends on his/her ultimate \"achievements/attainments\"..... :roll: -
Obviously we are simplifying things here… There are many contributing factors to one’s achievement/Success. Just saying that the school environment is one of the important ones - in the absence of it, one has to put in a lot more effort.
And yes, it is my opinion and no one is forcing it down ur throat if u don’t think so. Just like why some people think it is necessary to send their infant to shichida (which i think is a terrible waste of money) but I choose to let my kids enjoy their childhood and not worry abt going to school at their age. I went to school at 5 (so did many of my friends) and there are plenty of scholars all around. -
mummy168:
The issue with the current pri sch registration sy is real and I am sure that there are others out there who feel the same way.
The crux of the issue is yet to be addressed ....
1.\tIs it ok for the top schools to be almost out of reach to the masses and especially for kids of working class parents? Elitist?
\tIs this ok for our fragile social structure?
2.\tIs it logical for a child living next to the school to be excluded entry while another living much much farther to gain entry at P2A?
3.\tIs it ok for the PV system to be just the playing field for professionals?
4.\tIs it ok for the PV system to be so opaque?
5.\tIs it ok for the registration system to provide for an entrenchment of 'classes'?
just my $0.02 view for q (1) and (2).
there are many students from top schools whose parents are not professionals, no rich family background and might even have financial problems and live far from these top schools . coming from a top school doesnt necessary means smooth sailing for the rest of the life. there are people who did well, people who did so so and people who might be doing a lot worse than their classmates. so phase 2a let the 2 latter groups to give their children a chance to study in top schools and hopefully do better than themselves.
my impression of a top boys school was rich family, drivers, expensive cars etc but when i met the parents of ds' classmates/schoolmates, many live in hdb, speak mandarin, not all are professional or businessman, some live outside 2km (no $$$ to buy or rent a place near school), basically your average joe, and majority are grateful to be able to send their kids to the school via phase 2a. thus is this group consider part of the masses or the elite group? i dont know. -
I would like to say that PV is not only for professionals. In fact, I have many friends who are "professionals" rejected for PV work as they cannot offer what the school is looking for.
My "financial accountant" friend was rejected by a popular school in her neighbourhood whilst a stay-home mother was accepted as she was an ex-teacher from China and could offer Chinese tuition to the school kids under-performing for that subject.
My "IT head" friend tried to offer his service to another popular school, only to be told that the school does not need that. The school chooses another guy who was an air-con servicing technician, as a traffic warden and to help with manual labour of painting and setting-up the computer lab.
Elitist??? Not available to masses??? I really do not think so.
To be fair, I think the school chooses the PV based on what they need. And I know of schools that list down examples of types of tasks for PVs as well in their application form. Competition for PVs for popular schools are definitely there - just like competition for students to get into good secondary schools. Over the years, I can see that most schools limit the number of PVs to prevent disappointment. Yes, there may be a few disappointments - in life there is no guarantee of "sure win" all the time despite putting in the effort.
All of us wants to try our best for our kids and there is no system that benefits everyone. Going to a popular school does not guarantee the kid will perform better. A lot is dependent on the kid’s ability and willingness to learn and perform. There are so many examples of neighbourhood school kids joining the GEP programme in popular schools at P4.
Ultimately, the fairness comes when secondary school is chosen based on PSLE results, JC chosen based on "O" level results and Uni entry based on "A" level results. -
Pen88n:
.....Ultimately, the fairness comes when secondary school is chosen based on PSLE results, JC chosen based on \"O\" level results and Uni entry based on \"A\" level results.
I do recall reading elsewhere about we should not judge any kid's capability by exam taken over a few days. lack holistic assessments, kid could be not feeling well on exam day or days, etc etc
:siam:
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