"branded" sch vs neighbourhood sch

[Chenonceau]

KSP:

Chenonceau:

My daughter was scoring in the bottom 25% of her year and I quit full-time work to coach her. In 6 months, she went to the top. If the school were doing its job, how do you explain the fact that she was underperforming?

Do you think the situation would be different if you had put her in neighbourhood school?

I always believe that putting the child in an elite school is only the beginning. Parents still have to do their part.

I put my son in a neighbourhood school smack in the middle of an HDB precinct. His teachers give me their hp numbers and \"scold\" me gently if I'm doing something they don't agree with, and even when he was scoring poorly, his teacher encouraged me to not give up hope.

His teachers really care. Every time he is missing from class, his FT would give me an sms or call me to ask. Every year, the school organises parent workshops.

My daughter's branded school experience was so different. The FT didn't know her name until after she moved from bottom to the top and started winning prizes for the school. Not a single parent workshop ever. And the teachers were so unfriendly and unhelpful UNTIL The Daughter became a somebody in the school. Then she was all round feted and wined and dined. These were not values I wanted my daughter to learn. Nobodies and somebodies both need care and love. When my son was a nobody, his teacher still cared enough to call and ask after the class gong-gong. Also, if you achieve something, the achievement is reward enough, there is no need to make a small primary school achievement into a big thing. That teaches pride and arrogance.

And when I finally managed to coax a teacher into being halfway friendly, I understood that the whole staff morale was very bad. I am an I/O psychologist. I specialize in staff motivation and I consult with organisations. I know bad management when I see it. Whether you carry hp or BB is beside the point. If you don't carry BB and manage a team of high performing and dedicated teachers, no one cares about your BB.

At the end of the day, parents should just do their research. Look at fundamentals. Don't go starry-eyed just by name. Your children are at stake and you owe it to them to do your research... and to see beyond the glitter of what looks like gold, but isn't.

I am so sorry that I sound so b****y. Please forgive... It's just that our children are precious and I want parents to understand that school fundamentals make all the difference, not branding. There ARE brand name schools with good fundamentals. There are also neighbourhood schools with good fundamentals.

Also we had a very very bad experience with The Daughter's brand name school.

[kiasu2011]

[quote="Angelight"]Hi sleepy, which are the elite schools in HDB estates? Any in the north-east areas?



Hi Angelight ,
Nan Chiau Primary is in Seng Kang area.

[VJA]

kiasu2011:

Angelight:

Hi sleepy, which are the elite schools in HDB estates? Any in the north-east areas?



Hi Angelight ,
Nan Chiau Primary is in Seng Kang area.

well, I won't categorise Nan Chiau Primary as elite school.
Its just a better school compare to the rest in that area.

[kiasu2011]

3kiddos:

kiasu2011:

if you are a ex-student from the elite school and you choose a neighbourhood school for your dd. your grandchildren will have less chance to get into the elite school.

that neighbourhood school you picked might be an elite school by then and vice versa

The primary school tat i chose was a \" no brand \" pri school. I chose tat school becos walking distance to home . After one term , I start to regret becos the mgt really have \" boh chap \" attitude :x . By then my ds already stuck with tat school :stupid:

[kiasu2011]

VJA:

kiasu2011:

[quote=\"Angelight\"]Hi sleepy, which are the elite schools in HDB estates? Any in the north-east areas?



Hi Angelight ,
Nan Chiau Primary is in Seng Kang area.

well, I won't categorise Nan Chiau Primary as elite school.
Its just a better school compare to the rest in that area.

[/quote]Hi VJA ,
wat r the \"elite school \" in NE Area ?

[Chenonceau]

kiasu2011:

3kiddos:

[quote=\"kiasu2011\"]if you are a ex-student from the elite school and you choose a neighbourhood school for your dd. your grandchildren will have less chance to get into the elite school.

that neighbourhood school you picked might be an elite school by then and vice versa

The primary school tat i chose was a \" no brand \" pri school. I chose tat school becos walking distance to home . After one term , I start to regret becos the mgt really have \" boh chap \" attitude :x . By then my ds already stuck with tat school :stupid:[/quote]Change school. :idea: Look at other schools' fundamentals and change. My cousin switched his daughter from a no brand school to a branded school in P2 (AFTER examining fundamentals). He got her into RGPS, no less. Best of luck!!

[KSP]

Chenonceau:

My cousin switched his daughter from a no brand school to a branded school in P2 (AFTER examining fundamentals). He got her into RGPS, no less. Best of luck!!

How is she doing now? My daughter is in the same school too and she is doing fine.

[Chenonceau]

KSP:

Chenonceau:

My cousin switched his daughter from a no brand school to a branded school in P2 (AFTER examining fundamentals). He got her into RGPS, no less. Best of luck!!

How is she doing now? My daughter is in the same school too and she is doing fine.

She loves it!! My cousin is also happy because there are many opportunities for development. From what I hear RGPS has strong fundamentals. Congrats that your daughter is in there!! :rahrah:

[KSP]

Chenonceau:

KSP:

[quote=\"Chenonceau\"] My cousin switched his daughter from a no brand school to a branded school in P2 (AFTER examining fundamentals). He got her into RGPS, no less. Best of luck!!

How is she doing now? My daughter is in the same school too and she is doing fine.

She loves it!! My cousin is also happy because there are many opportunities for development. From what I hear RGPS has strong fundamentals. Congrats that your daughter is in there!! :rahrah:[/quote]Yes, I can see most students there love to go to school. This is the most fundamental - make the child loves her school. I don't know how the school did it. But they have done an excellent job!!! :celebrate:

[jtoh]

Chenonceau:

KSP:

[quote=\"janet_lee88\"]
Yup, if this Phase 2A system doesn't change, then our grandchildren will get to enjoy the privilege of extending the 'legacy' of going to the schools their daddy and mummy once attended.

Yes. the message I'm trying to put across if one can put the child in an elite school should go for it. I mean this is a no lose situation, why not? Or the parent can do PV to enhance the chances. There is no point buying a multi-million house just to let the child get into the school unless the parents can afford it. No point getting youselves in heavy debt. Property can go up and can come down too. There is no gaurentee that the child will be an elite after 6yrs there. Moreover they will have their own friends, family and thinking when they grown up. I'm not saying we should not care for their education. But do it within our limits.

It isn't a no-lose.

You lose your kids. You lose one generation. You put them there thinking they will be well-educated but they aren't. You maintain the chance to put your grandchildren in a brand name... It's only a name. I would rather have successful kids in neighbourhood schools that are on the ball than stick my kids into a underperforming brand name school and compromise their chances of getting into RI/RGS/NYGH/HCI.

What parents found in the year my daughter and her friends took her PSLE is that the school is not as loyal as it makes itself out to be. Girls who were desperate to stay in the school were told to leave... and many of these girls were bright. I know a few very smart ones. I trusted the school, and they did such bad job with The Daughter and her friends, and when it came to PSLE, the school chopped away 2 out of 7 classes so that the cut-off at secondary level still looked good.

A good analogy is that the present value of money is not the same as the future value of money. How many \"brand-name\" schools from 20 years ago are still reputable today? How many not so good schools are coming up fast?

Our children are educated TODAY, by the quality of the teachers TODAY. If it isn't happening TODAY, you lose your kids. It isn't a no-lose. You lose your kids. And for what? For a name? For a chance that may never happen in the future? Maybe in 10 years time, the affiliations will be cut... Too many girls in my daughter's cohort are today in poly. Those who make it (and there are too few given the fame of the name) had teams of Tutors. They didn't have to go to school.

My daughter was scoring in the bottom 25% of her year and I quit full-time work to coach her. In 6 months, she went to the top. If the school were doing its job, how do you explain the fact that she was underperforming?

You trust a brand... hire tutors to support the brand... is it worth it? My advice is still to examine school fundamentals... whichever the school may be.[/quote]Hi Chenonceau,

I always enjoying reading your posts because you make sense. Was wondering, why were the smart girls chopped from the school? Did they underperform and were in bottom two classes of the cohort?