Petition to Review the Singapore Education System
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This is about REDUCING CLASS SIZE:
It's always easier for a lay person to say reduce class size and then blame MOE for not doing it. MOE is already trying but it IS really not easy.
Trust me, ALL teachers welcome the small class size idea. But where to get teachers? Where to get quality teachers? I am sure we all don't want any tom, dick or harry to be teaching our kids. As it is, with the criteria set by MOE HR department, there are still sub-std teachers around. If we just recruit in mass to reduce class size, what will the quality of the teachers be like? If we raise the salary to attract talent, then are parents willing to pay more? Or will ALL parents be able to pay more? It is a known fact that during recession, you see many applying to be teachers but once economy recovers, a lot will leave the profession to seek for higher paying and better jobs.
Not many teach cos they have the passion.
There's a period when we saw an influx of foreign teachers teaching MT and local trs r unhappy, n parents worry that these ppl may inculcate their own value n culture which is not in line with our culture and values. These are real fear.
The govt has reduced class size to 30 for P1 n P2 and has to revert back to 40 in P3 onwards, the only reason is NOT ENOUGH teachers. It's not that MOE does not want small class size, it's just that this idealism is very difficult to achieve in our public education. Like it or not, MOE IS providing a mass education to all with the main aim of getting every citizen a place in sch. During GE, the opposition party keeps pushing for smaller class size, but do they have concrete plans to achieve that? Anyone care to share? -
Look like some healthy discussion going on here.
Keep them coming.
The catchphrase now is not \"moving forward\"; it is \"we are listening\". :xedfingers: -
mamemo:
Schs are kiasu because of parents! ALL parents want to put their kids in top performing sch, then other schs, in order to have a higher intake of students, have to level up. Some of you may not know, MOE dispatches teachers according to a teacher/students ratio. A certain number of intake will be given a certain number of teachers. Principals know how beneficial it is to schs to have more manpower. Then, there's the funds allocation. More funds to schs who have shown that they have used the funds 'wisely' to educate the kids. There are 100 over schs here, MOE will need some form of assessment and accountability in the use of public funds. The most tangible way is thru awards.I disagree that only parents are kiasu. Schools are also kiasu, just look at the variety of awards that MOE gives to schools? Since schools have limited resources like teachers, and with syllabus changing frequently and becoming \"heavier\", schools will turn to parents to co-teach the students. (Many schools conducting parents' briefing on maths modelling and other subjects' curriculum briefing) Parents who don't know how to teach or have no time teach (since both parents are working) will turn to enrichment classes.
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looking4Tutor:
Yes... PAP realised that they were \"moving forward\" no one wanted to follow. So now, they stop to listen. But listen is no use, if they then ignore.Look like some healthy discussion going on here.
Keep them coming.
The catchphrase now is not \"moving forward\"; it is \"we are listening\". :xedfingers:
We do not want to be ignored. -
Lock:
Let me start by linking us all to a picture of skewed bell curves have the same understanding of what is left skewed and right skewed - http://www.kwiznet.com/p/takeQuiz.php?ChapterID=12045&CurriculumID=42&Num=9.29. As you can see, left skewed means the belly is on the right. Right skewed means the belly is on the left. Please forgive if I correct the sentence above as follows\"I am just thinking, if all is constant. As in parents dun send kids for further enrichment, kids learn as much as they can frm sch, then the bell curve will skew to the left if exams r beyond kids' std.
The problem now that the bell curve keeps skewing to the right is that more and more children are levelling up, not thru sch but thru tuition n enrichments. Even if u remove the bell curve, as long as parents remain kiasu n refuse to accept their children innate abilities and keep pushing, the environment will hv little change.
\"... if all is constant. As in parents dun send kids for further enrichment, kids learn as much as they can frm sch, then the bell curve will skew to the right (with belly to the left) if exams r beyond kids' std\".
The problem now that the bell curve keeps skewing to the left (with belly to the right) is that more and more children are levelling up, not thru sch but thru tuition n enrichments....Lock:
I am just thinking, if all is constant.
Let me now acknowledge your point. It is important to do so because it shows that I have integrated your point into the discussion. I am not countering you. We agree on this point. If all is constant, and nothing changes (no policy review), then yes... parents are kiasu and in this kiasu spirit, they will buy more and more tuition, so that their children can level up.
SOLUTION = Parents must stop being kiasu.
This is the solution that I reject because I see no way to convince hundreds of thousands of parents to be less kiasu. So yes... one of the root causes of the malaise we face today in primary education is that parents are kiasu. We agree on that, but after that? How do you propose to stop parents from being kiasu? Can you change parent behavior by telling them it is a problem?
(1) If yes, how?
(2) If no, then how?
I myself have no answer to \"If yes, how?\" Lock, if you have a workable solution, share it with us. The question \"If no, then how\" leads us to another roadblock. If parental behavior cannot be changed, then it seems we have to live with the status quo (all things remaining constant).
It is because I dunno how to change the behavior of parents by simply TELLING them not to be kiasu, that I turn my energies to analyzing system issues. We are not BLAMING the system. Guilt, emotion, blame etc... are irrelevant. I am trying to ANALYZE the system much as one would analyze a machine to see which parts can be changed. My focus is turned towards the system because I dunno how to change parent behavior by talking/lecturing alone.
However, Lock, if you do have a concrete solution to how parent kiasuism can be reduced without systemic analysis and changes, it is a good time to suggest it. If you don't have a concrete suggestion (that's ok because I don't either) then why pursue this line of analysis? It is unproductive because at the end of this line of analysis, we are forced to conclude the following - There is no solution.
Why not analyze the system to see if there are possibilities for a solution, than harp on parents and how kiasu they are? -
Lock:
Let me acknowledge and show that I agree with your point so that we work towards integrating not arguing. I quite agree that it is not easy for MOE to find teaching resources because...This is about REDUCING CLASS SIZE:
It's always easier for a lay person to say reduce class size and then blame MOE for not doing it. MOE is already trying but it IS really not easy.
Trust me, ALL teachers welcome the small class size idea. But where to get teachers? Where to get quality teachers? I am sure we all don't want any tom, dick or harry to be teaching our kids.
(1) high teacher turnover
(2) leading to lack of teaching resources
Specifically on this point, I am not a layperson. As an I/O Psychologist every client that comes by has a turnover problem. They want me to resolve their turnover issues so that they don't need to train and train new people. They want me to help put in a high performance culture. Believe it or not, I once had a client who told me \"We expect our staff to do impossible things, and we want them to stay\". We found a solution even there.
Whilst I agree that this is difficult, I have done it before and can actually see solutions. Research in I/O psychology has moved BEYOND high pay and fast promotion to keep staff engaged and with the organisation. I don't see these staff schemes in MOE... but then I dunno. Unless MOE can provide data and info for analysis, I also cannot see a solution. But at least here, I am reasonably confident that with enough data and info, I can actually see a solution. I feel helpless in solutionning the issue of kiasu parents.
So... it isn't that I disagree that parents are kiasu. I just can't see solutions there. I can see some here. So I focus on system instead. It isn't sour grapes or pointing fingers at system without acknowledging that parents have a role to play. I just find it more worthwhile to spend time here... me. -
Lock:
Again, if we follow this line of thought, then MOE can say \"There is nothing we can do. We have done everything possible\". Really? There are no solutions other than tell parents to be less kiasu?
Schs are kiasu because of parents!mamemo:
I disagree that only parents are kiasu.
I would like to point out a subtlety in mamemo's comment. She wrote \"I disagree that ONLY parents are kiasu...\" She did not say parents are NOT kiasu. She too acknowledges and has integrated your point. However, she asserts that schools are also kiasu, and I agree with her.
Schools are definitely kiasu. One teacher kept my daughter in school till almost midnight for debate training because he was in charge of the debating team and was hungry for promotion. He wanted a win more than I did.
On another occasion, I had to explain to the Principal that my daughter was only in Sec 1, and since I didn't expect a perfect acrobatic gymnastics performance from her, then neither should the school.
On yet another occasion, there was so much homework that I had another sparring session with the principal who asserted that if my daughter was sleeping 3 hours a night, it isn't because there is too much homework, but because she Facebooks and MSNs. I have two kids with amazing self-control. Before I spoke to the Principal only after we had worked out her issues with Facebook and MSN.
Clearly, I had put no pressure on the school... clearly, the Teacher and the Principal was far more kiasu than I. -
Maybe it’s our culture that we are competitive? Think it’s a pre-dominantly asian culture to be competitive (see China, HK, Taiwan, Japan etc) Schools are competitive because Principals want to look good and of course for survival. Similarly, Parents are competitive because they want their children to survive in this competitive society in future.
Another point that’s worth to think about…if MOE keep saying that there is lack of teaching resources, why are we admitting so many foreign students into our system?
With the influx of foreign talent from primary schools to universities to work force, it has made our environment more competitive. My DS is in P1 and has a classmate from China. During orientation, the classmate’s father asked:"Does the school stream the smarter students to better classes in P1?". Just look at the Chinese game show for secondary students on saturday, most of the students are from China. Someone I know has a son who is very bright and aspires to be a doctor (from RI, straight As in "A" levels) He registered for NUS Medicine but was rejected, however as it’s his aspiration to be a doctor, the parents sold a property (luckily they have 2) to send him to UK for college. Later on, the parents came to know that NUS allocates 20-30% of the enrolment to foreign students. The joke is that Singapore needs medical personnel and has been employing doctors from other countries.
It’s always easy to say that foreign students can help to train our kids up for future globalised environment, but a foreign student enrolled (say in RI) means the deprivation of a place to our local students. Yes, although MOE says that no one is deprived of an education in Singapore, but to be realistic, some of our "middle-to-upper band" students are deprived of a education in the top band schools to fully realise their potential. -
Err, I re-read my post and realised that I sound a bit anti-foreigners.
Just to clarify, I welcome our foreign friends, however, I feel that our infrastructure (Education, Housing, Transport etc) needs to be ramped up equally to meet the foreign influx.
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System Mechanisms Mould Parent Behavior
Whilst I cannot see how telling parents to stop being kiasu can effectively change parent behavior, I CAN see how system changes WILL change behavior.
The incentive for kiasuism comes from the design of the PSLE. As long as the PSLE stays the way it is, you can take away exams at P1 and P2, but schools will find a way to slide in tests. And they do.
As long as the PSLE stays the way it is, you can keep parents in the dark about streaming and they will find a way to discern the contours of what the best classes are doing. Now, before anyone asks me to reveal how the PSLE should be changed in the specifics, let me say first that until I have access to info and data, I too don't know.
What I do know is that my behavior has changed in response to a system change recently announced. There will be 7 new IP schools. Till now, I had set my heart on HCI. I realised that VS, NJC and RVH are now IP too. The pool of desirable schools have grown!! I realise also that my friend's daughter who went to NJC, is now in Stanford on a PSC scholarship! Just that one small change in system component has made a difference to my behavior.
Having come to the realization that there are more IP schools, I am far less kiasu today than 4 months ago. I'm not keen to compete for a place in HCI or RI anymore... for all you know, all those who go there are so competitive that my son may never learn to love and care.
I want him to learn to love and care. I want him to know that losing out can be enriching.
I am sorry if I seem to have been disrespectful to RI and HCI. I have no basis because I have not attended any open house as yet, though I do know many young people from both schools (and they're lovely even if a tad too competitive to be properly collaborative). The most competitive parents and children self-select into those schools, perhaps?
Before, the system allowed me no choice. Now, I do have a choice... and I am already less kiasu. The thing is this... there are parents who must have children win out at all costs. Before, the system incentivised me to compete with these people because there were only 5 IP schools.
Today, there are 7 more. This SINGLE system change allows naturally LESS KIASU parents (note that I did not say NOT kiasu) to choose to be less kiasu. So you see, when we find the correct system leverage points, we can change parent behavior. Not all parents surely but there are enough parents like me, Peony and QuiteKSMum who actually see 2nd best as The Best.
DS and I discussed and we have decided that even if his Teacher said that RI is possible if he works hard, we will stick with Work Fun and push just hard enough for other schools, with lower COP. I now have a choice and my level of kiasuism has dropped by a lot.
At present, the larger proportion of PSC scholars come from HCI, RI, NYGH & RGS. Suppose that a quota were set to pick at least 2 scholars from each of the 11 IP schools, then what will happen is that competition into the top 4 schools will be less frenzied. The prospect of a scholarship spurs many to compete for places in the Top 4 schools.
Indeed, talent will be more evenly distributed across 11 IP schools as parents like me with children who have the potential to be in Top 4, choose to go elsewhere just to have a better work-life balance.
System changes, can change parent behavior immediately. Unless we leverage on system components, it will be difficult to dial down parent kiasu-ism. That's why I focus on system. It is not blame, it is hope.
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