Letter to Heng Swee Keat
-
Chenonceau,
I fully agree with you. There are loopholes in the education system, not just at the Primary level, but beyond that as well. Personally, I have written to Mr Tharman, then minister of education, with some issues on certain loopholes, and am glad to see there have been some changes made for the betterment of the children.
Recently, I have also written in to our new minister of education, hoping some issues can be addressed; but these takes time, and we may not see it during our children’s primary school years. The point is, we put in our effort in helping to fine tune the systems for our future generations, and every small step of change for betterment is a small success in itself. -
BlueBells:
Yay! Yay! Yay!Chenonceau,
I fully agree with you. There are loopholes in the education system, not just at the Primary level, but beyond that as well. Personally, I have written to Mr Tharman, then minister of education, with some issues on certain loopholes, and am glad to see there have been some changes made for the betterment of the children.
Recently, I have also written in to our new minister of education, hoping some issues can be addressed; but these takes time, and we may not see it during our children's primary school years. The point is, we put in our effort in helping to fine tune the systems for our future generations, and every small step of change for betterment is a small success in itself.
-
BlueBells:
Wow, you are steady bom pi pi... I will freak out if my child ever fail any subjects for an exam because she would have PREPARED for all the exams. If she can fail, something is wrong, either physically unwell on that day or the exam is unrealistic :rant: . If one has prepared for an exam, at its worst case, it is a low score if it is tough, failing is unthinkable.
My P5 failed her CA1 Maths, passed her SA1, tuition for Maths ...? Err ..... not yet .... -
Singapore is a company - they want the world to know that we have the best products: For housing, we have the HDB product. And we are selling this product to China. For industrial development, we have the infamous Suzhou Industrial Park. For airport, we have a world-class airport package for sale. Likewise, for education, we churned out more exam smarties than other countries. We are about to package our education system for sale. Please, for goodness sake, say something positive and good. Else the stock price will come tumbling down.
-
BlueBells:
come! better tuition quick, cannot wait liao!... My P5 failed her CA1 Maths, passed her SA1, tuition for Maths ...? Err ..... not yet ....
-
Hi Chenonceau,
Know you are busy, but just want to check are you still going for the petition? -
Chenonceau:
Like you, seen from a personal perspective, I really have nothing to worry about but recently I am beginning to think along the above line ...Seen from a personal perspective, I really have nothing to worry about. The worry starts when I think beyond my personal situation. If my son fails exams because exams test what is not taught in class, then what about other people's children with equivalent intelligence but NO ONE to teach them at home?
-
perhaps Hong Kong is worse than in Singapore ....
http://www.straitstimes.com
Published on May 30, 2011
Exam-obsessed Hong Kong makes celebrity tutors rich
HONG KONG - CUT-THROAT competition for exam success in Hong Kong's high-pressure education system has spawned a new breed of teacher - celebrity tutors with near cult-like status and millionaire lifestyles.
With their glamorous photographs showing megawatt grins and flashy attire splashed across billboards and buses, the star teachers claim to transform failing students into A-grade pupils - and earn up to US$1.5 million (S$1.85 million) a year.
The former British colony's tutoring industry is reportedly worth at least HK$400 million (S$63.4 million), with official figures showing as many as half of secondary school seniors seek private tutoring after school.
Hong Kong parents, often desperate to help their children succeed in the city's intense public-exam system, are more than willing to shell out handsome sums for extracurricular help.
'Hong Kong has a very examination-oriented school culture and tutoring is regarded as a kind of educational investment,' said Kelly Mok, an English tutor who teaches at King's Glory, one of the largest tutorial schools in Hong Kong. That focus on academic success at almost any cost has turned celebrity tutor Mr Richard Eng into a rich man who wheels around the teeming city in a Lamborghini, wears expensive watches and lives in a multi-million dollar mansion in the city's Yuen Long district.
'Enrolment in tutorial schools is astoundingly high - we are talking about 100,000 students every year,' Mr Eng told AFP. Mr Eng and other top tutors have successfully tapped that demand, using flashy, commercial marketing tactics to make themselves household names or academic superstars, otherwise known as 'tutor kings' in Cantonese. His empire, Beacon College, employs over 100 tutors and Eng plans to take the firm public. -- AFP
Copyright
2010 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_674159.html -
verykiasu2010:
Singapore going down the same path? Think already started? There are certain tutors more popular? There are also some branded tuotion centreperhaps Hong Kong is worse than in Singapore ....
http://www.straitstimes.com
Published on May 30, 2011
Exam-obsessed Hong Kong makes celebrity tutors rich
HONG KONG - CUT-THROAT competition for exam success in Hong Kong's high-pressure education system has spawned a new breed of teacher - celebrity tutors with near cult-like status and millionaire lifestyles.
With their glamorous photographs showing megawatt grins and flashy attire splashed across billboards and buses, the star teachers claim to transform failing students into A-grade pupils - and earn up to US$1.5 million (S$1.85 million) a year.
The former British colony's tutoring industry is reportedly worth at least HK$400 million (S$63.4 million), with official figures showing as many as half of secondary school seniors seek private tutoring after school.
Hong Kong parents, often desperate to help their children succeed in the city's intense public-exam system, are more than willing to shell out handsome sums for extracurricular help.
'Hong Kong has a very examination-oriented school culture and tutoring is regarded as a kind of educational investment,' said Kelly Mok, an English tutor who teaches at King's Glory, one of the largest tutorial schools in Hong Kong. That focus on academic success at almost any cost has turned celebrity tutor Mr Richard Eng into a rich man who wheels around the teeming city in a Lamborghini, wears expensive watches and lives in a multi-million dollar mansion in the city's Yuen Long district.
'Enrolment in tutorial schools is astoundingly high - we are talking about 100,000 students every year,' Mr Eng told AFP. Mr Eng and other top tutors have successfully tapped that demand, using flashy, commercial marketing tactics to make themselves household names or academic superstars, otherwise known as 'tutor kings' in Cantonese. His empire, Beacon College, employs over 100 tutors and Eng plans to take the firm public. -- AFP
Copyright 2010 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_674159.html -
My close friend was born a daughter of a push-cart street hawker and she married the son of a laundry woman. Guess where they are now? My friend is now a lawyer and her husband is a high ranking engineer in an MNC. Both commented that they would not be able to climb up this far in their education and career if they grew up in last 10 years.
They commented that the current education system that is reliant on parental coaching and private tuition is no longer a meritocratic system.
Meaning eventually, the country will not progress because the best person does not always get the job, because the job goes to the most well-connected person.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login