Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)

[cambriant]

Hi


I have talked to several parents whose boys are currently in ACS Primary and they have all expressed their concern about the bullying culture in the school. I would like to check with those parents reading this post, does your son get bullied in school? Or do you hear about kids getting bullied? How does the school handle bullies and bullying behavior? we are seriously considering sending our boy to ACS next year, but if bullying is such a serious issue, we will have to reconsider.

Many thanks!

cambriant

[jtoh]

ng4145:

I was at ACS (Pri) transport centre to pick up my son yesterday & I saw this incident.


A lower primay chinese boy was stopped by non-chinese father & son. The father started scolding & shouting at the chinese boy for hurting his son on the face. The poor little boy was shivering with fear & crying uncontrollably & he kept on saying sorry to them. However, the father did not stop his shouting & replied that \"what is there to say sorry now\". Obviously, he did not want to let go & puting all his anger on the poor helpless boy.

After a while, a teacher came. She was trying comfort the boy & calm the angry father. Neverthless, he continued shouting at them. The teacher, however, had to tell him to write a complaint letter to the principal if he insisted to take up the case.

I am sad to withness this incident & felt shameful for the father. He was a big bully! I tried to call the school regarding this incident however, it telehpone line was always engaged.

I've heard of a similar incident happening a couple of years ago too, with an angmo father. Wonder if it's the same bullying father.

[laughingcat]

Hi cambriant, you might want to hop down to the school to have a look. I read that there is a sharing session at the school dated 8 Jul. Likewise I am doing so, also considering either ACS or Nanyang.

[cambriant]

Hi lucky cat


I called acs today and there’s no talk for parents on
Primary one registration. So I guess we will have to base our decision
On gut and through talking to other parents.

[hypergatak]

jtoh:

ng4145:

I was at ACS (Pri) transport centre to pick up my son yesterday & I saw this incident.


A lower primay chinese boy was stopped by non-chinese father & son. The father started scolding & shouting at the chinese boy for hurting his son on the face. The poor little boy was shivering with fear & crying uncontrollably & he kept on saying sorry to them. However, the father did not stop his shouting & replied that \"what is there to say sorry now\". Obviously, he did not want to let go & puting all his anger on the poor helpless boy.

After a while, a teacher came. She was trying comfort the boy & calm the angry father. Neverthless, he continued shouting at them. The teacher, however, had to tell him to write a complaint letter to the principal if he insisted to take up the case.

I am sad to withness this incident & felt shameful for the father. He was a big bully! I tried to call the school regarding this incident however, it telehpone line was always engaged.

I've heard of a similar incident happening a couple of years ago too, with an angmo father. Wonder if it's the same bullying father.

My son also had similar experience in ACSP when he was a monitor in P1. He wrote angmoh boy's name on the board for talking before lesson proper and was scolded by the angmoh father. I am surprised that these angmoh parents are so protective.

A few comments about ACSP:
(a) Academically, it is not stressful, hardly any homework. My boy in P4 also does not get much homework up till now.
(b) Discipline-wise, it is not probably not as strict as those Chinese school. Heard that in schools like Aitong, students have to bow and greet teachers, not sure if it's the same for Nanyang.
(c) CCAs wise, lots of choices and my boy is able to get into the CCA that he wanted with much ease, he has tried 3 different types of CCAs so far. I heard it's quite competitive in some schools and the student is required to have some knowledge of the sports/game before he can join.

However, I personally find that the boys are more rowdy, noisy in an all boys school vs co-ed school.

[cambriant]

Hi


I am fine with boys being more rowdy. And it's great that there's not so much homework. I guess I am more concerned that it's sufficient. Yes I did grow up bowing to teachers but it's not that big a deal. What do you think of the Chinese level? Does your son like acs? What do you like about the school? I have been going to their website frequently but I am a little disappointed that it's not updated very frequently.

There is no open house for acs primary. My husband commented it's a no brainer

[hypergatak]

When I say rowdy, it’s really rowdy, you won’t believe the stuff they talked about. But my hubby says it’s normal in boys’ school.


My son enjoys school and made many good friends, not to mention quite a number of birthday and play parties too. In terms of homework, though it’s not alot, he is able to cope with Math and Science without tuition. I think the reasons being the teachers provide them with worksheets with challenging questions and also my boy has time in the afternoon to do self-study. He has no problem doing the past years’ exam papers. Importantly, ACS is affiliated to 2 secondary schools, and has ACS Barker to fall back on. Heard that the principal of ACS Barker, who just came on board 1 or 2 years ago, is quite good.

I am not sure how is ACS Chinese standard compared to other schools. But my son’s ex-chinese tutor commented that my son’s Chinese standard is behind the standard of her other students from other schools. I think we parents have to work harder to help them where Chinese is concerned, especially in terms of spoken Chinese. In P4, the weightage of oral Chinese is quite high at 30%.

I hope I have provided some insight for you.

[cambriant]

I think if there's not a lot of homework thats fine. It has to be just sufficient so that the kid knows his work but not overwhelming such that it doesn't leave him anytime to do anything else. As for ACS's Chinese standard, most parents I've talked to say its not as good. Does that mean if you do well in ACS Chinese, you will still do terrible in the exams? Do you feel like the school is doing a good job to get the kids interested in Chinese? You mention the oral Chinese weightage is 40%, wow... that's quite a lot. Does the school help? As in lots of opportunities or role play for the kids? Or are the parents have to seek help from outside?


Yeah, I'm not so crazy about the rowdiness in boys' school, but I guess my husband knows whats its like since he spent both primary and secondary in acs, so if he's fine with that, I think its ok with me too.

I just think ACS seems like a good school for character building and kids that I've spoken to all love the school. Its not all about grades and academics in primary school so perhaps ACS will be great for my son. Then again, I would like him to be challenged somewhat but not overwhelmed to the point where he feels jaded with school or stressed with constant exams. Its a fine line I know, but from what I'm writing, does ACS you know seem like the one I have in mind?

Thanks so much for taking time to answer my queries.. really appreciate it.

[hypergatak]

Hi Cambriant


Sorry to take quite a while to respond. Personally, I am quite against the teaching of Chinese these days. I find that the Chinese syllabus now is alot more difficult than what was taught during my time. Coupled with the fact that most kids are from English speaking background, I am not surprised that they are struggling with Chinese. I think the school do try to get the kids interested in Chinese, but the resentment against Chinese is pretty strong among the boys. So, I don’t blame the school.

[cambriant]

With the new minister of education on the helm, the chinese syllabus and way of teaching is also bound to change. So hopefully they will make it more fun and lively for the kids. But hmm… it doesn’t help that there’s that negative stigma towards the language.


Now that your son is in primary four, are you happy with the amount/quality of work that your child gets? Some parents say that its level is not high enough and not stressful enough. But for me, I think its good if its not so stressful then the kids don’t have to worry so much. But it needs to be sufficient for the kids to perform well. Do you know how the school has been doing for its PSLE in recent years?

Thanks!