Pat's Schoolhouse

[Kabby]

haha... unkiasu, i was definitely not being sarcastic, so yeah, it was a compliment.

childhood is when the foundations are laid. so up to sec 3, it is still an important foundation. i still have faith in the education system here.

you sound like my Dh, who rants about early childhood trs' salaries all the time. i need to check with him tmr if that's his username on KSP. (he's asleep now though, and i think you just posted, so oops..)

not just the music program. I like the influence of Orff and Kodaly in the music program but I do lament that they kept changing the music teachers for a while in my son's center. High turnover rate. (probably due to salary too)

I love the emphasis on Chinese. I love their teachers. I like the way they learn Chinese in fun ways rather than rote. I like the Letterland stories. I myself did not know about Letterland till my ds2 learnt about it and I enjoy the stories so much! That said, in language there are so many exceptions, we can't use a single system to guide us in pronouncing all words, but anyway.

I won't have a problem if my kids want to be teachers. Dh and I used to be teachers. I am still on no pay leave but yeah, when I return, I'd still be a teacher. Wonder if I'd get less respect from you after revealing this fact, than say, if I were a surgeon.

Pat's fees. Yes, very high. I use my Baby Bonus acct to pay though, so I treat it as 50% paid by govt. Then I get MCYS subsidy too. Though I don't work now, so I get much less than working moms. It's still much higher than the PCF downstairs though, and I did enquire downstairs before putting my child in Pat's cos they were full, actually.

But after having him in Pat's, I found I love the teachers so much, I don't regret it.

I do try not to reveal his school unless asked point blank though, because I am not wealthy and I dislike people to react in a strong manner when they hear he is in Pat's. They sometimes even look suspicious, lol.

So 2boysmother, if you are rich, it's ok, or if you don't mind the reactions.
And hey, I've got 2 boys too! hi-five!

[empressplace]

Hi I would like to provide a different view here. Actually in the course of my work, I have found Singaporeans to be of international standard and in many cases better than foreigners. I am talking about the professional context. I can’t say that I agree that "the majority of local kids here are unable to think out of the box or problem solve on their own." But of course, I have limited exposure to children besides my own so I don’t know.


Creativity is also linked to our economic reality and resources. Singaporeans do not see creative expression as a means to a good living although that may change. And grades are the basic stepping stone to a good job. Entrepreneurship is not strong here as our domestic market is small. Hence most Singaporeans are still planning for employment rather than entrepreneurship.

Given our economic environment, where we are located, the rise of China and cultural factors, I cannot see Kiasu-ism ever waning. People of North Asian descent, especially Chinese, Koreans and Japanese people, would be kiasu wherever they are - Amy Chua of Tiger Mother fame being case in point. I think it is better to focus on being intelligently kiasu. Focusing on creativity at the expense of acquiring basic foundational skills is not wise. But over focusing on academic grades without developing the soft skills/ maturity/ cultural sensitivity or creativity is just going to put the kids in severe disadvantage in the long run. A state school system is never going to achieve everything for everybody. Hence parents are ultimately responsible for making the best choices for their own kids as they see fit.

[Kabby]

empressplace:

I have found Singaporeans to be of international standard and in many cases better than foreigners.


A state school system is never going to achieve everything for everybody. Hence parents are ultimately responsible for making the best choices for their own kids as they see fit.

yup, agree! :hi5:

I have many students (from the local school system) who go on to Ivy League unis and they hold their own or do even better than the Americans. But that's not to say they are bookworms only. They also join activities with a fervour and often do community work too. A lot of them also stay on to work there (either in Uk, US or Australia) if they don't have scholarships and have to rush back to serve their bonds. They report very good work performance too, so I don't think they are rigid, or not creative, else they can't survive in a competitive job market there too.

True, there'll always be some who do CIP in the Sg system just to clock the hours and get the points, but hopefully for enough students, it becomes a good habit inculcated in them.

For the exam-smart people, there'll always be some of these too, who can't think out of the box, but as long as the proportion is normal compared to the rest of the world, I don't think there's anything very wrong.

The last part is very true, empressplace. In the end, the parents are still the most important people who will influence the kids. And the most responsible too.

The load on our shoulders is a heavy one indeed. I hope I manage it well enough!

[Un-Kiasu Singaporean]

@empressplace- HA!! I was gonna mention something along the lines of tiger mother but wasn’t sure about its origins. I totally agree with you and Kabalevsky.


@Kabalevsky- High Five right back at you!! Pat’s fees and early childhood educators salaries. Compliment accepted too. It’s pathetic the going rate for preschool teachers in SG. C’mon I mean how much fees are we paying for a premium preschool education. What’s paying them double what they currently get?Haha… Look at the fees the International schools here are charging?? I reckon all full day preschool teachers should get a min of $2000p/m and degree holders more esp. overseas ECE grads. 4 years of study in the education field is not a short period of time. Raising salaries will definitely help the turnover rate everywhere. Do you think Pat’s have a high turnover rate? I think they have a core team of old birds that run the show and provide stability but at the same time lots of young blood too.

Of course I have respect for you choosing the teaching profession. It really is a noble calling. People in the medical profession are just as noble. They save and heal lives, have hardly any life of their own coz’ they work crazy shift work hours but they are compensated for that quite decently. Why not ECE educators…Change the perception!!!

Oh Orff Schulwerk. The Orff Approach of exploration, imitation, improvisation, and composition. Go check out the instruments that are hand-made. Some Aqua cello thingy…Looks and sounds pretty awesome. I also love the ostinatos that the kids do in Pat’s. Have you heard of the donkey song? Mine came home singing that song (what is it called) Oh yeah ‘Tingalayo’ so now it’s stuck in my head. Oops!! Maybe they learnt that in TCML. Really cool stuff the improvs. We have a joke phrase that goes "Ay Ay Glockenspiel (We pronounce it Glock-En-Speeeeeiiilllll) with a Captain Jack Sparrow gone German accent. Try it it’s really hilarious.

Ha! I think we’ve gone way off course in this forum thread from the topic of Pat’s Schoolhouse. But hey at least we’re not bagging Pat Koh out (HintHint*) and I guess this is somewhat related to Pat’s Curriculum. We are talking about their music curriculum of Orff and TCML. Hee Glad everyone’s moved on from the food poisoning saga (Oops did I mention it again…) Sorry but that news is so yesterday so time to move on to Dad’s kitchen jokes.

[empressplace]

Hi the music curriculum you were referring to - did you mean the regular music class or special class after the main morning session? What is TCML? I wasn’t aware of any super impressive music curriculum. I do know the music teachers regularly receive Orff training as I have seen some photos of their training session.

[gaznat]

i'm new to this infant care issue cuz i'm putting this idea as an option for my dd while i go back to work. can anyone tell me how's the fee, schedule and curriculum structure like in Pat's? thanks!!

[pishako]

hi all,


is there any updated feedback about pat schoolhouse @ claymore now?

i am contemplating between tanglin and claymore but the former is full, while i have a place for the latter.

not sure if i should take up the claymore placement and transfer school later. any advice?

i was also looking at mindchamps preschool. Quite confused between the two brands, not sure which one to go for.

[DC Mummy]

I can’t be help feeling an anti-Pats putting negative remarks in ALL his/her only topic postings in KSP without giving a real factual situation or an example. Genuine parents having their kids in pats or even to someone who knows the pre-school, should be able to raise their concerns in a more constructive manner, rather than riding on others’ comments and start rubbing salt into it.

[applemum]

For those who commented on class size, my girl is in K2 at Jubilee Park. Although the class size is huge at about 22, there are 3 teachers. So to me, it is ok. It is the quality of teachers that is more important than quantity and class size though. All the Pat’s teachers are so different. They are very passionate and super nice to the kids. Besides exposing the kids to a lot of unique experiences and quality all-rounded programme, I am always very impressed that they even have time to tie my girl’s hair nicely after bath. Most important, everyday my girl will come back and tell me that she is very happy in school. Actually, it is good to increase the class size in K2 so that when they go to P1, they will be able to adapt better. In P1, there will only be 1 teacher to a class of 30 at any point of time.

[empressplace]

When kids are younger than K2/ K1 level, large class sizes increase the exposure to germs. 3:22 is well below the published ratio of 1:10 (K2) but 2:18 is above the published ratio of 1:8 (Nursery).