All Schools are GOOD Schools

[zeemimi]

mum_sugoku:

Apparently, situation in China is just as bad as ours:


http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/chinas-education-prepares-students-tests/story?id=12348599[quote]...From a very young age, China breeds a test-oriented educational environment.

In junior high, they write the zhongkao -- \"middle test\" -- to get placed in a good high school.

In high school, the stakes are higher with the gaokao -- \"high test.\"

The final prize is entrance to a coveted college, which could lead to a leg up in the competitive job market, which could lead to a well-paid job, which in turn could lead to a happy and prosperous life. Failure or low scores on the test send many students back to high school for one more year of gaokao preparation.

The two- to three-day exam is nothing short of an obsession for parents. And it's nothing short of miserable for students...

Could it be possible that the obsession with good academic (exams) scores is already so entrenched in Asian - particularly Chinese's - culture that regardless of how MOE revamp the system, students/parents will always be subjected to exam stress?[/quote]Our Beijing friend told us it is crazy there too. Many suicides attempted within school premises went hush hush ...... just to preserve the image of the school and the educational system.

[janet88]

There is a high suicide rate in SKorea.

So if Asian countries have high emphasis on education system, any good for our education minister to visit US ? Any relaxation in our grueling education system or make things worst ? PSLE is the first determining factor for our kids. Which kid and how many (especially boys) will be mature to think far athe age of 11+?

[Chenonceau]

Wow… this thread has moved!! Welcome back Singfrench! I missed you.

[kitty2]

janet_lee88:

Our Education Minister has been sent overseas to America to study more policies. He is sitting up there. We are down here sweating and pulling our hair out over the kids' education. Does anyone in education ministry understand what we are going through ?

Kids wake up at 6am to go to school. They are not taught methods to handle tough syllabus. After school, they have to attend tuition in order to pass exams. Should this be the case ?

Wonder should we ask the reporters to write an article on our world class education? :? Every saturday,there'll be a special article on certain topic.The reporters should be keen of out feedback.I don't think Ah Heng can hear us from hear :rotflmao:

[limlim]

Singfrench:

how about doing away with PSLE??? No more crazy t-scores...schools evaluate kids throughout the year without numbered scores like in the european/some international school systems.

I rather they ban tuition center first..

SG is based on meritocracy.. If you remove PSLE, how are you going to set the admission requirement for Sec Sch?

For P1, there is no choice but to consider other factors bcoz there is no reason to test the kids if they never received any formal education. And already many feedback that the criteria is not fair.

If you set admission criteria for Sec sch to be other than PSLE results.. you're going to open another can of worms for MOE..

If no PSLE but other evaluation, how to ensure that it is fair and on equal standing between different schools?

[CRAZYBANANA]

Instead of doing away with PSLE, they should have nation wide examination at all levels from P3. Parents can bench mark their child better instead of waiting for a surprise check at P6 :yikes: . It saves a lot of resources for each school to set their own exam papers too since all schools have SA1 & SA2 from P3 on.

[janet88]

limlim:

Singfrench:

how about doing away with PSLE??? No more crazy t-scores...schools evaluate kids throughout the year without numbered scores like in the european/some international school systems.

I rather they ban tuition center first..

You mean ban tuition centre ? How will our kids pass exams if tuition centers/tuition is banned ? Schools are not teaching our kids sufficient to even pass exams. Not every parent is able to coach given the high standard/difficulty level now. I can still coach my p2 daughter in the meantime, but don't know for how long more.

[limlim]

janet_lee88:

limlim:

[quote=\"Singfrench\"]

how about doing away with PSLE??? No more crazy t-scores...schools evaluate kids throughout the year without numbered scores like in the european/some international school systems.

I rather they ban tuition center first..

You mean ban tuition centre ? How will our kids pass exams if tuition centers/tuition is banned ? Schools are not teaching our kids sufficient to even pass exams. Not every parent is able to coach given the high standard/difficulty level now. I can still coach my p2 daughter in the meantime, but don't know for how long more.[/quote]The poison is too deep liao.. \"I don't know what to say...........\"

Since when is passing exam the duty of the tuition centers..?? IT is the responsibility of the schools!

If there is no tuition centers and the passing rate is 5%.. The school must do something about it! Like adjusting the examination questions OR conduct remedial classes for the students.. Not throw them at tuition centers!

w/o tuition centers, the school will do something, must do something.. with tuition centers, the school may not see the problem or do anything about it.. and that, is the problem NOW.

[Singfrench]

limlim:

Singfrench:

how about doing away with PSLE??? No more crazy t-scores...schools evaluate kids throughout the year without numbered scores like in the european/some international school systems.

I rather they ban tuition center first..

SG is based on meritocracy.. If you remove PSLE, how are you going to set the admission requirement for Sec Sch?

For P1, there is no choice but to consider other factors bcoz there is no reason to test the kids if they never received any formal education. And already many feedback that the criteria is not fair.

If you set admission criteria for Sec sch to be other than PSLE results.. you're going to open another can of worms for MOE..

If no PSLE but other evaluation, how to ensure that it is fair and on equal standing between different schools?

I definitely would advocate banning tuition centers too...
but if (and when) all primary schools are good, all secondary schools will be good too. So then no one will care which school their children go to as long as they have attained the required skills-set to enter a secondary school. Teachers obviously have to be very competent and of course the MOE will have to ensure that teachers and schools are doing their jobs.

Perhaps it is human nature to want to know how our child if faring as compared to their cohort and that is why we have so much kiasu-ness. To me having a numbered grade does not tell me in which area my children are good or weak in.

In my kids' previous school system, the report card was several pages long consisting of a list of all the skills a child need to know to pass his level and each skill is graded into 4 categories (\"acquired\", \"to be reinforced\", \"in the process of being acquired\", \"not acquired\" sorry translation might be poor from french). Teachers worked very hard to ensure that the kids have the necessary skills to move on. Maybe i've come from a very different system to this SG system where exams are so segregating** and it irks me that i have no choice but to put my kids through this competition. Playdates and sleepovers are a thing of the past for my kids and I feel sorry for them that they cannot have the same level of friendship as they had before.

**Despite being very anti-segregation, i believe gifted kids, learning disabled kids should be given special attention during certain academic periods.

[Singfrench]

Chenonceau:

Wow... this thread has moved!! Welcome back Singfrench! I missed you.

hi chenonceau, missed you too...