Real reason behind Singapore’s obsession with tuition

[dorisp]

schweppes:

For whatever reasons we send our kids to tuition or enrichment centres, sometimes i think it boils down to survival. Be it to survive the system or to survive in society, we just want our kids to keep up with everybody else. True, there will always be some parents who want their kids to stay ahead of everybody else. But who are we to say otherwise?


Coz, we all know, that in Singapore, if we don't keep up, we lag behind and no one wants our kids to be left behind.

We compete for places - not just for P1 places in good primary schools, or Sec schools... but down the line in JCs and high demand courses in the polys and of course, a place in our local Unis. And when i say \"compete\", I don't even mean competing with foreign students (this is NOT meant to be another FT or govt bashing thread). As Uni places are limited, our kids will compete with each other's kids for places.

So, tuition becomes a need and want for many parents because they just want to help their kids to survive the system. Guess, call it what u will, be it kiasu, kiasi (or even kiabor... ), end of day, we just want the best for our children.

Which parent doesn't want their kids to enter the Unis and become a graduate, and be happy with their jobs and lives.

So... until that day comes, in the meantime, parents become desperate (some more desperate than others) to help the child survive the system.

Will having better textbooks, better trained quality teachers, holistic learning, smaller classroom size, et all make a positive difference? Definitely. Will it detract the need for tution? Doubt so.

:goodpost:

[schweppes]

buds:

Wonderm a new fan!


Wait, which club?
We are oredi in Schweppes notti club.

:rotflmao:

:whut:

:yikes: :faint:

:itwasntme:

:imanangel: :imanangel: :imanangel:

[schweppes]

buds:

:offtopic:


*Miss the joy and laughter tt used to preside over this forum..*

:grphug:

me too!! :gloomy: :sad:

[wonderm]

buds:

Wonderm a new fan!


Wait, which club?
We are oredi in Schweppes notti club.

:rotflmao:

:offtopic:

*Miss the joy and laughter tt used to preside over this forum..*

:grphug:

Oh, must have missed the fun earlier.

I was referring to what Schweppes said about the tuition phenomenon. Like many others, I found it an excellent summary of the situation.

[schweppes]

wonderm:

buds:

Wonderm a new fan!


Wait, which club?
We are oredi in Schweppes notti club.

:rotflmao:

:offtopic:

*Miss the joy and laughter tt used to preside over this forum..*

:grphug:

Oh, must have missed the fun earlier.

I was referring to what Schweppes said about the tuition phenomenon. Like many others, I found it an excellent summary of the situation.

:thankyou: wonderm :oops:

[buds]

That's why I suggest can close thread liao.

Schweppes jie gave the best rationale.. prejudice free..
encompassing the wave from every shore.. bao everything!

The BEST post in this 70-pg obsessed thread! :udawoman:

Now all you obsessed peeps obsessively watching this obsessed thread.. Scoot and do something useful already. Me included. :politebleah:

[autumnbronze]

schweppes:

buds:

:offtopic:


*Miss the joy and laughter tt used to preside over this forum..*

:grphug:

me too!! :gloomy: :sad:

Me THREE *raise both hands*

Now I must go and back read the posts I missed

[corneyAmber]

Funz:

ksi:

Yeah, would that be considered enrichment, i.e. good to have since there is no problem to solve? I distinguish between enrichment and tuition. I know many of the bright kids go for enrichment as a good to have. Centres like TLL is enrichment to me, children go there to pick up lifestyle habits like Heelys. Mindstretcher is both an enrichment and a tuition centre. Berries is more of an enrichment centre because if a primary school child is identified to have a problem in Chinese, it would be tough to follow the syllabus in Berries at the same level as syllabus is not MOE driven but extended, Tien Hsia caters more for tuition as they follow MOE syllabus closely but I am not sure if they have started enrichment version as well. So are we an enrichment-centric nation or a tuition-centric nation? :?

I do distinguish them too. And no, not referring to enrichments. Talking about tuition, some group, some private. But really, more and more, I see parents looking for tutors for their kids even before start P1.

Enrichment or tuition centric? I think both, constrained only by time and finances. :razz:

:hi5:

At the preschool level, could there be feedback from the kindy that prompted the tuition to happen or perhaps always thinking the primary school subjects are potentially a future problem?

[corneyAmber]

wonderm:

ksi, agree with your distinction between enrichment and tuition.

For your earlier survey of subject-specialization and release of compo marks/papers. My experience with my boys' school was that they had subject-specialized teachers for upper primary level (I can't remember about lower primary) and they definitely belonged to your Cat3 and Cat4 (for some exams at least, they didn't know the marks for compo and oral, I remembered we had to estimate ourselves). Like other parents, we were frustrated but didn't fight with the school for too long.

wonderm, thanks for the great sharing that your school has subject-specialised teachers for upper primary which I think is better for upper level learning too. As for the Cat 3/Cat 4 on the compo results, I hope MOE is aware of this and perhaps can give us a response on why this is an approved practice.

[BeContented]

wonderm:

buds:

Wonderm a new fan!


Wait, which club?
We are oredi in Schweppes notti club.

:rotflmao:

:offtopic:

*Miss the joy and laughter tt used to preside over this forum..*

:grphug:

Oh, must have missed the fun earlier.

I was referring to what Schweppes said about the tuition phenomenon. Like many others, I found it an excellent summary of the situation.

Same here