Asia spending billions on tutors: study

[3Boys]

limlim:

3Boys:

[quote=\"limlim\"]
As for kiasu parents, you can't do anything about them, there is no point talking about them and put all the blame on them, then what?

I do not dispute or disagree that some kiasu parents maybe an important cause..

But it is meaningless to talk about them.

If they are an important cause, why is it meaningless to talk about them? If attitudes don't change, can anything the MOE do be enough?

It is meaningless to talk about a factor which is not within control.[/quote]I see, the elephant in the room is the kiasu attitude of parents, but instead of trying to deal with that and change attitudes, we tiptoe around it and try to placate instead.....what a great way to craft policy.

[jtoh]

wonderm:

Maybe MOE can do these:
- Change the names of all the primary and secondary schools to the same
- Change PSLE to one which gives only pass or fail grade and most if not all students should pass

Just having a pass or fail grade in PSLE will hark back to the PSLE of 30-40 years ago? Yes, PSLE was a no-stress exam then. After all, everyone just gets a Pass in the PSLE cert so what's there to stress over? 50% or 100% - same Pass cert. But will parents be happy and satisfied if their kids just receive a PSLE cert that says Pass? Will they start questioning why their neighbour who by all accounts is weaker than their own child is able to get into a better school?

[3Boys]

<Blame Displacement> Go look it up, and see how it applies here.

[verykiasu2010]

3Boys:

<Blame Displacement> Go look it up, and see how it applies here.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :goodpost:

[Funz]

janet_lee88:

When PSLE is not seen as the BIGGEST test in the life of an 11+/12 year old, when reporters do not stalk popular schools when results are released, when tuition centers do not mention the top student who once studied there, perhaps stress on the poor kids are reduced. More steps can be put in place.

Parents are kiasu because MOE made them so.

Please give parents more credit to be able to make discerning choices. Choices made base on what they believe is the best for their kids. Not because of MOE for goodness sakes.

[janet88]

I have not made any personal attacks on anyone…purely voicing my view on why billions are spent on tutors. To have my views ‘rubbished’ is utterly unfair.

[Laura02]

As a parent, I ask myself what skill sets I want my child to develop to face the challenges of tomorrow’s world. Do I want to nurture an entreupreneur, a civil servant, an innovator, but no, not a doctor. Then I try to encourage the self motivation, self relience, creativity, resilience and other characteristics that I think will stand my child in good stead in future.


As a society, its good that there is a braod spectrum of parents who have different asperations for their children. Of course, there is a predominance of "kiasu parents" in this forum, but then this forum is a platform for kiasu parents, afterall. There are parents whose views do not align with the views expressed but many of the contributers here, and do not express their views online. So I constantly remind myself that the views expressed here may not represent that of the majority of Singaporean parents.

I met my family’s doctor’s kids at the library last Sunday. Their oldest child is taking the PSLE this year. But the child’s hands were full of story books that she intended to read over the next 3 weeks. I know that the child is not academically strong. Nevertherless, her parents were smiling when I teased her about reading story books in these precious weeks running up to the PSLE. My cousin’s kid is in ACS, also not doing well academically. But his parents proudly point to his interest in cooking and baking. Are they the exceptions that prove the rule?

[concern2]

From what I am reading here, it sounds like the stress is mainly in the PSLE preparation years of P5, P6, and that is understandable, and perhaps it is when tuitions are required to propel the kids' grades if they are not already making the mark.


It also sounds to me that with the growth of tuition services, parents should also bear in mind to be on the alert and do not be made victims of their own fear and anxiety. With the discussion on the case of CHC recently, I draw the conclusion of the vulnerability of Man, of fear of the unknown (in this case, the future of their children), of the need to grasp onto anything that will keep them hanging on during their weakest moments, and most pressurized moments.

Tuition services, are, ultimately, NOT MOE. They are BUSINESSES. One only have oneself to look at in terms of the decision that one takes to depart from one's hard-earned money.

Education to most parents, should be child-centred (correct me if you think otherwise), and we as parents, expect MOE to be child-centred too. Yet, before we go enrolling our pre-school children into tuition lessons (and I mean only tuitions, not enrichments), are we really being child-centred, or are we actually being parent-centred in our decision?

It is not easy to draw the line, because we most likely want to believe that what we are doing is for the best for our kids and not for ourselves. To that, I have no answer, for I'd think is one of the greatest challenges of being a parent.

[verykiasu2010]

janet_lee88:

I have not made any personal attacks on anyone...purely voicing my view on why billions are spent on tutors. To have my views 'rubbished' is utterly unfair.

to say that parents are kiasu because MOE made them so is utterly nonsense, if you don't like the word rubbish

parents are kiasu because they choose to be, for 10001 reasons

if you can accept your child's grades, why go for tuition?

if you can accept your child being posted to any sec school, why must aim for certain school ?

if you can accept your child doing whatever he likes as a vocation or profession by whatever grades he could get in, why so hung up about grades and schools ?

you are afraid to lose out not because of MOE made you to be.

you need to reflect why you blame MOE and school for everything your child not performing to your expectation or your ideals

this is not a personal attack

just probing and rude questions that you may sit up and think, not to react

[janet88]

Laura02:

Nevertherless, her parents were smiling when I teased her about reading story books in these precious weeks running up to the PSLE. My cousin's kid is in ACS, also not doing well academically. But his parents proudly point to his interest in cooking and baking. Are they the exceptions that prove the rule?

Not all parents believe in tuition. My doctor told me her kids never had tuition as she coaches them herself. If my child is a strong reader, that is better than doing any assessment book. I am getting my son to read the ST everyday...very late but better than never.