Pat's Schoolhouse

[2boysmother]

what is the fees in pat school house

[Un-Kiasu Singaporean]

@Kabalevsky Thanks for the compliment about my writing. Doesn’t sound like that of sarcasm. About your point of being a product of the SG system, I only studied up to Secondary 3 here and then I completed the rest of my education overseas…hence I have a different mindset to the usual Singaporeans. I agree that the majority of local kids may have better literacy and numeracy skills compared to other Western countries but the majority of local kids here are unable to think out of the box or problem solve on their own. They are excellent at regurgitation but struggle to search for knowledge independently. I really believe in thematic units of work which incorporate the different subject areas of maths, science, literacy, technology, visual- arts etc… and the whole language experience thing the kids engage in during the process of cookery/baking.


Pat’s TCML Music Program is very well-written and thought out. It’s not like the usual boring theory/ ta-taa ti-ti-taa nonsense that is just too over the top. It’s really interesting coz’ the kids are exposed to very varied and different genres of music and really have the sensory experience in music creation. Who knows maybe next they will start composing their own songs on the computer with some advanced music-editing software or something. There are ways to further improve on the current Pat’s programs for sure…but that’s what their curriculum team is for isn’t it…Haha…

Speaking of countries that value early childhood educators, the realisation has only just dawned on ours that it is an area of uttmost importance. We can judge the importance placed of ECE by looking at the salaries we pay our childcare / kindergarten teachers. Come on it’s time to be realistic…We leave our children in their hands almost all day. Surely we want satisfied not disgruntled teachers. We want the younger Gen Y to choose teaching as a profession because there’s less of a generation gap and because we need new blood in every profession.

Everyone cares about how smart their children should become but no one really plans for their child to become a teacher. Especially in SG we associate brains and wealth with doctors, lawyers, accountants, finance, IT etc… It’s time to make it a first-rate profession that commands prestige and a high rate of pay. It’s really ironic…we worry about what school what Pat’s branch we must get into and how early we must start registering but what we don’t give enough importance to are our children’s teachers. They are the ones that really matter…the defining reason that we trust them with our children’s development.

@ 2BoysMother - With regards to your question about Pat’s fees all I can say is an arm and a leg so it’s up to each individual family to decide if it’s really worth your dollar. As they say good things don’t come cheap…The kiasu parents pay for the new house within the radius of those prestigious schools to ensure that the kids get in, luxury cars, posh birthday parties. For me, Pat’s joins the elite, luxury brand of childcare…Just quoting my friend on her description of Pat’s when I was deciding on preschools for my kids. Woah! Pat’s Schoolhouse…Isn’t that the Atas school in the Bukit Timah area. So depends how you wanna look at it.

[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.