Singapore's secret to success?

taken from http://hrd.apec.org/index.php/Education_in_Singapore


As can be seen in the picture above, this is a chart of Singapore Education Journey. Those who underwent the journey in Singapore will find it familiar. I would like to emphasise that this journey is unique to Singapore. You can't find the whole cohort of student in another country taking Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) after six years of the schooling. To start of, lets talk about the first essential six years of education for most students in Singapore. After six years, a student will sit for PSLE which is the first test of how capable he or she is in learning compared to his peers. It seemed that it was only yesterday when I took the exams because the memory was still fresh in my mind, Imagine how nervous twelve year olds student are when they take a national exam which will determine the next path in the education journey.

Results will be released a few months after. The day of my results was memorable me as it was one of the happiest days of my live although I knew that I could not get into the school of my choice with that results. I have worked really hard and the efforts paid off. I got posted to the Special Stream. Others are posted to either the Express Stream, Normal Academic or Normal Technical. If I am not mistaken, the cut off point to Special stream was 250, 200 for Express, 160 for Normal Academic. The rest will be posted to Normal Technical. This streaming process has been a controversy as can be seen in Jack Neo's movie I Not Stupid 2. Well, the difference between the Express and Special stream, as I believed, lies in its name. Normal Academic student would take the GCE O-levels in Secondary 5 while those in Express and Special in Secondary 4.

However, there are those who chose to bypass the GCE O-level exams to take A-levels or the International Baccalaureate examination at the sixth years.

After taking the GCE O-level, student can choose to go to Junior Colleges/Millennia Institute, Polytechnics or Institute of Technical Education. What I find the most interesting feature that all paths can lead a person to Universities. This clearly showed the Ministry has a specific goal of wanting students to have a degree.

However, is the education system good for the student or will it bring an adverse effect to them in the future? Some criticised the education as being too harsh on the student depriving them of a good life. Well, I define a good life as having a life full of different experiences. It seemed that most Singapore student do not have time to explore into other aspect of life such as aesthetics and sports. Only until recently, little attention was given tot hose areas. It is a blessing that the government has realised the importance of sports and aesthetic. Schools such as the Singapore Sports School and School Of The Arts have been built to encourage those who have inclination towards these areas. Of course, basic education is still a must.

I have read that some criticised the education as being too specialised. More emphasis is needed on critical thinking. It is argued that it is useless for students to rote learn as it will not benefit them in the future when they face challenges. Are the students studying too much? Those questions were raised by many who thought that the education system in Singapore is absurd. I wonder if anyone had watched a foreign movie showing a student studying hard for an upcoming education. How about them buying assessment books or enrolling in tuition? Tuition? I heard it is something new to many foreigners.It is not uncommon for students to rush off to their tuition centre after school for extra lesson. Why need tuition when one just stay back after school to consult own teachers?

Other said that the competition in Singapore is ludicrous. I have heard of straight A students working hard till they fall sick, I agree that one must not be complacent but then, there is no reason to study until late even though they specialise on that subject. A few students are even challenging each other to get higher marks even though they are getting straight As. Some are achieving for full marks and are not satisfied when they fell short of a few marks. How crazy is that?

And I truly believe that Singapore Changi Airport is one of the few airports where travelers will see students studying. Studying in an airport? Won't tourists frown? It is not an uncommon sight to see students sitting on the floor with books, worksheets and file laid in front of them especially when the exams period are drawing close. Another feature of Uniquely Singapore.

However, we must accept that this way of education system which had brought Singapore to where it is today. Therefore, unless we can find a better system than this, we should keep to this system of learning.

What's wrong with parents nowadays?

I had just came back from tuition. Although it is after O-levels, I have some work to do over there. Then, on the way back home, I rushed to Popular Bookstore to get some foolscap paper. A long queue greeted me as I entered the store. i thought there was a big sale, such as 25% off all books. However, there were none. I finally found out that the people who queued were mostly adults. Ok,I expected that they bought some novel or self-improvement books for themselves.

Unfortunately, most were carrying assessment books and textbooks. Mainly primary school and secondary ones. Surely, those are parents who were very eager to purchase books for their children. I was flabbergasted by the sight of the people. What's wrong with those parents? It's only the start of holidays. School starts on the 2nd of January the following year! They have more than a month to buy the book, why rush? The parents can buy those books even after school reopens. I am certain the teachers will not deprive the students of learning just because they do not own a textbook yet.

Afraid that the books will run out of stocks? I remembered clearly one of my classmates parent claiming that he has to purchase the book early such that she will be able to buy it before the stocks run out. Well, think rationally. If the stocks run out, just inform the bookstore and they will order it for you. Just have to wait and for the time being, share textbooks when school reopens. I'm sure MOE teachers are not that anal-retentive to make it compulsory for the students to have a textbooks during the first few lessons.

Additionally, why must they rush to Popular Bookstore to purchase it? If I am not wrong, they could buy those textbooks in their children's school. Oh, I heard there is a big discount of 5% for textbooks, only for members. 5% ? Let's assume that the total price of the textbooks is $200. I would love to congratulate them for queueing up so long just to save $10. What a wise way of spending money. Well, some claimed bookshops are cheap as well.

Isn't Singapore an advanced country in terms of technology. Hello? http://www.epopular.com.sg/textbook. Heard of this website? or can just type "popular bookstore" in the famous search engine called google or yahoo. Just order it online and save time. Simple as that! Well, spend a bit more just to get those things delivered to your doorstep.

How bout those parents who purchased a lot of assessment books? I saw a woman carrying 3 english assessment books. Oh wow, learning for experience, for subjects such a english, assessment books don't really help much. Why not use the money to purchase some magazine such as times or News week. Kill two birds with one stone. Improve english and widen the student's knowledge. And exams are 4 months away! Are the parents seriously crazy?? Do they think the children have the mood to study during the holidays, when it is time for them to enjoy and have fun?

I would also love to see those children's face when the parents return home with plastic bag full of assessment books. They might be totally demoralised looking at those work they are going to do the following year. Well, the more zealous one will look through the books but how long can their zest last?

Once again, are those parents "kiasu" or just too enthusiastic about their child learning. I think the former describes them more, as my senses tell me. Parents should seriously plan before just charging out to bookstores to buy textbooks. This is like being in a war with no proper strategy.