Just yesterday, my pastor sounded out her alarm of how stressful Singapore kids are nowadays. Many local parents have to teach their kids how to add, subtract, write and read BEFORE sending their kids to primary school. Foreigners who are not familiar with our system often would find our educational system stressful and their kids suffer some kind of "cultural" shock.
Yes, I also find this amusing. Many primary 1 and 2 teachers often expect their students able to read and write before being enrolled into their schools. Those students who cannot read well would often be separated to a different reading class for catching-up work. As far as I know, not many teachers enjoy teaching these slow developers. It’s carnal, with such kids, it is difficult for the principal to grade your performance as a teacher or appreciate you.
Many teaching materials in school are catered for the so-called "mainstream" students who know how to read and write, and can do pretty well academically. So the test or exam papers set by the school would be for this kind of students. Those kids who are not often struggle and not able to do well. It's hilarious - out of 10 classes, only 1-2 classes are made up of "mainstream" students. So you can imagine how an average student would fare in their exam papers.
I have a bright P2 tuition kid whose parents are companies' executives. At her age, she can read relatively well. She can easily answer many direct comprehension questions but not those with hidden meanings. She goes to a neighborhood school. However, her parents are often stressed out by the frequent tropical tests the school would conduct fortnightly.
On top of my tuition assignment and schoolwork, the girl has to complete those issued by her anxious mother. This is the normal trend I’ve been observing as a tutor for bright and intelligent kids. Often thing would spiral to a point that the child loss the interest or motivation to excel because their “work” never seem to end. This I often caution the parents but still not able to tame down their fear.
On the contrary, I have a P4 girl whose parents are blue-collar workers. Unlike my P2 girl, she does not read well. She struggles in her comprehension, composition, vocabulary and even grammar. Her mother shows concern of her academic performance but is not consistent in “helping” the girl.
Two weeks ago, there was a short term break from school, just a week. This girl was found absent from my tuition class. Her mother reasoned that since it was a school holiday, her child deserved a break from tuition too.
Yes, the kind of background or occupation the parents have does make a lot of difference in their kids' academic performance. But how does a school cope with such disparity in the performances of their kids?
Amongst my school teacher friends, it’s a known fact that many of our local principals are young and ambitious. They strive to be successful in their career and achievement. Look at all the medals of achievement they have gotten for their schools. And they are still collecting.
Genuinely caring and loving principals are rare gems. I remember I have such principals in my school years back. They showed concern for latch-key kids and started activities or programs for them. They visited and encouraged these kids often. They would regularly stroll around their school compound to engage their students, teachers and even school-workers. They are the one who have left a legacy of goodness and grace but most of them have already retired.
If we would have this kind of educational leaders in our system, I believe our kids’ academic and personal development would be more enjoyable and meaningful.
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