Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Adapting to the competitive school environment

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Adapting to the competitive school environment

Dear Mr. Tan,

My son attended an Elementary School in America when he was in First Grade and Second Grade. He enjoyed school very much and was very participative in class as the teachers would encourage the pupils to speak up even though they may not give the right answers at times.

We returned to Singapore when he was in Primary 3 and he continued to enjoy schooling and did very well in school. He was then posted to the best class in primary 5 and 6. It was a very competitive class and the students are rather conscious with their marks and grades for everything they did. My son was under a lot of stress and began to lose confidence in himself. He constantly feels that he is not good enough and started to worry too much about examinations. We have always assured him that we would be proud of him no matter what grade he gets. Learning to him is no longer fun but a competition for higher marks.

Fortunately, he did reasonably well in PSLE and is now in Secondary One. He is making new friends and is adapting well to the new environment. We can see that he is gaining his self confidence slowly and we are glad that he is enjoying school again.

10 comments:

A Singaporean said...: Sometimes, I wonder whether students suffered when they are in the so-called best schools. Some of these so-called best schools are huge pressure cookers.; January 12, 2010 5:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Hmm, why is it that in many western countries, children in primary & secondary schools are allowed to enjoy their childhoods. Their pressure is probably 40% of what s'pore kids face. And yet many of these overseas kids go to university and become graduates. If they come into S'pore, they are seen as foreign talents.

I remember reading from a researcher in a local institute, in which he says that when academically measured by subject and IQ tests, S'pore students beat most western-educated kids during primary and secondary school years. But when the children reach 16 or 17 yrs old, the academic superiority of S'pore students becomes statistically negligible. I need to dig out this report...; January 12, 2010 8:19 PM
Anonymous said...: The competitive environment in Singapore schools is to 'train/prepare' our people for the competitive environment they will have to face when they work in Singapore in future. A lot of foreigners could not take the stressful and competitive lifestyle in Singapore. But even though these foreigners could not cope with our stressful working environment, they sure can out-talk trueblue local Singaporeans!; January 12, 2010 9:04 PM
Anonymous said...: not sure what is the message of the posting; January 13, 2010 12:34 AM
Tan Kin Lian said...: The message of this article is the stress to the student due to the competitive school environment. In the final paragraph, the mother wanted to express the hope that her son is now adapting to the environment.; January 13, 2010 6:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Many parents want to send their kids to the best primary schools by various ways. Who define these best schools? The number of scholars they produced each year!
How not to be competitive?; January 13, 2010 7:37 AM
Anonymous said...: Let's summarize the facts first:

1. Singapore has a population of 5 million.
America has a population of 300 million.

2. Singapore land size is 710 sq km.
USA's land size is 9.83 MILLION sq km

3. Singapore's very long and difficult to police coastline is 193km. (Mas Selamat, world's fastest limping terrorist, made his escape through this coastline).

America has a 20,000 km coastline.

4.Below table summarizes Nobel prize laureates (per capita or per 1 million people) by country:

#1. Iceland at 3.36999 per 1 million

#6. United Kingdom at 1.65451 per 1 million

#11. USA at 0.912983 per 1 million

#18. Australia at 0.298656 per 1 million

#32 Singapore at 0 per 1 million people

Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_nob_pri_lau_percap-nobel-prize-laureates-per-capita

Correct me if I'm wrong, but no Singaporean has yet to win the Nobel Prize.

Source: http://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&q=Singaporeans+who+have+won+the+Nobel+prize&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=

So with the above facts, it is my humble contention that most Singaporeans still believe that our "pressure cooker competitive" education system is far superior to USA's "soft liberal" education system. Our Singapore students "benefit" from the high pressure!

I find it incredible that we have such overwhelming arrogance given that we are one of the smallest countries in the world.

Unbelievable.

Maybe that's why we need such high priced talents to run our country. Very difficult to manage. Home of the world's fastest limping terrorist.; January 13, 2010 8:22 AM
Anonymous said...: Many years ago, my wife was a relief teacher at one of the so-called elite primary school.

During a Maths lesson, she was unable to solve a particular problem. None of the students were worried. In fact, one of them put up her hand and said, "Don't worry Miss Tan. My tutor will teach me tonight. And then tomorrow I will tell you how to do it."

Maybe our elite schools do well because the parents are rich and can afford the best tutors money can buy. Not because the pupils are smarter or the school or teachers are better.

Just a thought.

This does have follow through implications for an "equal opportunity" society".

Maybe our meritocratic school system is not so meritocratic after all. Maybe money can buy academic success.; January 13, 2010 8:37 AM
kristen said...: I think being exposed in a competitive environment can do different things to kids, it really depends on the individual, and also the family's support.

It is good that the kid is now coping well in the new school environment.

I believe that competition is always there, just how much one choose to be affected by it. The education system in Singapore may not be perfect, it is still very much focused on academic success, but I think it's also the overall environment (people, family, the kind of values instilled in a child) that makes a big impact on the child.; January 13, 2010 10:48 AM
Elina said...: I am currently considering sending my son to elementary school overseas. Amongst the countries I'm thinking of is America. Can you tell me which elementary school your son went to and the approximate school fees as well as suggestions & learning points that you have gleaned from your experience. My son is very bright and it pains me to see his confidence being gradually eroded by the local education system ,just because his talents are not academically-inclined. thank you for your response.

E.T; March 11, 2010 5:11 PM