4/11/2012

The best tailor made all round education

The current education system has too many flaws and causing too much stress on the children. It is very unhealthy, too exam oriented and does little to develop character and good values and did not produce a well rounded person on graduation. What should be done is to study the feedbacks of parents and their children, understand what they want, what they fear, their expectations and dislikes, and put them together in a neat little basket to please parents and children for a more holistic and inclusive education, developing the sporting talents at the same time, wholesome and good character building and with straight As of course.

For a start, too much emphasis on exam grades is bad. Too much elitist bias is bad. The branded schools should go and all the schools should be made more equal and the spread of students spread equally to all schools, including the spread of good and bad teachers. This will not only level the playing field, it has plenty of wholesome goodness. The more talented students will have a chance to mix with the less talented and empathise with them. Good for bonding and the removal of elitist thinking.

The curriculum should be reduced, teach less and learn more is good. Children must have a lot of time to play, which will also develop their friendliness and EQ. Play if specially coordinated can be part of the sports training to develop the children into future champions as well.
Second Language or mother tongue shall be made optional. Children should not be stressed to learn something they dislike, like their mother tongue. The future will be mono lingual, maybe just English. Plan for the future and help the future to succeed.

And science and mathematics are just too restrictive. Allow the children to read other subjects as well. Reduce the time from science and maths and spread them to other subject. This can include ethics and morals, how to be good citizens.

And make sure the students have good grades. Ask the parents how many As they want their children to have. Make the necessary moderation to make the parents and children happy. Having more than 50 per cent with straight As may be too much and people will question the standard of our education. 20 percent straight As should be a nice number, follow by 20 percent with 4 As and 20 percent with 2As. Another 30 percent should be for those with Bs and Cs and balance 10 percent, make it 9 percent pass and 1 percent unable to make it. This would be good news for parents and children. What? Not good enough? OK make it 30 percent straight As and adjust accordingly.

And I forgot, articulation skill is very important. Our children are quite tongue tied and find difficulties in expressing themselves. Have more debating classes and social interaction time for students to debate with each other. Such skills will be good if they later choose to become politicians. They can continue debating in Parliament.

Did I miss out anything? I think that’s about it. This must be the most wholesome and happy education system for happy parents and children. And all guarantees to have good grades. Oh, oh, one more thing, no homework. I remember those days when I was in school, barely any homework except when punished to write lines. The free time available can be used to explore the neighbourhood and play with the neighbour’s children.

Think about it, the best education system we ever had was in the 50s and 60s. Every day is fun. Have fun in school and have fun after school. Only thing bad then was the red marks. But this can be fixed with moderation to make parents proud of their children’s grades. What is important is an enriching and rewarding experience for both parents and children. And the teachers must also inculcate into the children that winning all the time, being the best all the time is not necessary a good thing. In life, there are many other better things to achieve than just winning. Always think of the losers before one thinks of winning. I think this last sentence is the best part. Just imagine the look on the loser’s face. That is satisfaction beyond words. : )

Specialised or customized is good, generalized is bad. General education is good, streaming is bad. Elite school is bad, neighbourhood school is good. Now I got myself confused.

4 comments:

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Nonsense lah. Although not "perfect" sg edu, especially in the formative years is one of the finest in the world.

Sg kids kick everyone's ass -- save the Chinese and S Koreans when it comes to testing of science and maths -- really, the only things which count. Apart from language, all the rest of the subjects can be considered "bum fluff" -- useless "filler" designed to keep the kid busy and the parents satisfied, and being a PUBLIC SYSTEM -- keep teachers, school admin, and an entire ministry EMPLOYED. i.e. PRIVATE market education is far better than a public system.

Exams put on pressure. That's one of the REASONS to have them. You have to pressure children -- or they will grow up having a really WRONG VIEW of human existence -- where pressure is THE NORM.

Learning how to cope, to prepare oneself, to step up to the plate and face challenges squarely, to know when to cooperate and when to compete...all these are valuable, if not essential skills for the real, adult world.

I believe in protecting kinds but I certainly do not believe in SHIELDING THEM from the realities of life. Kids should physically fight, get scraped and bruised, break the occasional bone...just like the good old days where children could be children.

Most kids these days are over-protected, and dare I say OBESE because they are not running around, climbing and scrapping with each other as much and OUTDOORS.

Anonymous said...

School branding good! Every year, just drop the bottom 10%, subsumed them under the top 10% and rename them as say 'Raffles (Ang Mo Kio), Raffles (Tampines) etc. Like in business world, the big sharks take over the ikan bilis. Like that win win what! Can or not har?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

This one, clever. Then Raffles Woodland, Raffles Jurong. Then all become Raffles, all happy.

Like merger and acquisition.

Anonymous said...

The best tailor made all round education, I'm satisfied with you that The current education system has too many flaws and causing too much stress on the children. It is very unhealthy, too exam oriented and does little to develop character and good values and did not produce a well rounded person on graduation.
http://www.tailors.com.sg/