10/05/2012

Standardization of pre schools



Standardising pre schools or setting standards for pre schools. Are they joking? Pre schools are play schools, not the proper schools for older children. Are they going to set standards as to how many words a child must acquired in pre schools, how many numbers, how many this and that?

As far as educators are concerned, there are wide and varied views as to what pre schools should be, what is good or bad for the little children. There is still no agreement as to what is best or what should not be done. The thought of setting stands for pre schools could end up with the same problems as proper schools, academic achievements, banding and branding.

Perhaps they are not talking about such standards but the standards of the infrastructure and the teachers. What would probably be important are the quality and professional training of the pre schools teachers and their compensation. Raising the standards of the pre school teachers is important as better trained professionals would be better placed to look after the little tots relative to untrained caregivers that are not more than caretakers with little value add other than feeding and looking after their physical needs and safety.

Good and well trained professionals must be recognized and rewarded accordingly for their level of training and expertise. They have invested time and effort to be more knowledgeable and professional in their very specialized field of childcare that requires them to know and understand a whole new skills set and information.

With quality and trained professionals as the standard, the pre schools should be allowed the freedom to design their own programmes for the toddlers. Some may emphasize play, creativity, relationship, social skills, confidence, cognitive skills, motor skills, etc. Different schools should be allowed to market their own programmes that may be very different from another school. The last thing that pre schools should become is straight jacket curriculum and ended up as factories with a standard mould and producing one type of toys that will respond similarly when the right button is pressed. Variety and free wheeling activities are the keys at this tender age and regimentation or standardization should be frown upon.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

They can std all they want, so what even if our education can churn out the best and obedient knowledge workers in the world?

Let me ask you…..
What kind of country gives preference/paid scholarships to foreigners over its own graduates?
How much longer can we afford the $120,000 for a Top/Overseas UNI education for a son or a daughter who ends up employed as a bartender, waitress, taxi driver or contract worker?

What kind of Government sets out to destroy the prospects and living standards of its own working people? By mass importing FTs?
This Government actually have a Dept like Singapore IE that openly advertises in 3rd world countries for FTs and offer them S/E Passes to come to Singapore!

It’s a failure of this nation’s own government to protect its own citizens, and have the gull to say the FTs help create JOBS!
Telling us its globalization and it’s a win-win scenario, when the truth is they are helping the MNCs replace hardworking and honest Singaporeans with cheap FTs

Anonymous said...

Mass Importing FTs for professional jobs are actually destroying the career opportunities in service, engineering and technical fields of our own and children’s future!
Why bother to hire a Sinkie, when you can so easy get a Low Cost Graduate from Philippines, China, India, Myanmar!

How can they compare us Sinkies to FTs, when we spend so much more on the investments on our Own and Children’s future?

Why should we pay for work fare and help subsidies the MNCs from our own National Reserves! That’s what I call raiding the Reserves!
Why transfer the burden from MNCs to us Sinkies with work fare? We should have Minimum Wage, is this not a fairer solution?

Why did we raise GST to 7% and then lower Income/corporate TAX for the MNCs and the richest 10 percent?
What is a lower Tax for the working masses, when the Rich/Elites pay, let’s say 2 percent less Tax on 3.3 Mil?
They have taken Robbing from Peter (Working Masses) to help pay Richard (The 10 Percent) to a fine art!

If the last 7 percent GST increase is to help the poor, then get ready for 10 percent GST to help themselves! Cause we are so stupid to fall for it last time!

This salary peg to the private sector and pension based on private sector pay scale has to stop! This government has lost its of fairness and equality, when they never even stop to asked themselves,
(Is it the morally right thing to do?)

Anonymous said...

Where are their moral righteousness and its moral compass pointing too?
To get the best pay and on top of it get a pension based on private sector pay? 2 laws in the works? One for the rulers and a other for the ruled? 55 and 62 years retirement age?!
Where in the world have they hidden their decency?

This pension monster will bankrupt our nation! 1100 millions at the last count?? no wonder they raised the 2 percent GST! or its to help/feed the poor pension fund?! Sorry No pun intended

Now it’s pay, pension and retirement, what next from the elites?
3 Votes because they are better than us sinkies? Elitism and the Elites are the ones who are creating this class divide…

O’ lest I forget about those Sinkie’s who have not been really affected by the GOV policies, don’t worry you will know soon enough at least your children will
This Government has lost its sense of Moral Values, all it sees is cost and like any good Capitalist/MNCs, they will soon replace you when the Cost does not justify your Value

So what can we Sinkies do? Will I suggest Monkey see Monkey Do!
Since the Government keeps insisting we need FTs and how good they are for our Country! (900,000 More on the Way!)

Ape and Plan ahead like the FTs, Sell your children to a 3rd world country in Africa! (Because by then Asians would be too Costly and the next wave will be from Africa!)
The Education and cost of living is cheap maybe 1/10 of our 120K? Where 5 Cents is really bigger then a buffalo Cart, and wont bleed u dry by paying for child care, tuition and enrichment classes
(w/o 7% GST to boot)

With luck in 17 years time he or she will be wooed and courted with S/E passes and Blue ICs to come, live and work in Sinkie Land
If he or she is smart enough, well they might just come back as a Doctor/Banker! Or if they are ruthless enough and willing to sell their souls….
Presto! instance Citizenship! No NS obligation required and he/she might turn out to be a MP of Sinkie Land to make you soooooo Proud!
Note – FTs does not mean Foreign Talents, the government has been too kind to them and just downright nasty to us sinkies :(

Anonymous said...

Hi RB,

Sorry for being long winded article, a letter i wrote to all my friends about the sad state of affairs of our education and country 2 years ago ...

Bengster

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Your points are valid and a good reminder to the state of affair of the average Sinkies.

The Sinkies paid so much to bring up a child only to end up as taxi drivers or equivalent, with a university. It is going to be the norm.

The govt's fetish desire for foreigners is based on the assumption that our children are shit and not worth nurturing.

And only shit will continue to support such a govt as they agree that they are shit and cannot do anything about it.

patriot said...

What kind of government? You asked.

What, if the Answer to You is; it is a self serving dictatorship devoid of conscience? But, it is the choice of 60% who gave them the Mandate to rule.

patriot

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

In that sense we have to live with the govt we chose and be happy with it : ) It is democrazy.

Anonymous said...

Is there a political agenda to all these changes? Indoctrination of minds from a young age may be the next scheme of things thought of by wicked minds to breed the next generation of robots that will be even more obedient.