Singapore's Education System = FAIL.. or not?

[hifi_killer]

The ministry did not address Cawley's specific complaints that his request to have his son home-schooled was rejected and that it refused to give Ainan access to a chemistry laboratory.

I dont think anyone with the right mind would give a TEN YEAR OLD child (regardless of his super-intelligence or superhuman status) access to a chemistry laboratory for SAFETY and SECURITY reasons. You might as well hand over ammonium nitrate over to the terrorist.

Our education system is heavily influenced by the needs of our economy, no doubt it will be limited in choice, but that is the pragmatic approach in our society.there are in fact many foreign expats who have no qualms about send their child to mainstream Singapore schools.

Besides, Singapore consistent rank among the TOP in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.

The singapore education system, its not as meritocratic or as 'flexible' as it seems. Children who come from affluent families have a slight advantage over those who come from the less affluent in the education system. But thats an inevitable problem that exist in ALL but the communist societies. Nevertheless, the poor do have ample opportunity and assistance from the authorities to level the playing field.

Ermm, and i think the education ministry will be laughing triumphantly when they learn that this family decides to have the child to study in Malaysia... No offence to malaysia. Malaysia is a beautiful place, but there are alot of better study options than malaysia.

 

[soft]

Check out the school -> http://www.help.edu.my

 

[Vaiyen]

i personally reckon tat his father is way way cocky.. gosh, Msia to further studies.. at least UK or US la

????i don't follow your line of logic
How is going to Msia instead of UK/US being cocky as u put it????

 

[Vaiyen]

tat's why scholars elsewhere are flooding in while two stupid people go to MSIA for study -.-. arrogance shall be their downfall.

I think you are the one being arrogant and condescending against M'sia.
Pls reflect.

 

[portunderground]

portunderground , are you still schooling? Have you inquire about enrollment in flight school aboard? With your passion, I am sure you will become a great pilot.

* Singapore got any place to train space shuttle pilot? I am planning for my second career.

Yeah, mostly in johor. But to my parents wishes, they want me to complete A-levels first then talk about it(even parents are forced to follow the education system), but then it is Ns. Private Pilot License takes about a month to complete if full-time which I hope to take after As while awaiting results. But then due to NS, must apeal to leave country for a month. Sighh...

 

[Gaara]

answer to this thread is EPIC FAIL

SG edu system starting from Pri school is purely academic, theory and books. eg, eng, math, science etc. No room for development of every child's different specialism. Only until very very late, do you get to specialise in what you are good at (eg poly, university).

therefore, large part of your life is spend on bullshit like algebra, periodic tables etc, which most of us totally dump those knowledge into the bin as you go down the road of life, and it is probably not needed in your career. (unless you major in that field of course)

exactly why the music scene in SG is weaker than what you have overseas. if you are a born-genuis in music, you will definitely achieve way more overseas than in SG. why? because a large part of your life will be spent on unrelated subjects

 

[Valentinoz]

How I wish I am that clever. I can then go study anywhere and be sponsored for everything I do.

Do we have any SOFTies who are very good in studies? Like 10 As for O levels? Or top for PSLE? Or got some scholarship from university here?

10As?! wtf. i have 7As and i ald think that i am damn smart
anyway, i think that sg is seriously too templated and the garment is makin' ppl not have a mind of their own. pri sch followed by sec sch followed by jc followed by uni. and in sg, ppl are simply too smart, its ald difficult to get a job now in sg even if u're a honours holder. lets say u go to orchard grab any idiot by the sleeve and he turns out to be an undergrad too! so ppl are studying more, constantly upgradin' themselves in order not to be unemployed in the future. so the question is, do u wanna be templated? i guess its not an option in sg but.. are u smart? or wise.

 

[FluxUs]

Singapore is itself an epic FAIL in terms of human evolution and human decency........2012 cldnt come sooner for this rotten lil joint.

 

[Valentinoz]

Singapore is itself an epic FAIL in terms of human evolution and human decency........2012 cldnt come sooner for this rotten lil joint.

i certainly hope u don't get digged bro.

 

[deuter]

Hahas,
So jealous of that boy .
I've heard of him before .
Or rather , seen a newspaper report on him before .
He's like a genius larh ! ><
If im half as smart as him ,
i can happy till jump over the moon liao .

 

[bobby]

If memory serves me right, Singapore is ranked #1 in the world in Mathematics. Yet, we have yet to produce any major Mathematician who has gone on to change the world in his or her own way.

Why do you guys think this is so?

I do think the father of the son is a tad bit too cocky for his own good. And I feel that the Singapore education system DID try to accommodate to the talents of this young boy, but perhaps due to their inexperience in dealing with such rare prodigies, were unable to bend the rules and regulations of the system sufficiently to cater to his intellectual needs. Too rigid? Perhaps. But hey, if the dad feels that he'll do better in Malaysia, by all means, study in Malaysia.

 

[jskadiang]

answer to this thread is EPIC FAIL

SG edu system starting from Pri school is purely academic, theory and books. eg, eng, math, science etc. No room for development of every child's different specialism. Only until very very late, do you get to specialise in what you are good at (eg poly, university).

therefore, large part of your life is spend on bullshit like algebra, periodic tables etc, which most of us totally dump those knowledge into the bin as you go down the road of life, and it is probably not needed in your career. (unless you major in that field of course)

exactly why the music scene in SG is weaker than what you have overseas. if you are a born-genuis in music, you will definitely achieve way more overseas than in SG. why? because a large part of your life will be spent on unrelated subjects

WTF? What do you think they teach students in other countries?

The government doesn't give a damn about the music scene, they educate so you can contribute to society with the knowledge they equip you with. How is it in their interest to allow every wannabe rockstar to not have to adhere to the standard educational track and go play the guitar all day. Subjects like Science and Maths ARE important considering the kind of expertise that is highly prized and useful today (e.g. bio-medical research).

What kind of educational system allows a student to specialize in a field at an early age? When you were 6, were you dead-set on being a banker or journalist? Didn't think so. Granted, the ministry could have made an exception for a child prodigy or two, but allowing every single student to do as they please is going to result in a huge mess of a country.

 

[hifi_killer]

I dont think mathematics is a field where there is much potential to change the world, nevertheless it is a important subject that forms the basis of many academic disciplines.

On the contrary, if you want to change the world, go into the social sciences. We do have a lot of alumnus from the social sciences who have impacted the world in one way or another.

 

[zxvc]

like all other softies say, the education system is shaped like that just to drive singapore's economy forward. yes, we are indeed robots. we are not even humans. we don't help one another. we mind our own business. and we despised egoistic and arrogant and outstanding people. it's just a sad sad scenario, it makes me so depressed.











my ass.

 

[billthegeek]

I dont think mathematics is a field where there is much potential to change the world, nevertheless it is a important subject that forms the basis of many academic disciplines.

Physics and engineering changed the world forever and they are still changing the world right now.

Guess what is the foundation of these two fields? Mathematics.



Our government, being pragmatic usual, understands the importance of science and math in our education. That's why there's so much emphasis on science and math. So art and music end up being neglected.

 

[empihsrow]

I have never liked Singapore's education. Having (almost) gone through it all, Singapore's education system is not as fantastic as what foreigners or the media make it out to be.

Singapore's meritocratic and pragmatic approach to education had virtually hampered much development in many students' creativity, flexibility, individuality, spontaneity and openness.

Like many people would put it-we've got As but we're just deadpan and rigid beings.

And to be brutally honest, arts and humanities have no place in Singapore's society. I always read news articles on the "development" of the arts and humanities in Singapore and really, do the majority of Singaporeans actually care?

Who actually likes to read about theatre arts in ST Life every Tuesday? Why is it that the FASS in NUS is actually viewed as a dumping ground for students with lousy grades when subjects like Philosophy would require a lot of intellectuality? Why is there almost no form of vocational training in the humanities and arts in polytechnics? Why, why and more whys.

For the "holistic" education our government promises us, I pity myself.

But to allow myself to be just like everyone else the government wants Singapore students to be, that will really be injustice.

So, what to do?

Be a rebel for a cause and make sure you do it right. Or at least I strive to improve myself.

 

[kimura]

I dont think mathematics is a field where there is much potential to change the world, nevertheless it is a important subject that forms the basis of many academic disciplines.

On the contrary, if you want to change the world, go into the social sciences. We do have a lot of alumnus from the social sciences who have impacted the world in one way or another.

On the contrary...
everything has elements of Mathematics. From social sciences to the art of cooking.

 

[van_halen]

On the contrary...
everything has elements of Mathematics. From social sciences to the art of cooking.

indeed. even crafting a guitar requires maths. for example, you need maths in order to find out the correct positions to drill holes.

 

[kimura]

If memory serves me right, Singapore is ranked #1 in the world in Mathematics. Yet, we have yet to produce any major Mathematician who has gone on to change the world in his or her own way.

Why do you guys think this is so?

I do think the father of the son is a tad bit too cocky for his own good. And I feel that the Singapore education system DID try to accommodate to the talents of this young boy, but perhaps due to their inexperience in dealing with such rare prodigies, were unable to bend the rules and regulations of the system sufficiently to cater to his intellectual needs. Too rigid? Perhaps. But hey, if the dad feels that he'll do better in Malaysia, by all means, study in Malaysia.

The reason is simple...
to sit& pass tests in Maths is different from expanding one's thinking through Mathematics.

Singapore academic culture is such, you study for tests of course there are a few exceptions where you're encouraged to think.

I give you a personal example:
Here they tell you the grass is green. I graduated from an academic school of thought where they ask you what is the colour of grass ( for example ) ?If you say it's black, instead of telling you "No.It's Green..", they asked you "Oh?Why do you say it's Black?". From there, they proceed to let you know that in general, it is green.

 

[empihsrow]

Put it this way. Mathematics is the language of nature.