Education 02 (Sep 09 - Jul 10)

[millionairemind]

I personally think its not a bad idea to nationalize it and make it compulsory for them to attend Kindergarten.

Some kids arrive in Primary 1 barely able to read and can't even spell one two three.

Jan 12, 2010
'No' to nationalising
By Rachel Chang
THE Government has no plans to nationalise pre-school education, as there is no universally accepted model for kindergarten teaching.

Imposing one would not only deprive parents of the choice of what to expose their children to at a tender age, but also give rise to counter-productive comparisons between pre-schools, among other things, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament on Monday.

The Government wants to avoid prescribing what pre-schools teach. But it will ensure their accessibility and affordability and the quality of teachers, as well as provide resources and guidelines, he said.

He was speaking in response to a question from Mrs Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) on whether there were plans to nationalise early childhood education and to make pre-primary education compulsory for all.

Several other MPs waded in on the issue, particularly on how pre-school can be made affordable for all families if it is not nationalised. Mr Ng provided a clear statement of the Government's philosophy on early childhood education. At that young age, educational goals should not be academic and assessment-based, but focus on building up social and communication skills.

Bringing pre-schools into the formal school system 'runs the risk of an over-emphasis on academic instruction and uniformity'. 'It will increase pressure to accelerate pre-school children's numeracy and literacy skills at the expense of other developmental goals, and this can be counter-productive and dampen children's motivation and interest towards learning in the long run,' he said

[millionairemind]

HOME > BREAKING NEWS > SINGAPORE > STORY

Jan 11, 2010
St Nicholas has 14 top girls
CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School pulled off a major coup in the 2009 O-level examinations: it produced 14 of the 42 best scorers.

The top student also came from the school - Malaysian Lai Kai Rou who scored 10 A1s.

This is the second year running the top 0-level student has come from CHIJ St Nicholas. Last year, one of its students Haw Sue Hern, also a Malaysian, came in top in the 2008 O levels, with 10A1s.

Nearly all - 99.9 per cent - of the 37,424 students who sat for the 0 levels last year received certificates. Of these, 81.1 per cent or 30,353 had five or more O-level passes. Nearly 95 per cent or 35,514 had three or more O-level passes. The overall results, released on Monday, are similar to 2008's.

Some 4,760 or 35.7 per cent of the secondary four Normal (Academic) students sat for one of two 0-level exams. Of these, 88.8 per cent of these students got at least one O-level pass.

Of the 3,431 private candidates who sat for the O levels last year, 3,015 or 87.9 per cent were awarded certificates.

[kennynah]

i think we should not subscribe to GCE anymore... too easy.... every year so many 10A1s.... we should consider setting up our own exam scripts...and then have the world subscribe to our standards...

now, is that an idea or what ?

[la papillion]

Actually already planning to do so. Have something called the SEAB (singapore exam what board lah), so they are already taking over some of the questions. Slowly but surely, they will phase out GCE.

Then my tuition business huat until no horse run, hoho! It's those poor students who had to suffer the extraordinary difficult singapore standard. Woe be to them.

[millionairemind]

Reminds me of a study on African Americans and Latinos done in the US. More than 1/4 of them drop out of high school. Consequently, they are stuck at dead-end jobs like McJobs and the poverty cycle continues.

Jan 13, 2010
20% of ITE students drop out
By Rachael Chang
Mr Iswaran said the 18 per cent drop out rate was 'among the lowest in the world for vocational institutes'.

ABOUT one in five Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students drop out before finishing their course, Senior Minister of State (Education) S. Iswaran disclosed on Tuesday.

He was responding to Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) who asked about the ITE attrition rate, the reasons that students drop out, and what assistance these drop-outs subsequently receive.

Mr Iswaran said the 18 per cent drop out rate was 'among the lowest in the world for vocational institutes'.

In 2006, a committee on ITE Student Success was formed to identify reasons for attrition and recommend measures. It found that students dropped out for reasons such peer influence, lack of drive and family issues. It also conducted a survey which showed that more than half the drop-outs were open to the prospect of re-enrolling in the future.

Some measures to lower the attrition rate, which the committee recommended, were implemented. These included introducing a flexible curriculum framework to cater to different abilities and aspirations, expanding student counselling and putting more resources into training ITE lecturers. The ITE also provides avenues for drop-outs to return.

Madam Halimah said the 18 per cent figure seemed quite high, and asked if more could be done to reduce the attrition rate 'because helping to keep them in the ITE is better than trying to help them after they've left'. Mr Iswaran responded saying that it was still too early to assess the impact of the latest measures. But he reiterated that Singapore's ITE system is 'in fact widely recognised as outstanding.'

[winston]

Working & Living Conditions of Workers

My elder boy wanted to borrow my camera.

When I asked him why, he told me that he has a school project, where he has to write something about the workers as well as their working and living conditions.

I think it's a pretty good project. It forces him to look at the conditions that less fortunate people have to endure.

[millionairemind]

Working & Living Conditions of Workers

My elder boy wanted to borrow my camera.

When I asked him why, he told me that he has a school project, where he has to write something about the migrant workers as well as their working and living conditions.

I think it's a pretty good project. It forces him to look at the conditions that less fortunate people have to endure.

W - I think that's excellent. If he is the kind of introspective boy, he will come back with gratitude in his heart

My world view on what is a NEED and what is a WANT changed dramatically after I spent a whole year in India.

[millionairemind]

I am amazed at what my boy tells me after school when I go fetch him.

Within a month, he has witnessed three Primary 1 girls fighting. Imagine that!!

One girl who seems to have emotional issues actually bit a teacher and scratched her arm.

Too bad we do not have corporal punishment in school now. Two tight slaps over 2 separate occasions will easily solve the problem.

[Musicwhiz]

Within a month, he has witnessed three Primary 1 girls fighting. Imagine that!!

Wow, catfight!

[iam802]

MM,

You never encourage your son to step in and stop the fight?

You know lar... pple always say Singaporeans never help others. Like to stand there watch show...but do nothing to stop the fight etc.

One thing we can 'take away from this'. Don't be in the ladies blacklist (from girls as young as P1 to....infinity).