- Joined
- Jan 27, 2016
- Messages
- 648
- Points
- 28
“To level the playing field for children from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds, and break out of the country’s tuition culture, Nominated Member of Parliament Chia Yong Yong has suggested that all schools adopt a full-day curriculum” (No Homework, Full-Day School Curriculum To Help Level Playing Field: NMP Chia, Wong Pei Ting)
While well-intentioned – and complemented by the important observation that “every school is a good school, but not every home is equal” (TODAY, Feb. 28) – the proposal by Nominated Member of Parliament Chia Yong Yong for schools to adopt a full-day curriculum seems poorly thought-out, and does not take into account either the logistical challenges or the likely effectiveness of the proposed change. Because if the concern is that students from well-to-do families have access to additional resources such as enrichment and tuition classes, and that the entrenchment of such benefits will only widen the socio-economic divide, then policies should work on two levels: First, and in the short-term, provide students from the other families with similar resources; and second, in the longer-term, level the playing field.
Notwithstanding the obvious logistical issues of a full-day school curriculum – burdening teachers with heavier workloads or having to rope in other engagements to fill the hours – it is not clear whether keeping students in school for the whole day is necessarily beneficial for their development.
More at http://www.domainofexperts.com/2018/03/full-day-school-curriculum-bad-idea.html
While well-intentioned – and complemented by the important observation that “every school is a good school, but not every home is equal” (TODAY, Feb. 28) – the proposal by Nominated Member of Parliament Chia Yong Yong for schools to adopt a full-day curriculum seems poorly thought-out, and does not take into account either the logistical challenges or the likely effectiveness of the proposed change. Because if the concern is that students from well-to-do families have access to additional resources such as enrichment and tuition classes, and that the entrenchment of such benefits will only widen the socio-economic divide, then policies should work on two levels: First, and in the short-term, provide students from the other families with similar resources; and second, in the longer-term, level the playing field.
Notwithstanding the obvious logistical issues of a full-day school curriculum – burdening teachers with heavier workloads or having to rope in other engagements to fill the hours – it is not clear whether keeping students in school for the whole day is necessarily beneficial for their development.
More at http://www.domainofexperts.com/2018/03/full-day-school-curriculum-bad-idea.html
