Is educatilon system a big disfavour to our own children agaiinst all competition?

[Confuseous]

Strangely, after putting our own children through such a tough education system, the govt is very happy to have foreigners from England, Australia and Phillipines take up some our best jobs. It looks like the tough education system does not give you too much of an edge when you join the workforce. Based on what was reported in WikiLeaks, the govt does not even encourage all Singaporeans to reach their full academic potential if they are able to get degrees. So what does all this energy and time spent on doing well for exams achieve for our society as a whole? For individuals it is very clear, you try to beat the others to get into better schools and later on scholarships that lead to opportunities in govt and SAF. But collectively will our society do better with such a system when it comes to differentiating oiurselves from economic competitors and giving our people a better quality of life?

"The Fins adamantly oppose any form of divisions or ranking, and 'advanced' or 'elite' divisions are major taboos. Separation into different classes is also not practiced in the system. Heidi, a 28 year-old employee at the University of Helsinki, recalls that she was good at math in primary and middle school, but the teacher never praised her work in front of anyone else, only stealthily handing her more advanced texts to read on her own." - Secrets to Finland's World Topping Education System

- http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/09/psle-great-sieve-machine.html

 

[Papsmearer]

Re: Is educatilon system a big disfavour to our own children agaiinst all competition

Strangely, after putting our own children through such a tough education system, the govt is very happy to have foreigners from England, Australia and Phillipines take up some our best jobs. It looks like the tough education system does not give you too much of an edge when you join the workforce. Based on what was reported in WikiLeaks, the govt does not even encourage all Singaporeans to reach their full academic potential if they are able to get degrees. So what does all this energy and time spent on doing well for exams achieve for our society as a whole? For individuals it is very clear, you try to beat the others to get into better schools and later on scholarships that lead to opportunities in govt and SAF. But collectively will our society do better with such a system when it comes to differentiating oiurselves from economic competitors and giving our people a better quality of life?

"The Fins adamantly oppose any form of divisions or ranking, and 'advanced' or 'elite' divisions are major taboos. Separation into different classes is also not practiced in the system. Heidi, a 28 year-old employee at the University of Helsinki, recalls that she was good at math in primary and middle school, but the teacher never praised her work in front of anyone else, only stealthily handing her more advanced texts to read on her own." - Secrets to Finland's World Topping Education System

- http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/09/psle-great-sieve-machine.html

The govt. does not put the kids thru a tough education system. Kiasu parents do this. The MOE directs the schools to teach a certain curriculum, but parents on the side hire tutors to make sure their kids exceed above and beyond the requirement. They push the kids to get into the best secondary schools and all that. Winning a scholarship is secondary, as the number of scholarships awarded annually is minuscule compared to the eligible pool.

In every country, there are many more prospective students than there are potential uni spaces. Parents in these countries recognize at an early stage that their children might not be suitable for uni and degree programs and hence direct them to technical or trade schools. In Singapore, every parent thinks their kids are doctors, lawyers, CEOs,e tc and refuse to accept any academic evidence to the contrary. They therefore push these students and raise the pressure and bar for everyone else. They fail to see than until a few years ago, there was only 1 uni in singapore that can issue a degree, i.e. NUS, and only 5% of the primary 1 student class can get into NUS when they finish their Pre-Us. The odds are already stacked against them. This is made worse by guaranteed space for FT scholar students, etc. How many parents in singapore push their kids to get "A"s in school and end up sending them to uni in Australia, UK, Canada, etc. where they could have gotten in with average results in Singapore?

Where the govt fault lies is that they perpetuate the degree holder is "elite" myth. They emphasize degrees over experience, street smarts, real intellect, etc. that is why u have BGs that cannot fight wars but have the right degrees, same for CEOs of GLCs, Temasek, MPs, Ministers, etc. This myth is started and encouraged by OId Goat and his rotting corpse wife. The technical trades like plumbing, electrician, etc. have not accorded the importance and financial benefits that are associated with these trades in other countries. There is therefore no other outlet for kiasu parents. Its degree or bust, as they cannot end their kids to be a plumber because it will lose face, its not a prestigious job, and it does not pay well.

 

[tanwahtiu]

Re: Is educatilon system a big disfavour to our own children agaiinst all competition

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The technical trades like plumbing, electrician, etc. have not accorded the importance and financial benefits that are associated with these trades in other countries. There is therefore no other outlet for kiasu parents. Its degree or bust, as they cannot end their kids to be a plumber because it will lose face, its not a prestigious job, and it does not pay well.

The 300,000 unskilled Ah Bengs and Ah Huays that cross the causway everyday to compete unshamedly for low pay construction work and trades make Sinkies can't compete with them to earn a decent living as a plumber or electricians. Most of the major (PAP) construction projects were grabbed by GLC construction companies that were allowed to hire cheap labours from overseas to drive down the cost of the projects make Sinkies cannot even compete with the unskilled FTs labours to earn a decent living in construction industry. The only way for Sinkies is through books and degrees and only limted smart kids can make it to the top.

GE 2011 can change that unfortunately 60.1% still think PAP is their carers.