Why Education in Singapore Works

AFT President Randi Weingarten travels to Singapore to learn from their successful educational system.

[keffinsg]

From the comments here, I can tell self-criticism is a national past time in Singapore

[NintenGamer]

"Class, please STAND UP when teacher walks in."

I remember doing that when I was growing up in Singapore. Now I live in Canada.

[ichickenl]

Teachers just “act kind” in front of the cameras
For example my teacher is so damn fierce and if a teacher comes in she acts kind

[fool]

BS, Singapore school is very results, exam oriented. Kids are been streamed as young as 8 years old.

[MosesGTC]

"Class, we have visitor today, you ALL BETTER BEHAVE!"
"YES Teacher!"

[philipst]

Singapore standards are:
A = Average
B = Bad
C = Cannot have dinner
D = Don't come home
F = Find a new family

[mamamememoo]

Singaporean here. My cousin queued for what many perceive as a top kindergarten in Singapore from the moment she found out she was pregnant. My sister in law signed her kids up for Mandarin tuition for a famed Mandarin tutor from when they were 3 because by the time the kids are 7, it would be impossible to get a slot with her. But those are their choices. I chose to put my kids in kindergartens that didn’t need queueing up, but where I perceived the kids enjoyed learning. My youngest was placed in MOE Kindergarten which is surprisingly good & learned to be very independent and creative as a thinker. What they learned there is very different from the kindergartens his older brothers attended which were fun but yet more academically driven.

For Primary school, my experiences with the so-called top schools were bad. I felt the neighbourhood schools were more focused on student welfare and the teachers were more passionate about educating the kids. The top schools were more focused on their reputation and their ego & kids fell through the gap. Although we no longer rank schools, the culture persists. Independent sites rank them and parents still pick schools with this misguided notion that a top school is better, that neighbourhood school kids are lesser than a kid from a top school. Well, I beg to differ and will share why. Plus money and better grades does not make you a better person.

My kids were bullied in top schools mainly because they are good natured and kind. Two of them went through school changes for that reason.

Eldest was in a neighbourhood school nearby and was one of their top pupils. Another girl and him were the first kids in the school to be streamed to the gifted stream. He had to switch schools as a result and he chose a renown all boys school coz my dad attended it in his childhood and he is v close to my dad. Sadly, he was bullied so badly & within half a year he would lie catatonic in bed and refuse to go to school. He grew disinterested in school and life. He was an introvert who kept the cards close to his chest so he did not complain & told us nothing. God is good and a kind & concerned parent of his classmate reached out to tell me how the teacher gave him a debilitating nickname (Baby J) as he was small and cute… which caused the kids to bully him as a herd from day 1. There were many instances of bullying. He was suicidal and depressed at age 10 and we made the decision to pull the plug on his journey in the gifted education stream & placed him back in the neighbourhood school in the regular stream. It wasn’t that he couldn’t cope academically… he enjoyed that… but socially and emotionally he had been broken. We told him he is smart but not because the ministry of education said so. He is smart because God blessed him with a good mind. So we told the govt we wanted to take him out and it took a meeting with the officials, psychologist from. the ministry, the school principal and head of department for it to happen. It took intensive counselling and he healed up but I can see how it has made him angrier than before.

My eldest did well and got into a good secondary school here which was part of a full school (has both primary and secondary school). My friends said the principal then was good. It is a full school (has both primary and secondary school) so we placed our younger son in it so the two older boys could be together. But the principal changed & with it, the culture changed.

The parents of the kids in his class were really nice, but their kids were (sadly) spoilt and mean. We wasted no time once we felt our spider senses tingle and took our middle child out in Primary 2 and placed him in a neighbour school that many perceive to be lousy. But that I explored since our youngest’ kindergarten was located in it, and it was a surprise!

The enrolment for this school was so poor because of public assumption. That meant the classroom size is small. Plus, it turned out that they have an excellent principal and teachers.

The school care so deeply for their kids, the students are super happy learners and kind, class sizes are small & they teach growth mindset lessons. We placed him there because the neighbourhood school near us (that his elder brother was from) was full since we switched him mid way. It was a blessing. He is dyslexic and the school Teachers here patiently help him and they placed him in a pilot class for students struggling with Mandarin- which both of the other schools didn’t have. His confidence in the language is better. He still isn’t great at it but he doesn’t hate the subject anymore. The school he was in formerly was a SAP school which focused a lot on Mandarin.

The youngest is now in the neighbourhood school the eldest was from which is a short walk away. He wanted to be with my middle child but we decided because they would only be in the same school for 3 years, it was better to place the youngest in the nearer school so that when he started attending extracurricular classes in upper primary, he would be able to come home faster and rest more. Again we were blessed coz the school identified he has issues with attention (although he can understand his lessons, he fidgets a lot) & placed him in a pilot scheme: a classroom setting where initially specialised teachers coached him in skills to communicate and focus better for two subjects, then blended him back into the main class later on in the year. He is a happy learner and is enjoying school a lot.

I look back at my own education which was in one of the top all girls school here (miserable too) & at my kids’ education journey, and I can say for certain that the neighbourhood schools have given my children a more balanced and happy education. When kids are happy, they do better. Top schools and gifted education do not always mean your kids do better. Better to equip and care for them emotionally first and nurture better EQ, then build on that educationally. That way they have a better ability to cope as it gets harder and creative play helps them think out of the box & come at education with more passion and less one track mind thinking.

[agginswaggin]

The reason why education works in Singapore, is because it's just extremely competitive. I lived there.

[drummerxkun]

testing is such a huge deal here, you have multiple tests every week or day. especially in secondary school and junior college. its just another asian country at the end of the day after all.

[kleemc]

I lived outside of Singapore many years and have attended schools in both Asian and the US. So i know first hand what the pros and cons are. When my children reached schooling age, I moved my family back to Singapore solely because of our education system and have never regretted the decisions.

[autumnbox]

"Whether i like or don't like you, you just need to like me" and "don't make your problem my problem" are a few of my math teacher's favourite phrases

[dylanthewindwaker]

LMFAO. Not all Primary and secondary schools have such a high budget where they can use smart boards or even laptops . Also, all students are subjected to standardized testing which if they fail they would get my supplementary classes which would be counterproductive since almost everyday the student will feel stress for the next test, homework and even projects since they will have less time to devote to these tasks .

[DudeNamedDad]

1: they first develop teachers that are worthy of respect and authority.

2: they then create an environment that reinforces respect for others, community, and country.

3: now that they have established expectations and social norms, much of the friction and obstacles that inhibit learning are removed. This creates a clean canvas to learn on.

Most of the differences between our education systems is behavioral rather than monetary or procedural.

[FuzzyCottonCandy]

Srsly, I just cant express how relatable some of d comments here are. This video is clearly a form of propaganda, meant to portray Singapore's education as 'perfect' when it's really less den perfect. Any student in Singapore will understand d stress they face in d importance of education results as any of these will actually affect d child's future n career. Life is just too stressful here. N I can say dat as I'm a overly stressed student dat constantly thinks of suicide n ways just to escape from stress here.

[mahernkamal]

Teachers are most important person for all over the stage in our life . Straightly A to Z .

[denisesheehan]

I am a HKer and an Australian teacher. Australians value relationships more than achievement, hence teachers have to tip toe around if they want to tell a parent a child is under performing and often, not tell the whole truth. Parents also get upset if told their child is under performing, blaming the teacher or school, rather than get their child to work harder or wiser. These are very noticeable difference between education in Asia and Australia.

[nataletan]

she didnt see the p5/6 students. shame, cause thats where all hell lives

[unvaccinatedAndPureBlood]

Education in Hong Kong and Singapore is just more organized and systematized for standardized teaching. It doesn't mean it is better way to teach our kids.

[dbm-yvgl]

It is stressful to be a student here, even in primary school. For Primary Schoo Leaving Exam, the 6th graders are tested on what they learn from 3rd / 4th grade upwards, and sometimes the questions can be confusing, esp when it comes to Maths. And then it gets easy in the 1st year in secondary school, but in 3rd year, there was a great increase of what they learnt from 2nd yeae, but then in 4th year, there werw much more students gotta learn because there will be O levels at end of year. they were expected to capture fast in case they get left behind. If i am not wrong, O levels at end of 4th year includes what they learn in the earlier years. This can be stressful, not only with the large amount of content in each subject they have to remember, but also the number of subjects they have to handle. And the students are expected to achieve an A or at least B in all subjects.

[actionau]

Hahaha...wish this lady came to the neighborhood school where I did a stint of relief teaching...sheer pandemonium...