This morning a few morning radio DJs station were discussing a letter someone sent to the local paper about maths standards being too high. It seems that teachers were advocating having tuition for kids as young as 6-7 in Primary 1 to cope with the level of maths being taught. It makes one wonder how tough the maths really is for kids that young. In my time, tuition was for kids who couldn't cope, not a mainstream education system. If kids have to end up at these places jut to keep pace with school, isn't something wrong with the school system? If teachers find it difficult to get their point across in a lesson, then something is wrong with the system. With time for homework and in tuition centres, what time is there for kids to go out and play? There was another report on more Asian kids being most myopic, literally short sighted, at young ages. The experts suspect that it's because they're spending too much time indoors and the lack of exposure to sunlight and far away things is affecting eye development. So kids are getting screwed in more ways than one. Poor things.
What's also bad is the outcome for parents. With all the extra guidance kids need, they run home from work to spend some hours each day to figure out how to solve maths problems without algebra. If they can't they work harder to earn more money to put their kids into tuition centres - the throw money at the problem, hands off approach. It's one of those concerns that's stopping parents from having more kids - the cost of education and the how little they'll actually spend with their children. It's doesn't sound so bad. (It's fantastic for tuition centres. Maybe a conspiracy is afoot) But it's important to figure out how this phenomenon (perhaps uniquely Singaporean) will affect society. Will we be creating information-absorbing robots with LASIK-corrected vision who don't want the outdoors but have fun alone on computers in air-conditioned flats? Well not everyone will end up like this. Some will dropout to earn more as plumbers with better EQ and sense of humour.
Is this happening because years of kiasuism have sprouted crazed PSLE examination setters? It's the only major examination the MOE sets in course of a student's life here. O and A Levels come from England. Since primary school is the only chance to exact madness upon our younglings, we've gone extreme, testing them with blind lab rat sadism with books, quizzes, projects and knowledge.
Ok, I overstate. But we know it's bad. And we await the gahmen's official response. Parents don't hold back.
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