Tuition not the way to success
Nov 29, 2008
Tuition not the way to success
WHEN I collected my Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results in 1985, I was told I had been selected to attend a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) secondary school. This sudden 'promotion' did my parents proud but it gave me much stress. The moment I started at the SAP school, I fell from being the top girl to being among the top 15. For the first time in my life, I knew I was simply 'not good enough' and was bitterly disappointed with myself.
Since almost everyone ahead of me had tuition of various kinds, I told my parents I needed help too.It was not long before my single-income family began to channel huge amounts towards education investment - tuition for me and my three siblings. One day, the principal of my SAP school in Katong asked to meet my parents concerning my lacklustre grades. He wanted me to drop chemistry and English literature specifically, 'so as not to pull down the school standard'. After my mother pleaded with him tearfully, this humiliating episode ended with more tuition for me and less retirement funds for my food-seller parents. In all, I had tuition in six out of 10 subjects, not because I did badly, but because I was not good enough to achieve the As and Bs the school was furiously churning out.
Ironically, I ended up with 8As and 2Bs in my O levels. 2Bs coincidentally were in subjects where I had no tuition, English and Chinese as first languages. At the college of my choice, I had tuition again in two out of four subjects - Principles of Accounting and Mathematics C, where I was struggling due to lack of interest. Eventually, I ended up with a degree in accountancy when my interests were clearly art, music, dance and French since I was very young.
However, as the eldest child, I did not have the liberty to follow my dreams but was encouraged to compete in the mainstream and be a 'doctor, lawyer or accountant' and help the family financially. As a squeamish, peace-loving individual, I graduated with an accountancy degree that now lies forgotten. I quit auditing which was super dull and did sales instead, so as to help finance the family, including the tertiary education of my three siblings.
Now I am a parent and a full-time housewife, I am disgusted by the number of primary school pupils taking tuition classes. Even toddlers are not spared, with enrichment courses in phonetics and mathematics. Having been through the pressure-cooker education system, where the rich and exam-smart clearly had an advantage, I and my master's degree-turned-pianist husband decided to homeschool our child. We prefer to guide her and help her develop in areas where her interest and passion lie, be they in music, art, dance, sports or even academics. After all, as loving parents, we want her to enjoy her childhood and cultivate the joy of learning, which is far more important than passing so many tests and exams in order to obtain more paper qualifications.
Perhaps it is time for other parents to reflect as well. Children these days have so much education-related stress that, for many, the joy of learning is clearly lacking. What has become of our nation, when tuition is an integral part of achieving so-called 'success' in life and at work? Clearly, the many tuition centres are not complaining and nor are the many current and retired school teachers who supplement their income by providing tuition classes and writing assessment materials.
Rebecca Wang (Mdm)
Labels: PSLE
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