The reality is that ever since "public education" kept evolving further, the slower ones are being left behind, as this parent who wrote to TODAY found out:
Why no retention in primary school?
Oct 15, 2012
Two years ago, my son was learning at a slower rate than other children in his kindergarten class. After much investigation, I determined that he was dyslexic.
I enrolled him in Primary 1 at a local primary school, where he has underperformed.
We got him help from the start: Daily classes before school, at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore.
He also attends daily and weekend sessions for English, Mathematics and Chinese. He was given Learning Support in school. But he is still below average.
I decided that perhaps the best course was not to force the child into something for which he is not ready.
I contacted the school and asked for him to be held back, to give him a chance to internalise concepts he finds difficult, such as counting, remembering days of the week or articulating what he did during the day.
But the school said this was not its policy. I contacted the Education Ministry and, to my greater surprise, it said it does not do this for primary school pupils.
There is much play in the media about tiger mothers and overachieving parents, but what happens if one only wants her child to be able to read and add, and not be a future rocket scientist?
What happens if one wants him to be happy and not spend his developmental years feeling inadequate because his peers are outperforming him?
There is so much concentration on the top pupils, but what happens to children who are slower to develop, whose parents lack the money to buy the extra support? I have been told to homeschool my child, which I cannot do. I do not want him dragged through a voracious school system that is beyond his means.
I am sorry that the national policy denies him, and other children who are not would-be geniuses, a way to catch up.
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Another thoughtful letter-writer to TODAY took up the challenge of arguing in favour of a wider exposure to the teaching of Evolutionary Theory:
Evolution should be taught to all students
Oct 15, 2012
Several recent letters discussing evolution have sparked vibrant discussions about how evolution explains Earth's diversity of life.
Although evolution is one of the greatest discoveries in the history of science, not every Singapore student, unfortunately, learns about it in school.
In the O-Level biology syllabus, evolutionary biology is introduced only to Secondary 4 students taking pure biology, a small proportion of students here.
We should raise the understanding of evolution among the public. For a start, instead of being confined to the subject of biology alone, evolution should be introduced to all lower secondary students under the subject of general science.
It would give all Singapore students a chance to learn about evolution properly in school.
We must dismiss any perception that evolution is "just a theory". In our daily conversations, "theory" usually means a hunch. But in science, a theory is a set of universal statements that can explain some aspect of the natural world.
Theories in science are powerful tools. They do not arise from nowhere. Scientific theories are based on evidence, are logical and can lead to discovery of new knowledge.
So, the "theory of evolution" is not a guess. Rather, it is based on evidence and is a concept that can and will shift the way we understand, study and approach our lives.
For example, it can help multiracial Singapore understand that skin colour, an evolutionary adaptation to variations in sunlight intensity, has no correlation to a person's ability to succeed.
Evolution is a unifying theory and an important foundation for all biology disciplines.
A clear understanding of evolution is important for Singaporeans as our researchers make discoveries about diseases which are hereditary in nature and particularly prevalent among certain ethnic groups in Asia.
These include thalassemia, a genetic disease common among Asians, as well as diabetes, which affects many Singaporeans.
Although evolution is one of the greatest discoveries in the history of science, not every Singapore student, unfortunately, learns about it in school.
In the O-Level biology syllabus, evolutionary biology is introduced only to Secondary 4 students taking pure biology, a small proportion of students here.
We should raise the understanding of evolution among the public. For a start, instead of being confined to the subject of biology alone, evolution should be introduced to all lower secondary students under the subject of general science.
It would give all Singapore students a chance to learn about evolution properly in school.
We must dismiss any perception that evolution is "just a theory". In our daily conversations, "theory" usually means a hunch. But in science, a theory is a set of universal statements that can explain some aspect of the natural world.
Theories in science are powerful tools. They do not arise from nowhere. Scientific theories are based on evidence, are logical and can lead to discovery of new knowledge.
So, the "theory of evolution" is not a guess. Rather, it is based on evidence and is a concept that can and will shift the way we understand, study and approach our lives.
For example, it can help multiracial Singapore understand that skin colour, an evolutionary adaptation to variations in sunlight intensity, has no correlation to a person's ability to succeed.
Evolution is a unifying theory and an important foundation for all biology disciplines.
A clear understanding of evolution is important for Singaporeans as our researchers make discoveries about diseases which are hereditary in nature and particularly prevalent among certain ethnic groups in Asia.
These include thalassemia, a genetic disease common among Asians, as well as diabetes, which affects many Singaporeans.
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So let's be more curious about Science...
I like these BBC teasers:
And here's the link:
http://www.bbc-asia.com/frozen-planet/
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Thinking out of the box
Teacher: If I have five apples in one hand and six apples in the other hand, what will I have?
Johnny: You will have big hands!
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Finally, did you know today is Global Handwashing Day? And did you wash your hands when you should have?...
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