as the debate on the use/importance of English in schools continues with no end in sight, many parents aren't taking any chances. hundreds thronged the Sunway Convention Centre last saturday waiting to pick up their kids while the latter sat for the Asean Scholarship selection test. it invites students to apply for entry into their Sec 1 & 3, & pre-U programs.
my daughter has an older school friend who applied last year & successfully entered Sec 3 this year. so she took it upon herself to follow the friend's footsteps - she applied online & prepared the required documents. my only role in the whole process was to send her to the post office to post the documents & fetched her back from the test centre. (she got a lift to Sunway from this same friend whose brother is applying for Sec 1). wife & i didn't give her our "overwhelming support", in the sense that, we weren't totally convinced she was ready to live out on her own in a foreign land. well, maybe for the pre-U....
it's obvious this isn't a 2-bit scholarship test that we are all too familiar with. it's a whole day session which tests on English (includes writing an impromptu essay), Maths & General Ability. if the student get past this, then there's still the final interview to contend with.
from the parents' perpective, the final objective is presumably to do pre-U & then at least gain entry into the Univ of Singapore (ranked #30 in the world in 2008, & for comparison, outranked ALL aussie varsities except Australian National Univ at #16, & Univ of Malaya is #230, read here)
the issue of patriotism doesn't arise at all here. this is our kids & the govt has messed about the education system far too often & for too long (& let's not get started on the quota system) NOT to give them an alternative.
seriously, is there a parent who is satisfied with the way public schools are currently managed & who wouldn't provide the kids the opportunity to do better?
not me. (or, is it not I?)
(test over)
8 comments:
It's most difficult weighting these two issue. Better education/opportunity or family bonding/nurturing/security.
Some who are here at 13 are very determine and matured. Some, at 17 arrived here and the sudden new found freedom are so overwhelming that it's abused. Having a good guardian helps.
I know what you're going through Doc. I went through this path 2/3 years back and I'm glad to say that hubby and I and my daughter are very happy at where she is right now and the course she's pursuing. We went through lots of dissappointments, my daughter in particular, but finally, thre's light at the end of the tunnel.
I wish our education system could move on overdrive and once and for all settle for a system conducive to all and not just a minority few! If our PM is aiming for 1-Malaysian, therefore race shouldn't be an issue when considering what's good for the children.
My sis teaches English @private school & she says most of the VIPs and the rich sent their kids here, international schools & overseas.
Your daughter made the right move, smart choice. The world is getting smaller & more competitive.
Wish her well.
Iml,
thanks for the tip - it never occurred to me to think of a guardian.
Ilene,
i'd like to think that most politicians are good people, except that they are torn between doing what's (morally)right & what to do to get re-elected, both of which are often mutually exclusive.
the 1-M'sia idea is good in principle but i'm sceptical about it's implememntation.
ms45,
thanks.
the politicians themselves obviously know the value of a good all-rounded education but to play it to the gallery, they have to do what's popular amongst the grassroots.
My daughter did tell me of a few
friends of hers who went for the
test. She herself showed no
interest whatsoever. I believe that God is leading her.
Anyway, whether "here" or "there", ultimately, it is better to be where God's presence is.( just like many people migrate
for the sake of the kids' education, so they say...but some
discover later that the grass always looks greener over the other side but may turn out to be
lallang?)
Understand your apprenhension about her being a bit young to be on her own, but as daughter tells me( from her perspective) if a child wants to go, it is better to
release her so that she won't regret over it later.My colleague's daughter obtained a singapore scholarship based on her UPSR results and was so eager (?)
to leave her family.
Praying Ps 137v8 over your daughter
Just me,
eventually, it's the will of the Lord that will be established.
however, i don't see the connection with the daughter of babylon.
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