Oh man, I was so waiting for Hellboy2 to come out. Wanted to watch this, but in the end, ended up watching Red cliff. Wasted 2h 30 min of my life in the cinema like that, hoho!
Recently (okay, not so recent), there is an article on straits times regarding the tuition nation. It's here, for those who wants to read it.
The article talks about Singapore having such a high tuition penetration rate, that for every 100 students, there are 97 students have tuition. Ignoring all the sampling biasness and sampling method, it's a whopping 97% tuition penetration rate. This phenomena is exacerbated by the fact that many of these students have multiple tuition, so in fact, we're looking at a penetration rate of more than 100% (if say, each student takes more than 1 subject for tuition).
Why had we come to this stage? I do not wish to comment on it in this posting.
Here, I just want to talk about the ironies of tuition/education/school.
1. Ex or current teachers are the preferred choice for parents when choosing tutors. These are highly paid, perhaps to the tune of twice the normal rate (I'm talking about $80 to $150 per hour). Students are sent to schools to be taught by MOE trained teachers. They didn't perform well enough, so they were sent to tutors who are preferably MOE ex or current teachers. If school teachers can't help them, will these teachers-cum-tutors help?
2. Classes in school have class size of around 30-40, with the norm being 40. Some of the tuition group classes I knew have class size close to 30. Yes, it's cheaper than private tuition (can be half the price of private 1-1 tuition). School is cheap too - that's why the class size swells up so much. Thus, the poor students go from one formal school to another informal school. Does it help?
3. Elite schools draw in the best students. They get the best results, which attracts the best students in. Chicken and egg problem? Which comes first - good schools or good students?
4. Elite schools with specialised programs (IB/IP) have teachers who think like this - students are so smart, I'll just give them worksheets and let them learn themselves. School fees range from a few hundred, easily a few multiples of government schools. Almost all of them have tuition because (I dare say) the teachers can't teach. Many parents have told me about that many of their kid's classmates are have tuition, and learn way in advance of school. In fact, teachers expected their kids to have tuition to 'supplement' school work.
5. Parents select their tutors based on their academic results. I'm guilty of being positively discriminated because of it. Does having good results mean that they can teach well? No, of course not. But most people think so. Perhaps lacking any other way of selecting good tutors, parents go for the overall packaging, much like people will buy a brand of salt because it looks more attractive. Academically good tutors, naturally self-motivated, might not have a way of dealing with unmotivated students because they might find it hard to understand why a student isn't motivated.
Can I offer a better way to select tutors? Yes.
Look for those who failed miserably and managed to stand up and high and tall in the academic world. Look for those whom teachers branded as failures yet return to the teaching force to save more students. Look for those nameless applicants who wanted to go into MOE to teach but their results are not good enough to even be called up for interview. If they don't mind their poor grades, why should MOE mind?
In the end, all I've mentioned here will still not be followed. That's why I still have a job.
Been very tired these few weeks.
I've been juggling between army training and tuition for god knows how long. It's taking a toll on me some days, like now. For those taking O'lvl and A'lvl, time is ticking closer and closer towards the end. Have you worked the best that you want to be?
Today I talked to a student about JC/Poly route. He said that JC route is shorter than Poly route, since JC takes 2 years but poly takes 3 years. He forgot to see that after taking A'lvls in JC, he still have to take a 4 year course in University (4 years for honours, 3 years for degree only). If he didn't go university to get his degree, his A'lvl certificate is essentially useless.
On the other hand, after spending 3 years in poly, you'll end up with a diploma. A diploma will beat A'lvl certification hands down legs down in terms of marketability, ease of finding work, pay etc. If one is in the top 5 or 10% of the cohort, a diploma graduate can apply to university for a degree. He can start straight in year 2, so he just have to spend another 3 years more for a degree.Let's summarise:
1. JC route
2 years to A'lvl PLUS 4 years to university degree = 6 years
2. Poly route
3 years to diploma PLUS 3 years to university degree = 6 years
So if one thinks about it, is there really a time saving? No, absolutely not. Since there isn't savings in time, then which is a more riskier course?
In my opinion, JC route is much more riskier than poly route. Not everyone can take the tough A'lvl syllabus, as the 2 years is really too short to cramp a lot of stuff. I've counseled at least 2 students to switch to poly after their 1st year in JC. I told them the grim statistics of JC students entering university, especially if one is not in the top JC. Maybe it's like 3 out of 10 will go university?
Actually the problem is not about passing the A'lvl. The problem is passing the mark to enter university. Some students get 3 Bs and they can't go university, so it's really sad. I wonder what options they have - take it again or go take private university in singapore or go overseas university?
If anyone has any problems deciding where to go after O'lvls, PLS TALK TO ME!! I've seen enough mismatch to warn you the consequences of taking the wrong choice!
It's an inspiring book, "Anyway - The paradoxical Commandments" by Kent M. Keith. This book is about finding meaning not in other people's applause, but finding it in the very act of doing things that you think is right. Here's the 10 paradoxical commandments:
1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.
Been such a hectic week for me, finally got to slack a bit while my students prepare to wind down from their mid year exams.
I think I've been working too hard lately :) Time to enjoy one slacker week, which begins on next Monday. I purposely arranged my training schedule in Army to start next week too, so it won't be too disruptive to my schedule. Yes, I still need to do training in the army :(
For all those whose exams had just ended or is going to end soon, endure! All will be gone in a blinking of an eye, hoho!
Unless you take a lot of MRT rides and have to plan your schedule such that you won't reach too early, nor too late, you probably wouldn't appreciate the idea of knowing exactly how long the train ride takes from one place to another.
This MRT guide has been an invaluable aid in my planning of my tuition schedule ever since I started this business. Is it possible to do that for buses? Nope, buses are too unpredictable. The waiting time for buses can really vary according to the hour you're taking the bus and the traffic conditions, though I do know roughly how long it takes to go from one point to another by buses.
May this guide help those who plans to arrive on time!
Happy Labour day!
I had the toughest labour day since I started doing what I did. I'm up early morning and ended late AND I have to deal with the horrible horrible hot weather. If I'm a snowman, I'll have melted the moment I got off the air conditioned bus. It's so very hot and humid.
The bloody sun is basically blasting me with her super rays. It didn't help that all the clouds that normally blocks the sunlight evaporated into thin air, leaving the bright blue afternoon sky to mock at me as I sweated through the hot afternoon walking without the cooling shade.
I took a few pictures to remind me of this super Labour day - hot and long for me. But I guess I'm in a better position than poor students who have to study in this hot weather. How do they stay awake? I can imagine reading and drifting to zzZZzz land, hoho :)
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