School Leaders' Thoughts

Talk

Dear Mr Tan,

I'm glad that you observed the fixed mindset in our kids today. But this phenomenon is not just peculiar to students, but adults too. However, let's keep our discussion in school context. As opposed to a fixed mindset, Carol Dweck advocates the growth minset. How then could we cultivate this growth mindset in a child? In my opinion, a growth mindset will likely to take place if there is less emphasis on grading in a learning environment. Instead, pupils must get used to think critically and question teachers frequently. It will be good if pupils are often exposed to more open ended questions. As such, teachers must be very open minded and receptive to pupils' ideas. The consistent revamp in the curriculum and assessment is steering the pupils to be a more critical thinker and perhaps also towards a growth mindset. The LiveWell programme is a holistic programme which could develop a growth mindset in our puipils too.

However, it is not easy to tackle the issue on pupils' fixed mindset on getting in the best school. Pardon on my frankness, though every school is a good school, some are better.

Best regards,

Max Lim (father of Lim Jing Tong)

Dear Mr Tan

Thank you constantly sharing your thoughts openly and freely with us.

As a parent, I really appreciate you opening up your access to us and allowing us to feedback to you freely.

Re the subject of DSA, I have a question concerning DSA through sports.

My child is a talented athlete in a particular CCA offered by the school. However, her potential was not recognised and realising that she was just wasting her time in the CCA, I decided to let her quit. But before quitting, I asked the relevant teachers if her time spent on the sport out of school (9 hrs/week) can be recognised and recorded as CCA time.

Very disappointingly, I was told that CCA is not compulsory in Ai Tong and that if I find that the club outside is better than the school CCA, I should let her quit, but the time spent out of school cannot be recognised.

My question is: as a result of quitting, does this mean my child lost the chance of DSA through sports or is there another avenue for her?

Thank you.

May Sian

Mr Tan,

On adopting Students' ideas on National Education, I feel that it may be worthwhile. I am not in the educational industry but my belief is when one's ideas or feedback are being considered (within the permitted boundaries), it gives him/her is a sense of satisfaction and recognition. Though subsequently not all ideas may be adopted or implemented, at least he/she knows that we take them seriously.

On students' ideas on national education, I believe the school should consider implementing ideas that are practical and effective. In fact, I believe all sensible and workable ideas from students, whatever subject they may be on, should be given a chance to work in school wherever practicable. As you have said, what better way to let them know that good ideas count and can make a difference to society. It is an important message to send to children.

I do believe that national education is important for students in that it helps to establish a sense of identity and togetherness early on. It is a good defence against intellectual diseases like apathy and cynicism which, in this age of free-for-all information, are a big threat to young impressionable minds.

Since last year when Chern Shyuen, my daughter, was in P1, I have been hearing "values", "being a responsible child", "relationship building" etc. These are good and I think the school, through your teaching and your 4 iconic characters have given Shyuen a sense of pride, as a child, as a student of Ai Tong. (I have the privilege of sending her to my girls' school which is in Bukit Timah but I have chosen to give her a balance holistic school at Ai Tong.)

So her expectations this year was to try to contribute to new responsible roles and be a better individual. But beginning of this year to date, my husband and I had to manage the following:

1. Proactively, as a parent, to seek roles from the teacher. If I as a parent, am not proactive, Shyuen would be the few left out without a role. I am not implying that she has to take up key positions in the school. She was already the most happy child being the PE monitress last year (carrying bean bags and hula hoops)  and sweeping the floor once a week. What I am trying to imply is if the school wish to cultivate responsibility in every child, then fairness has to be given to each. And this should not be the responsibility of the parent to seek a role (after the teacher) for the child to play. Thankfully after discussing with the form teacher, Shyuen was given a Health Education monitress this year to keep track of students who eat/dont eat fruits every Wed. I hope when she goes to P3 next year, this will be fairly administered, without my involvement. It doesn't reflect very good on the child, as the parent is trying to "fight" a place for him/her. Thank you.

2. Unfair treatment by the monitress

Shyuen commented that she was obedient but her name was constantly reflected on the board. After I spoke with the form teacher, I was told that she already knew the monitress was writing names down from other groups so that her own group will not be penalised! I am relieved that that I manage to speak to the teacher and she was aware of such matters. But from time to time, I still hear the same remark from Shyuen.

I am not sure what is your criteria on selecting a monitress for the class. I am also not questioning the abillity of the teacher to select the monitress. However, I do not agree with such standards and was wondering if you would consider role rotation every term? It would give the child an opportunity to try different leadership skills and also to allow a child to reflect on some improvements needed.

I think values have to be cultivated from young, as early as P1 and 2. When they reach P3-6, these values will not leave them.

In my view, it is extremely important that I role modal for my children, because kids below 12 years of age learn from what they see.

I am trying very hard to follow Di zi gui, as a rule for being a human.  I found that I have not been doing many things that were written in the book, not even the very first 2 sentences! 

We need to start by

- showing respect to our parents (and in-laws) (not only taking care physically, mentally, with love, with knowledge etc)

- loving our siblings (respect the elder, care for the younger)

- loving our body (not hurting, drinking etc)

- be a trustworthy person (take care not to criticise, gossip)

- love all others equally (compassion)

 etc

our kids will follow.

The world is 'twisted' now, the right and the wrong are no longer clear to people, too many layers of .... covering the pure heart, our heart of conscience.  We know something must have gone wrong somewhere.  But they didnt know, nobody ever teach them how to be good and happy person. They are struggling.

Even when our kids reach teenager, be there for them, they are trying to grasp the right concept although they may argue with us.  Try talking/chating when they are calmer.

This is just my view.

Dear Parents

thanks for your feedback. To Mrs Ng's comments, I am glad Pristine is enjoying her secondary school days now. Your feedback on her relatively less enjoyable time in Ai Tong School is food for thought for us as this is something we have been discussing internally. 

I am encouraged by the views of parents like the father of Max Lim, mother of Janelle Chan, and Mr Chua. We will keep up with our emphasis on values education but we continue to underscore academic excellence. In life, we seek a balance, which also shifts from time to time depending on the 'season'. But we will not trade one for the other nor view values and academic success as mutually exclusive domains.

I agree with the mother of Jacintha Quek that we need to prioritise and thanks for assuring me that we should not be too worried when P6 pupils said that their goal is to pass the PSLE or do exceedingly well. This is heartening to know.

But I also believe that Max Lim father's point that the pupils may refrain from sharing their other ambitions with the Principal is valid. Afterall, our pupils may perceive the Principal as only interested in results only. Right? Well, I hope to change that perception in the long term.

Thanks to all of you and keep your comments coming.

Hi Dear Mr Tan

I am the mother of Pristine Ng of class 6A (2012). My girl had left Ai Tong and is now settling well in her new secondary school. She is very busy with her current secondary school life but is coping well. When you mentioned in your writing that many of the P6 students in one class have this very narrow notion of achieving success in life, my thoughts immediately flashed back to a year ago when my girl was in the same situation as they are in presently. I chuckled to myself. Why? Because as a parent, I had gone through the same thing together with my daughter.

Like them, my girl was also having the same kind of "aspiration". At this point in time, it is natural for P6 pupils to adopt this kind of attitude, even though it may not be very holistic in their journey of learning.  It doesn't help that some parents are also giving their children a very narrow and biased view on such matters. I, on my part, tried to calm my girl down by telling her that she would need to do her very best by co-operating with her teachers. Co-operation like as in paying attention in class and clarifying doubts as and when it was possible to do so, and then doing her homework and revision accordingly and diligently.

She was also encouraged to take time to relax by doing light exercises like jogging, cycling or rope skipping during the weekends. On top of that, I got her to read newspapers and some good story books after she had finished her homework. Watching Channel News Asia while having her dinner on certain days of the week was also an enjoyable way for her to improve her English. I emphasised to her that as long as she could do all the abovementioned activities faithfully and whole-heartedly, she shouldn't worry at all about PSLE. I also tried not to give her undue pressure like for example, insisting that she must get into a top secondary school. But then as a parent, I must still need to encourage and motivate her to do well. I told her that if her dream school was one of those top schools, then she ought to know what to do in order to stand a chance to enter that school. In addition, I also let her know that mummy actually doesn't mind her getting into neighbourhood secondary schools should she fail to clinch any places in any of the top secondary schools. 

What I was trying to do was to tell her that she would not be defined by what school she got into, no matter what her friends in Ai Tong might say. So did my method work? Thank God, it worked! Pristine got marvellous results for her PSLE and got into a secondary school that offers the Integrated Programme. She was a bit disappointed at first when she got the school posting result because this school was her 2nd choice. She failed to get into the school of her 1st choice, which was her dream school. Nevertheless, I told her that mummy was already very happy and proud of her and she should not think that this school which she was going to was inferior to the "1st choice Dream School". With that, she settled down in this new school and a few days ago, she told me that she loves her secondary school very much and is proud to be part of it. She donned her secondary school uniform and went to Ai Tong one day before the Chinese New Year's eve to see her former Ai Tong teachers to "拜早年".

Upon reflection, Pristine and I lament that six years in Ai Tong passed by so quickly. Pristine said that when she was in Ai Tong, she did not feel very attached to the school, neither did she like it, although she did enjoy her time in Ai Tong. But when the last day of school at Ai Tong beckoned, she felt a sense of loss. The absence of Ai Tong in her life makes her heart grow fonder. Maybe it is exactly because of what she feels about her primary school that makes her learn to be very appreciative of her new secondary school and also learn to treasure every moment of her time in her new school. Or it could be a case of her being older and wiser now. Furthermore, having gone through the PSLE, she reflected that there is actually nothing to fear about this high stakes exam. She says that she would want to tell the current batch of P6 students not to be overly anxious because the PSLE is just only a phase of a Singaporean student's school life.   

Mr Tan, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, the teachers and also all the other staff of Ai Tong for your dedication towards all the children that had gone through their primary school education in Ai Tong. Pristine and I will never forget the happy moments and also the not-so-happy moments when I had slight disagreements with the school on certain matters. All in all, Pristine and I have wonderful memories of Ai Tong and we wish all of you well in this new school year when you all are surely going to face new challenges again. If you need any volunteering assistance, you can always let me know. I will render assistance to the school as best as what I could do.   祝你们新年快乐，身体健康！  

From : Mrs Ng                                              

I share the same sentiments as the fellow parent, Florence. I am thankful that I have put both my children in Ai Tong (I am an old girl of Ai Tong). I have been impressing upon my children that the school has implemented a good system, equipping them with knowledge and essential values. It is in their hands to reap the maximum learning out of it.

From the several briefing sessions and parent workshops, it is clear to me that the school has put the students' development (character and academic) in the center. Kudos to Mr Tan and his team of honourable teachers for your devotion and dedication.

With regards to the observation on the reflections by the existing Primary 6 students, I am less worried. This, in my view, could be representative of their most important goal at this point in time and is a form of prioritisation. The students may still have other goals, which may need to be put on backburner so that efforts could be focused on the immediate goal. Similarly, there are some goals which may not be verbalised or articulated as they could be in one's subconscious.

I must admit that I am encouraged that the students recognise the importance of PSLE and be motivated to work hard.

Despite the many challenges faced by educators, my wife & I are glad that you have persevered in emphasising the values repeatedly. Just to share a story. My elder son was recommended not to take higher chinese this year, which we gladly acknowledged since my wife, a homemaker, is not Chinese & obviously Mandarin is hardly spoken at home (although I tried quite hard to..). Interestingly, he & his Chinese classmates refer their chinese language as "Lower Chinese". We are amused by the term but understand how this comes about. I tried explaining to him that the chinese curriculum he & his classmates are taking is not Lower Chinese but one that the majority of Singapore students are doing. For those who are very proficient in the Chinese language, they are taking the Higher Chinese. I think my son understands and we all laugh about it whenever he mentions "Lower Chinese". But I'm not sure what this means to other childrens' pysche as we tend to look at things in relative this days. Maybe MOE might want to consider reclassifying the term "Higher Chinese". maybe "Advanced Chinese" is more appropriate? It just a thought. Thank you 

Why did the majority of the pupils focus on their academic goals at this juncture? Logically, the school leader should be very glad to hear such reflections and most parents will be even more pleased to hear that from their child! However, I'm very glad to hear Mr Tan's worries as his thoughts resonate well to a true educator who emphasize on the child's holistic education.

Actually, we cannot blame the kids for having such immediate goal (individual success). The current assessment system which place such high stake exam (PSLE) to determine which secondary the child could enrol in, the consistent reminders from parents to instill the importance of doing well in PSLE and perhaps the teachers' efforts in "training" the child to excel in high stake exam, all bode well to develop these "academic race" mindset in the child. In addition, when a school leader asks his pupils to write down reflections, few may "dare" to write down their true reflection. An aspiring artist may be tempted to write that he/she wants to hold a personal art exhibition to raise funds for the needy community. But will he/she pen down such thoughts knowing the PSLE is just months away?

Though my child has just started school for merely a month, I'm aware and confident of the school's initiative and direction. Mr Tan, you shouldn't be too worry about the pupils' reflections. Have a prosperous chinese new year!

Warmest regards,

Max Lim (Father of Lim Jing Tong)