Gary Mathews is superintendent of Williamsburg-James City County
Public Schools.
A lesson or two on Singapore's school system
June 8, 2006
"For the whole conduct of life is based on this: that what we
admire in others we want to do ourselves." - Quintilian, Roman
Rhetorician
Socked away between Malaysia and Indonesia in Southeast Asia is the
island nation of Singapore, home to approximately 4.4 million
people. With a literacy rate of 93 percent, life expectancy of 85
years for women and 79 years for men, and a diverse population of
mainly Chinese, Malay and Indian, this diverse nation of Buddhists,
Muslims, Taoists, Hindus, and Christians provides international
lessons worthy of consideration in the education community and the
community-at-large.
With a highly developed and successful free-market economy,
Singapore enjoys a remarkably open and 
corruption-free 
environment, stable prices, and a per capita Gross
Domestic Product equal to that of the four largest West European
countries. And as I have been consuming current discussion of math
and science achievement in the United States, it is apparent that
one nation leads in both math and science in the latest round of
international comparisons: Singapore.
Known as The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study,
this assessment of fourth- and eighth-graders around the world
surfaces Singapore as the world's leader in both subjects at both
grade levels.
In fourth-grade math, the topics tested are numbers, geometric
shapes and measures, and data display. Eighth-graders are tested on
numbers, algebra, geometry, data display, and probability.
In fourth-grade science, the topics tested are life science,
physical science, and earth science, whereas eighth-graders grapple
with biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science.
So what do educators and citizens of Singapore do that we can think
further about here? Try in-depth learning and the courage and
wisdom to invest in teachers' pay and professional
development.
What are we to take from this international leader in both math and
science?
First, consider in-depth learning. From what I can glean from
reading accounts in the professional literature, students in
Singapore's elementary school math classes do not spend a lot of
time working on a lot of problems of the same kind, e.g., adding
two three-digit numbers with regrouping 25 times.
Rather, these students work on but a few of these kinds of
problems, giving way to oral and written explanation of what
"regrouping" means. Reports of Singapore classrooms find students
often engaged in "metacognition," i.e., "thinking about thinking,"
be it in math, science, or other disciplines. Apparently,
learning-for-understanding reigns supreme. There's a potential
lesson here.
Second, consider Singapore's investment in its teachers. To become
a teacher, one must earn a college degree with a major in a
recognized discipline such as math, science, history, language, or
the like. In doing so, it is accepted that those who teach children
must be well-steeped in core knowledge. But it does not stop there.
It is also accepted that those who teach children must have
knowledge of how to effectively transfer knowledge and skills to
their young charges. Thus, a fifth year enrolled in the National
Education Institute is required of Singapore's teachers as they
learn about and hone their classroom skills.
Not only is this fifth year paid for by the government, these
teachers-in-training are also provided with the same salary as a
first-year teacher. Talk about respect!
Can it get any better? In Singapore, yes. Indeed, as many have
pointed out, first-year teachers are paid more than lawyers,
doctors, and engineers. Even with all of our critics, there's a
potential lesson here as well.
Finally, despite the need for a strong military, which Singapore
does enjoy, it has increased spending for schools every year since
the 1960s. Education, in rhetoric and deed, is Number One.
What we admire in others we want to do ourselves, indeed.
