All (school) work and no play
I COULD not help feeling sorry for many parents and their children,
after hearing what the 12-year-old son of my friend is going
through every day.
The boy is in Primary 6 in a neighbourhood school in Jurong. In one
week, there are four supplementary classes and he gets home between
3.30pm and 4pm. Homework - there are six to eight assignments every
day - keeps him up till 11.30pm, or even later, and he has to wake
up at 6am to go to school.
My friend shouts at her son to stop checking his work or doing his
work too neatly. She realises that she is imparting the wrong
values/work attitude to her son but it breaks her heart to see him
struggling with his homework, with little sleep every night. In
fact, her son's plight has brought much tension into the
family.
Since the school term started in January, the boy has stopped
watching his favourite Sunday cartoons and never takes out his toys
from the cupboard. Except for bath and meal breaks, he spends all
his waking hours on homework, even on weekends. His cheerfulness
has been replaced by a weary look and every morning he wakes up
like a zombie to go to school. Is this what school is all
about?
Appeals to the form teacher to cut down on the homework were in
vain. When my friend was invited to a parent-teacher conference
before the March school holidays, she wanted to make a complaint to
the principal. However, before she could do so, the principal
proudly announced that the school had performed excel-lently in
last year's PSLE exams and had received the Singapore Quality Class
award. Now, with this medal, there is no turning back - cannot 'lau
kui' (lose face), she said - and the school is now aiming for a
higher award.
When it came to Q&A time, one brave parent asked the principal
to reduce the amount of homework. The principal's face clouded over
and she asked for her child's name and told the teacher in charge
that the child be allowed to do only the number of assignments the
mother deemed fit and attend only the number of supplementary
classes the mother suggested.
The anxious mother tried to explain that she did not want her child
to be singled out and that she was speaking on behalf of many other
parents but the principal gave her no chance to carry on.
The principal asked all the Primary 6 teachers, one by one, to
declare the number of supplementary classes they were conducting.
Apparently, some were conducting more than four a week and the
principal commended them for putting pressure on other teachers who
conducted fewer classes.
She asked if five classes a week was all right and when a couple of
hands went up, she assumed that there was total concurrence from
parents.
My friend said what was more shocking was that one parent stood up
to show support for the principal, declaring that he wanted more
supplementary classes and more homework for his child.
Although some parents revealed that their children also worked
non-stop till late at night, some said it was all right, 'children
need to be stretched'.
Learning is best achieved when one enjoys it. Also, aren't we
advocating creativity? School does not sound interesting at all in
this instance. In fact, it has become hell for many.
CHAN YING LENG (MS)
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,4386,253211-1085781540,00.html?____________________________________
I have more then ten cousins going thru this 'system' at
the moment.
My little nephew is three..... 
What irony have we brought our children and generation to?
Is it the children's fault that they have to be born to suffer as
such?
Is there really no turning back?
