FH condo Near Primary School. Need your advice

[ysyap]

you misundertstood me as well, i am not saying parents should just sit back and wait for things to happen, of course they have to do their part and register their kids for P1, but what i am against is if you are living in jurong and are eligible for primary schools in jurong, you would instead want to move to coronation just because you want to get your kid into nanyang. i know many parents who buy homes just to get their kids into this school and that school which i think is silly. As for ACS, i have no qualms about passing that school coz i know what kind of parents that school has (hasn't changed much all these years). As a kid in that school, I was exposed to the kind of elitist way of thinking and the snobbery in that school is just unbelievable. I once had a P2 classmate bringing more than $1000 to school just to give to friends he liked and teachers in the school tended to like kids from those rich families who gave generous donations by the tens of thousands each time. Some kids i knew never took the public transport before and chauffeured everywhere they went.

Can see that ACS hasn't made you an Acsian!

[Regulators]

Elite schools are flooded with rich kids whose parents have deep pockets to donate their way into the school. Donating $200k to get the kid into the school is peanuts to many businessmen. These same kids may not be bright, but with the round the clock tuition by qualified school teachers (can spend as much as $4k a month just on tuition), it is very hard for the kid not to excel. As for neighbourhood schools that mostly don't come under tier 1, it doesnt mean that the kids are not as smart or are under-achievers, just that many of these parents can't afford to hire school teachers to their house to teach their kids on a daily basis. So with that disadvantage, many educated parents I know with kids in neighbourhood school just need to spend more time at home coaching their kids so as to overcome the odds of not excelling.

Bro, I understand u from education business. But something I don't understand, maybe u can enlighten. Assuming syllabus is same, n teacher standard is random-depends on lvl of commitment. How do schools get tier 1 statues? Isn't it by their higher average scores?

If 2 points remains constant, then it's means tier 1 school got better family up bring? I m confused.....

[Regulators]

Neither is CST who is also from ACS

Can see that ACS hasn't made you an Acsian!

[ysyap]

Neither is CST who is also from ACS

So did he publicly criticize ACS the way you did? Can't remember!

[SpinCity]

Elite schools are flooded with rich kids whose parents have deep pockets to donate their way into the school. Donating $200k to get the kid into the school is peanuts to many businessmen. These same kids may not be bright, but with the round the clock tuition by qualified school teachers (can spend as much as $4k a month just on tuition), it is very hard for the kid not to excel. As for neighbourhood schools that mostly don't come under tier 1, it doesnt mean that the kids are not as smart or are under-achievers, just that many of these parents can't afford to hire school teachers to their house to teach their kids on a daily basis. So with that disadvantage, many educated parents I know with kids in neighbourhood school just need to spend more time at home coaching their kids so as to overcome the odds of not excelling.

Are you sure about the part of getting into school by donation? I think it is explicitly banned by law

[Lovelle]

what's wrong for regulator voicing his opinion ?

[ysyap]

what's wrong for regulator voicing his opinion ?

Did anyone say its wrong???

[cl0ver]

what's wrong for regulator voicing his opinion ?

trying to stir something?

[x11]

don't try for "branded" school, go for "normal" neighborhood school - if child does well, everything is fine. if child is "gifted", child will have the opportunity to transfer to a school with GEP. however, if the child doesn't do well, as a parent, one *might* regret not trying to put the child into a "branded" school in the first place.

try for "branded" school and get into "branded" school - if child does well, good. if child is "gifted", better still, remain in the same school and move to GEP class. if child doesn't do well, then "bo-bian lor", at least the parents can say that they tried.

try for "branded" school and CANNOT get in - suay lor!

[novel]

Precisely, that is why I am super willing to let my younger son enroll in Qifa even though we are super close to Nanhua.

If he is good, studying at Qifa will not slow him down. If he is no good, getting into Nanhua will not help at all.

luckily you did not try NanHua because mostly likely your boy can't get in too as soooo many ppl balloting for it within 1km. Qifa no need to ballot automatically enrollment.

[cl0ver]

don't try for "branded" school, go for "normal" neighborhood school - if child does well, everything is fine. if child is "gifted", child will have the opportunity to transfer to a school with GEP. however, if the child doesn't do well, as a parent, one *might* regret not trying to put the child into a "branded" school in the first place.

try for "branded" school and get into "branded" school - if child does well, good. if child is "gifted", better still, remain in the same school and move to GEP class. if child doesn't do well, then "bo-bian lor", at least the parents can say that they tried.

try for "branded" school and CANNOT get in - suay lor!

if child gifted and gets into GEP school, still need to move right? unless you torture them with the school bus ride.....

i do agree with Reg that parents should not move to a branded school in trying to get in. But i find nothing wrong if you move nearer to that branded school if you are assured of a place which makes sense right?
Being an alumni is 100% gurantee. Some say that being a strong church goer is also almost gurantee and some being a PV for that school and based on history, would also see their chances as certain.

[cl0ver]

you misundertstood me as well, i am not saying parents should just sit back and wait for things to happen, of course they have to do their part and register their kids for P1, but what i am against is if you are living in jurong and are eligible for primary schools in jurong, you would instead want to move to coronation just because you want to get your kid into nanyang. i know many parents who buy homes just to get their kids into this school and that school which i think is silly. As for ACS, i have no qualms about passing that school coz i know what kind of parents that school has (hasn't changed much all these years). As a kid in that school, I was exposed to the kind of elitist way of thinking and the snobbery in that school is just unbelievable. I once had a P2 classmate bringing more than $1000 to school just to give to friends he liked and teachers in the school tended to like kids from those rich families who gave generous donations by the tens of thousands each time. Some kids i knew never took the public transport before and chauffeured everywhere they went.

i think anything can happen and it really depends on how you deal with it.
what if the opposite is true? You go to a neighbourhood school in jurong and your kid mix with the wrong group. they start stealing, smoking, playing truant... how do you stop them?
do you say proper oversight and "monitoring" can guide them in the right way? then why worry about them being influence by mixing around with the rich kids? i wonder if it is the parent that is not happy about how other parents flaunt their money? Does it really bother you on how much they donate? does it create some pressure?

[ysyap]

There is also no guarantee that a 'branded' school has no hooligans! Then again the numbers may be smaller in comparison! No 100% protection de unless you have home school!

[howgozit]

i think anything can happen and it really depends on how you deal with it.
what if the opposite is true? You go to a neighbourhood school in jurong and your kid mix with the wrong group. they start stealing, smoking, playing truant... how do you stop them?
do you say proper oversight and "monitoring" can guide them in the right way? then why worry about them being influence by mixing around with the rich kids? i wonder if it is the parent that is not happy about how other parents flaunt their money? Does it really bother you on how much they donate? does it create some pressure?

Haha.. I take it that you are not an alumni of a certain "rich" kids' school in your younger days (no names mentioned here). So I don't blame you for having such an impression. I assure you there are bad kids everywhere, some of their parents have more money than others that's all.

Having said that, most of the naughty things happen only at the secondary school level. Stealing, smoking, playing truant...? Guess who are the main culprits... I assure you a lot of the other neighbourhood schools are considered very "guai"by comparison

Btw, what have you got against Jurong?

[Regulators]

Back in those days when roller discos were the in thing, a number of those who frequented the one at orchard plaza were from acs and other branded schools. You ask me how I knew, coz my friends were among them, some even learning to smoke before they were 12. There are kids in branded schools who are also bullies and the kind of psychological torment they can inflict on your kid is far worse. It is definitely untrue to say that neighbourhood school kids are more wayward than branded school kids coz it could also be the other way round.

i think anything can happen and it really depends on how you deal with it.
what if the opposite is true? You go to a neighbourhood school in jurong and your kid mix with the wrong group. they start stealing, smoking, playing truant... how do you stop them?
do you say proper oversight and "monitoring" can guide them in the right way? then why worry about them being influence by mixing around with the rich kids? i wonder if it is the parent that is not happy about how other parents flaunt their money? Does it really bother you on how much they donate? does it create some pressure?

[Regulators]

Gang fights between acs boys and sji boys were so common those days.

Haha.. I take it that you are not an alumni of a certain "rich" kids' school in your younger days (no names mentioned here). So I don't blame you for having such an impression. I assure you there are bad kids everywhere, some of their parents have more money than others that's all.

Having said that, most of the naughty things happen only at the secondary school level. Stealing, smoking, playing truant...? Guess who are the main culprits... I assure you a lot of the other neighbourhood schools are considered very "guai"by comparison

Btw, what have you got against Jurong?

[cl0ver]

nothing against jurong bro. was responding to Regulator's post lah.
read the quoted trail properly....

He quoted an example that if one lives in Jurong, they should just apply there and not move to D11 to have a chance in branded school. While i do agree somewhat, but i find it odd that if someone like himself who is an alumni of a branded school chose not to because he claims these elite schools are detrimental to children upbringing. So, i counter his claim that neighbourhood schools are NOT all fine and dandy as well right?

Society is made as such that people will always pick the best of the rest, especially this society given a choice. If $4 buys you a bowl of katong laksa, you will still make the effort to eat it at the best stall, even if it means driving 20km away.

Today, people move for a variety of reasons. If one lives in the west and his company relocates to the east, the travelling time could take hours and make family bonding difficult. So, what do you do? adjust to the situation? Move to the east? or quit and find another job in the west?
What if your kids are studying in the west? Will you uproot them and transfer them to another school in the east? Maybe Singapore is too small for such drastic measures but i have seen people / colleagues done that today....

[cl0ver]

Back in those days when roller discos were the in thing, a number of those who frequented the one at orchard plaza were from acs and other branded schools. You ask me how I knew, coz my friends were among them, some even learning to smoke before they were 12. There are kids in branded schools who are also bullies and the kind of psychological torment they can inflict on your kid is far worse. It is definitely untrue to say that neighbourhood school kids are more wayward than branded school kids coz it could also be the other way round.

agree, so how? you can't protect your kids forever right? they need to grow up and deal with all this. all we can do is guide them the best we can.
but my point is given a choice between Tier 1/2 against Tier 3/4/5/6, i would still make the effort to send them to former.

[Regulators]

Clover, I did not make a sweeping statement that all branded schools are detrimental and should be avoided at all cost, I was merely saying that there should not be an over-emphasis on school branding to meet your child's academic needs coz branded our neighbourhood schools serve the same function and teach the same stuff prescribed by moe. I am not against parents applying to branded schools, only against parents deliberately shifting and buying a house near a branded school just to get their kid in.

[howgozit]

nothing against jurong bro. was responding to Regulator's post lah.
read the quoted trail properly....

He quoted an example that if one lives in Jurong, they should just apply there and not move to D11 to have a chance in branded school. While i do agree somewhat, but i find it odd that if someone like himself who is an alumni of a branded school chose not to because he claims these elite schools are detrimental to children upbringing. So, i counter his claim that neighbourhood schools are NOT all fine and dandy as well right?

Society is made as such that people will always pick the best of the rest, especially this society given a choice. If $4 buys you a bowl of katong laksa, you will still make the effort to eat it at the best stall, even if it means driving 20km away.

Today, people move for a variety of reasons. If one lives in the west and his company relocates to the east, the travelling time could take hours and make family bonding difficult. So, what do you do? adjust to the situation? Move to the east? or quit and find another job in the west?
What if your kids are studying in the west? Will you uproot them and transfer them to another school in the east? Maybe Singapore is too small for such drastic measures but i have seen people / colleagues done that today....

... I was kidding about Jurong lah bro.

I have to admit Regulators point of view is on the extreme end. But I admire him for sticking to his guns. While I share his values, I kinda sold out for practicality. I took the path of least resistance.

I just wanted to highlight that people who think students are goody two shoes in these "branded" schools may be dissapointed.

Worst still are people who think their kids can network with rich and influential people's kids. This is laughable, I can tell you from experience.

[cl0ver]

i think this point is probably debated to death in other forums. the system is at such and there should not be anything wrong or bad on that.
in fact other acts are worse, like renting a room nearby, using in laws address, etc....

[cl0ver]

... I was kidding about Jurong lah bro.

I have to admit Regulators point of view is on the extreme end. But I admire him for sticking to his guns. While I share his values, I kinda sold out for practicality. I took the path of least resistance.

I just wanted to highlight that people who think students are goody two shoes in these "branded" schools may be dissapointed.

Worst still are people who think their kids can network with rich and influential people's kids. This is laughable, I can tell you from experience.

that is life.... working for a big name company comes with more politics and stress right? no different in schools....
we are talking about primary schools lah, kids so young want to network what? it should be called "making friends"....

[HP65]

Gang fights between acs boys and sji boys were so common those days.

How about CHI boys chasing ACS boys from Serene Centre to ACS....half way through, the ACS boys picked up some base ball bats hidden along the shrubs and fought back and chased CHI boys back to their school.

Many years later, 1 of the CHI boy is the customer of the ACS boy. Teenage `gangs' are not that scary. Boys will be boys.