MOE to stop publishing names of top students?
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1238431/1/.html
So, MOE has decided to stop publishing the names of top students for all exams, including PSLE, O-levels and N-levels. Apparently, it wants to \"balance the over-emphasis on academic results\".
So, what next? Perhaps schools should also stop giving out prizes for top students? Or sports, music and art competitions should no longer have announced winners in case it results in over-emphasis on sports, music or art? Oh, wait. They already announced that for the SYF. :razz:
What kind of logic is this? What's wrong with celebrating the efforts and talents of those who come out tops? How do we inspire excellence in any particular field if we do not celebrate the best performers in that field? Are we taking the first step towards the slippery slope of dumbing down and a culture of mediocrity? -
Agree with pirate. Achievement is something to congratulate and look forward to. I don’t see how it leads to over emphasis of academic results - most of us are cognizant that we may not achieve that kind of levels. We can try but if we fail, hey, it’s not great shakes.
There are schools that keep everything hush hush. All the parent knows is their own kid’s score (and others if they care to be kaypoh). I don’t see the point. Will it hurt to let the child know that he has done well to be amongst the top scorers in class? Will it hurt to let the child know that with a bit more effort, he could have done better? It may demoralise a child (and parents) to know that the child is not performing as well as the rest of the class. But if they don’t know early when it can help, will keeping the scores hush hush allow that kid the push to do better the next time?
DH likes to jog and he will pace himself with someone close to him or someone ahead of him. For me academics are the same. If I know that the highest in class is scoring 68, hey, my 60 may not be that bad afterall. Or are we aiming to hit 100 everytime?
One thing I hope they will continue to have is feature on those kids who have triumphed across adversity and have completed the race well. -
I agree with pirate. I repost what I said in another post in the PSLE Forums:
In my humble opinion, it is an over-reaction to all the negativity about the stress level of PSLE. Obfuscation of results doesn’t make the stress go away.
If anything, I think it is unjust for the top PSLE scholars this year. They have worked hard for their good results, and they deserve the honors of being officially announced as the top scholars in Singapore. Academic prowess is nothing to be ashamed of!
If no one sets the bar for others to follow, then everyone will end up being contented with mediocre levels. In the long term, we will end up with a sub-standard education system just because we are afraid of people complaining about failing to make the grade. Look at the UK’s ensuing debate about the low national GCSE standards versus the more rigorous GCE ‘O’ Levels taken by international students - how it is blamed for the poorer performance of UK secondary school students versus equivalent students in other countries in international competitions.
PSLE is just a ruler that we use to measure students for their fit to go to various schools. If we are taller, we have to wear longer pants. If we are short and we want to wear longer pants, we have to put in the effort to eat and exercise more so that we can (hopefully) grow taller. Or we simply wear the pants that we are most comfortable with, because we have the highest chance of overall success if we use the tools that suit us best.
If we can understand this fundamental principle, there would be much less complaints about how tall the PSLE ruler is set at. The stress stems from parents’ fear of their children not "meeting the cut" and ending up in a "2nd rate" secondary school. If anything, MOE should look more into convincing parents about the merits of these "2nd rate" secondary schools to put them at ease that the schools are really the best fit for their children. That would be addressing the stress directly, instead of simply sweeping PSLE results under the carpet. -
pirate:
This is indeed a bad move! :gloomy:
What kind of logic is this? What's wrong with celebrating the efforts and talents of those who come out tops? How do we inspire excellence in any particular field if we do not celebrate the best performers in that field? Are we taking the first step towards the slippery slope of dumbing down and a culture of mediocrity?
As humans we are motivated knowing we are performing well.
Especially for kids the challenge of winning is key to wanting to put their efforts.
Take that away and academics may not be worth it, for many children.
the toppers are not just the ones on the chickenessense ads. They do serve as role models.
MOE please reconsider. -
Today I am very happy.
I like the first 3 posts above.
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pirate:
Are you kidding?!! :scared:... Or sports, music and art competitions should no longer have announced winners in case it results in over-emphasis on sports, music or art? Oh, wait. They already announced that for the SYF. :razz:
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Why is it that things must be taken to the "extreme"? Just because there is talk about over-emphasis of academic, MOE must remove all reference to that and not give the top scholars the due mention or recognition. Can it not be done with in a more holistic view? We want holistic education, but we also want to celebrate success and excellence in different fields.
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MOE is not stopping schools to give prizes to the top students.
The report states that MOE only provided the details from 1999. If pple before 1999 could live without the news of top scorers. I guess from 2012 onwards we can learn to do without the news
I don't get it why must know. Though I also had no problem when the infor were published too.
DD1 is P1 this yr, I didn't try to find out her position or the highest, lowest, mean and median scores for her level. My view is this we more or less know how much and how well our child can do or achieve academically. Plus we know how much we can push. We also know the COPs for the sec schools. So we set our target and work towards it the best that we can, giving some allowance for inflation :evil:
Last time when I still need to run the 2.4km, I know what's the timing for gold, silver and bronze. I tried to do the best that I can and I tried to improve. I know the rewards but I also know my body :rotflmao: -
So, penguin pants come in which sizes?
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I have a bad memory. Was Singapore medicore before 1999 when top scorers were not announced ?
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