MOE to stop publishing names of top students?

[SAHM_TAN]

pirate:

SAHM_TAN:

I have never seen being celebrated in the various media as a form of motivation to score well in PSLE.


I thought the motivation was getting into your dream school, if the kid had one, knowing that one has done his/ her best.

Erhm... no. For kids at the very top of their academic cohorts, just getting into that 'dream' school is, well... insufficiently challenging to serve as a motivation.

Ahhhhh. Somehow I feel sad to read that.

I prefer to climb the mountain becos it's there and not becos there will be reporters surrounding me.

[Freesia]

Do our children strive to do well just to be the top and be honoured?

What is the purpose of education? What about other character values?

I have seen top students in my DD’s school who does not allow the weaker students to join their group. Top student who does not want to share their secret to success for fear that someone will overtake them.
As it is for all leadership position in school; academic takes precedence over character. To these junior top scorer, academic is the ultimate power to success and they think they are a motch on top of others just because they do well academically. I cannot imagine their arrogance in the event they are being honoured as a top scorer.

Why should we held a young child in such high honour based on one’s academic excellence? Education is more than academic excellence.
PSLE is only part of the game and not the end of the race. Who would remember the face of the top scorer in time to come? As such, if there is no value add why have it in the 1st place?

Should we not honour and celeberate humanity, compassion, kindness, humility etc ?

I believe each school will still announce their top score and students and the top students still get honoured in school and through various MOE scholarship and grants. There is still recognition and honour and encouragement comes in a different form.

[pirate]

SAHM_TAN:

If MOE do dumb down the syllabus then I have made a wrong judgment abt them becos I dont think they would be so foolish.

I don't think MOE will consciously dumb down the syllabus. Dumbing down is seldom the intention. It is often the unintended consequence that sneaks in.

[SAHM_TAN]

pirate:

SAHM_TAN:

If MOE do dumb down the syllabus then I have made a wrong judgment abt them becos I dont think they would be so foolish.

I don't think MOE will consciously dumb down the syllabus. Dumbing down is seldom the intention. It is often the unintended consequence that sneaks in.

Then we will wait.........

[pirate]

Freesia:

Do our children strive to do well just to be the top and be honoured?

What is the purpose of education? What about other character values?

I have seen top students in my DD's school who does not allow the weaker students to join their group. Top student who does not want to share their secret to success for fear that someone will overtake them.
As it is for all leadership position in school; academic takes precedence over character. To these junior top scorer, academic is the ultimate power to success and they think they are a motch on top of others just because they do well academically. I cannot imagine their arrogance in the event they are being honoured as a top scorer.

Why should we held a young child in such high honour based on one's academic excellence? Education is more than academic excellence.
PSLE is only part of the game and not the end of the race. Who would remember the face of the top scorer in time to come? As such, if there is no value add why have it in the 1st place?

Should we not honour and celeberate humanity, compassion, kindness, humility etc ?

You say it as though academic excellence and humanity, compassion, kindness, humility etc are mutually exclusive. That is insulting to all who achieved high academic honour in the past.

If those top students exhibit the kind of behaviour and tendency you described, the fault lies squarely with their parents and teachers. Feel free to name and shame the school.

[Freesia]

I am only referring to one of the post that the top scorer deserve to be recognized and honour for their hardwork.

One strive towards academic excellence for one’s own goal and purpose, no?
To be a doctor or lawyer to help people, to be a teacher to make a difference to someone’s life. How does honouring these top scorer help to emphaisze and meet the social objectives?
Why the need for recognition and honour for academic excellence? Am sure many past high PSLE achiever’s objective to do well to meet their own goals and purpose and did not expect to be honoured?
With recognition and honouring the top student; many will become the product of the society like what Dr Richard Teo said in his eulogy. I am positive that his parents did not make him what he is but savouring in recognition delivering what society deem succeesful helps to make him temporarily forget humanity.

Academic prowess is nothing to be ashamed of but academic prowess is nothing to be proud of too. At the end of the chess game, be it the King, Queen, Knight or Pawn; it goes into the same box.

[ChiefKiasu]

Freesia:

... Why should we held a young child in such high honour based on one's academic excellence? Education is more than academic excellence.

PSLE is only part of the game and not the end of the race. Who would remember the face of the top scorer in time to come? As such, if there is no value add why have it in the 1st place?

Should we not honour and celeberate humanity, compassion, kindness, humility etc ?
...

I agree. We should celebrate humanity, compassion, kindness, etc. Except that there are no exams to take for these and it is difficult to say who is more compassionate than others. These are socio-cultural qualities, highly desirable, but difficult to define and measure. It would also be awkward to give awards for these qualities, because they are usually committed out of the kindness of one's soul and not for some material recognition. I, for one, would feel weird receiving a Samaritan of the Year award from MOE.

But I would love to read more stories about the human spirit happening in good old Singapore, how people selflessly helped others in times of difficulty. Because these are the stories that give me hope and build faith in my fellow citizens.

Academic excellence, on the other hand, is measurable by virtue of the common examination. It's a technical excellence, a \"know-how\". While it is perfectly good for MOE to say that we should re-balance the emphasis on technical excellence with socio-cultural excellence, it may not be right to say that we should stop celebrating technical excellence just because we have no way of measuring and celebrating socio-cultural excellence.

The fact remains that technical excellence is still the primary means of determining the paths that our children will take. That is the basis of meritocracy, upon which our society is built.

[SAHM_TAN]

Was watching a jap cartoon. Suddenly I thought so strange of us adults to feel pity for the top scorers, their name not published this year. But what if the top scorers don't care :rotflmao: of course not knowing that they are the national top scorers, assuming no one investigate and then with absolute certainty told them that they are, they might not feel it's unfair to them that now MOE don't announce their name.



Heehee

[ChiefKiasu]

Freesia:

... Academic prowess is nothing to be ashamed of but academic prowess is nothing to be proud of too. At the end of the chess game, be it the King, Queen, Knight or Pawn; it goes into the same box.

Why not? I would be lying if I say that I won't be proud of my son if he tops his class. I would be equally proud of my son if he tells me he shared his lunch with a less well-to-do classmate during recess time.

[ChiefKiasu]

SAHM_TAN:

Was watching a jap cartoon. Suddenly I thought so strange of us adults to feel pity for the top scorers, their name not published this year. But what if the top scorers don't care :rotflmao: of course not knowing that they are the national top scorers, assuming no one investigate and then with absolute certainty told them that they are, they might not feel it's unfair to them that now MOE don't announce their name.



Heehee

I don't think the issue is whether it is fair or not fair for top scorers' names to be published. I am more concerned with the innuendo that MOE feels that publishing names of top scorers actually creates an \"over-emphasis on academic results\". If that is the case, then we should stop going for International academic competitions, Math Olympiads, etc because they promote unhealthy celebration of academic prowess amongst students.