limlim:

beanstalk:

It works both ways. Religion is a sensitive issue and for those who subscribe to one, it can be very emotional. It is very hard to say if a Christian child should be deprived of a Christian education simply because his/her parents chose to reside outside of 2 km of a school. Singapore is small, 'outside 2 km' could mean 2.5 or 20 km. With expressways, and a car, a kid living outside of 2 km may actually reach home the same time as someone walking home a few blocks away.

The parents made the choice. What more do you want to say?

You value religious faith in lessons, Other value their sleep/health. Why should you be given priority over the others?

Why should connection be valued over practicality?

And children are not deprive of their religious beliefs.. They can attend church every week or every day if they like. No body stops them. For your own convenience of having the religious teachings in the school instead of separately in the church, you deprive others of practical convenience. Is this fair?

And the expressway example.. the users on cars is jamming up the roads causing much inconvenience to other road users, in the morning and evening.

I think going by the principle of 'what is in the child's best welfare' is fair. However that may hold different meanings for different parents. I may not mind my child taking an extra 15 mins to get home if the school environment (academic standards, religious formation or lack thereof etc) suits him. To me, it might be in his best welfare to 'waste' that extra 15 mins as he would get a better education, at least by my standards.

It is not always possible for people to move within 1 km of a school. Some people simply cannot afford to.

There is a bit of misunderstanding here...the religious teaching at school is not intended to replace that provided by places of worship. It reinforces the latter. For people in that religion, it is important that their kids receive consistent messaging. A secular educational environment teaches values but does not associate the values with spirituality, which some people would want for their kids. This is a need that may be as important to one parent as it is for another whose kid needs alot of sleep. I don't think you should attribute selfish intentions to people without really knowing them. Much worse, to even accuse them of religious hypocrisy because of this.

The present system has checks to encourage diversity in a school and that's a good thing in the national interest. I guess with the caps, each group thinks it should have a bigger piece of the pie than they currently have. That includes you and me. I believe we both have valid concerns.

limlim:

keroppi:

It's a privilege to know that my children will be imbibing the same Christian values while receiving their education in the every same schools we graduated from.

You already said it's a privilege.. it shd never be an entitlement.

Your privilege is another citizen's unfairness and losses.. and that place could have been given to the poor kids who stays just opposite the school. One place taken by an alumni's kids who lives >2km, one place less for the kid next door.

It works both ways. Religion is a sensitive issue and for those who subscribe to one, it can be very emotional. It is very hard to say if a Christian child should be deprived of a Christian education simply because his/her parents chose to reside outside of 2 km of a school. Singapore is small, 'outside 2 km' could mean 2.5 or 20 km. With expressways, and a car, a kid living outside of 2 km may actually reach home the same time as someone walking home a few blocks away.

I know of parents with religious associations who have difficulty enrolling their children in faith-based schools because 'others', prizing only academic achievements, are overwhelming these schools. Some schools were established for a particular community and for these schools to stay true to their character and mission, the target communities should always get priority. Everybody else, I'm sorry to say, should line up behind for such schools.

lifestylelink:

I am trying to get the ck tang roman magic mop refill, there used to be one shop at chinatown that sells it cheaper, but i can't find it anymore.

The original Roman mop refill can be bought at BHG Bugis and sometimes BHG Bishan. I think I've also seen it at OG.

Yes the English papers are not easy. As the girls move up to higher primary, you will notice that the English papers can be as difficult as those for secondary school students. Despite this, many of the girls can tackle the English papers competently; so don’t underestimate them. The teachers will help them along. Also many of the girls are strong readers so have a good grasp of the language.

Your kids are blessed to have you around to work with them. There are some kids who have nobody to revise topics with or to pace them, and they just keep sliding back. The current Singapore school syllabus is such that few kids can manage without adult help. A few parents are mistaken in thinking that their children should enjoy their childhood and just play once school is over. Some amount of work is necessary.


I think putting aside results, just the discipline and routine you’ve set up is already beneficial; these are habits that they will need when they mature and have to care for themselves.

It’s really a tough call. There are kids who are not academically inclined but who are really good in a sport or talent. The CCA gives them the confidence and discipline that perhaps their studies do not.


There are of course many bright kids who can multi-task well. They can obtain good results, be a school prefect and still put in the extra hours for a competitive CCA. These kids are naturally blessed and need the variety and challenge of multiple activities.

I do know of many girls who eventually drop out of their niche CCAs as they approach P6. I think mainly it’s the parents who panic as PSLE looms! Sometimes it’s the girls themselves who are just tired from the rehearsals and practices.

daranic:

Is there any white school shoes that do not require weekly washing? I don't like to wash my kids' school shoes every Fri. Very lazy.

We discovered that white sports shoes are much easier to wash than canvas (Bata) shoes. They do not require whitewashing or much scrubbing. They are more expensive though...

1amber:

Vevey:

As for cloth floor mats, I hv many. Accumulate a load n throw them into washing machine w some detergent n run a fast 30 min cycle before hanging them out in the sun.
Then run 5 min of rinse cycle to wash the tub.
I tried hand washing. V tiruing n like not as clean as machine wash. So decided to stop torturing myself. Heee..

good idea. Hope mine can do that too.

We do the same. Remember to avoid buying mats that are fluffy. They leave lint and threads over everything else.

nms1:

ZuEn:

My hb works on most weekends and I have 2 young kids (1+/ 3+). During the weekdays, my mum and maid man over my kids. Having a maid allows me to bring the kids out on my own (and the maid) during weekends when my hb is at work. Now that I am supposed to give the maid an offday, she will go out and enjoy while we have to coop at home. How wonderful...


How come the idea of going maidless just become more attractive?
I think I should start sourcing for childcare. I think I will save more $$ and also headache. I havent even found a good enuff maid, waiting for a replacement now and I am expected to give a half past six maid offday. Great.

ZuEn

I know it's not easy but surely you can handle taking them out on your own? It may be a challenge when they are so young and you may have to pick and choose the places but it can be done. All of my friends in other parts of the world do it all the time, every week. We have been spoiled; we complain about children being pampered because of having maids at home but I think we are too.

I was going to say the same thing. We've always given the helper a weekly day off because we like being on our own. It can be done, really. We've lugged a baby, a toddler and kid around on our own. There were times when we found ourselves trooping to the public loo 3x in a row as each sequentially needed 'to go'. Tiring, time-consuming but it can be done. Don't be too ambitious about trips. Just pick one destination and stay there.

Also if you look around on weekends, you'll actually see many families without helpers. The parents do fine. It really can be done.

You have a good husband! His parents must have trained him well.