from facebook parent group
I'm a teacher and a parent and honestly, i cant deny there is indeed a difference in a normal neighbourhood sch, 'popular' neighbourhood sch and 'branded' schs. I taught in all 3 types of sch with a SAP sch being my current sch. The stark constrast is actually the amount of resources and programmes which really depend alot on budget and manpower. And unfortunately the normal neighbourhood schs dont have this as they dont have affiliations with associations tt actually sponsor certain events/resources and programmes. SAP schs especially have both good support frm their clan association, PV and also alumni. I was really shocked at how grand their sch events can be and for e.g for teacher's day, teachers can really sit down and relax without having to organise and execute the event for the day as the PVs do almost everything. Hence, teachers can use the time to improve academic programmes and lessons unlike in my previous neighbourhood sch where we gotta do everything from scratch on top of the alr busy academic-related stuff and CCAs. And often in 'branded' schs, SES of students is generally much higher. In my previous neighbourhood sch, each class has about 3-4 on FAS scheme while my current SAP sch close to 0-1 student per class. The kinds of issues we deal with are also different. I often have to handle alot of absentees in my previous sch due to permissive or even absent and divorced parents. But current sch is more of highly-involved parents who sometimes are highly demanding. And tt said, the behaviours of students are also different, more competitive in the branded schs and less so in the neighbourhood schs BUT it's not always a positive thing as somehow the students in the SAP sch are less tolerant of each other as compared those in neighbourhood schs. Too competitive and lack of exposure to different cultures play a part. Somehow we have more discipline cases in my current sch even though the discipline mgmt is actually stricter than my previous sch. However, this is just my observation according to my own experiences, it could be different in other SAP schs.
Oh and branded schs often have better chances of having students into DSA mainly due to own parent's involvement. Sch training in each sch is generally the same but what makes a difference is tt the students themselves have outside training. I was surprised that almost every kid in my sports CCA has their own personal trainer outside of sch. Very different from those in neighbourhood schs who only depend on CCA to train.
But honestly, it still depends on your child himself and also the way you parent your child. I was frm a neighbourhood sch, with no tuitions but topped the sch, got into the special stream (bck then it was for those 250 and above), went to a branded girls sch aft tt. On the other hand, my hubby, went to a branded pri sch but got 20 points less than me in PSLE despite having a mom was an ex-teacher and even had tuitions. So really depends on the kids' abilities. But well my hubby still managed to get to a good sec sch and he eventually got into a top jc too as he worked harder in his sec sch. As parents, we play an impt part in motivating them and providing them with as much help they need, within our means.
—————————
From another parent
I’ve had kids in both “elite primary school” and “neighbourhood school”.
I’m also a sahm so I was deeply involved in coaching them as getting tuition would put a strain on our income.
What I’ve observed are these:
1. Yes “elite schools” have better resources for random things, which are mostly funded by alumni, so it is terribly unfair to say to do away with 2A. With MOE’s constant change of policies, it’s obvious that they want people from different SES to mingle, but they can’t deny the resources the alumni have poured into their Alma maters. So let’s not be cheapskate and act all self entitled and say 2A should go.
2. Yes “elite schools” produce much better psle scores. This is largely a function of the SES of the student population. Many of them not only have sahm, they also live in a nice big private property in a central location yet mom can afford to chauffeur them around in a car, or two. Though they earn big bucks, dad is often around too.
3. Yes “elite schools” have more PRCs. It’s obviously because they channel their energy into things they can control to move odds in their favour, instead of whining all day along. They are constantly planning and plotting and motivating their children, not complaining about how they are disadvantaged. Many of them are quite nice people (at least they were to me, a (yuck) “born and bred” singaporean.
4. No, “elite schools” do not have better teachers. I compared the resources and notes and I know this for a fact. They even seem less dedicated - zero supplementary lessons. Kids were even told “anyway all of you have tuition” which is untrue for mine.Fact. Not hearsay. First hand experience.
So, if you want your child to succeed, those are the ingredients. Be rich yet present and involved.
But since we can’t really choose to be rich, we can choose to be present and involved.
Signing off as a parent whose children have gone through both “elite primary school” and “neighbourhood primary school” and one who has unwittingly conducted a social experiment with results that are often peppered with hearsay.
