Progressive Schools

[sewbge]

It is possible we will be moving to Singapore in the next few months.  My 1st and 6th grader are currently in a very progressive school in the US.  Teachers called by first name, no grades til high school, no uniforms, very high parent involvement BUT great academics.  Is there a achool like this in Singapore?  UWC looks like it could be but I am not sure....  Would love anyones opinion.

[in a word]

No, there's nothing like that here. UWC has uniforms, testing, grades, reports, the works. Good academics though. There's a Steiner school somewhere in  the East but I think it only goes up to about age 6 - shame as it would have suited one of my children very well. I guess the only way you can avoid the whole uniform, grades, tests thing is to find a good home-schooling program or online schooling following the same philosophy you have now.There are quite a few home-schooling families around so you might be able to get together with like-minded families for outdoor projects, sports etc.

[afraid not]

Singapore is very academic and I can't think of a school here at all which doesn't have a uniform - it's just the kind of place it is.  Your kids might get away with calling a teacher by their first name in Primary school (it would usually be preceded by Mr or Miss) but once in Secondary they'd be expected to call them by their surname in most schools. 

Home schooling might be an option, as suggested above. 

[sewbge]

Thank you for your comments. Did look up support for home schoolers - looks limited over there.  The girls will probably end up in a school. So which one?  Any comments on ones that are experential, not too much pressure where the kids can't wait to go to school because it is so much fun to learn?  We will definetly choose one which is Ib. We love the inquiry and core values. Is UWC our best bet given that we have to make a choice?

[in a word]

Can't comment on whether UWC would suit your children but a much bigger problem will be whether it has places available. Before you spend too long deciding if it seems right then being disappointed, I suggest you call and check on the waiting list situation both at the Dover and East campuses.

[Scummy NLI]

Not trying to troll etc., but I'm curious to know why the no uniform/teachers by first name is considered an advantage? My SIL is the head of a big school in an under-privileged area of the UK and they had far better attitudes/attendance/behaviour when they got the kids into a uniform.

[same thoughts as scummy]

Why should no uniforms and calling teachers by their first name be considered advantageous in some form? One of the core values of a schooling is to get the kids to develop a sense of respect for things. Not only is a uniform a great equaliser, but it also helps kids to develop a sense of respect towards the institution it represents when they wear it. Not cricticising here, just genuinely curious.

[take note]

If you are looking for IB curriculum, note UWC does not have MYP programme in middle years for your 6th grader

[LVSnot]

I knew a private school where there were no classrooms, and the children were on "equal" ground with the teachers, no uniforms, no formal testing or grades etc and the basic premise was to get away from the whole education = authority concept.

The idea of this kind of education is that public schools first came about during the industrial revolution, and one of the initial objectives was to condition children to be useful cogs in the wheels of production. Schools taught values such as punctuality, following directions, preparing for examinations, conforming with mainstream society etc, with bells that told children when to shift from one room to the next, exams that defined competence, teachers and administrators that demanded unquestioning authority. Even the subjects taught were deliberately chosen to this end - the kinds of maths, language, history, science, were all designed to make little factory workers out of children whose families couldn't afford private schooling.

It's one of the main premises of Ken Robinson's argument about what's wrong with education today - it's a structural problem. We're in a post-industrial society, yet we still teach children in the exact same manner as we did in an industrial one. Robinson argues that this is huge failure, what we need to do now it prepare children for a future that will demand creativity and ingenuity and entrepreneurship. You can google his speech at TED, it's really great.

[Thank you]

I knew a private school where there were no classrooms, and the children were on "equal" ground with the teachers, no uniforms, no formal testing or grades etc and the basic premise was to get away from the whole education = authority concept.

The idea of this kind of education is that public schools first came about during the industrial revolution, and one of the initial objectives was to condition children to be useful cogs in the wheels of production. Schools taught values such as punctuality, following directions, preparing for examinations, conforming with mainstream society etc, with bells that told children when to shift from one room to the next, exams that defined competence, teachers and administrators that demanded unquestioning authority. Even the subjects taught were deliberately chosen to this end - the kinds of maths, language, history, science, were all designed to make little factory workers out of children whose families couldn't afford private schooling.

It's one of the main premises of Ken Robinson's argument about what's wrong with education today - it's a structural problem. We're in a post-industrial society, yet we still teach children in the exact same manner as we did in an industrial one. Robinson argues that this is huge failure, what we need to do now it prepare children for a future that will demand creativity and ingenuity and entrepreneurship. You can google his speech at TED, it's really great.

Thank you, LVS. What is also interesting to note, is that the school year as we know it is based on a farming model. Children learn for ten months or so only, leaving them free to help on their families farms etc during the summer months when their parents would desperately need the extra hands...

[sewbge]

Thanks for the comments about waiting lists etc.  We are big prponents of children being in an environment which fosters a love of learning. For some children that might be wearing uniforms and being surrounded by more structure. Our children just happened to have flourished in an environment that encourages children through internal motivation vs grades etc. Uniforms or calling teachers by first names is not make or break for me it was just a way of explaining what we were interested in. My wish for all children is that school is super fun Interesting and encourages them to be creative so that they become their own person with their own ideas and opinions. I am also a proponent of children working to their own potential rather than someone elses box of what a child should be able to achieve by a certain age. Strive to be the best YOU can be.   Anyway am sure you get the picture. Want lots of choice so every child can find the schools that works for them.  Again thanks for all you tips and comments.   

[Scummy NLI]

Interesting, thanks LVS. Freakonomics talks about the farming/summer break thing and notes that the kids from "poor"(financial or otherwise backgrounds) are further behind their peers after the summer break than before as the middle-class kids are stimulated during the break.

What's TED? I've heard of Ken Robinson and keep meaning to read something by him.

To OP: Don't worry about defending your choices - I and the poster after me were just curious. Defnitely agree with you about fostering the love of leaerning etc.

Interestingly I teach adults here and so many call me "Miss Scummy*" and I have to keep telling them that Scummy* will do.

* Not literally obviously 

[LVSnot]

Interestingly I teach adults here and so many call me "Miss Scummy*" and I have to keep telling them that Scummy* will do.

* Not literally obviously 

I'm glad you clarified that 

You'd love TED, it's an annual conference that celebrates Ideas, with a capital "I". They get some of the world's most imaginative minds to come and talk about their ideas, then they film the talks and put them up on the web. I'll bet half the authors on your bookshelf have spoken there - I know Malcolm Gladwell has.

[LVSnot]

Oh, and re: Sir Ken, his TED talk is actually better than his book, IMHO - it sums up the main points and he just happens to be a very witty speaker. But there's a lot being written about the future of education at the moment. I've read stuff that's completely paradigm-shifting.

[Scummy NLI]

Wouldn't mind some links/refs when you get a chance.

(Just in case we decide to aspire higher than a plumber......