KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

I found this interesting post and comments and was wondering what could be your views of all the kiasu-parents here?


To read the article:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/07/30 ... stressful/

superduperks wrote:I found this interesting post and comments and was wondering what could be your views of all the kiasu-parents here?


To read the article:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/07/30 ... stressful/

there are other more stressful systems : eg, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka...top schools in US, UK, Europe.......if excellency is the desired outcome, stressful it will be

conversely in singapore, it will not be stressful if there is no desire to excel nor join the rat race

it is the stress that makes and mould a man, not the lack of it, just like in the army

Singapore is far from being too stressful compare to many other countries in Asia. Top schools in India are also very stressful and competitive.

I truly believe that the Singapore education system is not only stressful for the kids, but for the parents too. My another half and I are barely struggling with the kids' enrichment classes now let alone the kids go to primary school. i felt that the stress can also be within ourselves as well, because as working parents, we know the importance of educations and the need to keep ahead and the edge to our kids with the hope that they could excel in life. Maybe, we were poor once, and didn't want the kids to go thru' the hardship we went previously.. But yes, I personally think that the education system is stressful.

No, don't think Singapore's education system is stressful when compared to many other Asian countries.

stressful, yes, may be

more stressful than other countries ? likely not

it is nothing wrong with singapore's system

it is a global phenomena, every body wants to catch up in double quick time

in every country's edn system, there are super kiasu people, expressed in different terms

in China, it is extremely diff to get into the top unis. there are quota imposed on students from tier one and tier two cities, while even for those remote provinces, not many from the farm will qualify to make it to te top unis

so some of the city parents literally migrate to remote provinces, transfer residency account to those remote provinces, and super cram the kid for the uni entrance exam, hoping that by being applicant from remote provinces, they will have a better chance to get into tsinhua and beida and fudan. their sacrifies do pay off

no diff with singaporeans moving house to within 1 km of top school and do pv to get priority registration in phase 2B - hopefully no balloting required ......

To me, everything in moderation is the key.

We can say every country around Asia is the same but I beg to differ because

1. we are really very small, smaller than even the big cities in the big countries. our commuting time is short in comparison so we tend to pack more things in our lives perhaps.

2. the quantum of things we are exposed to physically is different because everything is near-distance for us. hence our myopia is more severe than other countries.

3. even when under immensed pressure, they have natural scenary to turn to, we only have buildings to jump from

4. their domestic market is bigger and if they fail in one area, there are still other areas to explore.. Our limited market can be a challenge for those who fail, if one is not flexible.

5. If we take physics into consideration....Pressure = F/A......having the same force, if the area is smaller, the pressure is greater. (Assuming F= global demands)

It was not stressful when my kids were in lower primary levels.

It IS stressful now when they are older.

I expect it to get MORE stressful.

It is not stressful but BORING. I dont think our education system has changed much at all however I do have to give credit to schools who are moving to the IB programmes or following the ways International schools teach.
The change is coming but I am afraid both my DDs still need to go thru the boring education system - PSLE , O level (depends) , A level, Uni.