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Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors' Award

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:18 am
by john.316
Hi Everyong,

A friend of mine child in the primary section (GEP), recently exhited a poster at the NTU during the IvP (Innovation Programme) fair. He told me that all those exhitors will have the chance to submit their respective project for the TKK award. He is asking me to post a inquiry on Kiasu Parents about the above award.

Will the TKK awards (4 typs of award, eg. silver, merit, commendation encouragement) play a important part for the application of DSA?

Anyone who would like to share how useful or important as their own children or friends' children had been awarded the Tkkyia before?

Appreciate your sharing in advance

Cheer!

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:30 am
by luckystar
This is definately an added bonus no matter what you apply for. It tells people that you got the talent.

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:54 am
by Merlion
As parents, we should not try to link everything to DSA. I hope the kids are doing all these projects / presentations because they are interested in doing them, not for the DSA. If they have to think of DSA before they do anything, it will be very sad for Singapore education system.

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:12 am
by kuzco
Merlion - Agree with you that we should not try to link everything to DSA. But in reality, it is quite difficult as it is a very competitive DSA situation out there. Some parents, being so kiasu, will definitely encourage their kids to try everything, whether they are interested in it or not, because every single award will put their kid one up against another. It's a sad situation, I know.

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:41 am
by csc
Seriously, this obsession over obtaining all kinds of awards for DSA purpose is somewhat 'out- of hand'.

In my humble opinion, awards are just one of the many criterion the DSA schools look for. I believe the schools are looking more for the X-factor in the pupils - the passion and the enthusiasm for a certain subject like Science or Maths or even community work. These attitudes can only surface during interviews or selection activities. I can quote quite a number of successful DSA cases with no awards .

As parents, we should instil in our children a love and passion for learning , instead of signing them up for courses or enrichment to obtain awards. I believe the child's passion (if there is any) will shine forth regardless of any award obtained.

:D

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:43 am
by Merlion
Parents are putting too much pressure on the kids these days. DSA is just one way to get into IP schools. Why can't they just settle for getting into those schools with good PSLE result. Why must it always be DSA? When I went to United Square last weekend, I was surprised that there are so many "branded" primary schools kids went for enrichment classes there. Some are even GEP kids. If a GEP kid has to go for maths or science lessons to help them to do well in GEP classes, then they should not be in GEP program. I can understand an english speaking family sending kid for chinese lesson or a chinese speaking family sending kid for english lessons. But I think a GEP kid should be able to handle maths and science all by themselves. Sorry ... I am a bit off topics here. Should just talk about the TKK award.

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:50 pm
by luckystar
4 years ago, dau of my friend, dsa thru sport was rejected, the reason was not enough achivements, despite her talent (was test during a trial) and school academic.

She was able to get to the school thru Psle results, and now represent Singapore for the Youth games.

I do not know whether one should link everything to dsa, but I am quite sure my friend was very sad about the dsa at that time.

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:36 pm
by turquoise
The TKK award is a prestigious one and if your son's friend is able to get a certificate of distinction, it would be useful during his DSA application. If this is the same boy who is not very strong in his GEP results, then every little certificate would help to boost his DSA chances and set him apart from other GEP students with similar results. But at the end of the day, his performance at this GEP exams are still very important and he should strive to score more than 80%.

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:53 pm
by tony
Merlion wrote:As parents, we should not try to link everything to DSA. I hope the kids are doing all these projects / presentations because they are interested in doing them, not for the DSA. If they have to think of DSA before they do anything, it will be very sad for Singapore education system.
I know the hard cold reality these days is to do something only if it helps you get up the ladder. But I agree with Merlion.

I sincerely hope this boy tries for the contest because he is passionate about the topic and wants to learn and excel in it. Going through it would already allow him to experience this particular type of rigour that he'd otherwise not have been privy to. Even if he doesn't win, he would have received something priceless- going through the process itself for something that he feels is worth the sacrifice of his time and energy.

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:25 pm
by phankao
tony wrote:I know the hard cold reality these days is to do something only if it helps you get up the ladder. But I agree with Merlion.

I sincerely hope this boy tries for the contest because he is passionate about the topic and wants to learn and excel in it. Going through it would already allow him to experience this particular type of rigour that he'd otherwise not have been privy to. Even if he doesn't win, he would have received something priceless- going through the process itself for something that he feels is worth the sacrifice of his time and energy.
I personally believe, and I try to inculcate this train of thought in my kids. Anything they want to do, it is just worth trying to do well. Simply because, they are already putting in that effort and spending time on it, so might as well make it worth their while.