KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

After reading through the comments about student attitude problems in Single Gender Schools (Boys only or Girls only), really confused where to send my 2011 Secondary 1 child???????? Am an Expat Mom, born & brought up overseas.....Seeking your advice on Survival Skills in the Secondary schools! Please Help!

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PSLEmom wrote:After reading through the comments about student attitude problems in Single Gender Schools (Boys only or Girls only), really confused where to send my 2011 Secondary 1 child???????? Am an Expat Mom, born & brought up overseas.....Seeking your advice on Survival Skills in the Secondary schools! Please Help!

Hi PSLEmom,
Just like to share with you my personal opinion. By now you should have the booklet given by MOE, the schools and their cut of points are listed.

Go through the list, and short list a few you are interested in. Make a point to find out the dates of the Open House. There is a forum on this.

Go to the web site of the school and find out more about the school.
Especially in the CCA portion. If your child is particularly keen in certain CCA, example Infocomm. Make sure the school you select offer that CCA.

If your child has special talent, then go for the specialised schools like SOTA and sport school

If you prefer the IP through train then select the schools that offer IP programmes.

If you want your child to have a good fountation in chinese and chinese culture then select a SAP school.

and next which is equally important, select a school relatively near your home to cut down travel time.

And extremely important, do not force upon your child, bring your child to the open house and your kid must be comfortable with the school. Usually the principal will make a speech, this will give you a better idea of the school.

I did not put single or mixed school in my selection criteria.

How about hearing my experience as I am still in school?

I personally feel that in a single-gender school , I admit that problems arise in attitude and related issues, as most single-gender schools , as i feel ( which I am in one ) are more academically inclined.
As such, they have little experience communicating with the opposite gender or simply being extremely( boyish / girlish ), which may cause communication problems in the future.
For example, in an all boys school, most tend to care less about their body language, as everyone is a boy , thus displays it in public after 4 years of education in one.
In an all girl school, they may stick closer to their girl friends than boys and hence, the reason for the well known repulsion ( girls all sitting on left side of room, boys on right) .
Technically, the biggest problem with single-gender schools would be how they present themselves after years of education , thus their attitude they display , friends they make along the way.

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In a mixed school, which I feel are just as good as single-gender schools in academics as long as your child works hard enough , can provide a more rounded 'education' in terms of morals.
However, the risk will be at BG relationships when they are young , or falling into a the wrong company , as such affecting their results...

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Therefore, i would agree with computerkid on selection based on your child's talents..
I would strongly recommend to follow that template if your mind is still not made up.
For me, my parents let me have a free choice of whatever I wanted, I had my go at it, and I have not regretted it since then.