Why I prefer Canada’s education system – world-ranking or no
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Why I prefer Canada’s education system – world-ranking or not
Sunday, 29 November 2009, 1:39 pm | 455 views
Wing Lee Cheong / Canada
“Singapore’s ranked 1st in quality education system in the world” – Global Competitiveness Report 2007–2008“Singapore ranked one of the world’s best-performing school systems” – McKinsey Report, published September 2007
“Singapore students ranked among the top in Mathematics and Science” – Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007
“Singapore ranked 4th among 45 education systems” – Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006
Those are very impressive achievements that one can be proud of. Dr.Ng Eng Hen, the Education Minister of Singapore, cited a 2007 survey by the Fraser Institute that shows 94 per cent of Ontario students were dissatisfied with the Canadian public school system. Dr.Kishore, dean of public policies of NUS proudly claimed that educational leaders around the world are flocking to Singapore to copy Singapore’s successful educational model. He said that some North American schools are even using similar textbooks in their schools.
Canada may not have a perfect education system but I seriously doubt the reliability of the survey cited by Dr Ng. One has to question the criteria and sample size used for the survey.
Most Canadians are proud of their education system and will not trade it for the aggressive streaming system of Singapore where one’s future and career is based solely on academic results. Studies have shown that passing standardized examinations with good grades does not necessarily mean that one has a better knowledge of the subject than another with lesser or failed grades. In most cases, it simply shows that the person is better in the art of taking examinations. There are controversies amongst Canadian educationists if standardized examinations can accurately assess students’ subject knowledge and the application of that knowledge. Not knowing how to apply the knowledge is no knowledge at all.In the pursuit of academic excellence, Singaporean parents force their children to study long hours to make the grade. In the fierce process, Singapore children are denied the joys of childhood. This explains why Singapore children are more stressed and tensed compared to Canadian children with their happy and carefree outlook. Children of Singapore friends who visit me in Canada tend to be more reserved and do not interact well. More interestingly, almost all of them would bring their school work during these visits. The parents made sure that their kids did certain hours of studies everyday despite the fact that they were on holidays. It is a strange trend amongst Singapore parents who want to be one-up on others. It is a reflection of the typical Singapore “kaisu” culture.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint
Canada is one of the few countries that do not have a central or federal education ministry. All the thirteen provinces and territories have their independent education ministries to coordinate the national system through the Council of Education. This system has worked well for the country. Canada’s literacy rate is 99 per cent and placed at 19th in world standing, while Singapore’s is 94.4 per cent and placed at 74th, according to UNESCO in its 2007 annual report.Canadians believe that life is a marathon and not a 100-meters sprint. Children are encouraged at a young age to develop at their own natural pace. There is no streaming. Mentally-challenged children are put in the same class as the normal and gifted children. Exceptions are made for severe mental cases. Under this environment, Canadian kids learn to develop compassion towards the less fortunate and realize that the world comprises different kinds of people. Hence they grow to be less arrogant and less prejudicial.
It is mandatory for students to do part-time jobs or perform volunteer duties at seniors’ home and other charity organizations in order to graduate from high schools. The students get marks for doing charity or part-time jobs. It is not uncommon to see volunteers in the hospital reception areas, families picking litter on the streets, distributing food/clothing to the needy, volunteers in senior homes, even the mentally and physically challenged are taken care of by volunteers. While in Spore the handicapped are considered an embarrassment and kept in the homes by their families, here in Canada volunteers bring them out shopping and they are encouraged to participate in recreational activities.
Canadians constitute less than 1 per cent of the world’s population but provides 10 per cent of the world’s peacekeeping forces in its selfless and unceremonious way. Volunteerism has become second nature to Canadians.
Singapore – just study and get good grades
This is in contrast with Singapore where an increasing number of parents would have maids attend to every need of the children. The maids carry the school bags, bring the drinks and food. All the children need to do is to study and get good grades. It has come to a point where many kids cannot do without maids. I have friends whose kids would scream to their maids to do simple chores like getting a drink. Few of these kids know how to make a cup of tea let alone a simple meal for themselves.Even our much respected figure of MM Lee, despite all the fine education and good grades he had, did not know that one needs to peel off the egg shell before a hard-boiled egg can be eaten. (As related recently by his daughter in a Straits Times article.)
It is a common practice for Canadian university students to take a year or two off to travel the world and return to complete their studies later. My daughter took a full year off to backpack in Australia two years ago. With another classmate, they bought a used car and drove all over Australia. Most of my friends in Singapore thought I was crazy to let a young girl postpone her studies and travel aimlessly for a year.
Perhaps to most Singaporeans, it was a complete waste of time and money. My two other boys similarly backpacked in Africa, South America, Asia and Europe during their summer holidays. They learned more from their travels than from textbooks. Most importantly, they enjoy their lives. It is difficult to reconcile how forcing our children to go on a relentless paper chase can be the right thing to do.
Canada may not compare well with the Singapore education system in world rankings. Canadian students may not compete well in mathematics and science tests against Singapore students. Despite these, however, Canada has produced eighteen Nobel Prize winners, 44 Olympics medalists, with 9 Gold Medalists in the last three games, plus hundreds of world-renowned entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, writers, actors, singers, etc. By population ratio, Singapore should produce at least three Nobel Prize winners and scores of artists and writers, etc. Even Hong Kong and Taiwan each managed to have one Nobel Prize winner, many Olympic medalists and entrepreneurs.
Trade-off and compromise
The Canadian and the Singapore education systems are built on different premises. Singapore trains its students to be 100 meters sprinters for fast results to show the world whilst the Canadian system train its students to be marathon runners for the long haul in life. Canadian public education is free for all its citizens and permanent residents - from kindergartens to high schools. Tuition fees for most universities cost an average of C$6,000 per year.
The unscientific assumption by Singapore’s leaders that if you are not good at passing examinations with good grades, you are unlikely to make good for the rest of your lives, is laughable. History has shown us that there are scores of high achievers without degrees, i.e Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Richard Branson, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Frank Lloyd Wright, etc.History teaches us that we cannot get something for nothing. If we push our children hard to be super human beings, we may push most of them over the edge. There is always a trade-off and compromise.
These children would grow up to be blinded by materialism and money, potentially resulting in a lack of compassion, failed marriages, poor social interaction skills, aggressive behaviors, and so on. No one has managed to social engineer a super society. There are already signs Singaporeans are stressed out before retirement. If the people are pushed at an early age, they will wear out at an early age. Few people can last being stressed for their entire working lives.
Singapore may have a better education system (according to certain rankings and studies) and the citizens may be contented and proud of it. However, I still prefer the traditional Canadian education system where we are taught to be human beings rather than human machines. We may not be high in world rankings but we are happy. That is what life is all about. All the millions of dollars a year would not necessarily bring you genuine joy and happiness.
We were born with nothing and we will leave with nothing.
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Cartoon by the author. -
see so many years of free education
birth rate would not declined that much
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Patriotism and gratitude require reciprocity
Monday, 17 August 2009, 9:22 am | 1,901 views
The following is by Mr Cheong Wing Lee in response to Canadian, Mr Eric J Brooks’s second letter to the Straits Times. Mr Cheong emigrated to Canada from Singapore and is now a Canadian citizen.
Dear Editor,
Mr. Brooks’ second letter published in ST reiterate that Singaporeans should be grateful for what they have. He cited more examples of the failed Canadian welfare system as compared to the successful welfare system that Singaporeans are enjoying but have taken for granted.Again I am embarrassed by a fellow Canadian who misrepresented his own country. It is easy to verify what Mr Brooks had said through the Canadian High Commission or Amnesty International.
Canada may not have a perfect welfare system but having lived and worked in several countries myself, I must say that Canada is as good as anyone could wish for.
When I immigrated to Canada, I bought three cars for the price of one in Singapore and a 4,000 sq. ft house for the price of a 5-room HDB apartment. A similar house in Singapore would have cost S$2 million
Yes, the Canadian taxes are high but the citizens are well treated. For me, the savings on the purchase of the house and cars could pay my income tax for the rest of my life.
Every child in Canada gets free education from kindergarten to Grade 12, the equivalent of junior college in Singapore. Most schools are within walking distance from home. Free transportation is provided for students living farther away. Each child gets C$250 a month as “milk” allowance until 18 years of age. However this benefit may have been rescinded.
Contrary to what Mr. Brooks claimed, all my three children graduated from reputable universities in Canada without any problem. My children’s university education did not cost me much as my children were able to obtain grants and student loans to pay for their university fees. They took part-time jobs to supplement their pocket money.
The greatest joy for parents is to see the happiness expressed in their children’s eyes when they play in the beautiful parks during the summers, springs and autumns and snow in the winters. The satisfaction is more than money can buy. This is in contrast to the daily intensive tuition that Singapore children are subjected to.
Mr. Brooks’ assertion that many bright Canadian children are denied the opportunity to attend universities in Canada but could obtain full scholarships in Singapore is untrue. In fact it is the other way around. My niece who could not get into Singapore University, was admitted into a reputable American University. She finished her Masters, secured a good job and sadly did not return to Singapore.
In Canada, senior citizens are well respected and treated. Seniors travel free on public transport, i.e. the MRT, bus and ferry rides, from Mondays to Thursdays. They get discount for weekend travel, food and most purchases. They are entitled to old age pension and workman pension when they reach the age of 65. The combined income from these two pensions is about C$1,000 to C$2,000 or more a month. Seniors get subsidies for housing. Seniors can study in reputable universities and get a degree by paying a token fee of less than C$100 per semester.
When I was diagnosed with kidney failure, it cost the Canadian Healthcare C$80,000 a year for dialysis and medical treatments to keep me alive. I paid C$90 a month for healthcare insurance that covers both my wife and I. The Canadian healthcare pays for all hospital expenses including medications. It was free for me. When I travel overseas, my dialysis and medical expenses are reimbursed by Canadian healthcare up to the amount it costs in Canada.
The homeless issue was greatly exaggerated by Mr Brooks. This issue is universal and every country has its fair share of homeless people including Singapore. In Canada, most of the homeless people are there by choice because of their drug addiction. No amount of government assistance can help pay for their expensive habit. In Singapore, most of the homeless people are there because of economic reasons. They are either without pension and too old to get a job or abandoned by their children.
For Mr Eric Brooks to say that Canada has a failed welfare system is unfair and bias. Check with the Canada High Commission and verify what I said.
SM Goh Chok Tong can call us quitters and losers because he cannot see beyond his comfort zone. He has no worries. His job is secured for life and is paying him by the millions. It is little wonder that his wife said that $500,000 a year salary is peanuts. If he could only spend one day outside his comfort zone and live like an ordinary Singaporean drawing less than $2,000 a month with the anxiety of losing his job, the burden of getting his children through the fiercely competitive education system, the stress of living in a materialistic environment and the uncertainty of having a dignified retirement, SM Goh may then understand the plight of the ordinary citizens. It is easy for him to pass judgement when he already has everything.
Patriotism and gratitude require reciprocity. If a citizen feels unwanted and treated without respect, it is no shame for the outcast to seek greener pasture and realize his potential elsewhere. It would be naive to expect the outcast to be patriotic and risk his life to protect a privileged group who continue to reward themselves unchallenged by the millions.
My decision to immigrate was not politically motivated. It was based solely on the future of my family. I have three children when the Singapore government’s strict policy then was, “Two is enough”.
As for education, I was expelled from school at secondary two. I obtained an “O” level and a certificate from Singapore Vocational Institute (fore-runner of ITE) through evening classes. In a highly competitive society like Singapore where you are judged by academic excellence and materialistic possessions, my credentials would be sneered at. I would most likely be a minimum wage worker, praying not to get sick when I am old and retired.
The lifestyle difference between a typical Singaporean and a Canadian is that a Singaporean spends his life making a living, whereas a Canadian lives his life.
Regardless of all the negative misinformation that Mr. Eric Brooks has said about Canada, I am deeply beholden to Canada who has given me my self-respect, dignity and a chance to realize my potential. Most of all, a bright future for my children. Herein lies my gratitude.
Thank you, Canada.
Yours truly,
Wing Lee Cheong
North Vancouver, BC, Canada -
Originally posted by whycannot:
The greatest joy for parents is to see the happiness expressed in their children’s eyes when they play in the beautiful parks during the summers, springs and autumns and snow in the winters. The satisfaction is more than money can buy. This is in contrast to the daily intensive tuition that Singapore children are subjected to.
this is so true even at a personal level, after 12months away from singapore...
in singapore, my kiddos look forward to school holidays. this is despite i never let any of my kids do any form of tuition except chinese in singapore.
here, they can't wait for school to re-open if there is a break. i pulled one of them out of school recently for a few hours to attend to something, and he insists of going back to school for the remaining 2 hours of the schooltime left when we were done.
the only thing they balk at is the 2.5hrs of chinese tuition they attend every saturday. (i guess some things never change)
they are also more assertive and can better fend for themselves as well. -
I would said if given the chance to receive an education in Canada than said in SG, I would very much preferred to do so in Canada too. Compared to Canada, in SG, it's a total mockery of the system to deem academic success equivalent to future work success. The distinction couldn't be seen more clearly in the starting pay of undergraduates - in terms of honors level - in the public sector. Higher pay = higher success? So this is what all those years of education is for? Talk about being world class - this is indeed the joke of the 21st century.
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Singapore edu system is not cutting edge. Its only world-class for foreigners from 3rd world countries
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SG definitely has an eminent and quality primary, sec and junior college education system. just look at the people we send to Ivy League and Oxbridge.
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Originally posted by insidestory:
SG definitely has an eminent and quality primary, sec and junior college education system. just look at the people we send to Ivy League and Oxbridge.
harvard and imperial college also - all the scholars went there to study -
I wonder why no local U has never produced a Rhodes scholar ever. The Rhodes scholarship is given out by Oxford to undergrad students in existing undergrad school in universities all over the world to study there for as long as they wish, do a second degree, whatever, and the Singaporeans who received the Rhodes scholarships are from overseas universities like Harvard (THUM Ping Tjin), University of Southern California (Desmond Koh), Wong Heng Vee (Swarthmore College), University of Texas- Austin (Jocelyn Yeo) and SAF officer Wang Jin Rong (then in Westpoint Military Academy)
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Originally posted by whycannot:
harvard and imperial college also - all the scholars went there to study
harvard - study mba in public policy - come back - many many moneyso many parents told their children - study study study
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Originally posted by redDUST:
this is so true even at a personal level, after 12months away from singapore...
in singapore, my kiddos look forward to school holidays. this is despite i never let any of my kids do any form of tuition except chinese in singapore.
here, they can't wait for school to re-open if there is a break. i pulled one of them out of school recently for a few hours to attend to something, and he insists of going back to school for the remaining 2 hours of the schooltime left when we were done.
the only thing they balk at is the 2.5hrs of chinese tuition they attend every saturday. (i guess some things never change)
they are also more assertive and can better fend for themselves as well.Hey redDust where you went? so long i never troll this forum le haha.
Best Regards
Genie
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Its the same with Singapore Fulbright scholars. Fulbright is administered and awarded by the US government for international students to study in the US, and all the Singaporeans who received it are overseas grads from schools like University of Sydney, http://sg.linkedin.com/in/devadaskrishnadas or LSE (Ron Chandran-Dudley) or University of Washington.
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Originally posted by whycannot:
Why I prefer Canada’s education system – world-ranking or not
Sunday, 29 November 2009, 1:39 pm | 455 views
Wing Lee Cheong / Canada
Canada may not compare well with the Singapore education system in world rankings. Canadian students may not compete well in mathematics and science tests against Singapore students. Despite these, however, Canada has produced eighteen Nobel Prize winners, 44 Olympics medalists, with 9 Gold Medalists in the last three games, plus hundreds of world-renowned entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, writers, actors, singers, etc. By population ratio, Singapore should produce at least three Nobel Prize winners and scores of artists and writers, etc. Even Hong Kong and Taiwan each managed to have one Nobel Prize winner, many Olympic medalists and entrepreneurs.
This few sentences struck me...
Despite Singapore claiming to have the best of something or whatever.. It has failed to produce a decent recognize brand or company in the world..
Not to mention Nobel prize winner in scientific achievement or health sciene.
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Singapore has done well, producing high quality academics, people out there have high IQ, but produced citizens of relative low EQ (no consideration for others, no manners).
There needs to be more moral education. Hopefully, Primary schools can add moral education as one of the required topics for entry to Secondary Schools. -
Singaporeans are becoming more and more like walking dictionaries, which can be easily replaced by computers. Everything they do must have been taught to them, if not they don't know. Or else must have directive to direct them, if not how to work!
Students always say, "I wasnt taught this in school." Sounds familiar? -
Originally posted by Junyang700:
Singapore has done well, producing high quality academics, people out there have high IQ, but produced citizens of relative low EQ (no consideration for others, no manners).
There needs to be more moral education. Hopefully, Primary schools can add moral education as one of the required topics for entry to Secondary Schools.seriously u must be joking..high IQ? i am yet to see it. Low EQ, seen it all before..
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Originally posted by ☃®:
seriously u must be joking..high IQ? i am yet to see it. Low EQ, seen it all before..
you singaporean? -
yah lor. sg students tend to commit sucide froem exams stress.
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from. sry
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suicidal system!
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Overseas students don't want to work in Singapore
Jonah , 22, has been studying in US for less than a year, but he has already decided that he will not return to Singapore to work after graduation.
A first-year student taking computer science at Stanford University, he says that US is far ahead of Singapore in science and technology. Situated near the Silicon Valley, Stanford's outstanding students are offered jobs by top IT firms even before they graduate.
"They have the world's top firms like Google, Microsoft and Apple - companies that value creativity. Working for them will broaden my horizons and improve my resume," he told my paper.
"While there are also many multi-national companies in Singapore, my impression is that they focus on product assembly, marketing and sales."
According to a survey by Experiences 2009, the organiser of an annual US education convention, there are quite a lot of overseas students who think like Jonah.
According to the survey of 153 Singaporean undergraduates at 15 top US universities, as many as 79 per cent prefer to work in US after they graduate. Only 18.1 per cent want to return to Singapore immediately after they complete their studies.
At Chung Cheng High School's 70th anniversary celebration last month, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong expressed his concerns about this phenomenon. He said that more than one-fifth of the students who performed well between 1996 to 1999 (those who scored at least four 'A's and a B3 in General Paper) are no longer working in Singapore a decade later.
More than one third of those who studied overseas and did not receive scholarships are also not working in Singapore.
In SM Goh's speech he pointed out Singapore's conundrum - while preparing our students to be 'entrepreneurial and world-ready', we are also 'growing wings' on them and more students will be heading overseas to develop their careers in future.
Why they leave
Why has Singapore no hold for these students? Do they leave because the pull factors from other countries are much stronger?
Students interviewed by my paper say that they leave not only because of the lack of job opportunities, but also because Singapore is too stressful, or because they don't feel appreciated.
Ng Hui Jin, 20, a Biology student at Imperial College in UK said that the pace of life is so fast in Singapore she can barely catch her breath at times. She feels that Europeans place more emphasis on quality of life. The pace is slower there and her classmates do not compare their results.
"Perhaps the learning environment and lifestyle here is what keeps Singaporean students in Europe," said Hui Jin.
Ridy Lie, 28, who graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 2003 has worked at Amazon.com for six years. He said that he likes the free and easy culture in American IT companies. A software developer, he can wear t-shirt and jeans to work, and their supervisors do not require that they report to work by a certain time.
"The company also provides a two-storey recreation area which includes a basketball court, arcade and gym. Our bosses even encourage us to spend our time there during work hours, to get inspiration."
Higher pay also played a part in his decision to stay in the US.
"Big IT firms in US will pay a fresh grad between US$60,000 to US$80,000 (S$87,000 to S$115,000) while investment banks and consultancies can pay up to US$90,000 (S$130,000), this is practically three to five times more than what they can get in Singapore."
At least one student says that she wants to leave because she doesn't feel appreciated.
After the financial crisis last year, many firms around the world retrenched a large number of employees and quite a number of graduates made their way back home but were unable to find a job in Singapore.
London School of Economics graduate Ruchika Tulskyan, 22, applied to 20 companies for a job but received no response.
"The government has been encouraging overseas students to return to Singapore, but Singaporean corporations do not seem to hold the same attitude. It has made me doubt my decision to come back."
Disappointed, Ruchika has decided to further her studies at Columbia University next month.
"Roots" and family ties
Jonah Tang observed that students from other countries such as Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India return home as they feel a greater sense of belonging.
He thinks that Singaporean students are less patriotic, and feel no sense of "rootedness", so they can "grow roots" anywhere.
But according to the survey by the organising committee of Experiences 2009, many students also said that they wish to return to Singapore three to five years after working overseas, for their families.
For this same reason, Jonah Tang hopes to return after three or four years, provided there are suitable job opportunities.
Li Wanzhen, 20, a first year LSE student, also thinks that in the long run, she will feel lonely and want to return home. But the economic conditions and whether there are attractive job opportunities will be an important consideration.
Qiu Junxiong, 27, who studied in San Francisco, is one of those who returned one year after he graduated. He said that he returned to Singapore because there happened to be a suitable job opening.
He thinks that if one wishes to develop a career in Asia, they should seriously consider returning to Singapore. After all, as Asians, they also have an advantage on their "home turf".
"The government should not be unduly worried about brain drain, more Singaporeans now want to work in Asia instead. They are happy to use Singapore as their base, and will return every few months, instead of staying in Europe or the States for many years."
Government efforts in retaining talent
The government has also invested resources in efforts to connect to overseas Singaporeans. The National Population Secretariat (NPS) set up the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU) in 2006 to help overseas Singaporeans maintain contact with Singapore.
An NPS spokesperson told my paper that with the increasing globalisation, many Singaporeans are choosing to study, work and live abroad. More than 180,000 are now studying or working overseas and 63 per cent of them are between 20 to 54 years old.
Singaporeans go overseas to expand their horizons or gain experience, but whether they maintain contact with Singapore is one of the critical factors that determine whether they return.
They have observed that more Singaporeans have returned in recent years, hoping to ride on Singapore's economic growth. The response to "Singapore Day" organised by OSU in various cities around the world has also become increasingly popular.
Source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090728-157641.html -
y'all just have not seen some of the public schools in canada.
it's a joke.
for real.
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Originally posted by udontknowme:
y'all just have not seen some of the public schools in canada.
it's a joke.
for real.
Eh you mean it's not as good as the article indicates or...? -
How you expect these students to want to come back to find work when the jobs on offer now are casino related or low paying service jobs?
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Our education system seems to be really "awesome".
But at what cost I wonder ..
