choosing primary schools
if we were in germany, jan would already start first grade this september; had we been in the philippines, not until june next year. here in singapore, since he’ll be attending a local school, classes start in january 09. parents, however, already need to do their homework.
as early as end of june, registration for entry to primary schools has already started, but since we are foreigners, we’re the last in the priority. citizens and permanent residents gets first dibs at registering at their schools of choice first, and when they’re done picking, that’s the only time foreigners like us get to scavenge for slots left. it almost doesn’t make sense for us to screen schools and see which one best suits our expectations because by the time it’s our turn to register, we’re left with little choice anyway but to go where there are vacancies left.
is that bad? not necessarily so, said jan’s preschool teacher. she said that those schools that are popular with the locals are very competitive and puts a lot of emphasis on academic performance, something which is not the kind of environment we want for jan anyway.
still, we’ve gone to check out two schools.
we attended tkps’ school tour and we were very impressed. all throughout we got the impression that the school promotes a well-balanced education and posits that involvement in co-curricular activities and academic excellence are not mutually exclusive. i especially liked the fact that when asked, the principal couldn’t cite the exact figures on the school’s performance in psle’s. i think it’s rather telling that the school head does not consider students scores and test performance as the end-all and be-all of education. would have been perfect, if not for the strong likelihood that the classes will be conducted in the afternoon, making it difficult, if not virtually impossible, for jan to enrol in other activities after school, such as sports or free play. the school is also located on the other side of the island; jan will have to commute at least half an hour each way until we can move flats by mid-2009. inconvenient is, in this case, an understatement.
the second school we visited, qtps, is… ok. not bad, but nothing to rave about, either. it’s about 5 minutes away from our place, we probably won’t even need a schoolbus service.
we’ve got a third school to consider, but even with just these two, i’m already at sea. are we willing to upset so many things– schedules, place of residence, family routines — in exchange for putting jan into what we feel to be the better option? are all the trouble worth it? after all, nobody can tell whether it actually is the better option; perhaps it’s just as good as the next-door school. whatever good means. and besides, we don’t know if we get a place in any of the two in the first place.
arrgh, nobody told me that having a school kid is this stressful. and it’s just the beginning!
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One Response to “choosing primary schools”
August 1st, 2008 at
[...] i think we’ve finally arrived at a school choice for jan, the third we’ve seen so far. it’s not our first choice, but considering the distance from the school, and moving is not an option until mid next year (i still have 3 moving boxes left to unpack, btw), plus the fact that the classes will be conducted in the afternoons, we just couldn’t see how we can make it work with tkps. even if i find a school bus that would be willing to bring jan to and fro, it will mean that he won’t make it home before 7pm. that leaves just enough time for dinner and some down time before it’s time for bed. home work and other activities will have to be in the mornings, and i will be the one who will supervise everything. which wouldn’t have been a problem, if there wasn’t mia to take care of, too. nah, it won’t work. [...]