Sometime over lunch yesterday, my colleague revealed that he was home schooling his children.
Home school? Huh? Is that possible in red-tape legislated Singapore? I was always under the impression that the Law was that every child in Singapore was required to undergo 12 years of formal education.
Apparently I was wrong, because one can apply to home school your kids as long as they take the PSLE when they are 12. Interesting eh? I'm sure the Gahmen has its criteria, such as the parents both being graduates, middle income etc...
So I asked him the reasons for doing so. He said that he was disappointed by the state of education in Singapore - which was constantly changing its cirriculum, requirements... and so his wife decided to teach the children herself. This frees up a lot of time for other activities, like ballet, piano lessons, swimming...
And so I wondered - what about interaction with other children? I mean, isn't that one of the more pertinent lessons we gain from being in school? Interaction? He said that there was actually a home school community of sorts, which consists of about 100-odd couples. They meet up on weekends for their children to play and learn together.
How very interesting... Well, I learn something new about this island nation everyday.
Home school? Huh? Is that possible in red-tape legislated Singapore? I was always under the impression that the Law was that every child in Singapore was required to undergo 12 years of formal education.
Apparently I was wrong, because one can apply to home school your kids as long as they take the PSLE when they are 12. Interesting eh? I'm sure the Gahmen has its criteria, such as the parents both being graduates, middle income etc...
So I asked him the reasons for doing so. He said that he was disappointed by the state of education in Singapore - which was constantly changing its cirriculum, requirements... and so his wife decided to teach the children herself. This frees up a lot of time for other activities, like ballet, piano lessons, swimming...
And so I wondered - what about interaction with other children? I mean, isn't that one of the more pertinent lessons we gain from being in school? Interaction? He said that there was actually a home school community of sorts, which consists of about 100-odd couples. They meet up on weekends for their children to play and learn together.
How very interesting... Well, I learn something new about this island nation everyday.
1 comment:
Sounds like Uncle Paul...
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