Hello!!

[Neried]

i have been a lurker in this forum for very long. since early 2013 or so till now, iv'e been lurking in the school talk and venting and the psychology part of the forums.

today, iv'e decided to join the forum.

this year, i am currently taking my GCSE "o" (o as in ordinary) level examinations.

schools in Singapore are not as different as you might think. in fact, schools may have even more stricter rules than your schools (i am saying this out of what meager experience i have, please excuse me if i am wrong)

over here, hair must not touch the eyebrows for boys, not touch the collar of the school uniform. if we use our phones in class, our phones are confiscated for a period of one week, and if you repeatedly use your phone it will be confiscated for 1 month. apparently, with this kind of "unlawful" hair, you are unable to take the GCSE exams, i quote from my vice principal.

my school is a joke. the vice principal says that our school prides itself on its discipline (AKA brainwashing), and many parents join my school solely because of this. (many parents in Singapore have the "kiasu" mindset, which means afraid to lose, as in afraid to lose to other parents. its as if your kids are Pokemon, and you want your kid to get better grades than the other parent's kid, so you can get some "pride")

life living as a student about to take the GCSE "o" level examination is really tough. every day, i get so much homework that i am almost unable to have time for myself.

everyday, we are brainwashed with our "culture", preaching that schools can lead us to our "dreams".

i feel extremely pathetic for myself, and the other students who are suffering in this "disciplined" school, and for all the other generations to come until this education system is changed. sigh.

(sorry if my English is a bit weird, it has been a very f**king long day for me)

[Ky]

Welcome to School Survival.

I'm DoA, the guy who tries to fix people's minds even though I don't fully understand my own.

That is indeed strict. While the "kiasu" mindset is prevalent in American society as well, it doesn't show as much. Still, given the competitive nature of schools, I think it tries to.

[Subb]

What? That's terrible! Not being able to take a test because of your hair? What a load of crap.

Anyway, Hi! I hope you enjoy it here!

[brainiac3397]

Thats an annoying mindset...using children as tools for social pride. What? Did your mother spend 9 months carrying you in hopes of making a trophy to show off to the world?(not you specific. You general).
Then again it also points to a sign of impotence on the parent side. Its pretty pathetic using your own children to bolster your own selfish pride in a community.

So welcome!. Ill be the first to greet you unless someone posts before I press the submit reply button. Thrn my number shall vary. Im the intellectual paradox of this site. A bit on the crazy side, a lot on the eccentric, and oxymoron is my middle name.

[xcriteria]

Welcome. It's always good to hear from new people, especially from different places around the world.

It's actually sort of strange how few people make their way here from outside the US and UK, given the widespread implementation of broadly-similar models of school around the world.

(Obviously, the site being in English is one factor, but lots of people learn English...)

Anyway, what are your interests? What would you like to do with your life, beyond school?

How does that relate to what your parents expect?

(01-09-2014 12:58 AM)Neried Wrote:  everyday, we are brainwashed with our "culture", preaching that schools can lead us to our "dreams".

Yeah, in various forms, this is such a common story. Have you seen Ken Robinson's talk, Changing Education Paradigms [12m]?



Watch on YouTube

Also, Yong Zhao's talk, "Redefining Excellence," does a good summary of showing one kind of parent perspective, and explaining the global situation regarding test scores and conformity, vs. the goal of some countries (like China) to actually have some innovators come out of their schools.

Yong Zhao - Redefining Excellence (Vimeo)

(01-09-2014 12:58 AM)Neried Wrote:  i feel extremely pathetic for myself, and the other students who are suffering in this "disciplined" school, and for all the other generations to come until this education system is changed. sigh.

(sorry if my English is a bit weird, it has been a very f**king long day for me)

It's fine. You might but "sorry for myself" (or some variation) instead of "pathetic for myself", but beyond that you've got English done well.

Have you talked to other students who also question school? How many do you think take issue with it, vs. how many believe in it?

[xcriteria]

(Part 2 of 2)

Here's another item to consider:

In a conversation I took part in a while back on G+, one of the participants, Mike Trainum, pulled this quote of out the article we were discussing, What’s Our Vision for the Future of Learning?

Addressing teachers in 2012, Heng Swee Keat, Singapore’s Minister for Education, argued for a radical shift in policy:

“The educational paradigm of our parents’ generation, which mphasized the transmission of knowledge, is quickly being overtaken by a very different paradigm. This new concept of educational success focuses on the nurturing of key skills and competencies such as the ability to seek, to curate and to synthesize information; to create and innovate; to work in diverse cross-cultural teams; as well as to appreciate global issues within the local context.”

You can read through the full conversation (and even jump in and continue it, if you're on G+, at https://plus.google.com/+JustinSchwamm/p...Yg2Zs2Qnr7 (same with any of you.)

The theme in that quote echos a common dilemma in education these days. This "factory-model, one-size-fits-all, sit-down-and-shut-up" paradigm that many schools around the world use, is conflicting with the reality that it's not preparing people for key "21st century literacies" like how to find information, collaborate, and communicate... as well as make decisions in a world that's not just a matter of "get a degree, get a job, work until you retire" like the stories students and families are told.

I'm interested in your thoughts on any of that... if you can find the time to read/watch it all and compose a response.

[xcriteria]

I found one more item to share here, an article by Heng Swee Keat, Singapore's Minister of Education.

Exams and streaming: Recalibrating our education system

@Neried, this sums up many of the problems you described, and many of the problems education around the world is facing. It's not really preparing people for life, and yet the "traditional" goals of school are so ingrained in many people's minds, including parents, teachers, and students.

Fortunately, more people at all levels are starting to question how it all works. That article is a good example, and you might consider sharing that with others in your life and seeing what kind of conversations result.

How to actually change things in your own life might be a bigger question. However, letting people see that change is being suggested from above and from below might help them to ask what they might do differently.

[James Comey]

Hi new user! I'll say what everyone has repeated: US schools are strict. My school has a no iPod policy, for example. I've been to schools where wearing a hat will get you a referral. Worse, some here are calling for longer schedules like in Japan. Funny how both Asian and North American schools are strict but in different ways.

[Gwedin]

My school's pretty butthurt about hair, but definitely not so much as yours.

Welcome.

[SoulRiser]

Hello and welcome! That obsession with hair and the way people look kind of reminds me of some issues I had with my school back in the day.

[xcriteria]

(01-09-2014 10:18 AM)Hansgrohe Wrote:  Hi new user! I'll say what everyone has repeated: US schools are strict. My school has a no iPod policy, for example. I've been to schools where wearing a hat will get you a referral. Worse, some here are calling for longer schedules like in Japan. Funny how both Asian and North American schools are strict but in different ways.

I'd say the US has a pretty wide range of schools. I wouldn't call the high school I went to "strict."

There are also some that are actually student-centric, even if they're rare.

Regarding tech policies, some schools do embrace devices as a positive thing. Lisa Nielsen writes about this, and advocates for device-friendly policies in schools, especially on her blog The Innovative Educator. Check the Categories section further down on the right-hand sidebar for lots of articles on cell phones, social media, and technology in general in schools.

Unfortunately, schools often think their practices are the center of the universe, when there are many other ways to do things. And, as the world becomes more interconnected, more teachers and students alike are able to see what's being done elsewhere.

This Google Hangout-on-Air is one example of a variety of people who are working to transforming education, bouncing ideas around:

Hidden stuff:

Watch on YouTube

So, I think there are opportunities to change things... school doesn't have to be what it is for so many people... a world of boredom, pain, irrelevance, and despair. The bigger question is, how to actually transform these experiences.

But, sharing our perspectives is one step in that process. Made so much easier with the Internet and forums like this.

[Neried]

(in response to xcriteria)

Quote:Anyway, what are your interests? What would you like to do with your life, beyond school?

my interests are generally reading books on psychology, studying human behaviors, such as why people lie and the such. iv'e bought tons of self-help books, and always try to incorporate things i learnt from the books into my daily life, it helps me alot!

beyond school, i wish to take courses on psychology if possible, otherwise, i don't mind working a office job.

Quote:Have you talked to other students who also question school? How many do you think take issue with it, vs. how many believe in it?

yes i have, to my friends. only a handful believe in what i say and the others keep firm to their beliefs on "public education is the only path to success". one of my friends don't even understand the sheep and shepherd analogy.

[batool100]

Hello All,I'm new here, experience much better to be a part of this group, wish i will understand some excellent stuff here and also discuss my information....