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<div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-12"><header class="gmail-node-header"><h1 class="gmail-headline gmail-node-title">Focus on developing each child's ability</h1></header> </div>
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<div class="gmail-group-story-timestamp gmail-field-group-html-element"><div class="gmail-story-postdate"><div class="gmail-label-inline">Published</div>Feb 8, 2018, 5:00 am SGT</div><div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-social-media-buttons gmail-field-type-ds gmail-field-label-hidden"><div class="gmail-field-items"><div class="gmail-field-item even">
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<p>The excerpt from Associate Professor Teo You Yenn's book (<a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/when-kids-say-i-lazy-what" target="_blank">When kids say 'I lazy what'</a>; Feb 4), can be summarised as follows:</p>
<p>• Children from low-income families tend to underperform at school
due to lack of money to pay for tuition, low motivation caused by
labelling, and negative family influences.</p>
<p>• Our education system needs to change to give these children more opportunities.</p>
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<p>As a product of Singapore's education system, I am proud of it. My
son just entered a good secondary school, and that made me prouder.
Nothing can change a parent's behaviour of trying to provide the best
education for his child. I have lived abroad many years, and this
behaviour is common everywhere. It is engraved in our genes.</p>
<p>What we can do, however, are two things: Re-examine the two-language policy, and encourage employment mobility.</p>
<p>Language ability should not correlate with competency.</p>
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<p>In a world where Google Translate can bring down the language
barrier, I argue that mastering one language is sufficient for
productivity.</p>
<blockquote class="gmail-pull-quote-left"><p><strong><span>Teachers should be
"talent scouts". They should reduce their time teaching too many
subjects and, instead, spend more time understanding a child's ability
and preferences, to increase his employment chances.</span></strong></p></blockquote>
<p>A child who struggles with his mother tongue should be allowed to
drop it. Another child, due to his family and upbringing, may show
promise in using his mother tongue. In this case, perhaps he should go
to a school where the subjects are taught in the mother tongue.</p>
<p>Instead of creating racial rifts, we may be making our country
stronger by accepting and encouraging diversity. In fact, for those
whose language is art, music, or even computer code, they should be
given more opportunities to develop their ability.</p>
<p>This brings me to my second point.</p>
<p>Despite many changes, our education system is still run like a factory to create generalist workers.</p>
<p>Instead, teachers should be "talent scouts". They should reduce their
time teaching too many subjects and, instead, spend more time
understanding a child's ability and preferences, to increase his
employment chances.</p>
<p>They can also motivate children with overseas study programmes and
excursions to see adults in different job environments. Make them
understand that many employers look not at exam marks but character
attributes.</p>
<p>It is our duty to realise the potential of every child and embrace his uniqueness.</p>
<p><strong>Foo Yong Tse</strong></p>
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<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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