We are all too familiar with the complaints surrounding dissatisfaction in the education systems we have today. Many parents have disapprovingly voiced their opinion that education has become too academic with children spending most of their time in a classroom and commissioned on homework rather than other curricular activities. This situation is further enhanced with parents finding it challenging to balance home and work environments under current environmental conditions and therefore unable to have the time to engage with their children in learning.
Here are some statistics from Skoolpedia:
Currently, 97% of students in Singapore have attended or are attending some form of tuition and enrichment classes.
80% of Singaporeans believe that tuition is beneficial to children’s learning.
There are more than 850 tuition centres and enrichment centres registered with the Education Ministry - 800 more than 2020.
As a nation, $1.1 billion dollars is spent on extra classes for children per annum.
Parents average between $500 to $6000 per month for enrichment classes for their children because they believe that it will help them either keep up with the school curriculum or move beyond what is required of them.
There is an increasing trend among parents who want to extend the learning of their children into a more creative learning environment.
The Promethean Classroom conducted a series of focus groups in relation to the topic of “Creative Education”. There were 7 groups gathered with a total of five participants per group (mainly mothers and teachers were in attendance).
The general consensus of the groups was as follows:
Most children do not “fit-in-the-box” of the current structured curriculum
Children need to learn from real-life experiences and examples
Children need to be given the license to create
Children need to be seen and heard - even the creative ones
Children need to be given the freedom to follow their interests
Children should not be named and shamed
Children should be encouraged to develop a passion for learning
Children should be encouraged to share their ideas and feelings freely
Teachers do not take enough time to learn and understand the individual child
Teachers do not take into consideration that not all children learn in the same way
Teachers and schools need to have more of an open dialogue with parents regarding their child
Teachers need to show more confidence in their interactions with parents and children
Teachers need to cease directing children based on their own ego and required achievements
The workload is excessively academic and not balanced for the whole child
Art should be for free expression and not bound by rules and regulations
Education should build confidence in children, not suppress it.
Worksheets are becoming too common in the classroom as a means of learning
Education today is no longer relevant to our children - there needs to purpose to what they are learning