tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428841094562870191.post8179505022314856981..comments2018-05-07T02:39:54.788-04:00Comments on BC: International Student Teachers: The Beginning Experience in Singapore: A Reflection on the Education System and Culture in SingaporeColleen Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08581702695782746285noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428841094562870191.post-67228811592047855332011-05-23T23:14:38.857-04:002011-05-23T23:14:38.857-04:00Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to a...Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to ask the students about their stress level. I have asked before if they had a lot of homework and work to do, and many of them had said that they always had homework to do, never had a day without homework. I can even see the large amount of textbooks, homework book, and activities book overflowing out of their bags. I had talked to my CT about the students' stress level and she said that it was high. She often received phone calls from parents, asking if their child has homework, how they were doing in class, and in which subjects their child needs improvement on. She told me that parents are always pushing their child to succeed. <br /><br />The teachers are also very stressed out. My CT had to take a personal day because she was just too stressed out from the amount of work she had. Teachers are the ones who have to administer the national exams. Since NIE was a university for student teachers, you can already sense the amount of stress that they have even before they become full time teachers. I have never heard one classmate say they are not stressed, out of all the ones I talked to. They are always working so hard. When they are stressed out, I felt as though I should be stressed out as well. The other full-prac student teachers that were also there were always working, creating lesson plans, correcting homework, and attending daily meetings until 5pm. <br /><br />I also had this talk in one of my classes about stress on Singaporean students. There were a lot of veteran teachers who had witnessed at least one suicide or suicide attempt of a student in the school they were teaching at. They said it was very difficult for the teachers and students to cope and acknowledge what happened. Hearing their accounts really strengthened what my CT and other student teachers have told me. It is quite worrisome.Lilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04147029643250706899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5428841094562870191.post-86407729428520308492011-05-22T07:32:47.267-04:002011-05-22T07:32:47.267-04:00It is very interesting to me how much the culture ...It is very interesting to me how much the culture of a country is reflected in the schools and education system. Based on your observations it seems that Kiasu really is ingrained into the students, families and schools. There seems to be a lot of pressure on students in Singapore and you mentioned that students are more likely to commit suicide because of stress… Have you had the opportunity to ask any students about this? Do they feel very pressured and under stress because of Kiasu and the streaming process? I could imagine they would be but then again, if it is such a large part of their culture it may just be normal for them. You mentioned that teachers specialize in two subjects since the more they know, the more the students know… Given this mind set, I was also wondering if there is also lots of pressure on teachers.<br /><br />In contrast, the school where I do my pre-prac in Spain has a very relaxed atmosphere. The Spanish culture is very relaxed and it is reflected in the teachers, students and schools. And it seems to me that the U.S. schools are somewhere in between with some pressure on students and teachers but not to the degree in Singapore.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06382840433113203353noreply@blogger.com