Differences and Similarities: Singapore and USA

I worked in a primary school in Singapore in a sixth grade classroom with both an English teacher and a math teacher. When I had first walked into the school, I felt that the experience was not going to be too different. After all, Singapore was a very modernized country with many educational resources. The national language was also English. Therefore, I found myself first noticing the similarities between the school in Singapore and the schools in America before I noticed the differences.

The classroom layouts in the classrooms that I had seen were rows in the Upper primary grades (4-6) and grouped tables in the lower primary (1-3). While I do notice that many upper elementary grades in the US still have their classes in a grouped table layout, I think the idea of rows in older grades (and more group work in younger grades) is evident in the States as well. From discussing with my CT, I believe there is much more group work in the lower primary grades, but it was not absent from upper primary. The students normally just move their chairs or rearrange themselves for her group work. The walls on the classroom were emptier than I had expected. Schools back home normally have the walls filled with student work and while I saw some of this the school hallways, it was not the case in the classrooms.

Another similarity between the two schools was the presence of assessment. I think that I especially noticed this because I had previously worked in a 4^th grade class in the US during the spring semester when practicing for the MCAS played a large role in the classroom. In Singapore, I was in a 6^th grade classroom, which was the last year of primary school before they go to secondary school. In Singapore, all 6^th grade students must take a country-wide exam called the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination). The exam determines what secondary school they will go to and it is very important to try to get into the best school possible. Therefore, in a 6^th grade classroom, very much of the curriculum in English and math are geared toward this exam.

As for informal assessments, students get class worksheets and homework sheets that are all expected to be handed in to the teacher. According to the math teacher, the process is very strict because all the worksheets eventually have to be handed in to the school (after the students take them home and get parental signatures). This process already started to make to spot some differences. The same worksheet packets are given to all the 6^th grade teachers. When I had asked my CT if she often collaborated with other teachers to come up with lesson plans, she said that teachers are all working off the same resources (given by the school) so there was not really a need to collaborate. She said that generally, all lesson plans within the grade look very similar. I thought this was different from the importance placed on collaboration between teachers here in the US. Teachers here believe that the exchange of ideas will lead to improved lesson plans. In Singapore, it appears as if teachers to not try to deter too far from the resources given to them.

Another difference I noticed with teachers is that more experienced teachers begin to specialize in a specific subject. While this is the case for high schools and some middle schools in the US, it starts in primary school in Singapore. For example, both the teachers that I worked with only taught one subject (one was English, the other was math). The students will get different teachers throughout their day but for the most part, the students stay in the same classroom while the teachers go to them. I have heard of some of the newer teachers teaching more than one subject for the younger grades but the students in my class had a different teacher for each subject. They seemed to adjust to each teacher well and enjoy the break time they have when a different teacher comes into the room.

For the most part, it is hard to me to pick out distinct similarities and differences between the two education systems because I have only seem a glimpse of each. I feel as if for each similarity or difference that I can pick out, I have also seen exceptions. Nothing has been completely similar or totally different. I think that both systems are doing what they believe is the best for their students and are open to learning from others.

A Typical Day at Pioneer Primary School

I would arrive at the school at 7:05 in the morning to attend the morning assembly. Students from Grade 4 to 6 would be sitting down in their respective class assigned spaces and have silent reading until the morning announcements starts. At 7:30, students would file into their classroom and class would begin.

In Singapore, I was not specifically assigned a classroom to observe, however, I was still able to observe 2-3 hours of class time with two different teachers. A typical one period starts with the students chatting until the teacher walks in. They would rise up and greet their teacher, and can only be seated after the teacher greets back. Since I mostly observed English periods, the students would have 10 minutes of silent reading, as the teacher sets up her Powerpoints. The teacher lectures from the Powerpoints, which usually ties in with their textbook. They would then open their activity book and complete a section based from the main ideas from the Powerpoints. If they do not finish the assignment before the period ends, the assignment would need to be finished in addition to homework assigned. When the bell rings, the students pack up and get ready for their next lesson. They would rise up and thank the teacher before the she heads out of the classroom. Periods would be quite repetitive and they mainly work from their textbook, activity book, and homework book.

Eight out of the ten days that I was at the primary school were typical. One day was Sports Day where we were able to journey outside of the school to a field where students competed in relays and runs. Another not so typical day was when my main CT called in for a personal day on April 6^th.

A not-so-typical day at Pioneer Primary School.

On that day, I substituted a class, where in Singapore, it is called relief. For the first two periods, which was a total of one hour long, I was able to retain control of the class. It made me realize how much I wanted my own classroom. The students were assigned work from my main CT and they were completing it.

However, I also had to relief a class for one and a half hours in the afternoon. It was the same class and they just had recess. They were all very active. It was quite difficult to control them since most of them had finished their work. I tried using some management techniques I had seen my main CT, such as raising my hand, to get their attention. I soon realized that it was just too difficult for me. I had to control 40 students, keep them in their seats, keep them quiet, and have them finish their work. I felt like I was going crazy. This one student was driving me nuts. I was getting such a huge headache from him. I tried using my stern voice and asked him to finish his work, to sit down, to stop talking, to stop sitting on the floor, to stop playing with his paper toy, to stop drawing on his card, to stop hopping around, to stop running around the classroom. I was getting so frustrated and I did not know what to do. I still need to learn many classroom management techniques to get the students to listen to me.

Another relief teacher stepped in and helped me calm down the class. They continued with their assigned work. The bell rang and it was time for the next period. I went back to my desk, reflecting on what I did in the classroom. I still have lots to learn, but that experience definitely gave me a small glimpse of my future classroom.

Classroom Management and Behavior in Singapore

Singapore has a stereotype that it is a country filled with many laws and that all of her citizens follow each and every one of them. No gum is allowed. No jaywalking. No eating and drinking on the public transit. Singapore has been closely tied with laws, fines, and discipline.

The Singaporean culture is quite reflective in the classroom in terms of discipline, and thus the classroom is managed very well. Students understand what is expected out of them in the classroom. They are all well-behaved; however, when the teachers leave the room, the students would become very loud and noisy, similar to how American students would act.

I was only able to observe the more well-behaved students since I was placed into the high streaming class. As I walked through the school during transition of classes, I see the less behaved students in the hallway. They were more rowdy and noisy than the other students. Other student teachers from NIE had told me how lucky I was to be observing a P5-1 class because they were the best-behaved as well as the smartest of their class. The student teachers had complained about substituting for a P3-7 or a P4-6. Their faces would display an emotion of distraught as they think about how much they would have to tell the students to behave and to complete their work. If the student becomes too loud and rowdy, s/he would be sent outside of the classroom. S/he would stand outside next to the door until the teacher calls him/her back into the classroom. The teacher would talk to the student after the lesson and if that kind of behavior persisted, the teacher would phone the parents. The students feared getting into trouble with their parents.

Since the typical classroom size in Singapore is usually around 40, it is also hard for the teachers to control the class. I had talked to my CT and asked her how she was able to control the P5-1 students. She said that she made sure that the students understood that she had authority. The students had to respect her as their elder and as their teacher. My CT had also told me before that sometimes, she would give the students some slack and they would be able to be a bit rowdy. If she, however, loosened the control a bit more, they would become uncontrollable. She also said that she was lucky that P5-1 was a high streaming class, and the students were well-behaved.

It was expected of the students to be obedient and respectful to all teachers and administrators. Students would greet every teacher with a small bow when they encounter one. I was always caught off guard when students bowed for me as I walked past. Students also bowed and greeted the teacher as s/he entered the classroom. After the lesson, the students would say their thanks and bowed to the teacher. Students in Singapore are very respectful. It is part of the society to be respectful of elders and those with authority.

It is just as difficult to manage a classroom in Singapore as it is in the States. There are those who are better-behaved and there are those who are more rowdy. The difference is just that there is a difference between the high streamed classes and the low streamed classes in terms of behavior. Singapore also had more students in a classroom to manage.

Carrying Teaching Abroad back to the US

While preparing for my upcoming Full Practicum, I sought out advice from a student who previously worked with my cooperating teacher. The advice she gave me greatly connects to abroad and allowed for me to see the valuable connection between my experience and my upcoming practicum. She recommended, as I will be teaching full-time in a High School Spanish classroom, that I prepare a brief presentation on my abroad experience to share with the students and explain life abroad. The idea of creating materials prior to beginning allowed for me to realize that I have accumulated quite a bit during my time teaching abroad.

My abroad experience and especially my time teaching abroad will allow for me to Promote Equity and Social Justice by relaying my experience and acknowledging differences amongst different countries. While I have not yet had the opportunity to see life in other Spanish-speaking countries besides Spain, my student dynamic may include natives from other countries who will further offer an invaluable experience for me and the other students to learn from. In previous practicums, I have been able to learn alternative vocabulary and idioms according to variations of dialect. I have a perspective from Spain that I can offer the students and provide them with more vocabulary.

Further, I have created presentations within my practicum abroad that I can alter and share with my upcoming class. By sharing these materials in addition to sharing how the students reacted and their perspective, I will be able to promote more equity as the students can widen their perspective by understanding a different school system. Just as I shared my school system with those in Spain, I now have the opportunity to share their system with the US and my future students. Teaching abroad has allowed for me to make connections and memories that I can relay on to my students. I intend on maintaining contact with those in Spain in order to further my experience during my full practicum. My previous cooperating teaching from Spain offered to send me materials and any relevant YouTube videos he may be including within his Language and Literature class that I can then alter according to our curriculum. I believe by explaining the connections and my previous experience will allow for the students to become more accepting of outside cultures in addition to those present within the classroom, as it gives students of a different background to discuss their individualities and make the class more knowledgeable and accepting.

Planning and Delivering Instruction

In many classrooms across the United States there is a push for student focused education. That is, student’s work in groups, in partners, individually, on projects, by playing games and other educational activities. Based on my experience at Colegio Maristas, classrooms in Spain (or at least in my CT’s classroom) use the more traditional approach of teacher lead education. I observed this through Math, Grammar, Reading, English and Social Studies lessons. Most lessons are out of the students textbooks; for example the typical math lesson involves the students working individually to solve a page of word problems and then reviewing the three or four problems as a class, with my CT at the chalkboard recording the students’ solutions and different strategies. In Reading or Social Studies the class usually reads through the text book as a whole, taking turns reading as the teacher calls out different students names. Students then complete workbook pages individually and the teacher and class correct them aloud. All these lessons and the lessons in other subject areas are heavily based on the curriculum used by Maristas.

Like most schools, Maristas uses a curriculum across the different subject areas. In her planning and delivering of instruction, my CT seems to draw heavily and primarily from the curriculum, as is evidenced by the students’ constant use of workbooks and textbooks. This type of classroom compares differently to each of the classrooms I have taught at in previous pre-pracs. I have had a CT who used the curriculum but also a large mix of her own ideas and planning, and CT who frequently used the curriculum and only used some additional resources. And I have also had a CT who, like my current CT, taught primarily and almost exclusively from the curriculum and textbooks. That is not to say my CT refuses to waiver from the curriculum if it is not in the best interest of her students. For example, my CT told me how this year’s class has excelled in Reading, so much in fact that the curriculum books no longer provided her students with enough challenge. So along with the other two teachers of Segundo, my CT arranged to order more chapter books for the students and designed a unit around that book. I felt that this was the sign of a good teacher; although her method of teaching is usually to work from the curriculum, she was able to adapt her lessons to better meet the needs of her students.

All in all, I have been reminded in Granada that there are many different ways a student can be educated, and no one is necessarily better. The students in my CT’s classroom experience less interaction in their lessons than many US students, they work primarily out of text books and workbooks, and they don’t play educational “games” or activities. Nonetheless, the students do their work and they all seem to enjoy school in one way or another.