After spending some time in China and other parts of Asia, I did not expect to discover major cultural shock after moving to Singapore. For the most part, this proved to be true – I did not really encounter, or experience, anything that could be considered as ‘culture shock’.
However, when l I really started working over a year ago, I began to see some real differences between Singapore and the US…and they all had to do with education. The way the system is set-up, how the schools are run, what the expectations are, parental involvement, teacher responsibilities, and probably a few other things I am forgetting – were all different than what I knew of back in the States.
After a crazy week leading up to the ‘O’ Level results, I am reminded of all the differences. With the results out, students have to make a major decision about what to do for the next few years. Parents, students, schools, and even the media are all paying close attention to these youngsters. In all of the madness (as I teacher I am right in the middle), there are a few things that I, as an American, find really interesting.
Releasing ‘O’ Level Scores to Public – Organized by School, Race
Shortly after the results were released, the papers released a list of the names, scores, and schools of the top students in Singapore. This might not seem like a big deal to some readers, but it stands out to me for a few reasons.
First, you would never see a ranking of students in a state, city, or even a school district in the US. If you did, there is no way they would release the specific scores. You might read about a student-athlete with a perfect GPA, but never anything more. My high school did not even announce the grade point averages of our top ten students.
The second thing that intrigued me was the way the list was organized. Students were organized in clusters by race, then arranged alphabetically by school, and then finally, by surname. When I skimmed it, there were two things that stood out: grouping by race, and organizing by school first.
As for the clustering by race, I can think of a few reasons why this is the case, but I don’t want to dive into that topic. I simply wanted to point out a detail that, once again, would never see in an American paper. The second observation is also not a big deal, but I do think that organizing these students first by school, and then by name, communicates something about the education culture here (ok, I might be reading into this too much). This is also something I don’t want to spend time on, so let me just say this – the competitive environment extends beyond the students…
Finally, and probably the reason I decided to write this post, is the fact that these details, are found in a major paper read by a large percent of the population. The attention given to the recent release of ‘O’ level results, to me, really shows how important, and intense, education is in Singapore. You would never see this type of attention to test results in the US.
However, following the media coverage and observing the various reactions to the different stories simply gives me a new perspective, and a deeper understanding. The focus on education is intense, and as an educator I have witnessed some incredible benefits, but have not overlooked the drawbacks. While I would love to praise the positive aspects and criticize the negative, I’ll have to save that for another post.
A Note
I just want to clarify that I am not trying to comment on, or criticize/praise the system. The purpose of this post was to point out cultural differences that are subtle and common. These little details and bits of information, when compared to what I know and experienced, help me to gain a better understanding of the place and the culture.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t help wondering how dissimilar the Singaporean system is from the Chinese one, at least in terms of the (over)attention given to test results. My high school years were associated with rankings. My parents would receive notes of my ranking in class and school by test results of 3 required subjects, of 3+1 optional, and 3+1+2 general each semester. After the gaokao, we immediately knew who scored the highest in Shanghai, in Beijing, in every other single Province. They then became the stars in commercials in supplementary nutrient products (with stuff that supposedly makes you smarter). If China is a multi-racial country like Singapore, I bet it would do exactly the same thing.
That does sound similar, and I would not be surprised if it is the same in many other countries (I have heard similar stories about published test results in England, for example).
The super-private nature of grades seems to be an American thing. I am not sure why, but I am guessing you could come up with a short list of reasons – from privacy to concern for hurt feelings – to explain why it is. Of course, people still have an idea of how you/others did, it is just not as open and detailed as it is here.