On 14 August, the Straits Times newspaper published a letter from Josephine Chong Siew Nyuk. Her letter was given the title, “What school you go to really doesn’t matter”.
In it, Ms Chong related her own experience, of how her mother – whom she described as a person “ahead of her time” – had “made sure that all her four children were enrolled in so-called ‘elite’ schools.”
Ms Chong herself apparently turned out alright – she now runs “a small legal practice”, as she says.
But then her letter takes a strange turn.
Ms Chong says that having worked with young people “from a whole spectrum of educational and family backgrounds”, she is of the view that “in the Singapore of today, the primary school you go to really does not matter.”
Ms Chong does not really explain why she feels this way, or the reasons why the choice of primary schools does not matter.
Instead, she repeats her “assurance” to parents that “the primary school your child goes to really does not matter.”
Yes, she wrote that twice.
“Just provide your children with a stable environment, and our education system will take care of the rest,” she says.
Do you agree with her?
Public Opinion
*Article first appeared on http://publicopinion.sg/94/what-school-you-go-to-really-doesnt-matter