SINGAPORE: I’ve been volunteering at the buddy reading programme at my son’s school since early this year. My charge is a Primary 1 boy who has been identified by his teacher as a struggling reader.
The very first day I met him, he declared:
I don’t know how to read!
Subsequently in the same session, he went on to read out loud about 15 words on a list of high-frequency sight words. Not bad for a start, considering how he had made such a negative pronouncement of himself just minutes earlier.
The encounter made me realise the profound challenges struggling students who may come from lower-income families have to deal with.
Research has shown that they typically lag behind in the areas of reading and literacy, among other academic domains.
And if my experience is anything to go by, many may dismiss themselves early on in their education journey, limiting their own opportunities to learn and grow.
FORCES HOLDING A CHILD BACK ARE COMPLEX
Among the goodies unveiled at the recent Budget 2018 was an increase in the annual Edusave contributions by the Government and an update to the income eligibility criteria for the Edusave Merit Bursary award.
Mr Heng also announced an increase in the annual bursary quantum for pre-university students via the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme.
I was heartened to hear of the added financial help to help students from lower-income families.
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat delivering the Budget 2018 statement.
Yet, after my recent encounter with this Primary 1 child I couldn’t help but wonder: What more can we do to nurture these children? And where such help can boost their learning and development outcomes, should we limit it to only those who exhibit a strong potential to succeed?
Where education should serve to help every child realise their potential, if needy students already start from a place of disadvantage in learning, more needs to be done to address this.
If more targeted help can be rendered to a greater proportion of children from low-income families, we can then level the playing field, and provide more needy students the chance to develop themselves more fully.
While financial aid can be useful, we all know that the forces holding a child back from performing to his fullest potential are multiple and complex in nature.
Could we thus design specific school programmes to address what is most needed in these students’ lives?
Some benefits that could have a multiplier effect include: Building a stronger support network, expanding their social circles, and providing them with more opportunities and exposure. These benefits could enhance their education experience, and also empower them to go beyond what they think they can achieve.
File photo of A-level students receiving their results. (Photo: MOE)
INSPIRE STUDENTS THROUGH PARENT-MENTORS
One possible idea is to facilitate a form of mentoring relationship between upper primary and secondary school students with volunteer parents from a range of professions.
Parents can sign up to be mentors and get matched to suitable students, based on the child’s interest in that particular field or profession – be it in business, accounting, medicine, or computer programming. If the child does not have clear inclinations, he can choose to meet with a few parents from different industries.
Once there is a parent-student pair or small group, the parent can be scheduled to spend the early-morning free period with the child, where they can share about their work and use day-to-day examples to show how they use their skills to earn a living.
We may think that upper primary school children will be too absorbed with studies to think long-term into the future.
But this is precisely the reason why we should start the mentoring early – so that they start to see the purpose behind their efforts in doing well at the national examinations, and see a goal which they too can aspire towards.
Furthermore, this is in line with the Ministry of Education’s push for secondary schools to develop their niche areas in applied learning subjects, such as computing, sports science, or even robotics, to cater to students with an aptitude for specific fields of study.
If these students have not been exposed to various industries, how would they know which secondary school to aim for after the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE)?
Girls sit around a table during a class on coding. (Photo: Linette Lim)
More importantly, parents get to share their own life story to inspire students and help them understand that challenges and struggles are part and parcel of life. The student will be motivated to work hard, spurred by mentors who encourage them to do their best and expand their horizons.
TAP ON ENTERPRISES TO REWARD PROMISING STUDENTS
Schools and parents need not be the only ones in this endeavour. Singapore is known for the depth and breadth of our enrichment industry.
So why not tap on these private enterprises to reward high-performing students by allowing them to choose an area of interest that they are keen to explore, and then enlisting the help of these providers?
Whether it’s by sponsoring a term of cello or a couple of sessions in coding, these promising students will get a hard-earned chance to gain exposure to different skills and interests. Who knows what passions may get sparked off from here?
A READING PROGRAMME TO SPARK OFF FRIENDSHIPS
Where the challenge is for education to inspire our children to give their best and provide them with the confidence to seize new opportunities, it seems that it should also work to strengthen our social fabric – by fostering inclusiveness among Singaporeans at a young age.
A recent study of 3,000 Singapore citizens and permanent residents by the Institute of Policy Studies found that the greatest social divide in Singapore is now based on class, rather than race or religion.
It concluded that “diversity in social networks among Singaporeans strengthens social capital, trust, national identity and national pride,” and called for more to be done to facilitate mixing social classes and school backgrounds.
I wonder if a programme like my child’s school buddy reading programme could rope in upper primary children who are strong readers to, on the one hand, help the younger ones in their reading skills, and on the other, get to know and befriend them.
The friendships born through a reading programme may help to form bridges across social classes, hence broadening the horizons of children beyond their immediate circles.
Students from Fernvale Primary and MINDS Fernvale Gardens School reading together. (Photo: Wendy Wong)
Although the time spent together may be short, and may not be able to fully allow friendships to blossom, it could be the starting point for other common interests to be explored. “Buddies” can go on to arrange basketball or board games sessions after school.
The key here is intentionality, and how well we can prepare the older child to play the “befriender” role in this relationship.
Helping students from all backgrounds mix with each other may give them new perspectives on issues and help them grow in empathy, all of which are arguably desired educational outcomes.
TAPPING ON COMMUNITY TO BUILD THE NEXT GENERATION
Former US Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew once wrote:
The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.
While Singapore has always prided itself as being a meritocratic society, we must guard against our education system from becoming a place that rewards those with greater resources, where students with less fall through the cracks.
If every school was empowered to engage students from lower-income families, and encourage them to socialise beyond their immediate circles through the help of stakeholders such as parents and businesses, we could be paving the way towards greater social cohesion.
As Associate Professor Teo You Yenn wrote in her book This Is What Inequality Looks Like:
It may seem like higher-income and lower-income families have conflicting interests, that what is good for one group will be bad for another. In reality, there is a lot of potential for a better system which more truly serves the needs of all.
Let’s focus on building a shared interest, and a greater sense of community within schools. The education experience of every child – from every household income level – is at stake.
June Yong is a mother of three, an educational therapist and owner of Mama Wear Papa Shirt, a blog that discusses parenting and education in Singapore.
