I saw this article on facebook (poey would have seen it too!): ARTICLE

Then I thought of how I come from GEP and wondered if that has caused me to regress somehow. I've definitely ever chosen an easy way out just so I wouldn't make a mistake and disgrace myself in front of my very smart class. I have ever been afraid of making mistakes.
And the next question: Is GEP really a good programme?
I guess the teaching methods are good, but putting a label on the students is not. In conclusion: I'm not proud to have this label. I don't think I was ever proud of it. Take note that I'm not blasting the good intent behind this programme: I did enjoy the lessons I had in primary school. All the games and enrichment worksheets were fun. In secondary school all this fun disappeared, because we had a common syllabus. But the teachers were still fun and sought to challenge us in every possible way. So, it was good teaching. Yet, the conclusion stays: I'm not proud to have this label.

This reminds me of other good school programmes that are only open for the better students. If there's good education to offer, why offer it only to one small group of students? Is it reliable to select this group of privileged students based on your entrance tests and interviews alone? By doing so, you risk leaving out other talented students, and you might risk decreasing the diversity of your classroom, depending on your selection criteria. I read an article regarding this issue a few months ago, and the authors (who were university students) proposed that this characteristic of Singaporean education (this tendency to only open good programmes to the "better" students) makes it pale in comparison to education in for example the US or UK. I think we should open up.

You can tell that I'm writing this from the perspective of a student who is worried she might not qualify for this good school programme. But still, what I said makes sense, right? ^^

I just watched a few videos from The Sing-Off, and I discovered this singer who is part of a group called Kinfolk 9. He's called Moi and I think his voice is good! And so is his hair! :)