Lee Kuan Yew and Language Education in Singapore.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, was quoted, recently, in Petir, the People's Action Party magazine, as saying: "Initially, I believed that intelligence was equated to language ability. Later, I found that they are two different attributes - IQ and a facility for languages. My daughter, a neurologist, confirmed this,". Commentary in the articles that relate to this, state that this realization took 30 years. In the meantime, difficult education policies on bilingualism were implemented - ones that ignored the difficulty of acquiring a second language, for many students.

Now, it seems to me, that the implications of this realization have not been entirely examined. PSLE, for instance, requires, if I am not mistaken, examination in English and "Mother Tongue"...that is, a second language, determined by the race of the examinee. It has always seemed suspect to me, to state that because someone is of a particular race, that they must also be of a particular language. My children, for instance are, yes, half-Malay...but they have far less than half the normal opportunity to learn Malay. You see, I don't speak Malay, so most of the conversation in our household is, necessarily in English. Thus, it is a nonsense to have a policy which requires my children to be Malay speakers (because they have a Malay mother), when they don't really come from a Malay speaking household. There are many families like this, families which have a particular racial background but do NOT have the corresponding language background. Yet, at PSLE, all families must submit to the demand for examination in English and Mother Tongue. As we can see from MM Lee's own admission, this makes no sense at all, with regards to the intended aim of selecting the most able students. Ability in languages is not a catch-all for general mental ability: it is a specific capability. Leonardo da Vinci, the famously polymathic genius, was not so strong in languages: perhaps in Singapore he would have been relegated to poorer schools because of it. How ridiculous is that?

So, let us heed MM Lee's recent acquisition of wisdom regarding languages and IQ. Let us have a PSLE system which does NOT require multiple languages for examination. Perhaps the student can nominate which language exam they wish to take - and take only one. Either that, or they could take both - and ONLY the highest one should count towards the determination of their standing in the PSLE.

The real question we have to answer regarding the PSLE is: what is it for? Is it to determine the relative capability of students, in terms of actual intelligence? If so, drop the multiple language requirement because different students have different opportunities to learn languages, so what is being compared is not their intellects, but their environments. If, however, Singapore just wants a system to determine who is the best fit to a multilingual environment, then carry on the present system unchanged. It doesn't find the smartest students...it just finds those best fitted to a multilingual environment. They are not necessarily the same thing. Just ask Leonardo da Vinci, the famous non-linguist. (By the way, I think Leonardo would have been horrified by Singapore's education system...)

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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In Homeschooling Permission Limbo

We have applied, once more, for permission to homeschool Ainan. In Singapore, one is not automatically free to homeschool: permission must be sought from the Compulsory Education Unit of the Ministry of Education.

Seven months ago, I applied for permission and was told that I would hear from them soon - but I heard nothing. Recent events have led us to understand that we are unlikely to receive appropriate and adequate educational provision for Ainan from the Singapore public school system - despite our experiences of Raffles Insitution, Raffles College and NUS High School for Maths and Science. The provision is insufficient and now we understand that it is intentionally so. So, we are moved to ask for homeschooling once again.

I have written to them explaining that Ainan is not receiving suitable educational stimulation in school and that the educational authorities have made it clear that they are not going to provide for him. I have put the case for homeschooling to them - and I am now waiting for a reply.

I do understand from their first communication, however, that Ainan's school appears to be resistive to the suggestion. I wonder why since they are unable to provide for him?

At this stage, after giving them a year and a half to sort out their response to Ainan - and watching them respond only in the most minimal of ways - we are convinced and adamant that the only way forward is for us to educate him ourselves.

So, we are in a kind of limbo: the schooling system is not providing for Ainan - and the educational authorities have not yet given us permission to provide for him. For as long as this goes on, Ainan will be wasting his time in a school system unable to cope with his particular gifts. I hope this time does not last long.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and nine months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and two months, and Tiarnan, nineteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

A letter to Parliament

In Singapore, the nomenclature for politicians is styled after Britain, which used to be its colonial ruler. Thus, the first rung of political power is the Member of Parliament, then above that are Ministers of various ranks, and the Prime Minister, at the top.

Ainan needs an educational provision out of the norm. We don't know quite where to get it but are trying several avenues simultaneously. One avenue is to write to the Ministry of Education to seek permission to homeschool - that is covered below in First Steps to Homeschooling. The other approach is to write to our local Member of Parliament (M.P.).

On the same day that we wrote to the Compulsory Education Unit, we also wrote to our local MP, who happens to be a Government Minister. The Compulsory Education Unit replied within three hours, our MP, though, has yet to reply.

Again, we will see how responsive Singapore is to the particular needs of its citizens. Ainan could do good things for Singapore science, one day. Let us see if Singapore will do anything to help him get there. If not, of course, there is always the whole wide world to go searching for what he needs, to advance. First, however, we will exhaust the local options, for that is the easiest to approach, initially. If those prove satisfactory, then we shall have succeeded on his behalf, but if they don't, then we will be forced to look elsewhere.

Ainan is developing fast, so we need to address his educational future very soon. That is why we are trying several approaches simultaneously, in the hope that at least one will improve his situation.

(If you would like to read more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, seven years and two months and his gifted brothers, Fintan, three, and Tiarnan, twelve months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, baby genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

First steps to homeschooling

The laws regarding homeschooling vary from country to country all over the world. In some nations it is a matter of personal choice - such as in the UK and USA - but in others it is strictly prohibited, such as in Germany. It is interesting to note that in countries with a democratic present and past, homeschooling is permitted freely - but in countries with a fascist or totalitarian history, it is restricted. That might say something about the possible future of such countries, too. Anyway, let that be an aside which I won't follow further except to say that to restrict parents on how they bring up their children - and education is part of this - is one restriction of personal freedom, too far.

In Singapore, there are two sets of laws regarding homeschooling: one for expats and one for Singaporeans. Expats are allowed to do as they please with the schooling of their children. Singaporeans, on the other hand, are not. To be allowed to homeschool your child, if you are Singaporean, as my son Ainan is, (half-Malay, half-Irish), one must ask permission of the curiously named Compulsory Education Unit. It is up to this unit to decide whether you are permitted to home school your child. They state that you must satisfy the Ministry of Education that you will fulfil the "two main objectives of a Singaporean education" before you are allowed to homeschool the child. Interestingly, I could find no mention on that page, of what those objectives were.

Anyway, concerned, as we are that Ainan is not being suitably stimulated in school - for the physical sciences, for instance, which are Ainan's main focus, are not even taught in Singapore until Secondary School - we have contacted the Compulsory Education Unit. This seemed the best step forward since we can't really wait until he is 13 to get him a scientific education. That would be ridiculously stifling for him. Within about three hours of my email, I got a reply seeking further information. That was pretty prompt. Let us see how long it takes them to make a decision and what kind of decision it will be.

We are not quite ready to homeschool him, at this precise moment - but I thought it best to get the process underway since I have no idea how long it takes to secure permission - or what hoops we will be asked to jump through to win permission.

Incidentally, compulsory education is a serious business in Singapore, it being a criminal offence not to send a Singaporean child to school - unless special permission for exemption has been granted and alternative arrangements made, and approved.

I sent the email three days ago, let us see how quickly matters unfold.

(If you would like to read of the gifted Cawley sons: Ainan, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and two months, Fintan, three, and Tiarnan, twelve months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html. I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, baby genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)