When every school is a good school: Heng Swee Keat

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday spoke in Parliament on what his ministry means when it says every school is a good school and how every school can bring out the best in every child. Here is an edited extract of his speech.
The Straits Times, 8 Mar 2014

THE key goal of my ministry is to bring out the best in every child. In every domain of learning; in every school; at every stage of the learning journey; whatever the starting point; to create a better future together.

By bringing out the best in every child, we give hope and opportunity, to enable the child to succeed. We build a better future for all Singaporeans, together. Our schools provide the common space and common experiences for our children to build a sense of cohesion as one people committed to Singapore and to fellow Singaporeans.

What do we mean by bringing out the best in every child in every domain in learning?

Ms Tan Su Shan and Mr Lim Biow Chuan spoke about preparing for the information age, and rapid global changes.

Indeed, the future environment will be more volatile, unpredictable and complex. The terrain our children will have to navigate will be more unfamiliar, with more unknowns.

We need to equip our students, not to provide a map with wellmarked paths; rather, we need to equip them with a compass and navigation skills.

A compass so that each child has a sense of direction, a sense of right and wrong. It is about character and values. It is about how well they master themselves. It is about resilience and perseverance, and having the empathy, leadership and social skills to work with others, and the heart to contribute to our community and nation.

This is the heart of our Character and Citizenship Education (CCE).

Navigation skills so they can analyse situations, apply what they know to solve problems, imagine and invent new possibilities, chart their own paths. This means a strong foundation in core subjects, in numeracy, and in literacy, including bilingual literacy.

This foundation is necessary for navigating changing landscape, but not sufficient. In recent years, we have emphasised higher-order thinking skills, collaborative and cross-cultural skills to thrive in a globalised information age.

Preparing for the future

I THANK Ms Irene Ng for emphasising the importance of history. Indeed, knowledge of our past helps to prepare our children for the future.

Equipping our students with the inner compass and the navigation skills is a labour of love.

To do so, we seek to bring out the best in every child in every domain - not just in the academic subjects, but also in CCA, in arts, in music, in sports, in Values-In-Action projects.

This is holistic education - it is about developing the whole child.

Holistic education involves infusing and integrating the learning in different domains, and the development of values and skills in every part of school life, both in and outside of the classroom.

So let me share briefly how our teachers are taking an integrative, immersive approach in holistic education.

At West Spring Secondary School, students use newspaper articles to discuss social issues. Students gather information, meet with community partners, and generate ideas and possible solutions.

One group took the initiative to raise funds for a group of elders to have lunch at an eatery which Dignity Kitchen runs, and worked with the staff to put up a performance. Dignity Kitchen, by the way, is a hawker training school for the disabled and disadvantaged.

At Kranji Secondary School, Sec 2 students work on interdisciplinary projects in town planning, supported by the URA. Students have to bring together what they've learnt in Geography, English, and Design & Technology.

By working with their peers, they build collaboration and communication skills. They also develop creativity and build analytical and organisational skills as they plan together in teams. So you see, we start to develop these skills very early on. This is also done in our primary schools.

Our students have done very well in international benchmarking tests such as Pisa. Ms Janice Koh pointed out that test scores alone are not enough. I agree. I have looked at the sample questions in Pisa and also our exam papers - boy, they do challenge our students to:

i. Apply knowledge and skills to solve unfamiliar real-life problems; and

ii. Use incomplete information, explore indirect relationships, find solutions using unstructured data.

Neither should we fall into the trap of either-or thinking - that is, either knowledge or skills.

In fact, all over the world there has been a lot of debate and I've been following the debate closely.

If creativity is about connecting the dots, you need to have solid dots in the first place or you have nothing to connect. A grasp of the basics is necessary.

I am not suggesting that we have a perfect system. But I hope that we take pride in our students' achievements, and have the confidence to build on that.

Mr Alvin Yeo mentioned that our children are not so good in the arts. I don't think we should generalise. We have filmmakers like Anthony Chen and Royston Tan, and we are proud of them. By bringing out the best in every child in every domain, we enable our students to integrate values, knowledge and skills in new and powerful ways, and to go on to navigate changes, solve problems and invent new possibilities.

Opportunities for every child

LET me now touch on how we are bringing out the best in every child in every school. Mr Lim Biow Chan, Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar and other members spoke about this.

I met Dr Leonard Tan last year: He came from a low-income family, could not afford music lessons as a child. He joined the school band in Princess Elizabeth Primary School and Bukit Panjang Government High, where he learnt the tuba.

This early exposure piqued his interest in music. In Sec 3, he saved up $98 for a violin and taught himself how to play the instrument. In less than two years, he obtained Grade 6 in violin.

He went on to learn music first in a junior college, met some inspiring teachers, and went on to LaSalle and Nafa, before getting a scholarship from our National Institute of Education to do his PhD in the US. Leonard is now an Assistant Professor at the NIE working to develop the next generation of music teachers.

Now think about it, without the school band, Leonard would not have the opportunity to learn the tuba and discover this strength. I am delighted that Leonard is contributing back to education and our society. By bringing out the best in every child, our society progresses. Leonard's story illustrates that good schools can be places of discovery and nurture for our students, and bring out the best in them.

Like Dr Intan, I have heard some cynics say: How can this school be a good school when it does not produce the same number of students who have perfect scores compared to the other one?

To put things into perspective, let me share with you my discussions with parents. I have met many parents who shared with me how different each of their children is - in interests, in temperaments, in aptitudes:

- One is motivated, another requires prodding;

- One thrives under intense competition, another blossoms in a nurturing environment;

- One is theoretical, another is hands-on;

- One is outgoing, another is introverted.

I'm quite sure this resonates with members of the House. Same parents. Same upbringing. Completely different temperaments, interests and aptitudes. Different outcomes.

But every parent wants to be a good parent, to bring out the best in each of their children. But this does not mean achieving identical outcomes.

Rather, nurturing parents seek to help each of their children discover his strengths and interests, help each of them build on these, to succeed and to lead a happy, meaningful life.

Now if a good parent with just two or three children cannot turn out identical outcomes, nor is judged on the basis that each of his children turn out the same way, is it right to judge a school with over 1,000 students as "good" or "not good", on the basis of whether it can produce identical academic grades as another school?

Every School a Good School does not mean Every School the Same School, but it does mean Every School Good in its Own Way, seeking to bring out the Best in Every Child.

What makes a good school

IN OUR 2012 Committee of Supply Debate on MOE, I set out what Every School a Good School means. And this "Every School a Good School" has energised our schools, and helped change parents' perception. I am deeply committed to this, so therefore let me repeat what I said then:

First and foremost, a good school is one that cares for its students. Therefore, it is one that studies and knows the needs, interests and strengths of its students and motivates them to learn and grow.

A good school ensures all students acquire strong fundamentals of literacy and numeracy and develops them holistically, in character, knowledge and critical competencies.

A good school creates a positive school experience for each student, making him a confident and lifelong learner.

A good school has caring and competent teachers who are steadfast in their mission to impact lives.

A good school has the support of parents and the community, working together to bring out the best in our children.

A good school cares for and provides opportunities to all students, regardless of family circumstances.

I am pleased that many parents are now checking out the schools in our neighbourhood. I am pleased to read in this issue of Young Parents how parents are choosing schools in their neighbourhood that suit their children, raving about their neighbourhood schools. I applaud these parents. Indeed, I fully agree with a comment in the article that it's odd that we call these "neighbourhood schools" - after all, aren't all schools in the neighbourhood?

Good teachers matter

AS DR Intan pointed out, we have many peaks of excellence - peaks built on high bases. So let us develop more of such peaks, multiply and spread good practices, grow good schools across a range of domains, to better meet the different needs of our children.

The more I interact with educators and our specialists, the more I appreciate that teaching and learning are complex and intricate processes.

It is not one specific subject, lesson, or way of doing things. It is not even about smaller class sizes per se.

It is about inspiring teachers who lead, care and inspire. Teachers who weave together curriculum, co-curricular activities, Values-In-Action programmes into teachable moments.

They create an integrative and immersive environment, to create the opportunities for success, to encourage students to strive to learn.

Just like what the schools had done for Dr Leonard Tan.

Related
FY 2014 Committee of Supply Debate: 1st Reply by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education: Bringing Out the Best in Every Child