Primary School Musings

I popped down to my old primary school this morning and was puzzled by the many cars I encountered in the driveway. Until I approached front lobby and realised that today was D-Day for 2013 Primary 1 registration — balloting day for Phase 2C. A quick look at the board and I realised that there were 50 applicants vying for 29 places. Balloting was to be carried out for all Singaporean children living within 1km of the school.

As I went into the school office clutching my precious old Report Book, my heart went out to the parents who were anxiously awaiting the results of the ballot. I myself was at the school this morning to get some of my documents verified for alumni membership. With that sorted, I hope to have a relatively fuss-free experience registering my daughter in my old school when the time comes for her to enter Primary 1. Which is in about, err, 6 years time. (Yes, I am rather early about it but I figured I’d get it out of the way before they raise the alumni fees again.)

There is a sense here amongst parents that getting into the right primary school is the be-all and end-all. I personally don’t think it’s your primary school that matters — it’s which secondary school you go to that leaves a more indelible imprint on you. That said, your primary school does play a part in determining the secondary school you end up in, doesn’t it? And with regards to primary schools, no matter how the ministry tries to sell it, everyone knows that not all schools are created equal. Some have more sprawling grounds, or offer a wider or more interesting range of extra curricular activities. Older schools which have been around for a long time have a richer tradition and history, and a more distinct identity. They often have more active alumni too which translate into deeper ties with the school and a stronger school spirit. Each school is also driven by its leadership, and as with any organisation, the quality of its leadership would vary from school to school. And of course, some schools seem to have a tradition of producing top students, though I don’t think this is a very reliable gauge of how well your child will do.

The one thing I would agree with the ministry about is that popular or branded primary schools do not necessarily have better teachers. I still remember how my Primary 2 Maths teacher in my “good school” used to set us our exercises and then take a nap, right there in class. She even snored. My mother was appalled. Haha.

I don’t think this happens any more. At least, I hope not! There are good teachers and bad teachers everywhere, though I do believe that with standards of teaching and training having been raised over the years, present day teachers should be of some standard. 

We’ve pretty much decided that, barring any unforeseen circumstances like a change in the system to remove priority registration for alumni (which would be quite a catastrophe), we’ll be sending Naomi to an old primary school of mine. Partly because it is literally the closest school to home, and partly because I’m lazy and don’t want to do any parent-volunteering. But also, I am keen for her to enter the school because I felt – and still feel – an affinity for it. I attended two primary schools and somehow this school, where I spent my lower primary years is still the school I think of more fondly. It is the school I think of as “my school”, as opposed to my other primary school.

I have never spent any time at its current campus, but Naomi’s Yiyi spent 3.5 years out of her 10 years in the school at this very campus. My elder cousins also attended the same school and I know one of my cousin’s daughters will be entering the school next year for Primary 1. It is what you may call our family school, and I would like my daughter to share in a part of that tradition.

Our a whim, while I was on campus today, I decided to drop by the canteen and order a bowl of noodles for myself for breakfast. The noodle stall at my old school was legendary, by the way. And for the three years that I studied there, I ate noodles from the stall everyday. I’m not even kidding. I was such a regular that when I returned for a visit after my school transfer, the uncle who tended the stall asked me, “小妹妹， 你为什没有来了？” I tell you, it really broke my heart.

I ordered my usual order from ever so long ago – mee soup with everything in it. (It cost me $1.50 today when it used to cost me 40 cents.) I’m not sure what I was expecting. The mee pok uncle had passed on quite a few years ago and I knew it would not be the same. But to my surprise, the soup that I had this morning was very similar. Similar enough to evoke memories of running to the tuckshop everyday to get my noodles, and all the happy times I spent my recess running around the field playing 老鹰捉小鸡，playing hopscotch on the tiles, scaling metal posts, and jumping to zero-point and circle-circle.

These are my schoolday memories, amongst others. And I hope someday my little girl will make her own in the same place – if not physically, then at least in character – where I did.

Hmmm, Mummy, your grades ain’t too impressive…