It’s a well-known fact that life in Singapore can be very stressful.
Just last year, a Singaporean made headlines for choosing to work in Malaysia for better work-life balance.
Such pressure on working adults may in fact start from a young age.
Recently, a Redditor expressed his worries about the academic pressure children in Singapore often face.
Source: Reuters, for illustration purposes only
He also said that it’s up to a parent to decide what kind of environment their kids grow up in.
Posting to Reddit on Tuesday (22 Aug), the OP shared that he has three sons aged 14, 12, and eight.
As a father, he often feels for Singaporean children, not because of the education system, but because of their parents’ attitudes and beliefs.
“After a long day of school, imagine [if] you still have to attend a two-hour tuition [class],” he said.
The OP added that it’s a different matter if the child is weak in a subject or wanted to take extra lessons themselves.
In fact, his children also go for tuition in their weakest subject, Chinese, once a week.
However, the OP does not take kindly to the fact that some children go for tuition and enrichment classes multiple times on a weekly basis.
“Their children are living under stress and sad conditions,” he said, saying that this will lead them to “grow up to be resentful youths/young adults”.
The OP went on to note that he feels the onus is on parents to ease their children’s academic stress.
This, he said, is possible even with the pressure of the current education system.
“You are the ones who can decide what kind of an environment your child grows up in,” he declared.
Other people can be kiasu, you don’t have to follow.
The OP then brought up the numerous posts on SGExams, another subreddit, that apparently prove his point about youths in Singapore growing up resentful and stressed due to their environment.
As such, he urged parents to ease the burden of studies on their children and prioritise making “happy memories” during their childhood instead.
The post has since gained a fair bit of attention on Reddit, with many agreeing with the OP on his views.
One user said that some children have to leave for tuition immediately after they’re done with school, which they already have to wake up early for.
Source: Reddit
This would leave them with hardly any leisure time for themselves.
Another slammed the glamorisation of tuition, which is perpetuated by the number of “mega” tuition centres boasting about their “success rates” across the country.
Source: Reddit
“It’s no longer about trying to deepen our knowledge and understanding in difficult subjects but more about chasing grades,” they sighed.
This netizen shared that as someone who was born in the 80s, they didn’t have to face the same pressure that current students do.
Source: Reddit
However, there were those who held a different view on the issue.
For instance, one user said that such a lifestyle can prepare one for the workplace in Singapore.
Source: Reddit
Another pointed out that this is just Singaporean culture in general, so those living here have to adapt to it.
Source: Reddit
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below.
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Featured image adapted from Unseen Studio on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
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