ANGLO-CHINESE School (Barker Road) principal Peter Tan had written in his letter that the students' effort in selling the carnival tickets reflects their attitude, that it is less about having "rich" friends or
relatives, but the students' willingness to step out of their comfort zones ("Carnival tickets: Students feel sales 'pressure'"; last Saturday, "ACS Carnival: Any guidelines on school fund raising?" by Ms Maria Loh Mun Foong, "Event builds students' sense of belonging and commitment"; by Mr Wang Zheng Ming, "Why I did not enrol my son in ACS" by Mr Steven Lee Thien Poh and "Students can learn much from fund raising" by Madam Emilyn Tan Lay Soon; Forum Online, all published yesterday).
I believe Mr Tan was asking the boys to work hard in raising funds for the school and not to get their rich parents to buy all the tickets. This is a good virtue to cultivate - to work for what you need.
It is easy for those from well-to-do families to not ask for donations, as their parents can simply buy the tickets.
But for a boy to ask for donations, is that not stepping out of his comfort zone?
My Primary 2 neighbour once approached me for a donation for his school's new hall. His father stood by and allowed the boy to give me his "sales pitch". I made a donation and praised the boy for his attitude and courage.
My children do not attend the ACS family of schools, but they, too, have fund-raising events for their co-curricular activities or for their school, and they have been taught from a young age to give within their means.
Every year, my son comes home with his fund-raising cards. He does his best to collect funds for his uniformed group, and does not feel pressure to sell all the tickets.
School fund-raising events are necessary, whether the funds go towards improving facilities in the school or to cultivate a sense of commitment and responsibility among the students.
How students approach a fund-raising event depends largely on their upbringing, and not so much on their families' socio-economic status.
Why would students feel pressured to buy or sell all the carnival tickets? Who imposes this pressure? If teachers "force" students to sell all the tickets or shame those who do not, parents should take it up with the school. Parents should teach their children to live and give within their means.
Students should never feel embarrassed if their families can afford to contribute only $2 to the fund-raising efforts, nor should students brag if their families can afford to single-handedly fund the building of a sports hall.
Shirley Woon (Madam)
relatives, but the students' willingness to step out of their comfort zones ("Carnival tickets: Students feel sales 'pressure'"; last Saturday, "ACS Carnival: Any guidelines on school fund raising?" by Ms Maria Loh Mun Foong, "Event builds students' sense of belonging and commitment"; by Mr Wang Zheng Ming, "Why I did not enrol my son in ACS" by Mr Steven Lee Thien Poh and "Students can learn much from fund raising" by Madam Emilyn Tan Lay Soon; Forum Online, all published yesterday).
I believe Mr Tan was asking the boys to work hard in raising funds for the school and not to get their rich parents to buy all the tickets. This is a good virtue to cultivate - to work for what you need.
It is easy for those from well-to-do families to not ask for donations, as their parents can simply buy the tickets.
But for a boy to ask for donations, is that not stepping out of his comfort zone?
My Primary 2 neighbour once approached me for a donation for his school's new hall. His father stood by and allowed the boy to give me his "sales pitch". I made a donation and praised the boy for his attitude and courage.
My children do not attend the ACS family of schools, but they, too, have fund-raising events for their co-curricular activities or for their school, and they have been taught from a young age to give within their means.
Every year, my son comes home with his fund-raising cards. He does his best to collect funds for his uniformed group, and does not feel pressure to sell all the tickets.
School fund-raising events are necessary, whether the funds go towards improving facilities in the school or to cultivate a sense of commitment and responsibility among the students.
How students approach a fund-raising event depends largely on their upbringing, and not so much on their families' socio-economic status.
Why would students feel pressured to buy or sell all the carnival tickets? Who imposes this pressure? If teachers "force" students to sell all the tickets or shame those who do not, parents should take it up with the school. Parents should teach their children to live and give within their means.
Students should never feel embarrassed if their families can afford to contribute only $2 to the fund-raising efforts, nor should students brag if their families can afford to single-handedly fund the building of a sports hall.
Shirley Woon (Madam)
