I WAS from a poor family when I was enrolled at Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) in Coleman Street. It was a school with children of diverse financial backgrounds.
There was pressure, too, as there were rich children and their rich toys, and there were poor children who had to struggle with having enough money for recess. I learnt to manage this pressure.
We had to sell carnival tickets in those days too, and we did what we could, for the sake of ACS and its future.
When children enter secondary school, the divide becomes more apparent. The lessons of this divide learnt and the values adopted become the foundation of the character of ACS students.
I never felt overly pressured to the extent that it became a feared stigma in my life. It was such a privilege to be able to take part in a carnival and to feel the pride once the school achieved its goal.
That is, after all, what our children will face in life - meritocracy, working to achieve goals, and realising that we do not get things for free.
The many parents and students I met during last Saturday's carnival agreed with the approach of selling tickets ("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 and "Students can learn much from fund raising" by Madam Emilyn Tan Lay Soon; Forum Online, all published yesterday).
I, too, thought hard before sending my children to ACS, as I remembered the lessons of the rich/poor divide ("Why I did not enrol my son in ACS" by Mr Steven Lee Thien Poh; yesterday). But for me, the values taught by the school far outweigh the feeling of not having enough.
Parents need to teach children the important things in life and not to run away just because of "pressure".
An ACS education, to me, is first about learning values and developing one's character to the fullest; results will then follow, based on one's best efforts.
Thomas Yeo Siang Huat
There was pressure, too, as there were rich children and their rich toys, and there were poor children who had to struggle with having enough money for recess. I learnt to manage this pressure.
We had to sell carnival tickets in those days too, and we did what we could, for the sake of ACS and its future.
When children enter secondary school, the divide becomes more apparent. The lessons of this divide learnt and the values adopted become the foundation of the character of ACS students.
I never felt overly pressured to the extent that it became a feared stigma in my life. It was such a privilege to be able to take part in a carnival and to feel the pride once the school achieved its goal.
That is, after all, what our children will face in life - meritocracy, working to achieve goals, and realising that we do not get things for free.
The many parents and students I met during last Saturday's carnival agreed with the approach of selling tickets ("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 and "Students can learn much from fund raising" by Madam Emilyn Tan Lay Soon; Forum Online, all published yesterday).
I, too, thought hard before sending my children to ACS, as I remembered the lessons of the rich/poor divide ("Why I did not enrol my son in ACS" by Mr Steven Lee Thien Poh; yesterday). But for me, the values taught by the school far outweigh the feeling of not having enough.
Parents need to teach children the important things in life and not to run away just because of "pressure".
An ACS education, to me, is first about learning values and developing one's character to the fullest; results will then follow, based on one's best efforts.
Thomas Yeo Siang Huat
