I EMPATHISE with the parents who felt the compulsion to buy the Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) carnival tickets, especially if they are from less well-to-do homes ("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).
Initially, when I heard about the report, my knee-jerk reaction was to think that it was ridiculous to ask students to buy $50 worth of carnival tickets.
However, as I settled down to read the principal's letter in more detail, I realised that whatever pressure there was, was for the students to think out of the box to sell the tickets.
School fund raising, involving public, private, and government-aided schools, have been around since time immemorial.
I, too, was involved in fund raising during my school days. We were all given a stack of coupons to sell, which amounted to $50 for each student. This was no small sum way back in the 1960s.
I became the top fund raiser not because I was good at it, but because I was able to get some kind souls to do it for me. I believe this was what Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) principal Peter Tan expected his students to do.
I was proud to have been able to do something for my school and I exhort all students to do likewise. Parents, too, should do their best to support their children's schools.
Ong Soon Leong
Initially, when I heard about the report, my knee-jerk reaction was to think that it was ridiculous to ask students to buy $50 worth of carnival tickets.
However, as I settled down to read the principal's letter in more detail, I realised that whatever pressure there was, was for the students to think out of the box to sell the tickets.
School fund raising, involving public, private, and government-aided schools, have been around since time immemorial.
I, too, was involved in fund raising during my school days. We were all given a stack of coupons to sell, which amounted to $50 for each student. This was no small sum way back in the 1960s.
I became the top fund raiser not because I was good at it, but because I was able to get some kind souls to do it for me. I believe this was what Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) principal Peter Tan expected his students to do.
I was proud to have been able to do something for my school and I exhort all students to do likewise. Parents, too, should do their best to support their children's schools.
Ong Soon Leong
