i'm still sterilising!!
all, something to read about and comment...
<font color="0000ff">I APPLAUD the comment of Ms Ruth Low, chief executive of PAP Community Foundation (PCF), that our government placed strong emphasis on pre-school education, which is important for our young generation's development.
Believing that the PCF is well-equipped with qualified teachers and sound education systems, I transferred my four-year-old son from a child-care centre to a PCF Kindergarten in Block 556 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 in January.
However, the following incidents in this school have raised doubts about how my son can benefit from it.
In May, my son suddenly became very temperamental. He refused to go to school, threw tantrums frequently, and hit anyone with whatever he was holding.
I suspected something could have happened in his school. But he refused to tell me anything. I took him to a psychiatrist. To my astonishment, my son told the psychiatrist that whenever he misbehaved in school, his teacher would lock him in a dark room and he was left alone until the teacher released him.
The school's principal admitted that her teachers practised this 'time-out' method where they put a child who misbehaved in a 'music-room' with the lights turned off.
The principal said some children could take this kind of punishment, but some could not. However, when I checked with my son's three teachers, all said they did not use this method.
My nephew was in the same school as my son, but he was transferred to another school in May. When I mentioned this incident to my sister, she confirmed it had happened to her son as well, which was the main reason for the transfer. My sister spoke to my nephew's teacher and she confirmed that one of the teachers did punish five boys with this method.
My nephew said the room was so dark that he could not see his own fingers. The five boys were left in the dark room crying, without supervision from any teacher. Such confinement is not allowed in any pre-school.
In July my Filipino maid complained that my son pinched her. When I asked him about it, he said his teacher pinched him whenever he disobeyed the teacher.
Recently my son said his teacher would put his classmates in a basket if they disobeyed her.
Both my nephew and my son are four years old. I believe that the children did not tell lies. I am very disturbed by these incidents and would appreciate Ms Low's comments.
Jenny Goh Ai Tin (Mdm)</font>