School hunt

I started out as a mother who just wanted to send her daughter to a playschool for a few hours, twice or three times a week. But after hearing "Sorry, we are full" for more than 10 times in two days, I have been transformed into a mom-zilla who is sucked into the crazy Singapore 'rat' school chase system.

See the conversation highlights below and you'll understand why majority of the Singapore parents have no choice but to conform to the competitive system.

#1

Teacher: "Our waitlist is very long and priorities are given to existing children's sibblings."

#2

Teacher: "Sorry the registration for playgroup is full. Waitlist registration is also closed."

SK: "Are you saying that my child will not be able to go to your school forever and ever?"

Teacher: "Yup, sorry and thanks for your interest".

#3

Teacher: "It's good if you can come for full day because sometimes I cover that cannot finish in the morning during the afternoon sessions."

SK: "What do you mean cover?"

Teacher: "Syllabus! We have to prepare them for PRIMARY ONE!!"

#4

SK: "How long is your waitlist?"

Schoool: "Very long. A couple of hundreds."

I've seen schools where the teachers are very proud of their 'education' system and good environment. I've also seen some schoools in the heartlanders where children looked very happy despite in a slightly run-down environment.

In all honesty, I want S to attend a school where she can play, learn and be happy. BUT the "kiasuness" in me gravitates towards schools with good environment (spacious and well kept), genuinely enthusiastic teachers, children from mixed cultural background and near our home. Can we have all we want?

Stay tuned to see our school-hunt update.