Expat Advice on Local School Options

[sundaymorningstaple]

R.N.T. I think you, perhaps, misread the message you quoted?

Bocat32 very aptly described that he wanted "as Singaporean" an experience as possible. How can that be any kind of insinuation that you or anybody else is Singapore-phobic for using an international type school? I think you are being a wee bit sensitive. One would have to admit, getting down in the trenches "with the locals" is a lot different than sitting up on high and "observing" how the locals live.

[road.not.taken]

R.N.T. I think you, perhaps, misread the message you quoted?

Bocat32 very aptly described that he wanted "as Singaporean" an experience as possible. How can that be any kind of insinuation that you or anybody else is Singapore-phobic for using an international type school? I think you are being a wee bit sensitive. One would have to admit, getting down in the trenches "with the locals" is a lot different than sitting up on high and "observing" how the locals live.

And.

There.

You.

Go.

Again.

Your constant references to 'sitting up on high' and all the other crap stereotypes you throw around are tiresome, hurtful and worst of all inaccurate.

Bocat32 wants an experience as 'Singaporean' as possible? Great. Wonderful. Super. If he doesn't want to offend anyone then he should stop writing at that point, there is no reason to add the next bit:

I didn't want to move to another country/culture and then not experience any of it!

That implies those of us with kids in International Schools aren't experiencing county/culture. And that's a load of mule muffins.

[sundaymorningstaple]

And.

There.

You.

Go.

Again.


I've come to the conclusion you are really sad.

[road.not.taken]

It IS a choice--you choose to send your kid to an American school thereby negating the Singapore experience by having teachers who are American, an American curricula, American textbooks and on-campus food that is OVERWHELMINGLY American. PLEASE do not try to dissuade any of us into thinking SAS is a "Singapore" experience--it is NOT. But that is your CHOICE--not good or bad, but a choice!

Wow. They weren't kidding.... denial ain't just a river in Egypt. Honey you've got it bad if you really believe this. 'Negating the Singapore experience'? How can you be serious? I never said SAS was a Singapore experience, just not a place to run and hide from it like people here constantly insinuate. For us it's a good balance. Most of my kids teachers are not American, or have lived outside the US all their adult lives. Honestly ~ where do you get your information? Still grieving because they wanted to foist the Admissions Director on you to take the tour, when that is her job? Sheesh!

Shame on you for making me feel bad for not spending $300,000 on her primary education at SAS. Shame RNT!

I'm not making you feel bad about anything. That's up to you entirely. Sounds more like you're trying to justify not spending the $300K by belittling my expat experience. That's rationalization, pure and simple. You're way, way off base here ~ be happy your child has found a good school and leave it at that. You don't have to drag down the International Schools with misinformation just to paint your own school in a better light. They can both be good. You can keep flogging the local school experience, but why does it have to be at my expense?

And by the way? We don't pay our school fees, our company does. Being classified as a 3rd world country, local schools were off limits to company employees when we moved here.

[road.not.taken]

And.

There.

You.

Go.

Again.


I've come to the conclusion you are really sad.

And I have come to the conclusion you'd rather play the 'Aw Shucks I'm Just a Poor Farm Boy' card then consider I am more than my husband's bank account.

[road.not.taken]

Glad to see RNT is back again--wondering when the local school option would bug the crap out of you! I am shaking with outrage right now and can barely type.

P.S. I'm not back, as I didn't go. The local school option is not 'bugging the crap out of me', and you're the one shaking in outrage, not me. Honestly, we can all make whatever choices are best for our kids without maligning the other. Why this is so difficult I don't know.

[boffenl]

As you said: Honestly, we can all make whatever choices are best for our kids without maligning the other. Why this is so difficult I don't know.

I agree--so PLEASE do not post to Local School threads anymore. Thanks from those of us folks who send our kids to local schools. You know nothing about the system so please just don't post. Simple--right?

[road.not.taken]

No, not so simple. I can post wherever I like. If we only heard from people that agreed with us, then where would we be? Are saying we are incapable of civil discourse? I never said Bobcat or others were wrong in their decisions about local schools, not al all, not even a little bit. I only said wild assumptions should not be made about those of us who don't choose that option. I have lived here 16 years boffenl and I know a hell of a lot more than you give me credit for. Simple -- right?

[sundaymorningstaple]

And.

There.

You.

Go.

Again.


I've come to the conclusion you are really sad.

And I have come to the conclusion you'd rather play the 'Aw Shucks I'm Just a Poor Farm Boy' card then consider I am more than my husband's bank account.

Sounds to me like I've hit the nail on the head. Frankly, not sure what you are implying in your last sentence though. Are you saying I should consider that you are more than your husband's bank account? That's a strange thing to say. But to ease your troubled mind, I DO consider you as more. More like a drain on your husband's bank account. Is that what you mean?

[road.not.taken]

I'm disappointed in you SMS. I really am. Until now I thought you had some insight, a spark. That you could look past all the cliches and snap judgements, that you were... candidly... smarter than all this.

This last post is beneath you, really ~ it is. I don't know what else to say other than 'good on you'. If hurting my feelings was your objective then consider it a rousing success.

I'm not going to apologize for having an opinion and trying to bring some balance to this previously single-dimensioned thread. I'm not going to say I'm sorry for trying to clear-up an all too common misconception. Your post was unnecessarily mean-spirited. Honestly, when did disagreeing become a battle to the death? The whole thing reminds me of American politics, which is why I don't pay much attention to American politics...

[ok lah]

And by the way? We don't pay our school fees, our company does. Being classified as a 3rd world country, local schools were off limits to company employees when we moved here.

Please let us know what company are you working in. Implying Singapore as a 3rd world country proven to be a very bad mistake your company had made to set up an office here.

[sundaymorningstaple]

And by the way? We don't pay our school fees, our company does. Being classified as a 3rd world country, local schools were off limits to company employees when we moved here.

Please let us know what company are you working in. Implying Singapore as a 3rd world country proven to be a very bad mistake your company had made to set up an office here.

Maybe you should study history a little bit. Additionally, maybe you should find out who you are knocking. She's been here only a few years less that I have and when both of us arrived here, this nation was still a 3rd world country. It had not been given "developing nation" status at that time. So in this case you are way, way off the mark. Okay, lah?

[ok lah]

Maybe you should study history a little bit. Additionally, maybe you should find out who you are knocking. She's been here only a few years less that I have and when both of us arrived here, this nation was still a 3rd world country. It had not been given "developing nation" status at that time. So in this case you are way, way off the mark. Okay, lah?

Maybe I should study history but not the history of Singapore; I should have studied the history of RNT's arrival. Based on your ( and RNT) assumption that Singapore was a 3rd World Country, well, it seems nobody here dare to rebuke, considering you and RNT have been here for 20 odd years, coming 30 perhaps? Back to the comment made by RNT, how would anyone know, especially new comers to Singapore Expat Forum, that RNT has been here for a long period. Probably she could be here 2 days , 2 months or 2 years ago. Was Singapore a 3rd world country 2 years ago? How many expats know enough about the history of Singapore? I am not too concerned with what RNT said but what the newcomers think after reading what RNT commented.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Frankly, most expats know more of Singapore's history than the average Singaporean. Singaporeans don't care about their own history. However, expats and immigrants study the history of the country that they are going to go to so as to better understand what they are getting into. We have to learn in order to make informed decisions about whether to come here or not. Singaporeans have no choice - they are already here.

As far as how long we've been here? Easy. Go to the profile page of any regular here and click on the "see all posts by....." Have a read. Lot's of history there as well. Education come from reading - not from uTube and MTV.

It was NOT an assumption that Singapore WAS a 3rd world country. (which is what she said) It was a fact.

You could do well by going to the library and reading this:

Lee Kuan Yew (2000). From Third World To First: The Singapore Story

Enlighten yourself.

Most newcomers to this forum are expats and most already know this from their study of this island before they came here. It's the locals who are in the dark.

[road.not.taken]

Based on your ( and RNT) assumption that Singapore was a 3rd World Country

Yes, as SMS pointed out - assumption is the wrong word here. Singapore was very much considered a hardship posting back in those days. I mean, come on ~ three TV channels and two of them called Channel 12?

What I hope newcomers think is: hmmmm.... different people have had different expriences...