Letter Sent By A Singaporean Principal Before Exams

[ItsjustMe]

Edit - It's From 2017
https://www.inspiremore.com/principals-test-letter-to-parents/

[secondwind]

1. Love this so much!!!!!

❤️❤️❤️

[pazzyanne]

2. Love, love, love this! nt

[colorado_ufo]

3. Wisdom, in a nutshell.

This brought tears to my eyes.

[tecelote]

4. This is perfect.

Standardized education is not what we need. Every child is different.

[DFW]

5. What an enlightened opposite to the German educational system

Here in Germany, if you don't get top grades, you're nothing. Lint to be cleaned off the washing machine and discarded. It's a completely Darwinian system. It's the main reason that both my daughters got out of it and went to college in the USA. The younger one, although she got better grades in school than her older sister, took her 11th year of high school in the USA, and stayed on. It cost me a fortune. In fact, pretty much all of the cash my parents left me. I don't regret a cent of it. They are both happy and successful, and that's worth more than any inheritance portfolio.

Small footnote--the younger one went on to law school, to which entry in the USA is still determined by one thing only--your LSAT score. Hers was nowhere tops, as she didn't understand some of the more sophisticated English words on it. So, she only got into a "second tier" law school. That didn't diminish her intellectual capacity. She made partner in a major NY international law firm at 31 (their youngest), and is one of their top attorneys in their Frankfurt branch. She often has to dress down Harvard Law and Yale Law grads sent over on internships, who think their fancy diplomas give them the right to do sloppy work, make little effort to learn German, and leave the office every day at 4:59 PM whether their work is done or not. They haven't figured out that the most important name on their diploma isn't the school's name, but their own.

[Duppers]

10. BRAVO!

Lucky gals to have a father like you!

[DFW]

16. Lucky me to have a wife like mine to raise them

It took a long way and a lot of time and effort to get from here



to here



But like I said, it was worth every cent.

[Duppers]

17. Such beautiful girls!

You've so many reasons to be proud. BOTH parents deserve credit.

[DFW]

19. We do share the credit. My wife gets 90% and I get 10%

[Duppers]

20. ...

[malaise]

6. The truth

Rec

[North Shore Chicago]

7. A wise Principal

Humans would be so much mentally healthy if all principals practiced this approach.

[MyOwnPeace]

8. Going into my senior year

of high school the guidance counselor called me into her office to discuss my 'electives' for my senior year. She noticed that I had not elected any math and felt it important that I take calculus.
I pointed out to her that I had already been accepted into a highly respected university where I was going to be studying music in their prestigious music school. I also noted (I know - bad pun!) that most music had 3, 4, and sometimes 6 beats per measure and I didn't see how calculus was going to help me with that!
She was speechless and I was out of there and on my way to band rehearsal!

A wise note, indeed!

[Duppers]

11. GOOD for you!!

Back in my ancient h.s. days, one would have feared talking to a school administrator like that. Intimidation ruled.

I appauld & admire your spunk.

[MyOwnPeace]

13. Thank you, but......

my "spunk" hasn't always worked to my advantage!

[DFW]

18. I remember being told off in college by a snotty professor who was in charge in individual majors

He said "we are not running a school for tour guides."

Fine, so I gave up on an individual major and just ended up majoring in Spanish, which was a joke, since I had already lived and gone to school in Spain.

I kept on learning the intricacies of other languages that interested me, and within 18 months of graduating, landed myself one of the coolest jobs ever (I still have it, albeit on a somewhat more global scale, with a LOT more responsibility). I got this job in part because I had pursued what I had wanted to pursue the whole time, and learned to speak languages like German, Swedish and Russian (and a lot of etc.). If I hadn't had to waste time taking courses for my Spanish major, I would have probably learned passable Mandarin by now as well.

[central scrutinizer]

9. College is not for everyone

Nor is it the only ticket to a good job. There’s a model program in Portland called Portland Youth Builders. It teaches kids, many of whom have dropped out of high school, construction skills and the trades. Journeymen IBEW electricians are making $40/hour. So are plumbers, steam fitters, carpenters, etc.

https://pybpdx.org/

[Duppers]

12. These programs should be offered at all schools.

Society would then be a better place.

[MyOwnPeace]

14. Cuts to educational programs......

schools are usually the first to feel the cuts and the last to get back on the gravy train.
We'd rather spend more money on jails and prisons.

[Silent3]

15. I *almost* love this

It's overall a good, positive message.

But it does bug me to suggest an artist doesn't "need" math, or that chemistry "won't matter", or someone "doesn't care" about history or English.

While it might be somewhat true, I'd prefer wording that still conveys the idea that, regardless of whether students get high marks or not, everyone's lives, no matter what they plan to do or be, can be enriched by a breadth of knowledge of many subjects.

If you want to have good citizens who cast responsible votes, you're better off with citizen's who know enough math not to be confused by basic statistics, who know enough chemistry not to be scared simply because something contains "a chemical", who know enough history to recognize demagogues like Trump and where such people can lead us.

[DFW]

21. I SO agree with this!!!

The college I went to wouldn't even allow you to graduate if you hadn't taken at least three semesters in each of the two categories in which you did NOT major. The three general categories were Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. Obviously, it's not easy to pinhole all subjects in one category alone. But my horizons and ways of thinking were definitely broadened by courses I took outside my "box." One almost caused me to chuck everything I was heading for and switch. My Anthropology professor was SO good, and made his course so interesting, I came close to majoring in that. His name was Alan Mann, and I saw he went on to become a big name in the field. Deservedly so. As someone who knew NOTHING about anthropology, I was so fascinated by his course that I was drawn in like a bear to honey. My one economics course was interesting, too. It was taught by a very cool guy who definitely did NOT fit into the mold of what one expected of a professor from Wharton, the business school of where I went. Instead of the dry suit, he came in a flannel shirt and long hair, and introduced himself, saying "I am your professor for this course. My name is Bill Whitney. My name is not Professor, so please do not call me that. My name is Bill. Please call me that." He was tough as nails, but we all liked him immensely.

Later on in life, I met the ultimate kindred spirit. He was one of the most all-round educated, informed AND informal people I ever met. His personal story was told, completely inaccurately, in a hit film in 1987 about his time as an army radio announcer some 20 years prior. He, too, believed in devouring knowledge as a life-sustaining elixir. He entered law school at age 50 just because he thought he would do well to know more about it. At lunch we would discuss anything from current politics in Europe to the dynasties of ancient Egypt. The last time we got together for lunch, it was supposed to be for an hour. It stretched to two, and his office (at the Pentagon) was about to send out a searching party. He finished his military career, past the age of 70, in an obscure office that worked with the governments of Vietnam and Cambodia to find the remains of American MIAs to try and give their families closure. The world has far too few people like him.