P1 again

So after the last post about considering doing some volunteering next year so we can get Ally into a top school in our neighbourhood, things have changed.

Well, we initially thought TN ( no prizes for guessing which school this is considering we stay in the east coast) would be great for its rich Chinese roots and grounding. We still think so. Only now, we are not so sure if Ally will take well to what has been said is a very "highly pressured" environment. The same thing you often hear of all the top primary schools.

It may be too early to say, but from what Mark and I have observed .. Ally is a very gentle, sweet, hardworking girl. Above average intelligence but not brilliant. :) Likes cultural stuff like drawing (she takes after her artistic grandmother), singing, acting and dancing ballet. Has a flair for languages and picks things up fast. But here's the deciding factor, she often needs lots of encouragement and praise to keep her confidence level high. This is common for all kids, but we can see the difference when compared to her little sis, Angeline, who is filled with self confidence to the point of arrogance (:)) So, basically, we are not sure if Ally's temperament would suit the pressure that TN may give her.

Of course, we won't know till we let her try studying in the school. But then again, perhaps what we do know is enough to send her to a less competitive environment where she will develop a better sense of self esteem and thrive. Most of all, we want her to ENJOY school.

Then there's another big factor. My in-laws (both teachers), especially my father-in law, are dead set against TN. They seem to have some vendetta against the school. Crux of the matter- as teachers, they have seen how the school places so much emphasis on churning out good students to the extent that lesser students are asked to leave. My father-in-law 's school took in a number of these students who were asked to leave the school, and these students were grateful for the principal giving them a chance. I think he has a strong distaste for what he calls a lack of compassion on the school's part in their quest for a good ranking. He feels we should know that the environment can be very pressurising and that all the students there have to take tuition. He's very against us sending Ally there, though of course we will still have the last say. Tho' if anything happens and we have to take her out, we will probably not hear the end of it. I only know of one TN graduate and he seems very well adjusted and intelligent. So perhaps, TN is a great school if you can take the pressure.

The clear choice would be then to send her to KC, my old school. The argument is that hey, I turned out fine (not scholar material but well rounded enough). Plus it's a convent which is good for maintaining a strong religious grounding (we're catholics), and I know it's strong in drama and the arts. No doubt it is not a top school and the mandarin standard is probably average, but that can be supplemented with fun mandarin enrichment classes.

Still pondering. Would love to hear any comments. Deciding to go to TN is a big decision considering that we're not alumni. So we've got to do volunteer work, or even try to get onto the volunteer list. We're under 1KM when we move to our new place so that raises our chances slightly. But we also have to do other stuff like join Hokkien Huay Kwan or something. Mark and I are also tempted to just screw the whole thing and go to my old school, KC. Really nothing wrong with that.

Any other EAST people out there, with kids going to school in 1 to 2 years time?