U.S.schools below8 ^ SG average schools

In U.S. I said schools rated 5 to 7 can be conducive for my son. (See other blogposts for details.) Now I would say SG average schools are even safer, stricter, but not necessarily more conducive than U.S. schools, due to academic pressure.

U.S schools may have better teachers. In terms of teaching talent, Singapore is not higher.

long commute for boy@@

Thanks to MLP, I can send him to school then go to office late.

However, both me and him would lose about an hour/day on commute. Is it sustainable?

## 1Y-delay(!!repeat) in SG public school #w1r4

If despite our best efforts we need to quit U.S. and return to attend SG schools, we don’t have to see it as losing a million dollars. We can consider an international school, or get boy to join a JC as an older student.

• [g] eg: LSagain had to work a year in sales after TshingHua (1997) before going to the U.S., was delayed again at UKentucky for a year before transfer to Purdue, graduating in 2001, four (4) years later. He told me he started working only in 2001, three years after me.
• [g] eg: Remember HJC classmate Zhong Xiong!
• [g] eg: I also had many NUS classmates a few years older than the majority. Some did well.
• [g] eg: my sis was delayed by a year+ when transferring from RongCheng to Dongzongbu. Is there any negative/hazardous effect? No but at that time I saw it as a stigma
• [g] eg: some (bright) college students take a year off and delay graduation by a year. They often learn something.
• [g] eg: Kun.H was delayed by 1.5 year, exactly like me. He just started Senior middle school in China when he transferred to RI Sec 3.
• [g] eg: I too was delayed for 1.5 years but excelled in HJC against my younger classmates. I accepted it very grudgingly. My parents were unashamed and unapologetic!
  • Jolt: Even though I graduated 2 years later than my Shiyan classmates, I achieved financial freedom decades earlier than them, the vast majority of them. In fact, I’m probably the first to achieve ffree.
• So in my family, both my sister and I went through a big delay and we both turned out fine.
• eg: An RTS support manager, a white American, told me a sizable percentage Americans choose to earn a degree in their 30’s. This route is similar to the very common “returning” Master’s student who have worked for a few years to gain some firsthand experience of the working world.
• In my MSFM, about 30% of the students were experienced. I think these “older” students often come in with higher motivation, rather than forced to study as my son is now.
• [g] Some China students join a U.S. school as an older student so they don’t get bullied, and more mature against bad influences.

— [g=graduating 1 or more years older]

The stigma on delayed students was a modern China phenomenon. There is some kind of perception (superstition) that if a kid is hitting some academic standard at some age, then the younger she is the stronger is her age-adjusted score and academic potential.

Fundamentally, not every student is suitable for a nonstop flight secondary->preU->undergrad->Master’s

Jolt: Many top students didn’t care about graduting 1Y older. Some may graduate from with a prestigious degree as I did, others graduate from lesser-known colleges.

— some scenarios for my son:

• If I lose this nice job then emigration would be the default route.
• If boy does poorly in secondary school he would not attend poly or JC but serve NS first (I could then work in U.S. alone).
• If he finds motivation before 16, then we can choose either to emigrate or complete JC.

IB school for boy

Earmark 30k/Y tuition.

If I lose my MLP job, I have 3M of compensation but I would need to immediately start the U.S. relocation. Boy would have little choice but move to U.S.

— return to public schools

Once he leaves the public school system, he can re-enter by joining a lower grade! See 12M-delay(!!repeat)in SG public school

— benefit: commute possibly shorter

long commute for boy@@

— benefit: less academic studies, less drill, more CCA like programming

More time for learning through doing — programming, investment,,,