Set the right standards for our education

In our drive for excellence in education, we may be doing something that is harmful for our future.

The pressure of competition in school, even in primary school, is pushing parents to engage tutors for their children. Tuition is costly and takes away the time of children to play and enjoy their childhood.

The root cause is not the competition itself, but the increasing standard that is going too far. I recall my secondary 1 maths teacher teaching the concept of ratios. The problem goes as follows, "If 3 man can repair a road in 8 days, how long will it take 6 men to repair the road?". The teacher explained, "Should it take more or less days?" If less days, then you should calculate 8 days X 3 man / 6 man = 4 days.  A few years ago, I saw a similar problem now taught in primary 4.

Do we really need to push our young children to such a high standard that they cannot cope? What is wrong with setting the syllabus at a more manageable pace for our children? What is the point of teaching them to solve problems by applying formulas that are mechanically drummed into them by tutors?

We have to re-think our approach towards educating our young. Do you agree that the standards are too high, and quite inappropriate?