“…I was struck by the brief section on curriculum, where the authors discuss Singapore’s ““Teach Less, Learn More” (TLLM) philosophy, which focuses on why, what, and how everything is taught. We’ve all lamented the depth versus breadth approach, but it’s important to understand that in Singapore, TLLM implies a conscious decision to reduce the pressure on teachers and students related to teaching and learning facts that do not connect with other content and increase the emphasis on higher level thinking and complex understanding which are integrated within the content areas. The curriculum focuses on inquiry-based learning, marked by real-world problems and connections to students’ lives. The report notes that, “In moving toward greater flexibility in the classroom, the MOE (ministry of Education) aims to help students develop the capacity for independent thinking.”

- Beyond TIMSS by Anne Wujcik on B2E News Alert

The quote above is another example how foreign observers who view Singapore’s education system from afar don’t seem to have an idea of what really is going on in our education system. This remarks were made in the context of Singapore’s TIMSS performance.

I wonder how many of you out there who have experienced Singapore’s education system as either students, teachers or parents can actually identify with what is quoted above with the real Singapore school experience? How many of us can say in all honesty that, even if the description above of how teaching and learning is done in Singapore occurs, it is the norm rather than the exception in Singapore schools?

Again this is another foreign observer who has been given a rose-tinted view of Singapore’s education system through international seminars where most of the time they don’t really see what actually happens in the schools in Singapore but read policy statements of Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE). Or they would read papers by other foreign observers who had read the policy papers and had quoted them without deeper investigation. Even worse, our MOE officials will begin to believe the views of these misled foreign observers who themselves were misled in the first place by the official MOE position. It is becoming like a dog chasing its own tail. Woof!