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Where do students who need a second or even third chance in life go to fulfill their potential?
What techniques do innovative schools use to motivate students to be the best they can be?
Can the inspiring type of teacher you have seen in films like “Dead Poets Society”, “Coach Carter” and “Freedom Writers” be found in academically rigid Singapore!
School, for better or worse, is a vital component of life for youths. If everything was perfect then school would be smooth sailing! Unfortunately modern day life is a roller coaster fof ups and downs which in itself can be character building.
Some teens find the pressures of modern life and academics too much. Others have to work to support their family while some fall prey to peer pressure, join gangs and cut school. Some teens are simply not academically inclined and find the rigidity of school oppressive and stifling!
Luckily, there are new innovative educational organizations arriving on the scene and changing society! In Singapore, at the ground breaking City College and O School, struggling students are getting a chance to break out from a cycle of underachievement. Both organizations are the brainchild of Kenny Low, principal of both schools and the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2007!
CITY COLLEGE – An Alternative Education
Far from the normally rigid Singaporean educational system; City College (now CC) breaks all norms and has the results to prove its success! Singapore is well known for its incredibly competitive educational system; it’s a small place and nearly everyone wants the five C’s! (Cash, Car, Credit Card, Career and Condo!). Sadly, in the great rush for perceived ‘perfection’ some people lose their way.
Luckily, CC was first set up to give youths who dropped out of mainstream schools a second chance in education. Often these were teens who played truant, were disenfranchised, lost hope and on the fringes of society. CC is the perfect platform to help them regain the confidence to achieve. Most importantly, it has teachers who care and believe in their students. To have someone believe in you when no one else does can very powerful………..
Some Facts on City College:
* CC was founded in year 2002 and began with an inaugural batch of 20 students. Success breeds success and their student population has since increased significantly by more than ten times and the number continues to grow!
* City College has since enrolled over 1200 students and each year, approximately 60% of their graduates progress onto tertiary institutions.
* CC is a premier school offering three courses leading to Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘O’ Levels. A part of Singapore’s private education landscape, the campus is 16,000 square feet in area and found close to city centers.
* CC is contained in the facility are two 30-seater tutorial rooms, four 60-seater lecture rooms, a 200-seater lecture theatre, a 30-seater science laboratory, two student discussion lounges, a counseling room, a library and a cafe.
* The City College classroom experience involves the creative use of graphics, games, video clips (Matrix, Titanic) and music to bring concepts to live. Besides creating a classroom experience that is fun and interactive, the teachers also go the extra mile to serve also as mentors, counselors and friends to the student body.
The teachers are driven by a desire to change lives around! Empathy is strong and profit is not a motive. If it was, CC would admit all students that come through its doors to drive up revenue. CC truly have their students needs at heart and uses pre-admission interviews to gauge candidates’ true convictions in furthering their education.
School is not only about gaining knowledge; it is about building good moral character and becoming well rounded. Every academic course at CC has inherent lessons around good values!
O School! Moving to a Different Beat!
All youths need a means to express themselves! Dance is definitely one of the more popular choices. O School is a dance school that provides funding for CC through its profits. O School provides a vibrant platform for youths to perform, learn and enjoy themselves. You can say it is abit like the film, “Fame!”
The aspiration for O School is to be Singapore’s premier street dance school and to be a major contributor in the performing arts scene including the entertainment showcases at the Integrated Resorts (IR). O School helps to raise revenue via its performances to fund City College; it is a great example of youth by youth funding. O School believes that young dance talents that emerge from their studios will be employable especially as Singapore evolves into an entertainment hub.
For all his efforts, Kenny Low was presented with the SIP-Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007. In the same year, he was also the 1st Runner Up for the DHL Young Entrepreneur for Sustainability (YES) Award.
Every teen has the potential to achieve. Sometimes, they simply need someone to believe in them, inspire them and oh…to use the ‘Matrix’ and ‘Titanic’ to teach Physics!
INTERVIEW WITH KENNY LOW – FOUNDER OF CITY COLLEGE SINGAPORE AND O SCHOOL – AN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
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Interesting Blog!!
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It is entirely a teacher's duty
Yes it is entirely a teacher's duty to bring the best out from students. It's also important to help the underachievers to achieve success so that they can get a new and upper position in society. It's really great to hear that City College and O School are doing all those things which a student actually expects.
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