Let's Talk about DSA

I'm doing this the blabber-on style with some kind of structure. It is just Me, My Findings and My Personal Views.

It was with great pleasure Ewan and I had the opportunity to speak to current National Badminton Player Nur Insyirah Khan and ex-National Badminton Player Jeron Wong [his coach] to find out more about DSA [Direct School Admission]. In a nutshell, is it for everyone? No. 

Ewan is very keen to give DSA a shot but I, as his mother, am not.

I feel that the best fit for any child is a school he/she can academically thrive in. I don't agree to the cut-off point system from affiliations or talents because then, aren't we giving parents and children a false sense of hope?

CUT-OFF POINTS FOR DSA

In schools with no Express/Normal streams, the DSA cut-off is about 2 points. I understand this though a chat with the principal at a boys' school. Let's say the child needs an AL10 to enter said school. If he is applying through DSA, he is given the chance entry with AL12 instead with his Primary 5 results as gauge.

In schools with Express/Normal streams, DSA students do not need to meet the school's PSLE cut-off for admission. They qualify as long as their results meet the Express stream requirements, which is AL20.

However, say a child is very talented in badminton and he gets into a Secondary School through DSA. He is, well, expected to bring glory to his Secondary School right? This translates to more training hours than the rest of his peers. If he is a natural talent, has passion for his sport [and not a made talent], this training hours may be more of a joy than bane.

Unfortunately, he is still expected to take all academic subjects like the rest of his cohort. His project deadline will not be extended just because he didn't have time due to his extended training hours. Can I say the demands for this child is higher than the rest of his peers entering the school based on pure academic results? Can I say this child should be a natural shining star to be able to survive the rigour then? 

In this case, this child cannot be someone who is made and DSA is not for every child.

In a school with no Express/Normal streams [top schools lah huh?], he has to be both academically strong and talent strong to live up to his commitment in his Secondary School. This child to me, is the cream of the crop!

If this child is cream of the crop material, why do DSA? Just go head-in academic and choose any CCA he wants. If he is really that good in badminton, he will naturally be selected as school team. The bonus here is, he is free from CCA commitment and free from DSA preparation stress! 

Is there even a need to prepare for DSA actually? Isn't it, like GEP, supposedly something innate and natural? 

DSA started off with great admirable intentions but slowly became a tool for parents to drive their children to perfection. Well, to be fair, this is not the case for schools that admit only via DSA. They are truly looking for kids in that area of talent. 

DSA-SEC SCHOOLS

I applaud the Secondary Schools who kept to their stand on selecting students based on pure talent: 

- Singapore Sports School

- School of Science and Technology

- School of Arts

- NUS High School of Mathematics and Science

No academic results will be taken into account [or they secretly do?]. These schools are very focused on who they want on board. Talents in Math, Science, Arts or Sports. 

Isn't this the true purpose of DSA? To look beyond the general weakness of a child who cannot fit into the system and give them focused training on their expertise?

But it seems like a competition nowadays to have a child groomed to be an academic with talent[s].

I hear people commenting about how Singapore Sports School and School of Arts will not have good academic students so they won't consider putting their children there even if they are truly talented. They prefer to push their kids a little more to strive academically to enter a good academic school which also has a CCA that can support their children's talents. 

"Their range of students will be very vast you know! Your AL6 child could be mixing with a AL26 child! You want them to hang out together?" 

Seriously?

Yes I do! I mean, is this discrimination?

"No... of course it isn't discrimination but isn't it better your child is mixed around with children with better family background? If they are clever kids, the family must have done something right."

Sorry man. When our children head out to work, they don't get to choose who their team-mates are. Different backgrounds bring forth radical ideas and isn't that a wonderful thing?

Isn't it amazing that birds of the same talent can flock together to improve and encourage one another without result discrimination? I personally feel that DSA should be kept to DSA-SEC Schools only. Just like how affiliation cut-offs should be abolished or kept at a reasonable mark [not 10 points over]. 

HOW TO CHOOSE A SECONDARY SCHOOL?

Two questions: 

1. Do we look at the potential success of the future this Secondary School can forge for my child?

2. Do we look at the school that can provide the most memorable growing up years for my child?

I am a Mother. I cannot lie; I did think of the first question and was geared towards it actually. Of all the things I say about giving our children space and not taking their dignity from them, I do make mistakes too. I scream, I get frustrated, I lose control and that's why I write so much. I needed to write to see the big picture. 

Mom: You know it's true we don't produce the best sportsmen from Singapore Sports School. Should he just go to a Secondary School with a good badminton team to play on instead? Maybe he has a brighter future that way. Besides, he may end up being mediocre and then what? What's he going to do for work? 

Dad: Why are we thinking about who is he to become? He can be who he want to be and all he has to do to get there is to work towards it! We should be thinking about the Now. About how much he is going to enjoy secondary school life. So what if he turns out to be a mediocre or nobody in name? The question we should be asking is if he loves what he does! 

Ewan was offered a plethora of experiences since he was a child. We let him try his hands out on piano, drums, martial arts and sports. Each time a coach asked me if we are doing this for DSA or if we want to do this for DSA, I always reply with a, "No." 

First and foremost, enjoy it. If the child wants it hard enough and love it, he will ask for more. That's when potential arises because there is drive.

I know of parents who decide in advanced what area of talent their children should focus on from as young as six. All in preparation for DSA six years later. This I cannot bring myself to do because I don't know what my child likes at six! And that's the reason why I gave him the exposure he asked for to let him find his own passion. 

Even after he found it at 10 years old, badminton that is, I made no attempts to push him any more than he wanted. I only signed him up for lessons outside his CCA because he begged me for it. I only finally looked into ranked tournaments this year at Primary 5 because he requested for it. He is going to have lots of badminton this June school holidays because he asked me for it. Badminton over Vacation.

I personally feel that we are too late in the game to build whatever ranking or portfolio he needs for DSA interviews [Singapore Sports School admits only through DSA] and he isn't exactly the best. We haven't even taken part in any National School Games but he is clear about what he wants for his Secondary School life. Funnily, why are all these part of the criterion in selecting talents? For families who do not have the financial capabilities or connections, how are they to prepare their talented children for DSA? 

We, as parents, can only take pride in his vision. Now, it's about determination and for us to support him and his goals. For sure, I will try not to dull his sparkle or tell him "No, you will fail at the interview.".

I told him though, "The best badminton Secondary Schools in ranking are Singapore Sports School, the boys' school and Chinese schools. You can enter them by showing up in your grades or DSA your way into SSS. However, there are also good teams in neighbourhood Secondary Schools too! Even if your grades only entitle you entry to Secondary Schools that do not have a good badminton team, be the one to bring them up and get the school noticed! There's never an end to feed your passion is there?"

WHY DSA IS NOT FOR EVERYONE

"Just try", parents will say. 

For a season, I felt the same. "Hmmm... Maybe, we should just try."

Where's the harm right? The first thing that came to mind was, "If everyone just tries, what a waste of resources it will be? And who is it who wanted to try? Mommy, Daddy or Kiddo?"

It isn't for everyone because it is very hard work to be scouted and to be seen! With certainty, this isn't for those who are doing it because of Mommy and Daddy. This also isn't for those who are unclear about what they want because four years of Secondary School commitment is required of them. 

It has to got to do with Passion already. 

We cannot use DSA as a tool to place a child in a school we like.

Do you know that a school may only put aside 5 DSA slot for the area of expertise your child is in?

Do you know there can be 300 applicants for that slot of 5? 

That's pressure and make it unnecessary pressure when the child is following his parents' lead.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF DSA?

To give children who aren't necessarily strong in academics a chance to hone their skills in other areas they are strong in! To nurture these kids to be future talents of Singapore! 

It's definitely not for us to hopefully put our kids in a better school than he could manage from his PSLE score?

If it was the latter, then we would have diluted the true purpose of DSA. We would have missed this golden window of opportunity to enrich and educate talented Artists who aren't good in Math, gifted Sportsmen who cannot comprehend Physics or brilliant Scientists who absolutely doesn't care about English Literature...

As for us, how will we tread this when Ewan turns 12 next year? I'll take the child-led approach. He'll have to tell us his targets and we will be here to help him meet them. 

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