Math educators’ promised land that combines the best practices of math education from the East and the West—one such concoction is the “model method,” the problem-solving heuristic that has had global appeal, especially among homeschoolers in the US, in solving challenging word problems that would traditionally need formal algebra for their solutions.
Due to their stand on democracy and freedom of speech, a number of American educators have stood firm in rejecting Singapore math, although they acknowledged that the math curriculum of the “fine” city is a superior one compared to those used in a number of US states in helping to raise the quantitative literacy of the students.
by MathPlus October 04, 2021
The destination of choice for millionaires and billionaires from Indonesia, China, India, Europe, and the United States during the pandemic, because of the island state’s relative low infection, mortality, and crime rates, compared to the rest of the developed world, where white racism or supremacism, nativism, and xenophobia, often condoned by right-wing inept politicians, are at an all-time high.
More than a tax haven for the filthy rich from both the East and the West, Singapore is now a “corona sanctuary” for the wealthy and the celebrities escaping the ravages of the pandemic sweeping their countries, whose oft-ill-run health systems leave much to be desired.
by MathPlus July 04, 2021
A highly stressful place where local students are more afraid of failing their math exam than of their parents dying—one in three said that life isn't worth living.
Dubbed an "authoritarian democracy" by critics, Singapore is "a first world oasis in a third world region"—where political dissidents would better apply for asylum in the US or the West to avoid being fined, jailed, or made bankrupt.
by MathPlus March 26, 2017
A country that has turned learning into drudgery and killed the joy of both teaching and learning, because of its obsession to be top in international studies like TIMSS and PISA.
Singapore's subsidized tertiary education is mostly funded by sin tax, thanks to hundreds of thousands of local gamblers—Singapore is unofficially the third largest gambling market in the world.
by MathPlus July 31, 2017
A free-market economy that is unspokenly flushed with cash from tax fugitives, making revenue earned from tourism and exported goods and services pale in comparison.
Among the unofficially reported tax fugitives who became Singapore citizens are Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, Chinese movie stars Jet Li and Gong Li, investment guru Jim Rogers, not to say, the thousands of millionaires from Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and India.
by MathPlus April 12, 2017
Arguably the libel capital of the world, where democracy or freedom of speech is ranked very low among developed countries, and political persecution or defamation for contempt of court very high for anyone who dares to publish content critical of the government.
The number of Singaporeans and foreign journalists threatened with a lawsuit in recent years has been on the rise, as authorities often use dated colonial or internal security laws as a pretext for maintaining religious or racial harmony to silence and punish political critics.
by MathPlus December 05, 2018
An educational mecca for budget-conscious tourists, who are looking for some cheap, cool math books for their kids whose math grades have hardly improved from using locally published textbooks.
Although Singapore is arguably a first-class economy with a third-rate educational publishing industry—which often condones Machiavellian math practices—however, its wallet-friendly math K-12 titles are sought after by homeschoolers in many developed and developing countries.
by MathPlus September 16, 2018