ACS Special Needs School

I have not been able to read today's ST yet and I first came across this article in Singapolitics: Richard Seow: Why winning all the time is not good.

Richard Seow gave almost perfect answers in the interview but I have been to an ACS school and can see the other side of the coin.

He also gave the impression that there are quite a few things about educating our youths that MOE don't get it and he had shown them the way in a few instances. He is overrated if you ask me.

To cut him some slack, all experts are overrated because they regularly fail to look beyond their playing field. Richard Seow is good for the ACS boys and MGS girls and not much beyond. Regarding his chairmanship at Republic Poly, he is bringing the ACS lens to the polytechnic. In other words, ACS is superior but he was careful not to challenge the Raffles schools. Nevertheless he could not resist the temptation of how ACS became equal to RI at rugby.

Setting up the ACS special needs school was the high point of the interview. But I noticed Denise Phua the doyen of educating autistic children, her views were absent. The omission would not have been so glaring if ST had not sought other views and they got that from MP Ang Wei Neng who also advises a school for autism.

I am aghast at their motives for this special needs school. It is not in accord with the Methodist Christian spirit. You reach out to the autistic kids for their sake and not yours. It is mercenary to make use of these special needs kids to polish the social manners of ACS boys. The schools aren't SIA, which we know cabin service is not about the heart but high class professionalism. Wise parents would do far better to try their hardest to send their autistic kids to Pathlight School.