This article was originally featured in Daily Mail
By April Glover
Shichida Director Shiao-Ling Lim discusses the education crisis in Australia and how expensive tutoring in secondary can be avoided by investing in quality early learning.
An Asian teaching expert has criticised ‘slack’ Australian parents for their relaxed approach to early childhood education.
Singapore-born Shiaoling Lim, an advocate for the Japanese educational method of Shichida, claims mums and dads are relying too heavily on teachers. She believes that parents are abandoning their responsibility to also educate their offspring.
‘We’ve gone too much to the other extreme in saying ‘kids should just be kids and play’,’ Ms Lim told The Saturday Telegraph.
Singapore-born Shiaoling Lim (pictured) claims mums and dads are relying too heavily on teachers. Parents are therefore abandoning their responsibility to also educate their offspring.
Too much reliance on teachers
The Sydney-based educator asserts that taking a more proactive approach during the preschool stage of their child’s life decreases the likelihood of the child needing secondary tutoring later in their schooling career.
‘In Australia, we are not doing enough from birth through to when children start primary school, and because of this many parents are having to fill the gap with tutoring in secondary school,’ she added.
Ms. Lim stated that Australians should do more to develop reading, writing, and comprehension skills early on, emphasizing that the parent is a child’s ‘first and best’ teacher.
Ms Lim said most parents offload virtually all educational tutelage to school teachers – and warns more needs to be done at home.
The Sydney-based educator believes in being more proactive during the preschool stage of a child’s life. This reduces the likelihood of the child requiring secondary tutoring later in their schooling career.
A child’s first and best teacher
Ms Lim said the parent is a child’s ‘first and best’ teacher. Australians should therefore be doing more to develop reading, writing and comprehension skills early on.
She also compared Australian mothers and fathers unfavourably against Asian parents.
‘A high proportion of these [Asian] students get ATAR scores above 90,’ she said.
It is not the first time Ms Lim has cast doubt on Australia’s education culture.
Last year she slammed Australia’s child care system for being too expensive and letting down families by being too ‘vague’.
‘In Australia, we are not doing enough from birth through to when children start primary school. Because of this many parents are having to fill the gap with tutoring in secondary school,’ Ms Lim added.
