- I got into express stream (1996).... in a school where there was only ONE class with half express & half special stream students (all thanks to the fact that I didn't study at all for PSLE, GrrrR)...
All the other classes were pure special stream + GEP.. the teachers constantly looked down us and expressed this very vocally, and very often.. I remember very clearly the maths teacher saying to us, "E Maths students (mostly express) don't bother to try and understand A Maths (mostly special) class because you're not at that level, ok?"
I was the only express student to get a high distinction english award from UNSW, but it was treated with indifference.. post-awards, they celebrated the special stream students' achievements but I was completely left out - no mention, not invited! The express students alot of flak from the other special stream students who looked down on us - we were a stigma..
A group of special stream students from my class started discussing about their parents wanting to demand for change of classes .. their argument was that the inclusion of express students in the same class as them would pull down their standard - this was done right in front of me.. and then they suddenly remembered I was from express stream and fell silent!!
- My younger sister got into Normal Academic stream. (199
She's a bright girl - brighter & more articulate than most of the express students in her school, a potato like me, but got into this stream because she was very weak in maths and was a late bloomer.. she became very rebellious because to her teachers, she was still not as good as the express stream students, not even after she beat all the express students to clinch a top interschool award in english. According to my sis, the principal got her up on stage to announce, "You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Normal academic student win 1st prize. None of you express students even win consolation." All the express students' eyes were boring down on her with hate/grudging respect. Later, she tried to befriend an express student, who told her, "My dad told me not to mix with normal academic people and pull down my standard. Anyway, I think that award.... you just got lucky." (she punched him and broke his specs)
The teachers were incompetent in her school and often didn't turn up for class. Her english teacher taught the class that "millenium:" was pronounced as "myurmmyurm"... when my sis raised her hand and corrected the teacher, she was sent out of the class.
There were alot of normal academic class/school mates who looked up to her, and they constantly confided that that it's "pointless to study hard" since they were "so stupid". The situation at school drove her to seek exterior sources of higher educational value, she's now studying abroad in a specialised school for CG animation.
- My youngest brother got into Normal Technical. (2001)He's very bright, but a later bloomer than my sis. So getting into that stream was extremely demoralising for him. He got even more upset when he attended the 1st few weeks at school. He showed me his curriculum and said he was not stupid, but he FELT stupid just reading the rubbish text. His teachers were ill-equipped to develop his skills, and some of them didn't even understand him when he used slightly more "cheem" english!
He struggled hard to get out of the stream, but the teachers kept coming up with excuses as to why they couldn't allow him to advance to Normal Academic / Express... first it was because he needed to prove his grades in sec 1. Then when his sec 1 grades were good (except he almost failed chinese), they said they were concerned by his chinese and wanted him to stay 1 more yr in Normal Tech... THEN when he got 80/100 for his chinese at end of Sec 2, they said it was "too late" to change streams!! MOE also couldn't help.. they said the school had done nothing wrong... my mom tried to get a school transfer, but no school wanted to take him in even though his grades were good.. (cuz risky to take in a student in sec 3)
By then, he had developed a very rebellious and antisocial personality... he flunked his sec 4s, I suspect out of defiance. He now studies in a private school and is doing much better....
I really have a poor view of the Singapore education system.. I won't have my children study in such a crap environment, where the teachers cannot help or identify students who turn out to be brighter than their original streaming.. where you will be stepped down upon when you try to rise!
My siblings and I possess only average or slightly above average intelligence... it is ridiculous to expect other students, and people like us to be gifted to the point where we can suddenly score A1 for all subjects .. if that is the criteria for rising up the ladder, then no wonder students so bloody bo chap ...
To EM3 / Normal (A) / (T) students, don't be demoralised just because a bunch of people tell you u're not as good, it doesn't mean it's the truth. That's what they want you to believe. Empower yourselves, go out there and do your best.

One day u'll rise above all this nonsense.