http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWSREC0101/512080333/1001/NEWSREC0201Singapore high achievers like Guilford schoolsÂ’ innovations
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By Bruce Buchanan
Staff Writer
"We share the same philosophy that if there is no discipline, you cannot establish a teaching and learning environment."
Lucas Sing,
St. Patrick's School (Singapore) principal
SingaporeÂ’s schools are arguably the best in the world, so when a group of principals from that Asian nation say they are impressed with Guilford County Schools, thatÂ’s no small compliment.
The Center for Creative Leadership brought 25 Singaporean educators to Guilford County for a week of leadership training, which included tours of local schools and meetings with their counterparts.
Singapore has earned international attention for academic excellence in recent years.
In 2003, researchers gave identical math and science tests to fourth- and eighth-grade students in 49 nations, including the United States.
Singapore ranked first in the world on all tests, and schools all over are now using Singapore-designed lesson plans.
But the Singapore principals said they saw things here they plan to take back and use at their schools.
“What I like about Ragsdale High School is they take care of students’ different needs,” said Zoe Boon, principal of Anglican High School in Singapore.
She said lesson plans at Ragsdale are tailored to individual students and she would like to see her own teachers try that.
Guilford teachers “make time to meet,” said Ginny Lee, principal of Singapore’s Haig Girls School.
She was impressed by the cooperation between teachers at GreensboroÂ’s Peeler Open Elementary and believes her teachers could benefit from more joint planning.
St. PatrickÂ’s School principal Lucas Singh met a kindred spirit in Eastern MiddleÂ’s Joe Ferrell.
“We share the same philosophy that if there is no discipline, you cannot establish a teaching and learning environment,” Singh said.
He said he was impressed when he toured Eastern MiddleÂ’s lunchroom and saw students moving orderly through the line and eating politely at their tables.
Although Singapore has a reputation for strict laws — for example, importing and selling chewing gum is illegal — Singh and his colleagues say they deal with many of the same discipline problems as Guilford principals.
Singapore, like Guilford, has diverse schools with large numbers of ethnic Chinese, Malaysian and Indian students. The nation is religiously diverse as well, with Buddhists, Muslims and Christians.
Paul Masem, principal of Millis Road Elementary in Jamestown, said his visiting principal wanted to learn about his school’s character education program — and was surprised to learn Millis Road uses a Singapore-designed math curriculum in its Advanced Learner class.
“We exchanged cards and e-mail addresses so we can continue to have dialogue,” he said.
Tony Burks, principal of the Early College at Guilford, said the Singapore principals found far more in common with their Guilford counterparts than they found differences.
“The beauty of it is that some of the concerns they have are the concerns we have,” Burks said.
The exchange program came about because the Center for Creative Leadership opened a Singapore office in 2003. Eventually, the center hopes to train SingaporeÂ’s principals in their home country, said Karen Dyer, the centerÂ’s group leader for the education and nonprofit secto