Last time, I talked about how CCAs can help your children build up skills that a normal classroom couldn’t provide. It’s a myth that some traditionalist parents might still hold.
There are more common myths among parents, however, such as this:
“Doing well in CCAs gives my children an advantage in DSAs and post-secondary applications.”
“Doing well” in CCAs can be a very relative gauge for success. The Direct School Admission (DSA) is a programme that recognises the different talents students have outside of their exam results. Through this programme, students can be accepted to prestigious schools via these other talents.
However, “doing well” – meaning winning competitions and presenting engaging presentations – is categorised under the “Achievement” domain of the five domains students will be recognised for: Participation, Achievement, Leadership, Service and Enrichment. This is the criteria given under the LEAPS 2.0 Recognition Scheme for secondary school students.
“CCA is compulsory.”
This is not true for primary school, where joining a CCA is optional for students from primary 3 to 6. But even though it’s optional, you might take into consideration the benefits I mentioned last time regarding CCAs, as they apply for primary school students too. Primary school students who join CCAs will also have opportunities to be groomed by a single teacher for those three years, after which, it could provide them with a good standing that opens more doors to better secondary schools.