給新生公平的起點 / Allow Primary-1 Pupils A Fair Start

給新生公平的起點 蔡深江	Allow Primary-1 Pupils A Fair Start Chua Chim Kang
明年的小一新生報名作業照例如火如荼展開，讓許多關心的家長既期待又怕被拒於名校門外。	ONCE again, the registration of next year’s primary-1 pupils is in full swing, keeping many parents anxious that their kids may not get into one of those elite schools.
教育的過程應該是資源的重新分配，起到社會平衡的作用，以讓人民在公平的起跑線上追求生命的立足點，還是延續子靠父蔭的傳承過程，繼承上一代的優勢以強化下一代的競爭能力？對此，我們應該有清楚的思考。	Herein is much for the public to chew on. Should education enable people to begin their life’s race on a level field from a common starting line by granting each a fair share of the resources available, or should it allow some of them to benefit from their parents’ power and influence to win the competition?
按現行遊戲規則，小孩的哥哥或姐姐在該校就讀、父母加入校友會、父母是諮詢委員會或管委會成員、父母與學校有直接關係者，孩子報讀小一都享有優先。	The present rule is: preference in admission is given to children whose elder siblings are current students, or whose parents are alumni, members of the advisory board or management committee, or otherwise directly connected with the school in question.
這樣的分配法則，肯定讓成功為第一個孩子報讀名校的父母松了一口氣，也使名校校友滿心歡喜，卻不見得對沒有“顯赫”背景的普通老百姓有合理的交代。	Parents who have managed to get their elder kids into a top school feel relieved, and the old boys and girls are happy. But, to the masses without a special background, such a system of allotting school vacancies can hardly sound reasonable.
孩子可能不會明白家長的苦心，更不瞭解教育體制繁複的原則與考慮的支點，卻肯定嘗受到自己無法隨心所欲，順利報讀某校的失望 心情。	The children handicapped by the system are sure to feel disappointed when denied admission to the schools of their choice. The complex principles and regulations with the rationale behind them, as well as their parents’ effort and frustration, are probably beyond their young minds to grasp.
當年許多父母為孩子報讀小學時，都是就近入學，或者依“方便原則”，也就是看怎麼安排最不麻煩，讀什麼學校不重要，讓孩子接受基礎教育。當時，多數父母相信學校都是有教無類的，甚至認為只要有書讀就很不錯了，哪會考慮這麼多？	Back in the old days, most parents would send their kids to the nearest school, or one that was most convenient for them. It didn’t matter which school they chose so long as they could get an elementary education for the young. Indeed, most parents then did believe in the ideal that education should ignore distinction between social classes. They counted themselves fortunate to be able to send their kids to school at all, caring little about the status of the particular school.
可是，當初無心插柳卻造成今日樹不成蔭。 自己的孩子要入學之際，才驚覺“母校”這個名字原來意義深重。若是母校爭氣，風生水起則門庭若市，不但在新生報名日擠滿了殷切的父母，平時也不乏熱心的家長貢獻時間精神，名正言順攀親搭戚，其良苦用心令人搖頭歎息。	Now, they wish they had paid more attention to that all-important matter. Many parents had not realised what “alma mater” could imply until they tried to get their children registered for primary-1. If one’s old school turns out a prestigious institution, it will see large crowds of enthusiastic parents thronging into its gate on registration days. At other times, it will have no lack of volunteers contributing their time and energy to its various programmes, trying to build up the right connections. Their diligence is admirable － and lamentable.
對一些表現平平，乏人問津的學校，是不是校友根本沒有關係，反正學額一大把，沒有人會爭先恐後。	As to schools with ordinary performance and fame, the status of an alumnus is irrelevant because there will be no great rush for a place in them.
還有更痛苦的懲罰是母校因任何理由關閉了，校友欲哭無淚，孩子欲讀無門，只能怨歎遇“校”不淑，誤了孩子的機會。	Even more hurt and grieved are those old boys and girls whose mother schools were closed down for whatever reasons. As former students, they have nowhere to attach their memory; as parents, they can find no schools that would accept their children on preferential terms. Perhaps, if anything, they could only curse their stars for having attended a school doomed to closure, a sad fact now putting their children at a disadvantage.
從來也沒有人提出可以像處理南大校友那樣，把名冊轉到另一所學校名下，以慰“亡校”在天之靈，繼續發揚母校精神。	By an arrangement not long ago, former students of the defunct Nantah were recognised as alumni of today’s NTU, to keep the memory and spirit of their alma mater alive. Unfortunately, similar arrangements have yet to be suggested for other schools extinct so far.
這樣的競爭公平嗎？出身鄰里小學的父母，他們的孩子就活該繼續報讀鄰里學校嗎？	Could any competition be fair under such circumstances? Are those unwelcome neighbourhood schools the only destined option for kids whose parents attended the same type of schools?
無論怎麼自圓其說，教育的起跑點已經不公平了，我們怎麼能理直氣壯告訴國人，其實每一所學校都同樣能夠協助孩子達致“理想的教育成果”？	Whatever the rationale, the starting line is not the same for all those receiving an education. With the current primary-1 registration system, how can one justify our claim to all Singaporeans that each and every school will help their children achieve “an ideal result in education”?
許多人做夢都沒有想到自己二十幾年前念的小學，竟關係到孩子成功的第一步。當年平凡的出身可能不會影響自己今日的成就，卻絕對干擾了孩子報讀名校的計劃。	Few people can have imagined that the status of the school they attended 20-odd years ago should now affect the first step of their children on the path towards success. The parents may not have been hampered by their own lowly origin, but now their children definitely are.
難道是父母，甚至是祖父母的錯嗎？	So, are the kids’ parents － or even grandparents － to blame?
入學關卡的設計，直接影響了學生對教育的選擇，雖然事事無絕對，當局也廣設了其他管道和途徑讓一些孩子有報讀名校的機會，思考重點還是應該著重在教育的本質，讓好學校有機會落實並證明自己的理念，改變人們對名校趨之若鶩的心態。	The hurdles in registration are restricting the students’ options. Although other channels leading to top schools have been opened up, the authorities could focus their efforts on more essential issues in education. They could allow the numerous schools a freer hand in proving their worth by putting their ideal of education into practice. Their success will help rid the public of a blind faith in elite schools.
要不然就得行政高官們以身作則，率先讓孩子報讀一般的鄰里小學，以破除家長非名校不可的迷思。並建議有關當局投家長所好，凡需求強勁的名校，廣開分校，以滿足家長求好心切的心理。 這麼一來，不但照顧了孩子的脆弱自尊，也讓家長很有面子，顧全當局的堅定立場原則，也貫徹了有教無類的精神。	And they could persuade high-level government officials to set an example by sending their own children to those less popular neighbourhood schools. This will help break the myth that only elite schools are worth attending. Moreover, they could have the sought-after schools set up more branch campuses to satisfy the needs by eager parents. This way, the self-esteem of children will be boosted, the face of their parents saved, and the position of the authorities maintained. More important, the ideal that education should be fair and equal for all will be put into effect － in a real sense.
[作者是小學生週報《大拇指》主編]	(The author is editor of Thumbs Up, a weekly newspaper for primary pupils.) (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[ 原載新加坡《聯合早報》 2000-07-23 社論/言論/天下事 (Bilingual Section) ]