WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
At the heart of all our national and global problems lies the long-term problem of apathy. You cannot hope to solve anything as long as not enough people know or care.
As teachers, we had seen too many young Singaporeans emerge out of the school system jaded, knowing and caring only as much as the exams required them to know and care about. We were troubled to see the indifference many Singaporeans showed not only towards Singapore itself but to the world and Life in general. It was not too hard to imagine how these youths would grow up to be unhappy and disenchanted adults, pessimistic about their ability to change their circumstances.
Since 2002, we have been refining a socially responsible tuition programme that would meet young Singaporeans' needs on both the practical and idealistic fronts. We show students how to work realistically towards better exam grades while scaffolding for them a better way of thinking and caring about the world's affairs. We also share with them the possibilities and opportunities available for anyone to make a difference. We believe good education should be available for all: any student with severe financial difficulties can apply for School of Thought's in-house Financial Aid Scheme.
WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE WANT TO GO
From the start, we have always seen SOT as more than a tuition centre. We hope to be more like an R&D unit for socially responsible education, dedicated to rethinking and reworking the way we (and others) teach and learn about the world.
Every year, we work at refining our existing teaching strategies as well as experimenting with new mediums and avenues of civic education. From School of Thought, we created a current affairs magazine publishing arm (Think Tank Publishing), a learning journeys company (Thinkscape) and a socially conscious restaurant business (Food For Thought). Our four businesses are known informally as The Thought Collective. Each business expresses a different aspect of our multi-disciplinary approach to education - and more importantly, it puts our classroom talk to the test in the real world before a real audience.
TEACHING AND CURRICULUM
Shiao-Yin Kuik Founding Partner, Company Director (Creative & Corporate Communications)
SUBJECTS TAUGHT AT SOT: 'A' level GP
DUTIES AT THINK TANK: Creative Director, Writer
Yee Tong Founding Partner, Company Director (Curriculum & School Liaisons)
SUBJECTS TAUGHT AT SOT: 'A' level GP
DUTIES AT THINK TANK: Sales Director, Writer
Elizabeth Kon Founding Partner, Company Director (Finance & Operations)
SUBJECTS TAUGHT AT SOT: 'A' level GP, 'A' level Literature, IP Language Arts
DUTIES AT THINK TANK: Editor in Chief
Vivienne Chua GP Tutor, Head of JC and IP Curriculum
SUBJECTS TAUGHT AT SOT: 'A' level GP
DUTIES AT THINK TANK: Writer
Lorraine Chng GP Tutor
SUBJECTS TAUGHT AT SOT: 'A' level GP
DUTIES AT THINK TANK: Writer
Roy Ng Secondary School Tutor
SUBJECTS TAUGHT AT SOT: 'O' level English, IP Language Arts
DUTIES AT THINK TANK:Writer
