MLS Jan 2018 Local Attachment MLS local report final | Page 49

4.8 Tan Poh Hong (Portia)
The 4 days attachment to both KidZania and Fernvale Gardens School
has definitely been an enriching and reflective experience for me. Even
though both the organisation and school emphasize on the learning of
children, it is interesting to note the conspicuous difference on the profile
of clientele they served.
In KidZania, parents have to pay a relative high entry fee for their
children. In fact, KidZania’s entry fees is the highest among all the other
children’s attraction in Singapore. With this, parents would expect very
good service and experience for their children in order to make the money
well spent. KidZania’s management acknowledges this expectation and has
to ensure that the establishments they set up will be able t o engage the
children fully. In the KidZania’s city, we can see happy children exploring
around on their own. At times, there are children who are upset because
they do not fulfil the age limit for a particular establishment. They are able
to exercise freedom and independence in selecting the establishments of
their choice. The children are indeed a privileged group.
On the other hand, Fernvale Gardens School served a group of
children who are born with various disability. Their mission is to ensure
that the children are able to integrate into the society as well as take care of
themselves on their own when they graduate from the school. This is in fact
a basic need that has to be met. We can constantly see teachers
accompanying the children wherever they go. One thing that stood out is
that, while we see happy children in KidZania, children in Fernvale Gardens
School are very happy and cheerful despite their disability. It is truly
heartening to see teachers celebrating every single small success that each
child has achieved.
As I look and think deeper, I wondered why children in Fernvale
Gardens School can be so joyful. In fact, when I looked back to my school
visit to Woodlands Garden School previously, I noticed the same
observation. When I walked around the school, sat in the lesson
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