Surviving Normal stream

[verykiasu2010]

bornsingaporean:

My son scored 147 for his PSLE and was put in the N(T) stream. Good news is that he got the school he wanted, well you all know the bad news. Wife was devastated and was trying all ways to appeal but to no avail. His first year was an eye opener for all of us. My son found out that no teacher in his school wanted to teach the Tech class. His form teacher was an Art teacher. There was very little focus on Maths and Science, and I found out that throughout the whole year in Sec one, his class only stepped into the science lab ONCE. But yet the exams included experiments and lab work. Even trying out for CCA's , the Tech boys were often not selected. Needless to say, my wife and I were furious with the school. It seems that the school had already written off these boys and they were just going through the motions until they could off load them to the ITEs.


So we took over his studies, we told him to go to school and make friends and enjoy school life, while the real studying will take place at home. We had good tuition teachers and we got him to study both the Academic and the Tech stream curriculum. You see, my son loves history and geography, but being in the Tech stream, MOE has decided that he is not smart enough to learn about these subjects.

To date , my son has topped his class in Sec one and Sec Two . He scores A's for math science english and CPA and Home econs He managed to get a C for chinese. He has identified the course he intends to do in ITE and has chartered his path to Poly. He knows what he wants and how to get it. He has not given up all though the school has given up on kids like him. He has learnt perseverence, honesty and getting the job done regardless of what others think. Those skills are more important for success in life.

I have no doubt that he will succeed in whatever he does. And to all parents who are in the same situation, my advise is look at your child's strengths and more importantly listen to their plans and ideas and work with them to achieve those plans. Nobody wants to fail. Don't abdicate your child's education to the schools.

Hope this helps.

How come he did not ask to be transferred to Express in Sec 2 ? Discussed that with the principal ? If the result in good enough, why not ? It will be good morale booster for the child

[verykiasu2010]

It is a cruel reality that when a student got sent to NA or NT, the schools may not have the resources and ability to turn them around and just wait for ITE. No wonder that say ITE stands for "It’s The End"



It is very much up to the determination of the child to prove himself and the parents to prod and encourage

[ponyo]

Dear BornSingaporean


Thanks for sharing your story. It's a real shame what the school did. No one child should ever be written off.

Just to share a short story to encourage you, my nephew was also from the Normal stream. However he did not give up on himself and he eventually did well enough to qualify for SP.

Being artistically-inclined, he took up landscape design and he has been topping his cohort since(I think he even got into the Dean's List). As he will be graduating this year, he has even received invitations from NUS/NTU for their degree courses.

So take heart. All roads lead to Rome, so they say. Just that some will take a longer time. Eventually we will get there. To quote Randy Pausch, who gave a really inspiring lecture before he died from pancreatic cancer, \"Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people.\"
- Randy Pausch ( 1960-2008 )

If you have the time, do try to read the book \"The Last Lecture\" by Randy Pausch or watch the video (which the book was based on):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Cheers
Ponyo

[schweppes]

bornsingaporean:

My son scored 147 for his PSLE and was put in the N(T) stream. Good news is that he got the school he wanted, well you all know the bad news. Wife was devastated and was trying all ways to appeal but to no avail. His first year was an eye opener for all of us. My son found out that no teacher in his school wanted to teach the Tech class. His form teacher was an Art teacher. There was very little focus on Maths and Science, and I found out that throughout the whole year in Sec one, his class only stepped into the science lab ONCE. But yet the exams included experiments and lab work. Even trying out for CCA's , the Tech boys were often not selected. Needless to say, my wife and I were furious with the school. It seems that the school had already written off these boys and they were just going through the motions until they could off load them to the ITEs.


So we took over his studies, we told him to go to school and make friends and enjoy school life, while the real studying will take place at home. We had good tuition teachers and we got him to study both the Academic and the Tech stream curriculum. You see, my son loves history and geography, but being in the Tech stream, MOE has decided that he is not smart enough to learn about these subjects.

To date , my son has topped his class in Sec one and Sec Two . He scores A's for math science english and CPA and Home econs He managed to get a C for chinese. He has identified the course he intends to do in ITE and has chartered his path to Poly. He knows what he wants and how to get it. He has not given up all though the school has given up on kids like him. He has learnt perseverence, honesty and getting the job done regardless of what others think. Those skills are more important for success in life.

I have no doubt that he will succeed in whatever he does. And to all parents who are in the same situation, my advise is look at your child's strengths and more importantly listen to their plans and ideas and work with them to achieve those plans. Nobody wants to fail. Don't abdicate your child's education to the schools.

Hope this helps.

Thanks bornsingaporean, for the very inspiring and heart-warming story. I really admire your son for his determination and personal conviction to do well. Despite the challenges he faced on the way, he never gave him. :salute:

Kudos also to you and DW for the emotional support and strength which you give to your child. :celebrate:

[schweppes]

ponyo:

So take heart. All roads lead to Rome, so they say. Just that some will take a longer time. Eventually we will get there. To quote Randy Pausch, who gave a really inspiring lecture before he died from pancreatic cancer, \"Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people.\"
- Randy Pausch ( 1960-2008 )

If you have the time, do try to read the book \"The Last Lecture\" by Randy Pausch or watch the video (which the book was based on):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Cheers
Ponyo

Yes, yes... agree with Ponyo that Randy Pausch's book on the \"Last Lecture\" and his appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show was brilliant. It's about sheer determination and not giving up in life. Carpe Diem (seize the day) :lol:

[autumnbronze]

ponyo:

Dear BornSingaporean


Thanks for sharing your story. It's a real shame what the school did. No one child should ever be written off.

Just to share a short story to encourage you, my nephew was also from the Normal stream. However he did not give up on himself and he eventually did well enough to qualify for SP.

Being artistically-inclined, he took up landscape design and he has been topping his cohort since(I think he even got into the Dean's List). As he will be graduating this year, he has even received invitations from NUS/NTU for their degree courses.

So take heart. All roads lead to Rome, so they say. Just that some will take a longer time. Eventually we will get there. To quote Randy Pausch, who gave a really inspiring lecture before he died from pancreatic cancer, \"Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people.\"
- Randy Pausch ( 1960-2008 )

If you have the time, do try to read the book \"The Last Lecture\" by Randy Pausch or watch the video (which the book was based on):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Cheers
Ponyo

:goodpost: :goodpost: :goodpost: Ponyo!!

I read the book too! v v inspiring.

Bornsingaporean, like Ponyo and Schweppes, I highly recommend this book. Perhaps you and your child can read it together

[Bentan]

All students studying in normal stream faces 3 pressures: social, classmates and family. Social refers to friends and relatives around him and social pressure is usually the greatest negative. Presure from classmates are usually negative as well, especially in the NT stream. There are expectation among peer classmates of certain behaviour conformance and it is hard not to be part of them.


So the only positive influence a student can hope for is family. In most cases, the family is already not positive for them (such as broken family, loss of one parent etc). If the family support is also missing, the only substitute would be the caring teachers from the school.

Due to limited resources, some schools are very caring towards their NA students but not the NT. They motivates their NA students to aim high academically. For example, in year 2009, more than 40% of the Sec-1 NA students in ACS Barker were promoted to Sec-2 Express for year 2010.

For the NT students, http://singapore.math-chinese-tutor.com/normal-technical-streaming-in-secondary-school/ for them to switch over to NA. Most schools are not able to move too many NT students to NA as it would require huge amount of teacher reasources (assuming the ratio of 1 teacher to 10 students or less). For this reason, engaging external tutor is the best option if a parent wishes to move his child out of NT stream.

[pinky]

To: bornsingaporean and son

Your determination, hard work and most importantly, belief in yourselves are indeed commendable. You deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labour and hope that you will continue in your endeavour to be successful in all
fields.
I always believe that underdogs will have their day and their success
stories never fail to touch me. So to all 90% of our students and their
parents (average 10% of the cohort go to top schools here), believe in
yourselves, strive for the better and all the best to you :celebrate:

[tonytanlt]

The XXXXXX is organising a seminar on Education to discuss the policies change that need is required for our next generation. Our students need to be confident, outspoken, multi-skilled, and be prepared to unlearn what you learnt and to learn like an unlearnt. The learning environment should change. From one where students are asked to accept what is taught to one where students will challenge what is taught. Like a forest, we need to breed new varieties that will add biodiversity to the current. The learning environment should also be representative of the society where different people with varying strengths fulfill different roles. We must start to empower our students.


We will be discussing the following issues: 1.What are the education policies needed to prepare our next generation? 2.How can we make education as the key means of enhancing social mobility and employability of Singaporeans? 3.What are the education plans for Special Need/Disabled Children?

Please join us. Or help forward to friends who may be interested. Thank you.
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Regards, Tony, from XXXXXXX

[ChiefKiasu]

tonytanlt:

The XXXXXX is organising a seminar on Education to discuss the policies change that need is required for our next generation. Our students need to be confident, outspoken, multi-skilled, and be prepared to unlearn what you learnt and to learn like an unlearnt. The learning environment should change. From one where students are asked to accept what is taught to one where students will challenge what is taught. Like a forest, we need to breed new varieties that will add biodiversity to the current. The learning environment should also be representative of the society where different people with varying strengths fulfill different roles. We must start to empower our students.


We will be discussing the following issues: 1.What are the education policies needed to prepare our next generation? 2.How can we make education as the key means of enhancing social mobility and employability of Singaporeans? 3.What are the education plans for Special Need/Disabled Children?

Please join us. Or help forward to friends who may be interested. Thank you.
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Regards, Tony, from XXXXXXX

Dear tonytanlt, much as we applaud your interest in the well-being of our school-going children, KiasuParents.com will NOT be a platform for ANY political Party to solicit views or promote their agenda, either in the Forums or as a paid service. We seek to remain independent and focused on community sharing to improve the quality of parenting in Singapore. As a result of this policy, all references to political Parties will be removed.

Please use other channels for your needs. Thank you.