Children of average ability

[cluelessmom]

tamarind:

I know a boy who could not follow up at P1 in West Grove. He was asked to go back to kindergarten. He and his mommy were traumatized. It is difficult not to be stressed

I can't believe tat! It is outrageous! Was it said in jest or was he really sent back to kindy? Gosh.... wat is happenin to our education system????

[tamarind]

sleepy:

Aiya, I discovered my elder girl cut her sister hair again!
Only noticed it today because I saw a portion of spiky hair on my younger girl's head. Apparantly cut some weeks ago & with new hair growth only shows up today.
I don't understand why she allows her elder sister to cut her hair without protesting.

:shock: May be she did not know the damage done because she was not looking at the mirror when her elder sister did it.

cluelessmom:

tamarind:

I know a boy who could not follow up at P1 in West Grove. He was asked to go back to kindergarten. He and his mommy were traumatized. It is difficult not to be stressed

I can't believe tat! It is outrageous! Was it said in jest or was he really sent back to kindy? Gosh.... wat is happenin to our education system????

That boy was neglected in class for a few months, because he could not follow up with the rest of the class. The teacher advised his mommy to put him back in kindergarten. His mommy had no choice but to pull him out of school. The boy did not want to go to another primary school because of the experience. His mother spoke to the principal of Jurong Calvary Kindergarten who kindly took her son in. The boy actually attended a PCF kindergarten for 2 years before entering P1, his teachers never told his mommy that he had any problems academically. That's why she was so shocked.

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

Tamarind, doesn’t West Grove has LSP program? Or was the child really beyond help that he has to go back to kindergarten? So far, I’ve heard of a child that join P1 a year later. The mother (who was my primary school classmate) told me that her child is born pre-mature & due to doctor

recommendation that the child start P1 a year later.

[tamarind]

EN:

Tamarind, doesn't West Grove has LSP program? Or was the child really beyond help that he has to go back to kindergarten? So far, I've heard of a child that join P1 a year later. The mother (who was my primary school classmate) told me that her child is born pre-mature & due to doctor

recommendation that the child start P1 a year later.

EN,
The boy's incident happened about 2 years ago. I did not know about the LSP program back then, so I did not ask that mommy whether the program helped her son, who was a perfectly normal child. The mommy said that she was very upset with herself for not making sure that her son is well prepared for P1. She spoke to the principal, but he was also supportive of the teacher's recommendation.

West Grove has a new principal now, who seems to be a very reasonable and caring lady. Hopefully things are not the same as before.

[shylyn]

Hi all

Indeed an interesting read…i guess every child has talents and skills …guess we as parents have to be patient to uncover our kiddos’ interest and talent. I also vomit blood on several occasions teaching my 33 mth old boy. Like what Chief Kiasu mentioned with regard to the definition of a “Bright Child”, kids being kids, they need to be motivated to learn and we can do it easier if we uncover their interest & tweak the learning to incorporate their interest.

Taramind
I’m really surprised that West Grove ‘kick out’ kids from their sch! I didn’t realize that such things happen in our education system! Quite sad…I can feel for the mummy…imagine your kid being ‘forced out’ frm the sch…indeed very detrimental to the kid’s self esteem!
I know West Grove is one of the better sch in Jurong other than Rulang…any idea abt Xingnan?

[cluelessmom]

tamarind:

That boy was neglected in class for a few months, because he could not follow up with the rest of the class. The teacher advised his mommy to put him back in kindergarten. His mommy had no choice but to pull him out of school........ The boy actually attended a PCF kindergarten for 2 years before entering P1, his teachers never told his mommy that he had any problems academically. That's why she was so shocked.

Honestly, I dun think goin back to kindy is the solution as apparently the boy can cope wif kindergarden but not primary one's syllabus. In some schools, the weaker students are identified and given special attention by goin for remedial lessons.... they will work wif the parents.... and in my dd previous school, they meet the parents 2-3 times a yr to update parents on the child's progress... guess it is important for parents to go for the various school orientation programme before P1 enrollment to understand more abt the school and how they will work wif ur child before their P1 selection.... Frankly if I m the parent I might jus tear down the principle office hahaha :shock:

[tamarind]

cluelessmom,

I guess if the child only know A,B,C and did not know how to read or write any words, then it is going to be very difficult for him to catch with the rest of the class. He may need more than one year to improve. I also thought that the teacher and principal back then was very unsympathetic. The mommy wrote in to MOE to complain, and she had the option of moving him to another school to continue P1, but the boy preferred to return to kindergarten.

Well, the moral of the story is, make sure that our kids are well prepared for P1 !

shylyn,
The truth is that children are not born equal. Some children are born with the gift of superb memory and are able to understand difficult concepts effortlessly. The majority of the children are not born with this gift, but if these average children put in enough hardwork, they can also do very well. If a child cannot remember something the first time, then let him repeat the same thing until he can remember. This is how I teach my younger boy to read. I try to do it in a fun way lah.

As parents we have to identify our kids’ abilities as early as possible, so that we can find the right methods to teach him. An average child needs to be drilled, and he needs a longer time to learn things, so we need to start earlier. A very bright child should not be made to do the same things over and over again because that will make him lose his love for learning.

West Grove has a new principal now, so there may be some changes. My hubby insisted on sending the kids to West Grove. There are only 2 schools within 1 km, and West Grove is the better choice. We have been doing PV for the school. So long as our kids are well prepared for P1, then they should be fine.

I am not too sure about Xingnan. There is really not much choice in our area. The only other way is move to within 1 km of a good school lor. I know of parents how moved away to stay close to a school of their choice.

[tayselina]

Try to be patient to you child.

[shylyn]

tamarind:

cluelessmom,

I guess if the child only know A,B,C and did not know how to read or write any words, then it is going to be very difficult for him to catch with the rest of the class. He may need more than one year to improve. I also thought that the teacher and principal back then was very unsympathetic. The mommy wrote in to MOE to complain, and she had the option of moving him to another school to continue P1, but the boy preferred to return to kindergarten. .

I guess if its the kid's wish to return to Kindergarten then its not tt harsh..but again, I still feel that the sch should try to help the kid rather than pushing him away.

tamarind:

If a child cannot remember something the first time, then let him repeat the same thing until he can remember. This is how I teach my younger boy to read. I try to do it in a fun way lah..

Care to share how you teach ur boy repeatedly & in a fun manner? Heheheh..I can be rather impatient at times & esp if i feel that my boy is not paying attention or giving his best.

tamarind:

West Grove has a new principal now, so there may be some changes. My hubby insisted on sending the kids to West Grove. There are only 2 schools within 1 km, and West Grove is the better choice. We have been doing PV for the school. So long as our kids are well prepared for P1, then they should be fine.

I am not too sure about Xingnan. There is really not much choice in our area. The only other way is move to within 1 km of a good school lor. I know of parents how moved away to stay close to a school of their choice.

I'm also thinking of West Grove but then again, heard it is rather diff to get in..thus thinking of Xingnan as it is near my parents' place. U r right..not many choices available around our estate..thus my hub actually dont mind sending my boy to a nearby neigh sch as he believed that he also graduated from a neigh sch & doing fine now, so no point trying to get into gd schs..but then again, not sure whether this should b e case for my boy..cos knowing him, he might lose his attention if he finds the topics uninteresting. Then again, we don't really wish to go thru e hassle of moving house..hehehe...ironic hor?

[tamarind]

shylyn:

tamarind:

If a child cannot remember something the first time, then let him repeat the same thing until he can remember. This is how I teach my younger boy to read. I try to do it in a fun way lah..

Care to share how you teach ur boy repeatedly & in a fun manner? Heheheh..I can be rather impatient at times & esp if i feel that my boy is not paying attention or giving his best.

For example, when teaching him to read the word \"smash\", I put a biscuit in a plastic bag. Then I asked my boy to use his hand to \"smash\" the biscuit. He had great fun doing it, and even asked to \"smash\" more biscuits. After that he can remember the word \"smash\" very well. Actually I was teaching him how to read words that start with \"sm\". When teaching him phonics, I always try to explain to him the meaning of the words by showing him the real object or demonstrating the action to him. So he always have fun learning.

For many weeks he could not tell the difference between the words \"want\" and \"what\". I wrote the words \"want\" and \"what\" on separate pieces of paper. I held up \"want\", my girl held up \"what\". I sat at one corner of the room, my girl sat at the other corner, and each of us had a small bowl of my boy's favourite sweets. I called out the words one at a time, then told my boy to go to the correct person. Each time he got it wrong, me or my girl ate a sweet. When he got it right, he could eat one sweet. We were all laughing when we were doing this :lol:, it was especially funny when I called out the words quickly and my boy had to move very fast. He laughed really hard. We repeated until my boy always read these 2 words correctly.