2017 PSLE Discussions and Strategies

[shikha06]

Did that in 2011 when my daughter did her PSLE. Just fill in the proxy form (from MOE website) and provide the documentation listed on the form. It's quite straightforward.[/quote]


Thanks Ms. Khoo for the prompt feedback. :thankyou:

[lee_yl]

Estéema:

lee_yl:

DD1 said it was surprisingly easy for the HCL paper1 and paper2.

Finally it’s over! :rahrah:

Well done!

Estéema,
Am just glad that PSLE is over.

I really salute you for helping to send out so many copies of the requested prelims papers to the parents here. :salute:

You and your DS deserve a good rest too.

[pkpl]

lee_yl:

Estéema:

[quote=\"lee_yl\"]DD1 said it was surprisingly easy for the HCL paper1 and paper2.

Finally it’s over! :rahrah:

Well done!

Estéema,
Am just glad that PSLE is over.

I really salute you for helping to send out so many copies of the requested prelims papers to the parents here. :salute:

You and your DS deserve a good rest too.[/quote]
Thanks, Esteema! Appreciate your help.

[Estéema]

It’s OK. Happy to help & able to. I’m a mother too. I do ustand the anxieties our school system put us thro. Some of it within our control, how much & how we shld handle vis-a-vis so many factors. Tho I felt guilty wondering if some kids overload, but guess I trust each parent know their kids well enuf to balance.


We shld forget what’s Pass & move on, before we get moved!

Anyway, technology helps us so much to connect with each other. Years back I used to think technology will "kill" mankind by overflooding our brains when we crawl the web!

I’m still my busy self. Preparing for family trips & kids’ holiday programmed. Must keep them constructively spending time with family & also frds to learn & build frdships right?

[Twinkle Belle]

My daughter just completed her PSLE. She is not a slacker and has been a consistent worker all this while. After she had completed her science paper yesterday, she came out feeling shaken because the paper was difficult. There were many answers which she was unsure of. She spent a lot of time mulling over the options in the MCQ section. In short, it was a nerve-wrecking experience for her.


There were other pupils who could not complete the paper. Her classmates, mostly above average performers, commented that it was a ‘hard’ paper.

I felt for my dd and her friends and all the pupils who sat the PSLE this year. Having completed 6 years of primary education, they sat for a National Examination and came out feeling unsure of themselves. The papers in the various subjects were tricky and mind-boggling this year. It was a confidence-rattling experience. There is no ‘feel-good’ factor that resulted from reaping what they have sown - hours, days, weeks and months of sheer hard work and practice. I feel for them because they ended up questioning why they couldn’t confidently tackle the paper despite the sheer amount of hard work invested into the exam preparation. While this may be a gross generalisation, I feel that many pupils emerged from the exam halls feeling that they had been cornered during the exam and booby traps implanted everywhere to ‘catch them failing’. Take the Chinese Listening Comprehension for example. The problematic turn-taking conversation question is one such example of a trap to catch the pupils ‘not listening’.

Yes, of course, at the end of it, we know that if a particular paper was pitched at a difficult level, it would undergo some moderation but I am more concerned about the insidious messaging in the whole exam system. By setting such challenging PSLE papers, it will reinforce the belief that PSLE is difficult. Nobody needs to debunk the myth that PSLE is challenging any more. And so the vicious cycle begins where teachers, parents and pupils embark on this paper chase - tuition, supplementary classes, setting tear-spilling and nail-biting prelim papers to fully prepare the pupils/children to battle the PSLE monster.

Of course, we can all console ourselves that if the PSLE was difficult, we can teach our children about resilience, about being prepared for the unexpected challenges in life BUT my point is, should this culminating final examination erode the pupils of their self-esteem and make them feel that they could not apply what they had learnt in school in answering the questions? Are such difficult papers necessary? Do we really need to break their spirit to see them grow?

Thanks for hearing me out…

[fanren]

just hope our child will in the end still receive decent results after the moderation.

tell the child to relax and take it easy, in life we do not always get what we want.
I can feel the stress the kids were going through when Son told me he was afraid he cannot finish the papers and need to quicken the pace…lucky he is some one who is happy go lucky type so He is playing like mad now and still his old self. We are just Glad the whole thing is over…

[cool_hi]

Twinkle Belle:

My daughter just completed her PSLE. She is not a slacker and has been a consistent worker all this while. After she had completed her science paper yesterday, she came out feeling shaken because the paper was difficult. There were many answers which she was unsure of. She spent a lot of time mulling over the options in the MCQ section. In short, it was a nerve-wrecking experience for her.


There were other pupils who could not complete the paper. Her classmates, mostly above average performers, commented that it was a 'hard' paper.

I felt for my dd and her friends and all the pupils who sat the PSLE this year. Having completed 6 years of primary education, they sat for a National Examination and came out feeling unsure of themselves. The papers in the various subjects were tricky and mind-boggling this year. It was a confidence-rattling experience. There is no 'feel-good' factor that resulted from reaping what they have sown - hours, days, weeks and months of sheer hard work and practice. I feel for them because they ended up questioning why they couldn't confidently tackle the paper despite the sheer amount of hard work invested into the exam preparation. While this may be a gross generalisation, I feel that many pupils emerged from the exam halls feeling that they had been cornered during the exam and booby traps implanted everywhere to 'catch them failing'. Take the Chinese Listening Comprehension for example. The problematic turn-taking conversation question is one such example of a trap to catch the pupils 'not listening'.

Yes, of course, at the end of it, we know that if a particular paper was pitched at a difficult level, it would undergo some moderation but I am more concerned about the insidious messaging in the whole exam system. By setting such challenging PSLE papers, it will reinforce the belief that PSLE is difficult. Nobody needs to debunk the myth that PSLE is challenging any more. And so the vicious cycle begins where teachers, parents and pupils embark on this paper chase - tuition, supplementary classes, setting tear-spilling and nail-biting prelim papers to fully prepare the pupils/children to battle the PSLE monster.

Of course, we can all console ourselves that if the PSLE was difficult, we can teach our children about resilience, about being prepared for the unexpected challenges in life BUT my point is, should this culminating final examination erode the pupils of their self-esteem and make them feel that they could not apply what they had learnt in school in answering the questions? Are such difficult papers necessary? Do we really need to break their spirit to see them grow?

Thanks for hearing me out...

Good post!! Have exactly same sentiments!

[Estéema]

fanren:

just hope our child will in the end still receive decent results after the moderation.

tell the child to relax and take it easy, in life we do not always get what we want.
I can feel the stress the kids were going through when Son told me he was afraid he cannot finish the papers and need to quicken the pace..lucky he is some one who is happy go lucky type so He is playing like mad now and still his old self. We are just Glad the whole thing is over..

I don't mean to scare anyone, but to encourage mummies to continue to talk to their kids & bond further. S'times kids sublimate their feelings & bury themselves into things they can absorb themselves. Give them in measured bits & not let them plunge in tougher for them to adjust back to reality. Organize play dates with friends & cousins. Suggest do more craft, arts, languages or Coding, etc. Help them do more people-to-people interactions. They'll need people skills for their future. Teamwork. Less burning of the brains. JMHO.

[ShevW]

Twinkle Belle:

My daughter just completed her PSLE. She is not a slacker and has been a consistent worker all this while. After she had completed her science paper yesterday, she came out feeling shaken because the paper was difficult. There were many answers which she was unsure of. She spent a lot of time mulling over the options in the MCQ section. In short, it was a nerve-wrecking experience for her.


There were other pupils who could not complete the paper. Her classmates, mostly above average performers, commented that it was a 'hard' paper.

I felt for my dd and her friends and all the pupils who sat the PSLE this year. Having completed 6 years of primary education, they sat for a National Examination and came out feeling unsure of themselves. The papers in the various subjects were tricky and mind-boggling this year. It was a confidence-rattling experience. There is no 'feel-good' factor that resulted from reaping what they have sown - hours, days, weeks and months of sheer hard work and practice. I feel for them because they ended up questioning why they couldn't confidently tackle the paper despite the sheer amount of hard work invested into the exam preparation. While this may be a gross generalisation, I feel that many pupils emerged from the exam halls feeling that they had been cornered during the exam and booby traps implanted everywhere to 'catch them failing'. Take the Chinese Listening Comprehension for example. The problematic turn-taking conversation question is one such example of a trap to catch the pupils 'not listening'.

Yes, of course, at the end of it, we know that if a particular paper was pitched at a difficult level, it would undergo some moderation but I am more concerned about the insidious messaging in the whole exam system. By setting such challenging PSLE papers, it will reinforce the belief that PSLE is difficult. Nobody needs to debunk the myth that PSLE is challenging any more. And so the vicious cycle begins where teachers, parents and pupils embark on this paper chase - tuition, supplementary classes, setting tear-spilling and nail-biting prelim papers to fully prepare the pupils/children to battle the PSLE monster.

Of course, we can all console ourselves that if the PSLE was difficult, we can teach our children about resilience, about being prepared for the unexpected challenges in life BUT my point is, should this culminating final examination erode the pupils of their self-esteem and make them feel that they could not apply what they had learnt in school in answering the questions? Are such difficult papers necessary? Do we really need to break their spirit to see them grow?

Thanks for hearing me out...

I can feel the heartpain and concern you have over your DD. It's indeed a sad yet mandary situation for the children nowadays. That's why the more we parents need to be there for our kids when their spirit seems to break. What doesnt break them will make them grow stronger in life. No matter what result they get in the end for PSLE is not final yet they still have a long way to go. Be there for her

[tigressina]

Twinkle Belle:

My daughter just completed her PSLE. She is not a slacker and has been a consistent worker all this while. After she had completed her science paper yesterday, she came out feeling shaken because the paper was difficult. There were many answers which she was unsure of. She spent a lot of time mulling over the options in the MCQ section. In short, it was a nerve-wrecking experience for her.


There were other pupils who could not complete the paper. Her classmates, mostly above average performers, commented that it was a 'hard' paper.

I felt for my dd and her friends and all the pupils who sat the PSLE this year. Having completed 6 years of primary education, they sat for a National Examination and came out feeling unsure of themselves. The papers in the various subjects were tricky and mind-boggling this year. It was a confidence-rattling experience. There is no 'feel-good' factor that resulted from reaping what they have sown - hours, days, weeks and months of sheer hard work and practice. I feel for them because they ended up questioning why they couldn't confidently tackle the paper despite the sheer amount of hard work invested into the exam preparation. While this may be a gross generalisation, I feel that many pupils emerged from the exam halls feeling that they had been cornered during the exam and booby traps implanted everywhere to 'catch them failing'. Take the Chinese Listening Comprehension for example. The problematic turn-taking conversation question is one such example of a trap to catch the pupils 'not listening'.

Yes, of course, at the end of it, we know that if a particular paper was pitched at a difficult level, it would undergo some moderation but I am more concerned about the insidious messaging in the whole exam system. By setting such challenging PSLE papers, it will reinforce the belief that PSLE is difficult. Nobody needs to debunk the myth that PSLE is challenging any more. And so the vicious cycle begins where teachers, parents and pupils embark on this paper chase - tuition, supplementary classes, setting tear-spilling and nail-biting prelim papers to fully prepare the pupils/children to battle the PSLE monster.

Of course, we can all console ourselves that if the PSLE was difficult, we can teach our children about resilience, about being prepared for the unexpected challenges in life BUT my point is, should this culminating final examination erode the pupils of their self-esteem and make them feel that they could not apply what they had learnt in school in answering the questions? Are such difficult papers necessary? Do we really need to break their spirit to see them grow?

Thanks for hearing me out...

:goodpost:

Same sentiment here. My kids keep asking why, why, why. Why they have to sit through such a difficult national exam when they are only 12 yo. Why the Qs need to be so difficult, so challenging and why \"they must trick us\" in the Qs :sad: Many kids cried when they received their prelim results as the papers were tough. Now this PSLE is going to hurt their little feeling further.