[PSLE MT] PSLE less weightage in Chinese / Mother Tongue

[tamarind]

HyperKiasu:

gajidouma:

What do you call this? barking up the wrong tree? 缘木求鱼？
So please, no more Z-Turns.. 别折腾了。

:goodpost:

Agree. :goodpost:

[HyperKiasu]

tamarind:

I just read Danny Yeo's blog :


http://blog.omy.sg/dannyyeo/

2518

This is the number of people who signed the petition asking for mother tongues to be given the same degree of respect as other languages.

I hope that MOE can ask the parents of every primary school student to choose whether they want the weighting to be reduced or not. The number of parents who want the weighting to remain as the same, should be far greater than the number above.

yalo, fair....

[HyperKiasu]

25hourmaid:

I was so glad when Education Minister Ng Eng Hen brought up the revamp of the study of mother tongue recently. Chinese teachers should not feel let down because such a move would lighten their workload.

Tan Yan Ning (Ms)

wahlao....this is an insult to all Chinese teacher!!!!

p.s. I am a stayathome mummy only

[HyperKiasu]

25hourmaid:

Can't there be a win-win situation where Special Assistance Plan schools allow for two different admission categories: three best subjects (without Chinese) and four best subjects (with Chinese).

Tan Yan Ning (Ms)

another insult to SAP schools: are you telling me 3=4????

[caroline3sg]

3Boys:

nan.nan:

Now I want to address the lowering of the bar...


>However, my view is that it is unreasonable to set the general bar at a
>level that a small (but significant) number of otherwise smart students
>struggle constantly with it through school and are disadvantaged when it
>comes to certain opportunities on the account of it

Say there are 10 students: 4 of them A* for MT, 3 of them B for MT, 2 of the C for MT, and 1 of them D for MT. Suppose one of the B students is 3Boys' child.

Now the bar is at 25%.

So, the B, C and D are struggling.

MOE lower the bar to 10%. The B's are happy, now they don't struggle so much.

But the bottom 3 are still struggling.

6 months later, they petition to MOE. MOE lower the bar again to 5%.

The C's are now happy. But there is still a D there struggling.

So where should the bar be such that NO Smart students are struggling ?

The bar should be at Zero.

Although the bar is at Zero, the 6 students' MT standard is still poor compare to the 4 ! Because no effort was made to improve their capability but lower the bar. They remain weak and happy, because in Singapore, they speak English as working language and in coffeeshop they order mee pok in Teochew. That works.

These 10 students now will not struggle with MT. So the next thing will be Maths. There will be Science Smart student but struggling with numbers. So, their parents will petition to MOE to lower the weightage of Maths for PSLE.

...on and on...until all weightages are zero. All Singaporeans are happy now.

Singaporeans are happy to continue to speak English as a working language, order mee pok in Teochew, the mee pok man give change, they cannot count, take out a calculator and press...

There is a difference between Math/English, and Chinese.

Math is a universal tool. Practically all elementary schools around the world teach soem form of math. It transcends cultures and languages.

English is the lingua franca of Singapore. It is also, presently, still the main language of business the world over. The Japanese study English as a 2nd language, as do many French, Germans, Brazilians, and yes, even Chinese.

There are some international standards to those subjects, there is a universality to English and Math that Chinese does not have. Not even everybody in Singapore studies Chinese, for instance, but they all study English and Math. Hard as it is to hear, there needs to be a primacy accorded to them.

Yes, we need to set standards, but we do so after careful evaluation of WHY we are doing it. It is very clear for English and Math, less clear for MT (hence the debate).

Hence linking a potential de-weighting of Chinese language to the general slippage of academic standards is the wrong analogy.

I refer to 3boys' views (I highlighted in bold). Previously NTU was a chinese medium uni. Due to politics, MM Lee changed it to Eng medium. He wants all PAP to be Eng educated. I heard it from my father. His friend who was principal also attest to it.

[sunflower]

caroline3sg:

I refer to 3boys' views (I highlighted in bold). Previously NTU was a chinese medium uni. Due to politics, MM Lee changed it to Eng medium. He wants all PAP to be Eng educated. I heard it from my father. His friend who was principal also attest to it.

Yes, yes...One of my siblings suffered because the language medium for teaching suddenly changed from Chinese to English in the middle of University study (something like merge with Singapore University - SU). I'm not sure whether 南大 is displayed together with SU in the cert.

[nan.014182nan]

gajidouma:

It is not about how many % they cut, it is the act of cutting itself not only sends the wrong message, undermining the importance of MT but offers no cure, only adding confusions as I see it.

:rahrah:

The act of cutting itself also:-

Telling the young student that, if you can't make it, there is another easy way out - ask for father and mother to ask MOE to reduce the weightage;

Not only offers no cure, but applying the wrong cure/medication and affect the others who has the ability to do it, wish to do it;

[caroline3sg]

sunflower:

caroline3sg:

I refer to 3boys' views (I highlighted in bold). Previously NTU was a chinese medium uni. Due to politics, MM Lee changed it to Eng medium. He wants all PAP to be Eng educated. I heard it from my father. His friend who was principal also attest to it.

Yes, yes...One of my siblings suffered because the language medium for teaching suddenly changed from Chinese to English in the middle of University study (something like merge with Singapore University). I think cert also don't display 南大.

Because of this history, is there any hidden agenda this time round?

I believe meeting with the media should be over. Why still no news of the meeting?

[tankee]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1055797/1/.html



Mother Tongue weighting won't be reduced, but teaching methods to change

SINGAPORE: The weighting of the Mother Tongue language will not be reduced at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) -- but it will be taught in a new way to meet the dynamic needs of the student population.

Speaking at an hour-long news conference Tuesday at the Istana, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said more resources and teachers will be devoted to the teaching of Mother Tongue languages.

A committee headed by director-general of Education, Ho Peng, is already looking at how Mother Tongue languages can be taught to cater to different proficiencies.

The aim is to allow students of various abilities to achieve the best level they can and exams will be changed to support this new approach.

The committee is expected to come up with preliminary recommendations in a few months but the changes will be fully implemented over five to 10 years.

PM Lee said: \"I think if we can define more of these proficiency levels, then I think we can get our students to go from level to level and jump step from one step to the next, instead of trying to do one high jump to the top and he didn't quite hit the bar and he crashed somewhere down and then you say, ah well, I think I give him 45 marks for good effort but actually he didn't get anywhere.

\"But if I can have steps to get all the way up and I know that he made the first step the second, then the 4th one maybe not quite, then I think there is proficiency which is verified and there is achievement from the kid who says yes I know I am getting somewhere this is something I am able to attain. I won't get full marks because I didn't reach the highest level that people want but I am getting somewhere and it is not a hopeless waste of time.\"

[3Boys]

tankee:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1055797/1/.html



Mother Tongue weighting won't be reduced, but teaching methods to change

SINGAPORE: The weighting of the Mother Tongue language will not be reduced at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) -- but it will be taught in a new way to meet the dynamic needs of the student population.

Speaking at an hour-long news conference Tuesday at the Istana, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said more resources and teachers will be devoted to the teaching of Mother Tongue languages.

A committee headed by director-general of Education, Ho Peng, is already looking at how Mother Tongue languages can be taught to cater to different proficiencies.

The aim is to allow students of various abilities to achieve the best level they can and exams will be changed to support this new approach.

The committee is expected to come up with preliminary recommendations in a few months but the changes will be fully implemented over five to 10 years.

PM Lee said: \"I think if we can define more of these proficiency levels, then I think we can get our students to go from level to level and jump step from one step to the next, instead of trying to do one high jump to the top and he didn't quite hit the bar and he crashed somewhere down and then you say, ah well, I think I give him 45 marks for good effort but actually he didn't get anywhere.

\"But if I can have steps to get all the way up and I know that he made the first step the second, then the 4th one maybe not quite, then I think there is proficiency which is verified and there is achievement from the kid who says yes I know I am getting somewhere this is something I am able to attain. I won't get full marks because I didn't reach the highest level that people want but I am getting somewhere and it is not a hopeless waste of time.\"

Non event

Something about exams, perhaps a less confrontational way of getting to where they want?

Heh, life goes on.......