[PSLE MT] PSLE less weightage in Chinese / Mother Tongue
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nevertheless, from this issue, it actually makes me realise that we chinese singaporean though mostly english spoken, still 'treasure' our mother tongue and want our children to learn more of it....emmm and this is a good sign :grphug:
so as what way2go has mentioned, Ng might not be the one or only one that come out with the ideas of weightage reduction. I would still support and respect him as the minister of education as so far he is doing good. :celebrate: -
I am so relieved and happy, this is the desired outcome. :boogie:
However, like what others have said, time to let the matter rest... -
BTW, Dr Ng, you have my respect. :lol:
Since I also wrote to him via MOE feedback to appeal against the lowering of MT weightage, perhaps I should start to prepare a Thank You Letter to him. :love: -
verykiasu2010:
dimsum:
Look at point 10 of Mr Ng's speech.... it's now completely different from what he said earlier about [u]making it easier for bright students who don't score well in MT to enter top sec. schools.[u]
\"10. This shift to a more proficiency-based approach should not lower standards or reduce the incentive for our students to learn MTL. On the contrary, well-defined proficiency-based syllabi and exams will set clear and appropriate standards for students to aim for. The incentives to do well will also remain. Those who demonstrate higher proficiency deserve to score higher. Those who do not put in the effort should not be rewarded. So, students will still need to do well in their MTL to get into their school of choice.\"
it is a basic recognition that a pupil who can only master 3 subjects compared with another who can master 4, is not good enough. don't ever use lowering weightage to tweak it. it is called cheating or foul play. somebody who gave / fed the info to the minister to talk about lowering the weightage is going to get shot, political test balloon or not. who wants to risk / lose political capital & goodwill .....
the motive to lower the MT weightage is 动机不纯..... -
HyperKiasu:
verykiasu2010:
[quote=\"dimsum\"]Look at point 10 of Mr Ng's speech.... it's now completely different from what he said earlier about [u]making it easier for bright students who don't score well in MT to enter top sec. schools.[u]
\"10. This shift to a more proficiency-based approach should not lower standards or reduce the incentive for our students to learn MTL. On the contrary, well-defined proficiency-based syllabi and exams will set clear and appropriate standards for students to aim for. The incentives to do well will also remain. Those who demonstrate higher proficiency deserve to score higher. Those who do not put in the effort should not be rewarded. So, students will still need to do well in their MTL to get into their school of choice.\"
it is a basic recognition that a pupil who can only master 3 subjects compared with another who can master 4, is not good enough. don't ever use lowering weightage to tweak it. it is called cheating or foul play. somebody who gave / fed the info to the minister to talk about lowering the weightage is going to get shot, political test balloon or not. who wants to risk / lose political capital & goodwill .....
the motive to lower the MT weightage is 动机不纯.....[/quote]
why? Is the reverse then also not true? -
Picolo:
ya, let it go, and forward looking....放眼未来.....I am so relieved and happy, this is the desired outcome. :boogie:
However, like what others have said, time to let the matter rest... -
3Boys:
Yeah I think I mentioned before, can someone advise? Can a Chinese take, say, Malay as MT? I think so right? I know of many non-Chinese taking Chinese as MT so 3Boys, your wish to choose your choice of another MT is probably possible. Check it out!
why? Is the reverse then also not true? there is only true fairness if each student has his own choice of 2nd language. -
ksi:
Then can't be MT leh, can only be 2nd language. Most students take 2nd language in sec school, like my friend, who took french
Yeah I think I mentioned before, can someone advise? Can a Chinese take, say, Malay as MT? I think so right? I know of many non-Chinese taking Chinese as MT so 3Boys, your wish to choose your choice of another MT is probably possible. Check it out!3Boys:
why? Is the reverse then also not true? there is only true fairness if each student has his own choice of 2nd language. -
Actually, having read Mr Ng's speech, I fear that it is not the \"ang moh pie\" that lost as some of you have put it - rather, it is our nation as a whole.
When the weightage lowering was first mooted, I had the same impression as most people that this was the result of lobbying by the educated English-speaking-only group, which, incidentally, I belong to. My son is weakest in MTL, and while it may affect his ability to get a good T-score, I felt that the weightage should still remain because the world is not going to change just because I want my son to do well in his PSLE. China will dominate Asia in the coming future. My son should recognise this as such and prepare himself well by continuing to strive with the language until he succeeds.
However, the following part of Mr Ng's speech struck me as being very pertinent. \"If your assessment system doesn’t change, even if you change teaching methods, it’s unlikely to achieve the goal of making MTL more functional, more usable, more alive for the student”.
To me, he is not just talking about MTL, but really about how the education system has evolved over the years.
There have been fundamental shifts made in the last 3 decades to the early education system in Singapore. Programmes such as GEP, IP, and even the mantra of \"teach less, learn more\" have been mooted and pushed by MOE. The purpose is benign and strategic - to transform and cultivate our young into a highly skilled and effective workforce of self-reliant, independent and thinking people. Teachers are supposed to guide students to look for answers, and not just simply provide the answers. Critical thinking and self-confidence to solve unknown problems are the fundamental requirements for an entrepreneurial culture, as opposed to the cookie-cutter factory worker mentality of the older education system that our generation were used to.
However, for us to be able to make the switch, the manner by which we assess the progress of our children MUST change to allow for the failures and inefficiencies that are inherent with the experimentation. Unfortunately, our entire education system is predicated upon how we have always used academic excellence to promote meritocracy. A person entering the workforce is nearly always given better job opportunities based on his grades in school. What makes us all kiasu parents is that we understand this fundamental fact, and we love our children enough to want to make sure that they can effectively work through the system so that they can have a better life in the future.
The furore over the lowering of MTL weightage highlights how deeply ingrained this belief in meritocracy has become. Get good grades in school, so that you have a better future - that's what we always tell our children. Doesn't matter whether we fully understand what we learn - just learn what is necessary to score in exams. Languages can be particularly easy for those with good memory... just memorize the 好字好语 and use them in your compositions... sure score. Even better if you can reproduce entire passages by famous authors in exams, where plagiarism is never an issue unless you have copied from your neighbours. Don't care if you really learnt the subject or fully appreciate what you have learnt.
How effective are the measures by the ministry to transform our education, without changing the legacy assessment methods by which we rank our children? The GEP is seen as a fast-track to elite Secondary schools coveted by parents so much so that they try to train their children to excel in the GEP selection tests. The IP schools are now coveted by parents because they are seen as the warranty of a place in the Universities. The \"teach less, learn more\" principle is thought of by parents as the schools telling us to give our kids more tuition because teachers no longer provide the answers, which are necessary so that our kids can ace their examinations!
I salute Mr Ng not just for recognising this conundrum, but also having the courage to initiate changes. The removal of examinations for P1 and P2 is a great start. Unfortunately, the public furore over the attempt to tweak PSLE weightage shows how difficult it is for anyone to change status quo, even if it may have resulted in a less stressful and better learning environment for our children. I pray that this setback will not diminish the MOE's efforts in continuing to tweak our education system to prepare our children for the uncertain future. -
verykiasu2010:
Not good enough for what?What is
it is a basic recognition that a pupil who
can only master 3 subjects compared
with another who can master 4, is not
good enough. don't ever use lowering weightage to tweak it. it is called cheating
or foul play. somebody who gave / fed the
info to the minister to talk about lowering
the weightage is going to get shot, political
test balloon or not. who wants to risk / lose political capital & goodwill .....
good enough? Do we base a child's
abilities on the basis of 4 subjects?
What about the other talents where
they are not measured?
Have we become so obsessed with grades and
economics that we no longer care if our children
are having a decet childhood experiencing life
as it should be?
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