2019 PSLE Discussions and Strategies (Children born in 2007)
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New post for parents
https://passioninlearning.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/first-written-post-of-2018/ -
There is a point of diminishing returns to giving more homework and homework overload can have detrimental effects on learning;
Assignment of homework, if un-regulated and un-coordinated across subjects/departments, can lead to homework overload; and
Amount of homework assigned to students, where appropriate, should be differentiated, such as by academic courses or ability level.
Teachers also need to be mindful that school holidays are meant for students to take a break from formal learning and they should therefore not be given excessive homework. As a guide, if homework is to be given during the school holidays, the daily homework load should not be more than 50% of the daily load given during the school week. No homework is to be administered during major festivals namely, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji and Deepavali.
With the banding of classes for various subjects such as Maths / Mother Tongue, how do school teachers plan how much homework to give students. I urge all school teachers who come to this forum to think how realistic you think your students can complete homework from various subject teachers and yet have to stay back in school at least 3 to 4 times a week till late and to submit homework next day.
Does MOE have a homework policy for all schools? I doubt so. I think it should be time that someone looks into this, be it the principal of the schools or any MOE officials reading this. -
Some schools with good leadership hv teacher co-ordibating with each other at each level to ensure there is no overload of hmwork. At times when the kids hv Competition & challenged to hand up hmwork, on written (email) appeals, were granted extended time to hand up.
In fact, when my kids were in primary schools, the FT advised that they shld not take longer than half/hour to an hour to complete school hmwork as it’s designed to be progressive learning. Not chunks thrown for kids to complete at one seating.
Yes, I agree that all teachers in whatever schools shld not just mindlessly dish out loads of hmwk just to occupy learning space.
I rmbr my kids were quick learners & don’t take very long to complete. They’ve plenty of time to enjoy outings & play-dates whether a movie, trip to Science Centre with frds or swim, etc
Parents & teachers shld help young children to hv balance time and not compromise study or childhood. -
sembgal:
Your dd has a lot of homework ah?There is a point of diminishing returns to giving more homework and homework overload can have detrimental effects on learning;
Assignment of homework, if un-regulated and un-coordinated across subjects/departments, can lead to homework overload; and
Amount of homework assigned to students, where appropriate, should be differentiated, such as by academic courses or ability level.
Teachers also need to be mindful that school holidays are meant for students to take a break from formal learning and they should therefore not be given excessive homework. As a guide, if homework is to be given during the school holidays, the daily homework load should not be more than 50% of the daily load given during the school week. No homework is to be administered during major festivals namely, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji and Deepavali.
With the banding of classes for various subjects such as Maths / Mother Tongue, how do school teachers plan how much homework to give students. I urge all school teachers who come to this forum to think how realistic you think your students can complete homework from various subject teachers and yet have to stay back in school at least 3 to 4 times a week till late and to submit homework next day.
Does MOE have a homework policy for all schools? I doubt so. I think it should be time that someone looks into this, be it the principal of the schools or any MOE officials reading this.
I have been monitoring the homework load this year and I think it boils down to the below few factors for my side:
- syf this year and hence more practice sessions and therefore less time to do homework ( my p6 mummy friends were telling me it is even more stressful if syf is in your P6 year)
- mindset of teachers in dishing out homework (quality vs quantity); for example, focus more on problem sums rather than maths workbook for the better classes?
- mindset of teachers in accepting homework one day later ( ok for my side)
- willingness of teacher to listen to feedback from students ( luckily feedback was accepted by some teachers that Friday's homework are not to be handed in on Monday but Tuesday instead because the vocal ones told teachers they are crammed with tuition, piano and ballet on weekends and there is no way to finish)
- HCL compre requires 'more time' to think through answers as it is a new format to them ( 2-3 day turn around period for some homework that require more thinking)
Maybe you can try have a word with teachers to see if they are open to feedback and make some tweaks here and there? JMHO because so far our teachers have been making above tweaks mentioned in ' brackets' after hearing from students/ parents. -
With the change in leadership, there will be a redirection of the school focus. As such, I am monitoring the homework load before I do any feedback. I welcome homework but Teachers must be mindful of giving too much homework on a Thursday so they can mark homework over the weekends. It would be justifiable to extend Thursday homework to Friday or spread out over 2 days.
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Homework is one area that MOE should step in and provide some guidance and ensure it is consistent across all schools. So far, my daughter’s school is the only one that remains the most chilled. My P4 and P5 are able to complete their homework within an hour. On certain days, they can complete within 30 to 45 min. Sometimes there isn’t any at all. My take is school can dish out a little more. In comparison, I always hear from friends that children (from the elite schools) have no time for play/ swim or watch TV. It is already a huge relief if they can complete all their schoolwork before 10pm. Frequently, sleep is compromised because of hw and in this growing up age, having sufficient hours of sleep is very important.
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love1001:
Homework is one area that MOE should step in and provide some guidance and ensure it is consistent across all schools. So far, my daughter's school is the only one that remains the most chilled. My P4 and P5 are able to complete their homework within an hour. On certain days, they can complete within 30 to 45 min. Sometimes there isn't any at all. My take is school can dish out a little more. In comparison, I always hear from friends that children (from the elite schools) have no time for play/ swim or watch TV. It is already a huge relief if they can complete all their schoolwork before 10pm. Frequently, sleep is compromised because of hw and in this growing up age, having sufficient hours of sleep is very important.
My kid is in one of the \"elite\" schools in B.Timah and I personally don't think that's true, as in overload of homework in p4 & p5. I think it has been very reasonable most of the time and it can be completed within an hour or so. Yes, in p6 this goes up exponentially ... not sure if it's the same in other schools, whether they're labeled elite or not but I gather it's for preparation of psle.
In fact, what I notice is that many kids are overloaded not because of school homework but more from their other activities, e.g. Tuition & the accompanying tuition homework, academic and non-academic enrichments and activities. -
I think it depends on the teachers. Teachers who give a lot of homework tend to be new (they are not sure which optional homework to give up), disorganised (go into panic mode and starts throwing out homework), teachers who feel pressure to produce results etc. Also what feels like an acceptable amount of homework will be much more for a child struggling with certain components. 15 problem sums is a breeze if you know how to do them all. It is an entire afternoon of struggle if you don’t know how to do them.
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As the hokkien sayings - "要拼才会赢”. Most of my friends’ children, nieces and nephew are from SHHK schools and the amount of homework I heard from them as well as personally seeing my niece doing, is really no joke. This is especially so in that 2 SHHK schools in the East (top classes). These schools consistently produce excellent PSLE results year after year so it is probably equilvalent to the amount of effort put in. In turn, teachers continue to dish out more and more work since these exceptionally smart and efficient students are able to complete them regardless of the amount anyway.
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