Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools
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floppy\" post_id=\"2032021\" time=\"1627432092\" user_id=\"97579:
In the context of the article, I think it’s the other way. Rather than landing up in a 2CS school becos all the hot schools have been taken up, he was referring to parents enrolling kids into a hot school without considering if it’s the best fit for the child.
I don’t think the Ministry has changed it’s tune. MOE focus has always been in providing quality education, and it has done well. The politicians, on the other hand…zac's mum\" post_id=\"2032018\" time=\"1627424715\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2032018 time=1627424715 user_id=53606]Ministry of Education has changed its tune now? No more “every school a good school” but they admit and acknowledge that there’s a best fit school for each child?
Parliament: MPs want to see more efforts made to check on students’ mental health and bullying in schools
https://www.todayonline.com/node/12037816
“Every school, a good school” may be an aspirational message, it was never a good one to begin with. Most people are well aware of the disparity in resources and quality in every school. MOE should be applauded for trying to move the leadership positions around the schools, but the principal isn’t able to overcome any structural shortcomings that the school has.
By the way, a “best fit” school is also a problematic message, especially for P1 registration. I don’t think anyone wants to be in a ill-fitting school, especially one where I don’t get to choose but landed up in, because all the “fit” schools have already been taken up.[/quote]
But I get what you mean by we don’t always have a choice. Imagine if u have 4 kids and all different personality, u still have to use Phase 1 and stick with it for convenience of transport. Also if u have a sure-in 2A1 priority, u will still have to use it even if bad fit, Eg. If your next door school has crazy balloting at 2C.
Quote:
“Mr Chan said putting a child in a popular school may do more harm than good if it is a bad fit.” -
zac's mum\" post_id=\"2032030\" time=\"1627441360\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2032030 time=1627441360 user_id=53606]
In the context of the article, I think it’s the other way. Rather than landing up in a 2CS school becos all the hot schools have been taken up, he was referring to parents enrolling kids into a hot school without considering if it’s the best fit for the child.floppy\" post_id=\"2032021\" time=\"1627432092\" user_id=\"97579:
I don’t think the Ministry has changed it’s tune. MOE focus has always been in providing quality education, and it has done well. The politicians, on the other hand…[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2032018 time=1627424715 user_id=53606]Ministry of Education has changed its tune now? No more “every school a good school” but they admit and acknowledge that there’s a best fit school for each child?
Parliament: MPs want to see more efforts made to check on students’ mental health and bullying in schools
https://www.todayonline.com/node/12037816
“Every school, a good school” may be an aspirational message, it was never a good one to begin with. Most people are well aware of the disparity in resources and quality in every school. MOE should be applauded for trying to move the leadership positions around the schools, but the principal isn’t able to overcome any structural shortcomings that the school has.
By the way, a “best fit” school is also a problematic message, especially for P1 registration. I don’t think anyone wants to be in a ill-fitting school, especially one where I don’t get to choose but landed up in, because all the “fit” schools have already been taken up.[/quote]
But I get what you mean by we don’t always have a choice. Imagine if u have 4 kids and all different personality, u still have to use Phase 1 and stick with it for convenience of transport. Also if u have a sure-in 2A1 priority, u will still have to use it even if bad fit, Eg. If your next door school has crazy balloting at 2C.
Quote:
“Mr Chan said putting a child in a popular school may do more harm than good if it is a bad fit.”[/quote]Parents mentality need to change first. putting kid into top schools (GEP, SAP, Branded) doesn't guarantee the child will do well at end of primary school education.
There are too many examples of pupils not doing well from these schools and ended up in N(A), N(T) as well as affiliates not making back to their affiliated secondary schools.
Until mindsets change, every year is a repeated story of the usual suspects heading into balloting as early as 2A1. -
Orb\" post_id=\"2032031\" time=\"1627441817\" user_id=\"25015:
zac's mum\" post_id=\"2032030\" time=\"1627441360\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2032030 time=1627441360 user_id=53606]
Parents mentality need to change first. putting kid into top schools (GEP, SAP, Branded) doesn't guarantee the child will do well at end of primary school education.
There are too many examples of pupils not doing well from these schools and ended up in N(A), N(T) as well as affiliates not making back to their affiliated secondary schools.
Until mindsets change, every year is a repeated story of the usual suspects heading into balloting as early as 2A1.\"Parents mentality need to change first. putting kid into top schools (GEP, SAP, Branded) doesn't guarantee the child will do well at end of primary school education. \"
While I hear what you say, I understand zac's mum issue as well.
I may not want to put my child in a GEP or SAP school because it \"doesn't fit\" (without even considering the personalities of multiple children). However, the nearby school that \"fit\" faces balloting at Phase 2C and is not a guaranteed whereas I have guaranteed placement in a GEP or SAP school at Phase 2A1 or 2A2. What are my options?
- Go for a \"fit\" school but may end up in a Phase 2CS school which also \"doesn't fit\" (or worst, unwanted); or
- Go for a \"doesn't fit\" school but without ballot? -
Orb\" post_id=\"2032031\" time=\"1627441817\" user_id=\"25015:
Due to the high costs of living in Singapore, parents nowadays seldom have 4 kids, unless they are from well to do family.
Parents mentality need to change first. putting kid into top schools (GEP, SAP, Branded) doesn't guarantee the child will do well at end of primary school education.zac's mum\" post_id=\"2032030\" time=\"162744:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2032030 time=162744]In the context of the article, I think it’s the other way. Rather than landichool becos all the hot schools have been taken up, he was referring to parents enrolling kids into a hot school without considering if it’s the best fit for the child.
But I get what you mean by we don’t always have a choice. Imagine if u have 4 kids and all different personality, u still have to use Phase 1 and stick with it for convenience of transport. Also if u have a sure-in 2A1 priority, u will still have to use it even if bad fit, Eg. If your next door school has crazy balloting at 2C.
Quote:
“Mr Chan said putting a child in a popular school may do more harm than good if it is a bad fit.”
There are too many examples of pupils not doing well from these schools and ended up in N(A), N(T) as well as affiliates not making back to their affiliated secondary schools.
Until mindsets change, every year is a repeated story of the usual suspects heading into balloting as early as 2A1.[/quote]
Commonly found in Singapore families are usually 2 kids, because having one child is just too lonely ! 2 is just nice, because siblings can talk and play together, keep each other company, not so lonely. Sometimes, families do have 3 kids too. Eg. In some Non-Chinese speaking families, where 3 is the minimum
For logistic purposes,
for families with 2 or 3 kids, is easier to enrol them into the same primary school. Eg. take the same school bus
If a child face difficulty coping in a highly stressed academic school, it makes sense for parents to transfer them out to a lesser known school, that is not so popular, less competitive.
However,
on the other hand, parents at times faced dilemma too.
Why ?
Because
Principal(s) of the \"Applied-Transfer-To \" schools sometimes do not want to consider nor accept students who are not doing well, in their originating schools,
even though
parents do want to transfer their child out, into lesser academic stressed schools. This is an issue, unless the Principal(s) of these schools are compassionate -
What do you parents opine is a fit or unfit school for a young kid at tender age of 6 years old when parents are considering primary school options? For popular schools where academically competitively, how would parents know your child is unfit?
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mummyvolk\" post_id=\"2032268\" time=\"1627644898\" user_id=\"192657:
I feel it is fair to generalize that the majority of kids learn very fast, hence from learning point of view, technically they would not have problem being in academically competitive schools. However, that is only part of the equation. Kids' characters and learning styles are important consideration as well, some kids are competitive by nature, the never give up type, some are anxiety prone, some are resilient, some are not, some are restless, get bored easily, some confident, some less willing to explore etc22.
What do you parents opine is a fit or unfit school for a young kid at tender age of 6 years old when parents are considering primary school options? For popular schools where academically competitively, how would parents know your child is unfit?
Given all things equal in terms of learning pace and easy access to tuition, imagine a nervous anxious child, being placed in a high strung environment at such young age may not help with his/her learning journey in the long run. On the other hand, a competitive confident child may thrive very well in that same environment. Of course, one might argue there are always some exception, for example, under the guidance of good teachers, a nervous child, when thrown in a competitive school may very well blossom too. Ultimately only parents know how their kids would fare in competitive schools, whether or not they choose to accept or ignore facts (that the kids are not suitable for such schools) is another story 😂 -
To be candid, at tender age of 6, most if not all children are not place in a competitive environment yet. Where did they ever have? Childcare and kindergarten are mainly play and non test and no homework. They are not involve in competitions nor a scoring system per say. So how do we know if they can adapt or even excel in a competitive school? If they display certain leadership or assertive behaviours, they may be consider as stronger will and mind? I think family influence to build up their resilience and character is one core factor. In general kids at this age are also short attention and get bored easily. Nonetheless some kids are introvert but smart. Perhaps the human social skills that is lacking may be the downfall to how they cope in school. Bottom line is, i still cannot fathom how parents determine at tender age of 6 if a school
is fit or suitable a not. -
mummyvolk\" post_id=\"2032344\" time=\"1627711404\" user_id=\"192657:
Just go to this website or Google free exam papers SG primary 1. There you can see what the kids will be tested on. Look for 2019 and earlier, since in 2020 content was cut due to Covid. https://www.sgtestpaper.com/primary/download_2019/y19_p1_HChinese_Tao_Nan_test3_paper.html
To be candid, at tender age of 6, most if not all children are not place in a competitive environment yet. Where did they ever have? Childcare and kindergarten are mainly play and non test and no homework. They are not involve in competitions nor a scoring system per say. So how do we know if they can adapt or even excel in a competitive school? If they display certain leadership or assertive behaviours, they may be consider as stronger will and mind? I think family influence to build up their resilience and character is one core factor. In general kids at this age are also short attention and get bored easily. Nonetheless some kids are introvert but smart. Perhaps the human social skills that is lacking may be the downfall to how they cope in school. Bottom line is, i still cannot fathom how parents determine at tender age of 6 if a school
is fit or suitable a not.
You can compare across schools, the varying difficulty of the papers.
Eg P1 year-end exam for Tao Nan:
https://www.sgtestpaper.com/primary/test_papers_2019/primary_1_chinese/P1_HChinese_2019_Tao_Nan_test3_Papers.pdf -
mummyvolk\" post_id=\"2032344\" time=\"1627711404\" user_id=\"192657:
To be candid, at tender age of 6, most if not all children are not place in a competitive environment yet. Where did they ever have? Childcare and kindergarten are mainly play and non test and no homework. They are not involve in competitions nor a scoring system per say. So how do we know if they can adapt or even excel in a competitive school?
Some competitive activities do exist in preschools, both in classroom as well as outdoors. For instance, in my child's preschool, some teachers assign number grades for each word they can recognize correctly. I have heard kids who regularly discuss, who get perfect numbers, and who often get the lowest, and how they want to either maintain perfect scores or \"always want 100\", similarly, there are kids who are not too bothered. My own spouse memorized his classmates' grades throughout primary (since P1), secondary and JC for the sole purpose of \"wanting to beat\" them in grades! He acknowledged of course looking back, it was very silly, but yes he fit in very well in that kind of environment. In a different preschool, a friend's daughter tells her mom which kids are behind her in terms of lessons and was very unhappy when a new boy was better in answering questions. Also have seen a kid who gets nervous when other kids do better, that becomes his motivation in striving to do better. So I believe there are certain traits kids display during preschool years that possibly enable them to fit in highly competitive schools naturally. -
zac's mum\" post_id=\"2032352\" time=\"1627715414\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2032352 time=1627715414 user_id=53606]
Thanks zac’s mum. looking at that level for higher chinese etc, the kids will have to undergo enrichment classes in pre school and throughout their primary school journey. So it is whether our child can endure the mountain of homework, enrichment classes to keep up, and for parents whether that’s the childhood that they want their children to grow up in, and i guess be a tiger mummy too because somehow our children will resist every now and then to this stressful regime of high standard.mummyvolk\" post_id=\"2032344\" time=\"1627711404\" user_id=\"192657:Just go to this website or Google free exam papers SG primary 1. There you can see what the kids will be tested on. Look for 2019 and earlier, since in 2020 content was cut due to Covid. https://www.sgtestpaper.com/primary/download_2019/y19_p1_HChinese_Tao_Nan_test3_paper.html
You can compare across schools, the varying difficulty of the papers.
Eg P1 year-end exam for Tao Nan:
https://www.sgtestpaper.com/primary/test_papers_2019/primary_1_chinese/P1_HChinese_2019_Tao_Nan_test3_Papers.pdf
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