CMA Math - Discussion

[cool_hi]

After reading through onyva's experience, I starting to get worried..

I had just signed up my 4.5yr old girl, who's in K1 this year..
Mainly because we found her rather weak in her concept of maths, e.g. she can only count till 20(which we think is bad, but it's our fault as we didn't spend time with her for maths, as we were more concerned with her Chinese at 1st)..
At 1st, wanted to let her try MPM direct..but we think abacus will be good to develop her sesitivity to maths & is something which have to learn from young(we think MPM kind can go later)..

so far she had gone through 2 lessons, which she said she enjoy..but I'm worried about the latter homework & formulas now!!

Any advise on how long, or to what level should a child learn until, in order to have good maths sensibility?
I mean, I have pri, or even secondary students who can give me wrong answer for calculations like 6x8=56!! & when u ask them again, still give u wrong ans, without realising ans is wrong!!

Hope we will 'survive' CMA!

Thanks in advance!

[Poohbear]

Hi,


I hv pm u

[boonlaysg]

Hi Onyva


You don have to feel guilty. I know some parents have waded too deep into the pool to simply walk away from it...

As stated in my earlier post, my story is slightly different from yours.

I pull my son out from the programme despite the fact that he enjoyed it and is progressing v well..cos after a while, i also realise that abs only focus on the numbers and neglect the language component.

I think not many parents are aware but MOE's syllabus is not just about

1+2 = 3
3-1 = 2
2x2 = 4 or
4x2 = 8

and solving them as efficiently as possible...foundations for an Engineering mindset...

BUT it is also about being able to articulate a problem and understanding the various means of solving it...foundations for a Business mindset...

that is the reason why you do not see abs in mainstream maths syllabus.

after I pull my K2 son out, I re-started him on P1 Maths. Now my son is practicing on P2 Maths and I will be starting him on P3 Maths soon. Do note I am able to do so becos my kiddo can take the stress,...not bcos I force it on him.



Cheers.

[abacus_trainer]

Sorry to hear about Onyva’s experience. I guess the teacher was eager to show results, thus neglecting the fact that she maybe giving the child too much stress. From my own standard, the amount of home work describe by Onyva is indeed too much for a 5yo. Sometimes one method may work well for one child, may not work well for another child. Teaching children, we just have to try different approach. Sometimes be firm with them, sometimes be softer with them.


Looking from a different angle, at least the teacher tries to do something rather than just leave the child alone. Whether you learn or not it’s your own problem.

For parents whose child is with CMA, I think there is no need to over worry. It’s your child, you make the call. You can decide whether you want more or less homework, just tell the teacher. It’s not about what the teacher wants, it’s what the parents want.

As for boonlaysg’s comments… Indeed MOE’s syllabus is not only about +,-,x and /. But mastering +,-,x and / will provide a firm foundation for children to deal with the problem sums they need to tackle. Not all K2 are able to do P1 or P2 maths, some P1 can’t even do P1 questions.

Learning abacus is not only about +,-,x and /, it’s also for total brain development. Learning mental arithmetic trains the child to visualise and utilise their right brain. Problem sums trains the left brain (logic), mental arithmetic trains the right brain (creativity, arts and craft).

[onyva]

Hi abacus_trainer,


I don’t agree with your line: “Looking from a different angle, at least the teacher tries to do something rather than just leave the child alone. Whether you learn or not it’s your own problem.”

How can whether a child learns or not ever be the child’s own problem? Then what are teachers and educators for? Just to make a presentation, show-and-tell, in class on the topic of maths, then leave the child to decipher the concepts by herself? Coz whether the child understands or not, is not the teacher’s problem? It’s the child’s problem? The child’s fault?

What you are saying is exactly what my gal’s CMA teacher did – just deliver the CMA stuff in class, pull me one side and tell me what I need to teach my gal, then the rest is up to me and my gal. Now I realize why the CMA teacher did that. Coz it’s “our own problem”.

Whatever the teacher did is as good as doing nothing at all and leaving my child alone.

[abacus_trainer]

Please don’t get me wrong. You are misinterpreting what I am trying to say. I am not saying it’s the child’s problem. I am just saying, at least she tries to do something about it and not just leaves the child alone.


I am not sure about your girl’s teacher. The most basic requirement of being a trainer is patience and passion to teach. We want our students to bring back something that benefits them now and in future. We don’t just deliver.

Anyway, I don’t know your girl’s teacher. Pardon me for being nosy in the first place.

[Picolo]

Sorry but I’ll be a KPO too. Parental support to a pre-schooler is very important when it comes to learning new stuff, such as abacus, piano etc… However, it does not guarantee success within an x period of time as different people learn at different rates, just like kids grow at different rates, eg. some can achieve the height of 120 cm at K1, while some others can only reach this height when they are in P1 or P2. As parents we should be more discerning when selecting a (pte) teacher. If you are sure that the teacher is the problem, cut loss and move on to a good one.


Note: I don’t have kids in CMA. Please don’t be mistaken that I’m helping a_t. I just feel that somebody in a neutral position should ‘speak’ up.

[onyva]

Hi abacus_trainer,


Point taken and clarification understood. Thanks for that. But perhaps it’ll be helpful to be more cautious when phrasing such sensitive words in future. I have misinterpreted the throwaway line "Whether you learn or not it’s your own problem.", but the way it was phrased was not clear at all on what you had intended to mean.

Hi Picolo,

Yup, totally agree. So… my gal and I - we HAVE moved on from the teacher and CMA completely.

[concern2]

I have to agree that with CMA, it is the parents who do the bulk of coaching, and not the trainers. This is especially so for kids who perform outstanding results - those kids you see on TV, and the champions who win in the competitions.


If you just leave it to the child's own pace or rely on the trainers, you'd have to be prepared to spend a couple more years with CMA, i.e. if you wish to complete the entire course.

Because of the way the course is structured, the amount of work he/she does, determines how fast he/she advances. Whatever fun that the child initially had would have been eroded once you start pushing them to do more. Wouldn't that be the same as any other courses?

But why do so much then? Perhaps due to peer pressure, but more so, if you do only a few pages a week, when are you ever going to \"graduate\"? Up to the stage like Grade 6, you even have to repeat the same books a few times. Or Maybe it is the way CMA is being marketed. Every 'Genius' program would want to feature their 'superkids'. But we do not see the amount of work that goes on behind the scene.

The trainer who says \"drill, drill, drill\", I doubt if she is a parent - or if she is, I'd pity her kids. What better than to have our kids growing up happy and confident rather than remembering his childhood filled with worksheets - Abacus or not?

[Pen88n]

My gal is with CMA for the past 1+ year and she has progressed well. I agreed absolutely that parents need to put in the effort to coach the kid in order that the kid progress - it’s the same with every other course or new things the kid learn. Thru’out the learning journey, there will be hills and valleys, and it’s up to the parent to encourage the kid to climb thru’ those hills and encourage them to pull themselves thru’ the valleys. Learning cannot be fun all the way - that’s my personal opinion. It can be fun at times, but it involves hard work too. The kid who is a true learner is the one that is able to motivate himself when the going gets tough (and initially, the parent has to do this when they are young).


I am not expecting my gal to finish the whole course of CMA - I do not need her to be a "human calculator". What I want to inculcate in her is the basic maths foundation (±*/), a sensitivity to numbers and some discipline cum responsibility to focus and get work done within the allocated time. Every now and then thru’out this 1+ year, there are times whereby I can let go and she will progress, and there are times whereby I will have to step in again and put in the "encouragement" and "enforce" the discipline. I am not saying that CMA / abacus will suit all kids, but if the parents have the right expectation, this course is one that can help in "training" the kid’s brain in certain aspect.

This is purely my personal experience and opinion, but I hope it helps some parents to set the right expectations.