All About GEP

[sleepy]

Nebbermind:

I have personally know someone whose kid was academic award winner every year but did not even make it pass Rd 1. A big blow to the kid and also invited alot of bitching by both parents and fellow students behind the kid's back. very sad situation.


I used to be against such training but now more opened. For me, it you are trainable, then WHY NOT?

Heard of similar cases too.


To send or not to send for GEP training

My neighbhour is half hearted whether to send her ds for GEP training.

On one hand, she feels that it's money down the drain since he probably doesn't NEED it. He is a member of Mensa, obtained high distinctions in all ICAS papers, top his cohort. Yet on the other hand, she has this nagging thought telling her 'just in case', afterall no harm having more practice?

Her ds day dreams in class the entire time. Principal told her to wait for GEP screening since the school does not have extra resources to allocate any attention to her ds. And IF for whatever reason he is not selected, he has to suffer for another 3 years?

Indeed a difficult decision :roll:


Hi Parents
What do you think? Hers is not hothoused kind
So to send or not to send for GEP training in this situtation :scratchhead:

[ApronMama]

sleepy:

Nebbermind:

I have personally know someone whose kid was academic award winner every year but did not even make it pass Rd 1. A big blow to the kid and also invited alot of bitching by both parents and fellow students behind the kid's back. very sad situation.


I used to be against such training but now more opened. For me, it you are trainable, then WHY NOT?

Heard of similar cases too.


To send or not to send for GEP training

My neighbhour is half hearted whether to send her ds for GEP training.

On one hand, she feels that it's money down the drain since he probably doesn't NEED it. He is a member of Mensa, obtained high distinctions in all ICAS papers, top his cohort. Yet on the other hand, she has this nagging thought telling her 'just in case', afterall no harm having more practice?

Her ds day dreams in class the entire time. Principal told her to wait for GEP screening since the school does not have extra resources to allocate any attention to her ds. And IF for whatever reason he is not selected, he has to suffer for another 3 years?

Indeed a difficult decision :roll:


Hi Parents
What do you think? Hers is not hothoused kind
So to send or not to send for GEP training in this situtation :scratchhead:

Sleepy, the prep course does not warrent getting thru the GEP selection test either. Base on what you mentioned about the profile of the child, he may still be in a twining programme (eg NHPS) to enjoy doing some GEP courses such as Social Studies , IR, HCL etc. It used to be a \"privillage\" for GEP students but now it is not true anymore.

[vlim]

sleepy:

Nebbermind:

I have personally know someone whose kid was academic award winner every year but did not even make it pass Rd 1. A big blow to the kid and also invited alot of bitching by both parents and fellow students behind the kid's back. very sad situation.


I used to be against such training but now more opened. For me, it you are trainable, then WHY NOT?

Heard of similar cases too.


To send or not to send for GEP training

My neighbhour is half hearted whether to send her ds for GEP training.

On one hand, she feels that it's money down the drain since he probably doesn't NEED it. He is a member of Mensa, obtained high distinctions in all ICAS papers, top his cohort. Yet on the other hand, she has this nagging thought telling her 'just in case', afterall no harm having more practice?

Her ds day dreams in class the entire time. Principal told her to wait for GEP screening since the school does not have extra resources to allocate any attention to her ds. And IF for whatever reason he is not selected, he has to suffer for another 3 years?

Indeed a difficult decision :roll:


Hi Parents
What do you think? Hers is not hothoused kind
So to send or not to send for GEP training in this situtation :scratchhead:

sorry to be blunt....if he is selected without any tuition that means he is real gifted...if without tuition he is not qualify for the gep then ....maybe he is not good enough compare to the top 1% kids who are selected and be it lor..... I have heard of kid who are bored during lesson from p1 to p3 and get enroll into gep but struggle in it....SO...

[cluelessmama]

sleepy:

Nebbermind:

I have personally know someone whose kid was academic award winner every year but did not even make it pass Rd 1. A big blow to the kid and also invited alot of bitching by both parents and fellow students behind the kid's back. very sad situation.


I used to be against such training but now more opened. For me, it you are trainable, then WHY NOT?

Heard of similar cases too.


To send or not to send for GEP training

My neighbhour is half hearted whether to send her ds for GEP training.

On one hand, she feels that it's money down the drain since he probably doesn't NEED it. He is a member of Mensa, obtained high distinctions in all ICAS papers, top his cohort. Yet on the other hand, she has this nagging thought telling her 'just in case', afterall no harm having more practice?

Her ds day dreams in class the entire time. Principal told her to wait for GEP screening since the school does not have extra resources to allocate any attention to her ds. And IF for whatever reason he is not selected, he has to suffer for another 3 years?

Indeed a difficult decision :roll:


Hi Parents
What do you think? Hers is not hothoused kind
So to send or not to send for GEP training in this situtation :scratchhead:

From personal experience, let the derserving kid try out the GEP without interference (i.e. no training, pls). My kid had been day dreaming for the past three years before she entered GEP. Because kid has been very well behaved in class and results didn't suffer, teachers \"closed an eye\".

After kid was selected, we (parents) had many long talks with her about school life and what she really wanted. After attending the talks/exhibition (for those selected), she told us that she was interested in the programme although she didn't want to leave her friends. Eventually, we decided that she should try out the programme after having the assurance of the principal of her ex-school that they would allow her to return if she wanted to withdraw from the programme.

Now, she doesn't \"complain\" about being bored in school anymore. She is happy

Note: 1) Kid isn't a \"hot-house\" kid. 2)Except for Chinese, does not attend any tuition or enrichment classes for the other subjects. She values her free Sundays and Saturdays. 3)Still play NDS and Wii and read lots of storybooks. 4)My expection for kid - no need to be the first, but must put in the best effort. 5)Initially, my DH was also dead against GEP because of all the horror stories about it from his friends - Now, he is glad that kid is in the programme coz he can see her bieng happy and motivated.

:celebrate:

[TREX8]

sleepy:

Nebbermind:

I have personally know someone whose kid was academic award winner every year but did not even make it pass Rd 1. A big blow to the kid and also invited alot of bitching by both parents and fellow students behind the kid's back. very sad situation.


I used to be against such training but now more opened. For me, it you are trainable, then WHY NOT?

Heard of similar cases too.


To send or not to send for GEP training

My neighbhour is half hearted whether to send her ds for GEP training.

On one hand, she feels that it's money down the drain since he probably doesn't NEED it. He is a member of Mensa, obtained high distinctions in all ICAS papers, top his cohort. Yet on the other hand, she has this nagging thought telling her 'just in case', afterall no harm having more practice?

Her ds day dreams in class the entire time. Principal told her to wait for GEP screening since the school does not have extra resources to allocate any attention to her ds. And IF for whatever reason he is not selected, he has to suffer for another 3 years?

Indeed a difficult decision :roll:


Hi Parents
What do you think? Hers is not hothoused kind
So to send or not to send for GEP training in this situtation :scratchhead:

My two cents worth:
From the description, it seems that the child's profile is similar to that of a 'gifted' kid. Another trait I commonly hear of is that kids in GEP are avid readers.

If money and time is of no concern, and if parent really believe that the training centre really knows what GEP round2 tests look like and able to provide similar questions for training, then can consider training - abit like buying insurance for the 'just in case' thingy.

If money and time is of concern, then there is really no choice.

Just to share my observation, I know of kids who received intensive training (math olympic private tution at Pri 2, attend LL from Pri 1 etc) but who are not selected in round 2. I know of kids who didn't receive any training but were selected. I don't suppose there is a 'right' or 'wrong' answer to this question.

I find it puzzling about the part \"And IF for whatever reason he is not selected, he has to suffer for another 3 years?\".
Alot of high ability kids are NOT in GEP (which is only top 1%). I don't think they are 'suffering'. These kids are probably put together in the same class and are exposed to more challenging worksheets/activities, regardless of whether is the school a GEP centre or not.

I also understand that MOE tracks those who did well in Round 2 but were not within the 1%. These kids are frequently invited to activities organised by MOE.

[naggo-nitemare]

INNOVATE:

So my opinion is that there isn't any distinct advantage whether one is in a mainstream or GEP as far as upper primary is concern.

U don't seem to get the pt. No one ever said anything abt advantages of being in either this or tt. GEP is catered to kids who need a different track of education. Tt's all. Note the word NEED. get it?

At lower pri, my DS' form teacher felt her hands are tied, cos of the limited resources n time, to help pursue his passion n to accelerate at his pace. She advised us to wait for the GEP tests. When he got in (w/o training), he was so relieved tt he could free himself from the slow pace. He was determined to leave even when he was the top boy in his cohort.

Like everyone else has said, GEP kids hv quirks n special talents. If one rather be a journalist or a stage director (like beatrice chia) or choose other career paths tt does not conform to your idea of a success namely by winning in ur words 'the most prestigous' govt-related scholarships, I applaud tt person for daring to be different.

And pls reveal what are the sources tt u hv tt enables u to make statements abt interview skills. GEP kids are also like other kids of varying social and oral skills. My DS' classmate was exempted from oral tests because of an impediment, and another has stage fright. Being GEP doesnt mean tt they are perfect. I hope tt u will read up on other websites regarding gifted children or speak to proper officials from MOE before making any further comments. tks.

[cluelessmama]

Mine just want to be a poet. She ask me this recently : Do you think I can make a living out of writing poem? :? I wanted to tell her :NO Way! :!:

In the end, I told her this : It's good that you have a flair for writing poems and I love reading your poems. BTW, do you know that you can be a teacher or engineer, and still write great poems?

[sleepy]

TREX8:

I find it puzzling about the part \"And IF for whatever reason he is not selected, he has to suffer for another 3 years?\".

Alot of high ability kids are NOT in GEP (which is only top 1%). I don't think they are 'suffering'. These kids are probably put together in the same class and are exposed to more challenging worksheets/activities, regardless of whether is the school a GEP centre or not.

I think my neighbour ds situation is very similar to naggo-nitemare's ds.
Suffered as in his crave for learning & ability to learn at acelerated pace is not fulfilled in school

Her ds in the same school as my dd. No streaming until P5 :!:
There aren't twining programme or any top 2 classes. P5 stream by subject banding only

naggo-nitemare:

At lower pri, my DS' form teacher felt her hands are tied, cos of the limited resources n time, to help pursue his passion n to accelerate at his pace. She advised us to wait for the GEP tests. When he got in (w/o training), he was so relieved tt he could free himself from the slow pace. He was determined to leave even when he was the top boy in his cohort.

[metz]

Hi sunflowermom,


Take heart, your son is not the only one in such a situation. My friend's kid is also on the same boat. He is an avid reader and strongly interested in Science. Whereas, another friend's kid who has various academic \"enrichments\" since young is doing well. But I believe the one who is finding the programme challenging (without academic enrichments) is the more gifted one. The GEP programme is intended to challenge and stretch the kids. At the end of the day, a Gepper will stand to benefit most from the self discovery learning process. So, do encourage your son to see things in a more positive light. Aside from that, you can perhaps invest in books or encourage him to check out books in NLB. That will help him gain more understanding on the topics the programme is covering.

Btw, I'm really constantly puzzled by the number of GEP students attending external academic enrichments. Is that a sign that the GEP programme is not challenging enough? Or that these students can't rise up to the challenge? :?

[ngbrdad]

sunflowermom:

My DS is in P5 GEP this year...

My DS who is also in P5 GEP now probably shares the same situation as your son.
He also got into GEP unexpectantly.
The first year was tough but this year is not too bad.
He only takes Chinese tution as there is just simply no time for him to take other enrichment / tution after all the school work/projects/ECA/school enrichment etc.