Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary

[markfch]

php:

We can't blame her for all these happenings..why you and i send our kids to PH? why so many parents out there queuing up to get a place for their kids in PH? Principal and teachers have a KPI to meet....The culprit is our education policies....

I recalled being delighted when I saw that PH's PSLE results for 2009. Those were big, big improvements over previous yrs which I'm sure is due in no small part to the new principal's leadership. Sometimes I think it's hard to be result oriented and yet be maintain the people orientation trait as well (though I'm not saying she's not). Very often in the corporate world at least, these 2 considerations are polar opposites of each other.

After reading your encounter with the student, the more I think I'll support the collage initiative. So what if I'm from the slowest class as long as I tried my best. Many students do not have the privilege of having parents like us to guide & fast-track them (though my ds may disagree, he'll say 'you call that a privilege?'). Some may even come from broken family and be severely disadvantaged. As long as our kids make the best of what they have, they shouldn't be unfairly labelled.

[Jennifer]

php:

Jennifer:

What had changed in these four years?

We can't blame her for all these happenings..why you and i send our kids to PH? why so many parents out there queuing up to get a place for their kids in PH? Principal and teachers have a KPI to meet....The culprit is our education policies....

I was just asking what had changed, not pointing finger at the principal.

FYI I transfered my elder boy to PH based on testimonial from a neighbour whose eldest child spent her P1 to P3 years in PH (under the administration of the ex-principal). I was sold on the idea of a more holistic approach towards education vs the then drilling approach in BPPS (again confirmed with a mother whose two older children were in the top class in upper pri levels in BPPS).

I am not sure why so many parents are q'g to get into PH. Just two years ago, a casual acquintance kept calling me up to ask abt PH. Now that her child is transferred into PH this year, she had not called me since.

Just to share a personal encounter with the ex,ex bookstore vendor. I called up the bookstore to make some enquiries. Becos my boy was transferred at the start of P4, there were some things I was not familiar with. Upon knowing my boy was newly transferred to PH, the vendor began asking me why choose PH, such a lousy sch, u know so many pupils transferred out, only you fool transfer in, even neighbourhood schs like Unity is better than PH, PH not producing good results, aiyo u shld hv chosen other schs, etc. Funny I still remember all these.

It is true that everyone has to meet a target set by higher authority. Sometimes along the way, there are casualities. Very sad indeed, esp these are young children who are supposedly our future.

Rather than renaming classes, changing the class placement method, I still prefer early subj banding. EL is the medium in which most subj are taught, so naturally this is a good benchmark to rank the pupils. Then bombard the weaker pupils with fun ways of learning EL and implement compulsory class read aloud sessions with good EL books. Once the EL foundation is built up properly, these pupils will hv less prob with MA and Sci.

My boys' tuition centre tutors, senior tutor and principal all agree that PH Chinese std is very high. A PH pupil scoring 60/100 is equivalent to a neighbourhood sch pupil scoring 70/100. No doubt PH is a SAP sch, but is there a need to push for an unusually high Chinese std academically?

My boys are not stupid, but they fear CL. It is no longer a nurturing environment for learning CL. How many other children esp those who did not attend CL enrichment at whatever enrichment centres since kindy years are beaten becos of this? So aka the rich gets richer, the poor gets poorer scenario occurs.

I wld say the pursuit for academic success might be the cause of weaker pupils in the sch being sacrificed.

[Jennifer]

markfch:

I recalled being delighted when I saw that PH's PSLE results for 2009. Those were big, big improvements over previous yrs which I'm sure is due in no small part to the new principal's leadership.

I was told the ex-principal cared more for holistic development n neglected academic targets.

But academic success also comes with a price. The challenge is to minimise damage to some pupils' belief in themselves.

[php]

Jennifer:

php:

[quote=\"Jennifer\"]What had changed in these four years?

We can't blame her for all these happenings..why you and i send our kids to PH? why so many parents out there queuing up to get a place for their kids in PH? Principal and teachers have a KPI to meet....The culprit is our education policies....

I was just asking what had changed, not pointing finger at the principal.
[/quote]sorry, Jennifer.. i don't mean that...just a general statement...

[Funx3]

php:

i believe it happened only recently, the result of pursuing academic excellence....

Or Rather, the Result of \"STOP\" Pursuing Academic Excellence (especially if U R not \"Gifted\" in tis aspect, speaking on behalf of the Kids ..... )

Nowadays I encourage my Kids to Develop and further their area of Interest, and Not merely Academically .....

Told them Mummy will be always supportive of whatever interest they wish to develop further ....

Find that I can speak to them MORE Relax and on more \"FRIEND-FRIEND\" term with them NOW ....
With 2 teenage sons, and a very Matured thinking P5 Gal, U can't \"Talk Down\" to Teenagers, They will \"TALK BACK\" to you ....

[Jennifer]

Funx3:

Find that I can speak to them MORE Relax and on more \"FRIEND-FRIEND\" term with them NOW ....

With 2 teenage sons, and a very Matured thinking P5 Gal, U can't \"Talk Down\" to Teenagers, They will \"TALK BACK\" to you ....

Exactly

[Funx3]

Jennifer:

Funx3:

Find that I can speak to them MORE Relax and on more \"FRIEND-FRIEND\" term with them NOW ....

With 2 teenage sons, and a very Matured thinking P5 Gal, U can't \"Talk Down\" to Teenagers, They will \"TALK BACK\" to you ....

Exactly

Share with U some ticklish exchange I had Today with 2 Newly \"Upgraded\" Mummy of S1 this year ....

Exchange No 1 :
\"My Mommy Loves to Eat Fish Bones ....\" Mummy 1 DD Announced to the Whole Class ....
Huh?
Mummy 1 Quickly Clarify, \"Who Finish All the Fish Meat Huh???? Of course I got to Eat the Fish Bones ONLY!!!\"
Seeing Mummy Always get to Eat the Fish Bones, DD really believe that's her Favourite .....


Exchange No 2 :
Enquiry to my DD Today after her Dance Rehersal, \" What Shall we have for Lunch?\"
DD, \"Ummmmp, Bubble Tea!\"
\" U mean Mummy have the Bubble and U have the Tea ?\"
Mummy 2 and 3 Reply Together, \" Me Too, Bubble to me and Tea to DD!\"

See How we Mummies are ALL Alike in Pampering our DD?
We get the Dubious \"Honours\" of Polishing Off Whatever Leftover Food from them .....

[php]

Funx3:

php:

i believe it happened only recently, the result of pursuing academic excellence....

Or Rather, the Result of \"STOP\" Pursuing Academic Excellence (especially if U R not \"Gifted\" in tis aspect, speaking on behalf of the Kids ..... )

Nowadays I encourage my Kids to Develop and further their area of Interest, and Not merely Academically .....

Told them Mummy will be always supportive of whatever interest they wish to develop further ....

Find that I can speak to them MORE Relax and on more \"FRIEND-FRIEND\" term with them NOW ....
With 2 teenage sons, and a very Matured thinking P5 Gal, U can't \"Talk Down\" to Teenagers, They will \"TALK BACK\" to you ....

parents play an important role in that...i rem one of my cousins was from one \"gangster\" primary school in Jurong (now this school is one of the top school in Jurong) and his result was so bad that he was streamed into those 7 years or 8 years of primary education. ( is it E1 or E2 something like that) ? everybody thought that he was a goner. but surprisingly, he did well enough in PSLE to go to Express stream. Then did well enough in O level to do engineering in SP and lastly earned himself an engineering degree from NTU. every kids must be given a chance..

[Funx3]

php:

Then did well enough in O level to do engineering in SP and lastly earned himself an engineering degree from NTU. every kids must be given a chance..

Yeah Agreed Whole-heartedly with U.
Some Kids will travel a more \"Long and Winding\" Route than Others ....
So there R Some Merits in the S'pore Education System that R in Place Now, I mean the Many Other Avenues Open for Continuing Studies ....

Every Kid is Different, and will Proper whether Now or Later ....

[verykiasu2010]

this thread is growing by 10 or 20 pages per day ?? :salute: :salute: