Teach Less, Learn More

[buds]

rocklee:

Hey buds, you're back to active posting again! Thot you went into hybernation after giving birth to the prince.

Heyya luv! Miss reading ya around here too.. :snuggles:

Naaah, i was playing eenie meeenie where to make a ground-
breaking 9000th pitch. :rotflmao: Chief's camping trip is really
driving me nutz! :lol:

Hope your DS' teacher can be more encouraging..http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

D'ya think a heart to heart chat with the teacher might help?
Let the feedback flow out more like you truly need her motivation
to move mountains with your DS... reverse psychology does work.. :evil:

Plus teachers are kinda overworked with the load they're carrying..

I raised the issue of having too many children in my P4 DD's class
few months back.. she has like slightly over 40.. :faint: .. and the
AVP said, well.. my dd is in one of the better performing classes
so even with more they can cope.. :faint: .. Aniwaes, when a
phase came when we (yes, WE!) couldn't cope i raised the flag &
was calmly comforted by their understanding... well, perhaps i'm
new to their super onz ways too... but she's coping much much
better now.. imagine if i hadn't poured my heart out (i was in
confinement then too! )... things may not have settled in
that quickly for my DD1 and I..

In fact, I would've burnt out first boy! http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

rocklee:

Always :love: reading your posts. Forever so positive.

I try to.. especially when some crazy starts to evaporate.. so must
quickly quickly breathe breathe and relax... think... what did i want
to do/achieve at first before the fits.. :lol: Not easy, but i try. But
when it is accidentally released, i apologize for it for it didn't mean
to come out the way it did and then we'd all be good again. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

[Chenonceau]

ksi:

Teach Less is true....Learn More is false for the majority so the effect of this scheme is currently Teach Less Learn Less but More is still expected in exam questions.


Teach Less Learn less but More is required in exams.

I have experienced your perspective first hand; and my son and I are both in pain in his P5 year.

I've also experienced Teach Less Learn More first hand because I am trained to Teach Less so that my clients can learn more. I've used the methods with my son for fun, and interestingly, the 2 subjects where we did this are also the 2 where he continues to score in P5.

It could really be a case of our batches being caught in transition? It's a pity but judging from Buds' experience, it may be that the system is correcting itself and as it develops and gets stronger things will get better.

Meanwhile, we'll just have to try and manage as best we can? Maybe lah...

[Chenonceau]

Happy Mama:

This is a very nice way to describe them.... more compassionate and less condescending...

Hello dear... you have PM.

[Happy Mama]

Chenonceau:

Happy Mama:

This is a very nice way to describe them.... more compassionate and less condescending...

Hello dear... you have PM.

Hi... I've replied.

[buds]

teh_oh:

Hi Tamarind, my child just reached home at around 5pm due to similar 'holistic' activities in school. The class was still given homework for all 4 subjects to be handed in tomorrow and there are still Oral exam tomorrow, really bad news for those last minute mugger. He needs to go to bed by 8pm. Luckily our Oral revision is 85% done. We are not allowed to opt out of such afterschool activities and he will be having twice weekly CCAs (which he so looks forward to) next Semester. If schools want to TLLM, please cut down on written work or at least give the children more time to complete them.

Heyya teh_oh, i know this post was for tamarind, but i hope u won't mind
i cut in a bit. :oops: Teaching Less methodology is supposed to work still
within the same curriculum time frame, but ensuring they learn more by
being more engaged learners... thru' purposeful activities to help children
be more outta the box kinda students, instead of textbook learners.

Oral revision has always been done by the school on a regular basis for us
meaning the teachers put in extra effort to pump the emphasis of scoring
well for oral to push up Language grades since it is actually a non-study
area... however the teacher provides the neccessary jargon required to
understand how oral exams are graded... for flow... for content (picture
conversation)... and also cue the children on how to score the extras.

As for the homework part, i have had my share of that and raised the flag
to the teacher who brought it up to the principal and they came upon a
compromise not to give more than maximum 2 subject homework for
children especially most days they're engaged in supplementary class.
The teachers banded together to decide which days they would each
give the home assignments and MT teacher will usually check with
Language teacher if composition component is in the homework for
the day as they have compromised no 2 compo writing homework
in a day for the children.

I dunno if i have spoiled the market for DD1's level due to this change
but i sure heck know i made many many children much happier & more
rested. The teachers checked bk with DD1 and i thereafter to make sure
we were coping better. :love: They offered to review again if things didn't
improve... ultra sweet! :please:

In this scenario i was literally screaming HELP! :imdrowning: Drowning liao..
But the teachers made this way that i communicated into an effective one. Kudos to them!

I may have just developed post-natal depression if they didn't quickly arrive
with a feasible solution. Homework now is no longer quantity but truly truly quality
work, for the structure of the work now seems very much into zooming and
trouble shooting into the children's common weak areas. Frankly, i'm soo impressed. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

My DD1 is in P4.

[buds]

Chenonceau:

Buds, I think you expressed what I felt in my heart. The methodology is robust but not all Teachers can carry it off...

*hugs* for you... :hugs:

Most times, the people who carry off the methodology will showcase the
impact of its effectiveness. It is how the methodology is delivered that
truly counts, not just blaming the methodology in its entirety that it did
not work at all. As the support stems from a whole lotta people too in this
case of the Teach Less Learn More, it makes it all the more challenging as
the macro people up there have to evaluate that many people to fairly
appraise how this method have worked... or not.

Teachers can use more enrichment lessons (yes, just like our children) to
help them break the routine and the norm of school days so they can get
rejuvenated when they come back again to teach holistically. MOE or P's
can engage external speakers, vendors or facilitators to motivate teachers
on the how to's (make it work) and also the power to be able to evaluate
their own work to ensure they can improve from their first project and so
on.. When the reigns are being freed, that's where the quality of the Teach
Less may get disrupted.

My husband and i have been invited to come into the school and the class
rooms to personally be involved in how the teaching is carried out. We've
been invited to volunteer our strengths into what would make the method
more fun for the children too and we love it! This is more the open-door
policy we look forward to since forever! It also worked well for the teacher's
end for parents have less doubt and question and to how things are carried
out and what exactly children learn from all these fun... i mean yes, they
gotta learn something lar right... :lol: We looked forward to receiving more
invites and more opportunities to work with the children, with other parents,
the school and the teachers as the manner the method is carried out got
increasingly interesting... exciting and all-inclusive.

Chenonceau:

And not all Principals support it wholeheartedly yet. I also think you were most convincing because you actually did experience it in a primary school. My own experience of Teach Less Learn More has been with adult learners.

Agree abt the P thingy.

I have one in P4 if it does count as older
earners.. as compared to the P1s & P2s.

Chenonceau:

What you shared gave me renewed faith in the MOE, and I do hope it is just a matter of waiting for the kinks to be ironed out. By then too, my kids would have grown up. But it may benefit the grandchildren. Meanwhile, I'll just work a bit harder to help my son manage.

A system cannot be in place to suit and to make everybody happy regardless
of the industry. It usually is a matter of how we have to adapt or work our way
around it. I mean aren't we all obedient government citizens? Why has few
oppositions actually made it? Because the majority of us are soo used to the
system in place. :lol:

My children are fortunate in a sense that apart from receiving Montessori
education that complements the Teach Less Learn more beautifully, they
have the same fun your boy gets at home as well and yes, they learn
like that too... better if i may add... for they don't realise they were
learning in the first place... and that definitely helped them not to be
too cookie cutter in a sense.

Being the relentlessly striving forward proactive kinda parent you are, your
boy definitely is in good hands and will have you to thank and if you do feel
the burn-out no one will judge you either if the need does arise to outsource.
I did. Finally... But that's sharing for another area entirely. :lol:

So, whatever your choices are to best help your child is in YOUR best
interests for him and way fine. We do what moves them... always. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php
And hope they keep moving on as we slowly loosen the reigns...
when they can go into self-motivation mode. Uhmmm... If they go there
that is.. :lol:

Every child is different and this is where Teach Less Learn More aspires to
fill the missing gaps so that no child gets left behind.

[tamarind]

janet_lee88:

ppnqq:

[quote=\"tamarind\"]

In addition to what you have mentioned, a very important point is parents who are willing to send their kids to tuition centers, even though the kids are already scoring 90+ marks for every subject. I always see the photo of the girl from my kids' primary school, who scored above 275, hanging prominently outside a tuition center in Jurong Point. She obviously had additional help outside of school.

:!: Scoring 90 over for all subjects still need to have tuition? I do not call this kiasu.. there is no word that fits this perfectly, not even super kiasu. The poor child. :heartbroken:

Scoring above 90 is like WOW. Why still need tuition ?[/quote]All subjects above 90, does not mean that the child will get PSLE score of 270 and above right ? The parents are aiming to have the child appear in the MOE list of top scholars This is actually quite common. I have heard of a parent complaining in this forum that her child gets 4 A*, but PSLE score is less than 260.

[rocklee]

[quote]D'ya think a heart to heart chat with the teacher might help?

Let the feedback flow out more like you truly need her motivation
to move mountains with your DS... reverse psychology does work..

Plus teachers are kinda overworked with the load they're carrying.. [/quote]Hi buds, I agree with you that effective parent-teacher communication is important and my son certainly benefitted a lot from this for the past three years. However, for this year, I struggled for very long whether to see the teacher and have a heart to heart talk esp after seeing him so depressed but decided against the idea. Firstly, this teacher has more than 30 years of teaching experience, surely she will know better how to motivate kids. I believe she is under a lot of pressure from the new P who gives me the impression that result is what she wants to see. Secondly, if son's confidence could be shaken so easily, it shows that he is not mentally strong. This is perhaps a good opportunity for him to learn how to handle the problem on his own, with some support from me lah of course. The positive thing I see now is that every nite when I come home, he will say, \"Mummy, quick, come and go through Maths with me cos teacher is teaching this new topic tomorrow.\" :lol: He is afraid to be scolded or embarassed again if he makes mistakes. :scared: Just hope he can put in some effort if he thinks that he deserves a place in the top class. If not, next year he will have to say bye bye to his best buddy.
If he can't make it, mummy will still adore him as he is .

[cantbearit2]

ppnqq:

buds:

[quote=\"cantbearit2\"]haha....tis thread has attracted 2 heavyweights. 1st there was Buds, then now come Tamarind. Hee.... :lol:

You guys.. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

Did she just call me heavy... weight...? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

Oh no! I shouldn't have downed both the Haagen D's Belgian Chocs..

Ahem, IMHO, she may not be referring to 'that' part but rather 'the other', like those in your.. avatar? Seriously, I can imagine myself being suffocated 'in there'. :politebleah: :siam:[/quote]Aiyo, all of u tink too much lah. IM juz referring to 2 v active contributors (sori got to gif them e credit agn cos keep reading their thread ) of KSP forum lah. Not weight & err....body part lor.... haha.... :lol:

Now tat buds mention abt neighbourhood sch, there is somethg I will like to share.

Juz came back fr my family doc. He is v kind to share his views abt our ED sys. Although both his DS is in a branded sch, he does not wan to send his youngest DD (3 y.o. now) to one in future.

Reason quoted by him being, his DS sch presumes everyone had some form of enrichm (learn more) so T dun have to teach as much (teach less). :frustrated:

He did his research & compare notes wif some of his frenz who sent their kids to neighbourhood sch. He realised that some of these neighbourhood schs actually had more enrichm (not necessarily equate more stress) for their students compared wif his DS sch. Although he said he's not sure abt other branded schs but tis is definitely e case for his DS sch. In conclusion, he warned me not 2b too concern abt elite sch. Instead focus on wat e sch had to offer in terms of their prog. So i guess although TLLM is MOE's direction but diff schs may execute it in vastly diff manner. Let's hope MOE is fine tuning their execution

For those caught in tis teething period & not getting e help fr T & P aft open comm, 靠自几 ya?!

[cantbearit2]

buds:

True. True. But don't tell me in say 10 Primary 1 classes in a school, 9
of them are hopeless cases? :!:

I mean, we gotta also be fair to the teaching pool for we may not know
their side of the coin. We shouldn't generalise or stereotype ALL teachers
to be so, just cos we got one or two bad ones, while i do not deny that 1 or
2 is depressing enough and bad enough for it can spiral down a child's
motivation faster than a tunnel slide... and not to mention it will be hard
to build it back up once again.

This can be avoided if the teacher allows for effective communication, not
just open communication... it HAS to be effective.

haha...mayb I saw too many teachers who r juz doing their job & P does not gif clear guidelines to e teachings in sch. I have met up wif some P prior to PV application b4 DD1's registration & was impressed wif some, disappointed wif lots. Mayb my expectations was too high. :lol:

I always held great admiration for educators wif passion. My DH's aunt was a P wif a heart. Her passion is contagious. Her 3 daughters R v well brought up. Patient, caring, respectful, helpful and still fun loving and creative. Unfortunately tis aunt was promoted & trf to MOE HQ so no longer a P.

I was also impressed wif another neighbourhood sch P who ans all my Q sincerely wif honesty.

So all is not lost to these educators. Guess it's pretty stress being a teacher these days??? I really have to hand it to those T who still have e fire in them aft many yrs. of teaching. :salute:

buds:

:thankyou:
Finally broke my fast with that loooooong sharing..
Hope it didn't bore anyone.. paiseh. :oops:
Just thought to throw in some balance.

I nv get bored wif your postings lah, juz wish for more. :evil: IM currently reading e Montessori thread wif lots of inputs fr u.