Petition to Review the Singapore Education System
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Oh, would like to add, this 'teach less learn more' is total nonsense!
Right now, teachers are teaching 20% while parents or tutors covered the remaining 80% :rant:
Of course we can always say we choose not to join the 'rat race'. This is true if a child is taught 80% in school, then yes, we can choose to let him relax once he's home, no point chasing after that few additional marks. However, is it reasonable to be taught 20% in school and expect to child to conquer the remaining 80% through self study?
Like what gahmen always say, must teach the workers how to fish. But our students aren't taught how to fish, they are simply thrown into the ocean in my opinion :shock: -
sleepy:
Totally agree. Streaming is not without problems but is a practical option. subject banding practiced in some schools is better.By the way, I'm not against streaming. If kids of similar abilities are group together in a class, it is actually much easier for teacher to teach and it makes learning more pleasurable for the kids too.
Imagine a class of 40 with mixed abilities, top 5 under challenged, bottom 10 super demoralised. And teacher should focus on which group - the middle 25?
Streaming is only stressful because parents aspire their kids to be in the top 2 classes. Just change that mindset la. What's wrong with being in the bottom class? -
I support this petition.
At least by p4/p5 most kids will need tut ions in one or more subjects. So yes. -
Chenonceau, that was a great analysis about bell curve. And how it fails to suit the objectives of the the objectives of our education.
One point is irrespective of the methodology, the point remains that psle is a placement exam. What drives us to forces us to drill our kids? The fact that the demand for good schools is high and we hope that by some means they can cross this hurdle . And we will do this no matter what the methodology. As long as we can . Even if in the process we kill the creative spark, the zeal for learning, and fit them into the black and white world of this is right , that is wrong - sorry no greys. (That’s not in the syllabus u see! )
Though isn’t it strange that is such a hot topic, but the same doesn’t exist in sec school. Is it not a proof that as the sec school syllabus being beyond the reach of some of us, and the fact sec school students are too busy to have time for parents to teach/check that this problem is far subdued. Added to the fact that the tuition are not the norm here.
Yeah, I am saying this problem started with parents entering the fray. But we are now in the catch 22 situation. It is now not a advantage to be an involved parent but a necessity. So much so that we feel the pressure. And not to get involved is unfair to the child since many other kids are getting help and support from parents/enrichment centers/tutors.
The long term solution is were parents can aid in the emotional and creative part of education and leave the academics to the teachers. For this we need good teachers and small teacher :child ratio. Yes education system approach needs a revamp, not so much the academics/syllabus.
The point is if we now make arts,music, sports a part of this selection exam, then the end result is we will kill the very interest they have towards these . -
sleepy:
If our kids are taught well in school and equipped with the knowledge to fish, then we can allow them to relax at home and do what they like. But hey, our kids are NOT taught to fish...in fact they don't know how to :mad: They are not even equipped with knowledge handling the school exam questions :rant:Oh, would like to add, this 'teach less learn more' is total nonsense!
Right now, teachers are teaching 20% while parents or tutors covered the remaining 80% :rant:
Of course we can always say we choose not to join the 'rat race'. This is true if a child is taught 80% in school, then yes, we can choose to let him relax once he's home, no point chasing after that few additional marks. However, is it reasonable to be taught 20% in school and expect to child to conquer the remaining 80% through self study?
Like what gahmen always say, must teach the workers how to fish. But our students aren't taught how to fish, they are simply thrown into the ocean in my opinion :shock:
I signed up my son for creative writing as I do not know how to coach him...he's been attending a comprehensive Eng program since last year (P4)...thinking of dropping the Eng program as it is financially tight to continue with 2 based on 1 income. After the Eng Paper 2 today, son asked if he can continue with the Eng program bcos the exam paper is tough...it's unlike him to ask for help and since he has opened up, it means something needs to be done. -
Sun_2010:
The point is if we now make arts,music, sports a part of this selection exam, then the end result is we will kill the very interest they have towards these .
Good grief! Why would anybody want a even more stressful system? -
chamonix:
:roll: yes why?Sun_2010:
The point is if we now make arts,music, sports a part of this selection exam, then the end result is we will kill the very interest they have towards these .
Good grief! Why would anybody want a even more stressful system?
Well, The objective could be a holistic syllabus but that would result would be a more stressful system. The kind of race mentality that we are developing, would make us race in each and every thing that can be measured. As it is, Developing a skill, an art for the sheer pleasure of it is seen as a waste (by many ) . -
Sun_2010:
[/quote]Sleepy! I've never read so many posts from you in a row... and each one so long too!! Thanks for weighing in and offering your perspective. Sun2010, thanks so much for taking time to detail your perspective too.sleepy:
Imagine a class of 40 with mixed abilities, top 5 under challenged, bottom 10 super demoralised. And teacher should focus on which group - the middle 25?[quote]
Totally agree. Streaming is not without problems but is a practical option. subject banding practiced in some schools is better.
I kinda differ from you 2... and thought twice about detailing my own thinking. But I suppose that if we're all ok about being different then what I write next won't be offensive. I hope.
Here's my view. I think that streaming is a sham...
(1) because every child is different, and even if 2 kids score 280, they will have different strengths and weaknesses in different subjects. Streaming lulls parents and educators into thinking that they can pitch one lesson to a whole class when in reality that one lesson is inappropriate in some way or other to everyone in that class.
My son is in 2nd best class. He is taught as if he were 80+ in all four subjects. This is inappropriate for him because he is very good in 3 subjects and very poor in one. His friend is excellent in Chinese and Math but very poor in English and Science. Another is good at English and Math bbut poor in the other 2. In my son's words \"Everyone is good at different subjects and poor at different subjects, Mommy\". Even with streaming, you are still working with mixed ability students, except that teachers and schools FOOL themselves into thinking there is homogeneity. There isn't. There never is. The only homogeneity I see is that every child in the top 2 classes have very supportive mothers/fathers/tutors.
(2) because standards are so high now that individual strengths and weaknesses are even more salient. When you are teaching at low standards of mastery, you can pop similarly high/low IQ kids together, teach them together and being of same IQ, they'll follow. But when subjects become very specialized and skills levels are demanding, a child's innate strengths and weaknesses profile comes to the fore and needs to be addressed individually. When standards are high and skills specialized, the need for individualized coaching becomes heavier. That's why Olympic sportsmen have individualized coaching. That's why, traditionally, universities had tutorials - for individualized coaching in thinking skills.
Hence, I prefer a smaller 1:15 class ratio paired with mixed ability classes. This ensures that Teachers don't have the EXCUSE to think that they can make one lesson plan and be able to teach everyone well. It also holds the following advantages
(a) better emotional follow through
(b) prevents elitism
(c) prevents parents from trying to help kids get into top schools because there ARE no academically top schools in a mixed ability teaching system.
(d) teaches social skills (because when the kids grow up, they will be working in mixed ability teams)
Streaming is a feel-good thing. It numbs teachers to the necessity for individualized coaching in a system where standards are super high (and thus individualized coaching is necessary). Streaming also introduces artificial social strata into the society over the long term. Streaming breeds elitism. Those who go to top classes/schools feel pride. Those who don't, have low self-esteem and a lot of bitterness. 20 years on, this bitterness will explode into social problems because too many will realize that they didn't make it only because their parents didn't have time to coach them.
Streaming also stimulates parent hothousing. I would have been more than happy to sit back and watch my son develop naturally in the directions of his interest and strengths (Science and English). Right now, I have to hothouse him for Chinese because the PSLE is a placement exam. On this point, I am so COMPLETELY in agreement with you Sun2010.Sun_2010:
Why? Because I know that in a top secondary school, students get first pick of every advantage. One of my daughter's teachers was a PhD, specially brought in from USA. Another was a Cambridge graduate, specially brought in from UK. Every other girl in her class has gone overseas, Canada, USA, China, South Africa etc for camps, study trips, competitions, research conferences... When it comes to uni applications, the top classes in the top schools are allowed to apply BEFORE taking 'A' levels. Top universities lobby for these students because they wanna book the talent before everyone else. One of my daughter's friends have UNconditional acceptance to BOTH Stanford and Yale even before taking 'A' levels. My foster daughter had a conditional offer to Imperial College, London... even before she sat for 'A' levels. Not only that, these children make valuable social networks. My daughter's boyfriend is the son of a soyabean hawker and construction foreman. On his Facebook, he has top honchos of law firms, judges, MPs and other industry movers and shakers. Why? Top schools open up opportunities for internships and mentorships. These industry top honchos make time to mentor the next generation, and they cherry pick mentees from the top JCs.One point is irrespective of the methodology, the point remains that psle is a placement exam. What drives us to forces us to drill our kids? The fact that the demand for good schools is high and we hope that by some means they can cross this hurdle .
Every fibre of my being rebels against hothousing. I don't wanna EVER have to expect my pre-Primary 1 grandchild to be reading thick books in 2 languages. I bought DS' first assessment book in P3 only. I gave him space in P1 and P2. He was somewhere bottom of class, and his Teacher named him gong-gong. I would not allow him to go for GEP testing. Heck... I even rejected Math Olympiad training. But even me, I am hothousing him in P5. The stakes are too high... and it is the fault of school placement (which is itself a form of streaming). I want him to get into a good secondary school because that is a defining experience in his life. I owe to my son the same opportunities I gave his sister.
Does the PSLE have to be a placement exam? Others have suggested to do away with PSLE. These are all options to consider, and then we can scrap streaming, in favour of allowing kids to attend higher level classes if they have the interest and the bent for it. Sleepy, sorry... I stole this idea from you. Mixed ability teaching = no academically top schools. Then the pressure will be so much lesser (I am guessing - but who really knows hor?)
It's a good thing that neither of my kids' schools streamed in P1 and P2. Both my kids were bottom of the heap then. If there was streaming then, they would gone into a class where they would have been taught below their ability... and being taught less, they will learn less, and today, my daughter wouldn't be where she is today. My son also wouldn't be in the 2nd best class.
The other thing about streaming-cum-bellcurve system is the competitive spirit it engenders. Everyone is in it for themseves. Do you wonder why the PAP MPs seem to be so self-interested and elitist? They are products of our education - the top of the top of the top from our educational system. I can already see it in my son. He used to be such a kind boy in preschool. Nobody wanted to play with a child who had just shitted in his pants. My boy spent the whole day by that child's side because he pitied his friend. But guess what... yesterday my son jubilated when recounting to me his classmates' pain and discomfiture at not knowing how to solve 2 or 3 of the problem sums in the exam. You know, I didn't know what to say except that he should not be so mean. What he WILL learn however, is to be hypocritical. Be happy about others' failure, but not show it. What kind of values is the system teaching my son?
Nope... I can't agree with streaming. But it doesn't mean I am right. It's a viewpoint. Is all. I meant to add another perspective to the discussion. Dun mean to offend, especially when both of you have taken time to detail your perspective. -
Sun_2010:
I don't know about other parents, but upper primary is almost out of reach for hubby & myself...tuition IS a necessity to PASS now.One point is irrespective of the methodology, the point remains that psle is a placement exam. What drives us to forces us to drill our kids? The fact that the demand for good schools is high and we hope that by some means they can cross this hurdle . And we will do this no matter what the methodology. As long as we can . Even if in the process we kill the creative spark, the zeal for learning, and fit them into the black and white world of this is right , that is wrong - sorry no greys. (That's not in the syllabus u see! )
Though isn't it strange that is such a hot topic, but the same doesn't exist in sec school. Is it not a proof that as the sec school syllabus being beyond the reach of some of us, and the fact sec school students are too busy to have time for parents to teach/check that this problem is far subdued. Added to the fact that the tuition are not the norm here.
Yeah, I am saying this problem started with parents entering the fray. But we are now in the catch 22 situation. It is now not a advantage to be an involved parent but a necessity. So much so that we feel the pressure. And not to get involved is unfair to the child since many other kids are getting help and support from parents/enrichment centers/tutors.
The long term solution is we parents can aid in the emotional and creative part of education and leave the academics to the teachers. For this we need good teachers and small teacher :child ratio. Yes education system approach needs a revamp, not so much the academics/syllabus.
The point is if we now make arts,music, sports a part of this selection exam, then the end result is we will kill the very interest they have towards these .
A small class ratio of 1:20 needs to be looked into. -
I have moved the petition to here - http://www.petitiononline.com/SgEd2011/petition.html
I need to SHEEPISHLY request that those who have voted here, please go and vote in the proper petition. I apologise that I didn't do this earlier and make everything inconvenient for everyone. Please go and support the petition at petitiononline and email the link to all your friends. Put on Facebook too.
Thanks very much to Faun, Cimman, Ksi, deminc, Chiefkiasu and QuiteKSMum for encouraging me time and again to do this properly. I have now done it properly. Please support.
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