The Alternative Story (TAS) - Discussion

[BigDad]

jtparent:

hi bigdad, so how big is the class? can the teacher control & will every child b well taken of? btw any idea on the timing for p3/4 & p1/2 class for wkend. cos didnt got a reply from tas despite email / calling.

tia

Hi,
The biggest classes are 16 in one class. There is 1 assistant teacher in the class so I find that still can control. A bit cramped but from what I hear when I am outside (the teachers talk quite loudly), the students seemed engaged and my kids tell me they like bigger classes as there is more fun competing.

For P3/4 for weekend, I am not too sure, I think there is a sat afternoon slot at AMK, for P1/2, I think there are sat morning classes.

[Trina]

BigDad:

Hi Trina,


Which class was your child in? My 2 kids have been at TAS for more than a year, under different teachers and so far the teachers have been great. My younger one is in P3 but also goes for P2/3 class but the materials used at P2/3 level is for higher level P3 from what I can see.

Both my children have benefitted a lot from TAS, their composition writing has improved a lot. Their comprehension as well. For my older boy, he used to be getting just a passing grade but nowadays he can get 18 over 20 marks. My younger one attends science classes there as well and his science has improved as well.

Could be that the teacher you had was not very experienced in teaching at TAS?

Hi BigDad

You are probably right that it's unfortunate that we encountered an inexperienced teacher at TAS cos my child had relative good teachers in the past. Attended the Bukit Timah Branch which is not as established as the SingPost branch. Am convinced that they are pretty good at teaching composition although my kid got sick of memorising other people's essays. But my experience with comprehension has not been good. Have pointed out errors in their questions set (does not gel with passage) and the marking of answers e.g. teacher accepted answers beginning with \"because\" and \"as\".

Am open to enrolling my child back in TAS in the future, depending on the timing of the classes and teacher, of course.

[akbh]

Hi Trina,


Our kids might be in the same class. Do you have any good school to recommend ?
Thanks in advance.

[Trina]

akbh:

Hi Trina,


Our kids might be in the same class. Do you have any good school to recommend ?
Thanks in advance.

Hi akbh

Am trying out Jan and Elly now. Pro is that the teachers are native speakers so at least my kid is exposed to the right pronounication and use of spoken English. Yet to see results. Have already tried out a few centres in this area and running out of options....

[sleepy]

Tried TAS too. Not effective. Already withdrawn.


It’s precisely because of the positive feedback on KSP that I decided to give TAS a try. But I think too much hype la, like learning lab

TAS asked students to memorise the essay. I don’t see any value add in this case. I have tonnes of model essays & award winning books at home. Good essays with personifications, tension building, etc. If I want my dd to learn creative writing through memorising essays, I do not need to send her to classes, right? I expect more than this from TAS.

And I noticed TAS took a long time to cover one theme. Sometimes as long as 4 to 5 weeks on one theme, basically memorise over & over again. I’m not impressed la.

Compre is not satisfactory either. Usually only the first few questions were covered in class, the rest as homework. I am fine with homework if they went through the compre thoroughly and were taught the technique to tackle compre questions. I don’t see that le. End up I need to sit with my dd to coach her how to answer every single question. Frankly speaking, if I have to go through every question with her, how is it different from asking her to do assessment books at home? I also sit with her

[jasmineong]

Hi sleepy,


I also tried TAS based on feedback from this forum. But I find their teaching of comprehension effective. From the worksheets brought back, all the questions were marked and my kids can understand the passage. They also can tell me need to read qns first and need to infer etc.

As for compo, I noticed also when my kids class was newer, TAS took a longer time to complete the themes but now they can cover one theme in one week. Now they teach a lot of application. I asked the teacher about it she said at first everyone did not have much vocabulary or knew how to write well so that was more memorisation and then also she took more time with one theme as the children took longer to learn but now she just taught my kid to apply the phrases learnt to a topic that is not taught before which is robbery in a bank and I could see that my kid could write well. How long was your child at TAS? I put mine in for nearly a year and can see much improvement.

Maybe sometimes need to take longer time to 'cook'. :lol:

[Kissgurami]

so confused on TAS feedback coz I thought there were only positive reviews on TAS…


Has anyone enrolled with TAS Preparing K2 class?

[jasmineong]

Hi Kissgurami,


I think every centre will have good and bad reviews, sometimes its centres fault sometimes the methods don’t fit the child. But I like TAS because I have tried many centres and heard feedback from friends about other centres and so far TAS is the best. Not perfect but the best so far. And I find they keep improving their methods to teach and keep getting better. I think if your child goes to a centre, it is hard to have it totally suited to your preference unlike having a personal tutor. However, it is also very hard to get a good personal tutors. Also parents must work with child at home to make sure what they learnt at centre is retained.

Anyway, I have recommended a neighbour to try the K2 class on tuesday at amk. She said she signed her child up because the child liked it and she liked the worksheets and felt that the teacher was good. But it was only first lesson so I cannot guarantee it is good but so far seems good.

[Kissgurami]

Thanks Jasmine,


Happy that TAS works well for you

There are various methods in teaching and I will have to place my DDs to see if it suits them. I look more towards consistency amongst the teachers

Like you mentioned, you have tried many other centres and TAS works for you.

I am teaching my DD1 english at home so I do agree parents play a part in revising with their kids but I am just surprised by some of the feedback as the feedback has always been 99% positive for TAS compared to other centres. Just surprised to read the other of the feedback.

Cheers

[jasmineong]

Hi Kissgurami,


Thanks! Hope you will find the right centre Yes, I was also surprised by some of the feedback. But I think sometimes must be patient, when I tried other centres, I also stuck with them for at least a year or sometimes more before making a decision to change. That allows me to understand their methods, teachers more thoroughly.

All the best to you too!