All About GEP
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Are there any parents here who were former GEPers? I was trying to go through all 17 pages of this thread to see if there are any sharings from GEPers... gave up eventually.
Anyway, I just want to add something to this thread, from the view of an irritated ex-GEPer. DH and I were the early guinea pigs of the GEP. Nobody EVER let us forget this fact. The older I got, the more I felt the burden of having been in the program. The GEP label seems to have hung over almost everything we did in earlier years. It was either \"of course you got into med/law school/achieved x-y-z, you were from GEP!\", or \"how come you could not accomplish [fill in the blank], you were from GEP!\". Even today we are still 'suffering' the aftermath... We have had relatives asking us to coach their kids for the screening tests. We have to constantly endure remarks from the !^$&# relatives such as \"so your kids sure get into GEP lah, they would be truly dumb if they can't make it!\" :stupid:
Argh, just writing a few examples is making me :x ... -
zen_mum:
You should have a chat with my DH, sashimi, some day. He's from \"guinea pig\" batch too but he chose to pursue an arts/soc sc degree. he also has very low opinion of GEP back then. (Now of course dunno since he doesn't bother to keep up to date.)Are there any parents here who were former GEPers? I was trying to go through all 17 pages of this thread to see if there are any sharings from GEPers... gave up eventually.
Anyway, I just want to add something to this thread, from the view of an irritated ex-GEPer. DH and I were the early guinea pigs of the GEP. Nobody EVER let us forget this fact. The older I got, the more I felt the burden of having been in the program. The GEP label seems to have hung over almost everything we did in earlier years. It was either \"of course you got into med/law school/achieved x-y-z, you were from GEP!\", or \"how come you could not accomplish [fill in the blank], you were from GEP!\". Even today we are still 'suffering' the aftermath... We have had relatives asking us to coach their kids for the screening tests. We have to constantly endure remarks from the !^$&# relatives such as \"so your kids sure get into GEP lah, they would be truly dumb if they can't make it!\" :stupid:
Argh, just writing a few examples is making me :x ... -
ha ha... poor thing...
I am not ex gep but my boy is currently in p4 gep ... while i would try not to give my boy the unnecessary pressure which you had experience.... Your relatives who ask you to coach their children for the screening tests definetly do not know what is the meaning of being 'gifted' ... I am very happy and proud that my son do possess some kind of giftedness in him which I do not have.
I am actually pretty glad that he is in gep as it gives him a chance to be further nurtured and experience more things. -
I do not know what this gep dingy is abt few years back. When my gal got selected, with no extra coaching, I simply told her "fast moving vehicle move to the right, that’s why you have to go to gep."
She is a fast learner, by 8pm daily she will be playing with neighbour’s dog downstair, yet top her level. She told me she actually felt bored in class. She hates the gep label from day 1. I still do not know how this programme will affect her in long run, but I see her becomimg a independent learner and her thinking is more mature than cousins of the same age. To what I see, it’s a fruitful 3 yrs for her.
My niece, who is a yr younger, also in gep, needs alot of coaching and guidance from my sis. I feel stressed just by seeing the mom screaming at the gal to do this & that homework every weekend.
For my younger gal taking the screening test this fri, well, slow moving vehicle better keep to the left. -
NatTif Mummy, your keep left & right theory is so apt and funny KUDOS :lol:
Well I think we should tap on our own shoulders and said well done that they don't go OFF the road and get into trouble.
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schellen:
You should have a chat with my DH, sashimi, some day. He's from \"guinea pig\" batch too but he chose to pursue an arts/soc sc degree. he also has very low opinion of GEP back then. (Now of course dunno since he doesn't bother to keep up to date.)
That would be me.
zen_mum, I'm from the 3rd batch. You? I believe if you're from the early pioneer batches you should be able to calculate which year I graduated.
GEP is not for everyone. It certainly wasn't for me. I *know* I am smart, and I have valuable talents - unfortunately for me, they simply weren't the kind (academic, sciences, maths, blah blah) that the GEP (then anyway) valued. I suffered, simply because of that. Today many of my ex-classmates are doing great in life, they earn more than me, they fly higher than me. Some of them were even counseled by me back in school! (One thing though, almost all the high flyers went science, the arts pple have mostly ended up as teachers - but nothing new for Sg). But too bad for me, my \"gifts\" are not the type which our kind of society values. I am a counselor, not a commander; I am a diplomat and designer, not a director. I am an artist, not an accountant. If you are a doc/lawyer, you are already \"better\" than me!
For decades I have deliberately left out any reference to GEP in my resume. I prefer to showcase what I have achieved with my actual \"gifts\", and not tie them to GEP.
The GEP has probably changed a lot since the 1980s, so I make not judgments on the programme now. However, I will always bear this grudge against the programme I was put through. If I could go back in life, I would have gone to express. -
NatTif Mummy:
I agree that the labelling of gep do more harm than good to the child. Hopefully something can be done to remove this labelling. The enriched programs overall is fine so long as the child enjoys it.I do not know what this gep dingy is abt few years back. When my gal got selected, with no extra coaching, I simply told her \"fast moving vehicle move to the right, that's why you have to go to gep.\"
She is a fast learner, by 8pm daily she will be playing with neighbour's dog downstair, yet top her level. She told me she actually felt bored in class. She hates the gep label from day 1. I still do not know how this programme will affect her in long run, but I see her becomimg a independent learner and her thinking is more mature than cousins of the same age. To what I see, it's a fruitful 3 yrs for her.
My niece, who is a yr younger, also in gep, needs alot of coaching and guidance from my sis. I feel stressed just by seeing the mom screaming at the gal to do this & that homework every weekend.
For my younger gal taking the screening test this fri, well, slow moving vehicle better keep to the left. -
Sorry, I am just curious ... how can a teacher in JC or university knows if a student is previously from GEP? :?
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Father of 3[quote]I only heard AMEC when my boy was selected this year in P6.[/quote]
Yes, me too.
I only heard of it this year but my understanding from the school is that it is a 2 hours lesson conducted in the school by GEP maths teacher. My boy has to stay back to attend the lesson. Not too sure if it is really good.
According to my boy, there are normally about ten students attending the lesson. -
NatTif Mummy:
....\"fast moving vehicle move to the right, that's why you have to go to gep.\" ....
....slow moving vehicle better keep to the left.
:goodpost: agree with you. GEP is not for everyone.
It is better for slower moving vehicle to keep left than try to keep pace with faster moving vehicles in the right lane and risk burning out the engine.
Likewise, fast moving vehicle should stay right as going at constant slow pace is equally bad.
While all of us believe and hope that our kids are the smarter ones, we should really open our eyes and not force them to be what they are not. Slower moving vehicle in left lanes can still be successful and be happy in life.
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