The Alternative Story (TAS) - Discussion
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Sorry if I keep asking questions. I am rather ‘bodoh’ when it comes to all the tuition and enrichment centres. Am I right to say the more ang moh ones like Lorna Whiston are more on enrichment, they do not follow MOE syllabus so much?
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happy2bemummy:
I know the diff btw TAS and TLL from reading this thread but anyone care to share what the diff is btw Mindstretcher and TAS and ICL?
No clue about mindstretcher, and not very much on icl primary either. But I gather that for icl primary, kids will be grouped based on their level (p1s in 1 session) and the class size may be small (for home based) or larger if its in a centre.
In TAS, they go more by ability. If your child is high ability, they may suggest that he join a higher level class. Eg P1/P2 could be doing P3 level work. Also, if your child miss class, TAS will be able to schedule a makeup class (with another teacher, possibly the Paper 1/2 may be different). For icl home based esp, I don't think this is possible - miss class is gone.
As for what's covered, I think it's pretty much the same (vocab, grammar, compo, compre). But I saw some comments that icl covers also idioms - I don't see that in tas...they are more into phrases for creative writing. -
Hi Moonflower, do you have an image of the book? I might be keen
If via post, do you have an estimation of the postage?[/quote
Hi cwc
Only left a reserved copy but another mom already on waiting. -
coolit:
I read that newspaper article \"Paper chase for parents\". Aiyo make me more worried. When I look at the P1 assessment books esp for Math, I already get :imdrowning: How to teach heuristics to P1s? I think I must really be more prepared. So stressed, I read that The Alternative Story, that is TAS right, does English workshops. Does it help prepare for P1 English? What are the scary parts of P1 English? I thought P1 should be quite easy now it seems like everything must also prepare.TAS did not put up an advert, they were mentioned in an article on parents going for workshops to help their children. I think the article stated that TAS does free sessions for
their own TAS students and parents. For the workshop on children's day, it is done as
part of their volunteer service. It is for non tas and tas parents. On their website, they say it is open to all. -
MoonFlower:
No problem. Thanks for the updateHi Moonflower, do you have an image of the book? I might be keen
If via post, do you have an estimation of the postage?[/quote
Hi cwc
Only left a reserved copy but another mom already on waiting.
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hi worriedmumz,
I’ve been preparing my kid’s english and chinese for the past few years before they even hit P1. I think they are pretty ok. But the fact is that these days, the requirements are getting harder and harder. I took a look at a P1 compre assessment book, already they have to do inference to get to the answer - this should be higher primary so I don’t know why it’s in there (luckily it’s only a tiny portion).
Recently, I hear that P1 latest syllabus includes editing (saw from assessment books in popular). kids have to know if a punctuation/spelling etc is incorrect and what is the correct item to put in. P1 leh…I nearly fainted again. (lotsa fainting spells when i look at assessment books to gauge where the trend is heading).
My son’s teacher tells me he should use more adjectives in his writing - without external help, I don’t know if I will be able to coach him to do that. He reads well, but may not know how to apply.
TAS has mostly english classes and they cover the whole gamut of the written paper - compre, compo, vocab, grammar and punctuation. If you feel your child needs help, then go talk to them. they offer one free trial class if you are interested - your child will join an existing class (not an introduction) and can see if he/she likes it there. -
Looking at assessment books and exam papers from the better schools always give me heart attacks. Even if MOE says they want to focus more on character and today there was an article on schools having a homework policy to reduce homework, I do not think it will work. The root cause is the very high standards at PSLE. So we as parents need to be super ready for the kids. My chinese is not fantastic so I start tuition from 5 years old for my kids. For math, I also went for some school workshop on Math heuristics. For English, P1 standards also become like P3. Nowadays it is no longer weak kids who need tuition, almost every kid if you can afford needs tuition.
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hquek:
hi worriedmumz,
I've been preparing my kid's english and chinese for the past few years before they even hit P1. I think they are pretty ok. But the fact is that these days, the requirements are getting harder and harder. I took a look at a P1 compre assessment book, already they have to do inference to get to the answer - this should be higher primary so I don't know why it's in there (luckily it's only a tiny portion).
Recently, I hear that P1 latest syllabus includes editing (saw from assessment books in popular). kids have to know if a punctuation/spelling etc is incorrect and what is the correct item to put in. P1 leh...I nearly fainted again. (lotsa fainting spells when i look at assessment books to gauge where the trend is heading).
My son's teacher tells me he should use more adjectives in his writing - without external help, I don't know if I will be able to coach him to do that. He reads well, but may not know how to apply.
TAS has mostly english classes and they cover the whole gamut of the written paper - compre, compo, vocab, grammar and punctuation. If you feel your child needs help, then go talk to them. they offer one free trial class if you are interested - your child will join an existing class (not an introduction) and can see if he/she likes it there.
Yes editing is tested in P1. My girl's english tests & assessments from school have several questions on this topic... -
jeestan:
Even if MOE says they want to focus more on character and today there was an article on schools having a homework policy to reduce homework, I do not think it will work. The root cause is the very high standards at PSLE. So we as parents need to be super ready for the kids.......Nowadays it is no longer weak kids who need tuition, almost every kid if you can afford needs tuition.
In my opinion, the MOE direction of providing more holistic education and reducing homework means they expect kids to have enrichment/tuition outside to cover more in depth for the subjects. Schools will just touch and go. Some questions i see on those top schools exam papers are really ridiculous for a P1 to handle. -
Callie Tan:
:shock: I heard from external party and thought it's something that's in the offing. I think your girl's school a bit advanced. I don't see that in my kid's worksheets. He doesn't have tests in school (if he does, I have no clue about it). I think DS1 still ok and will be able to handle. But then if he's not exposed to it, not sure if he will know what to do.
Yes editing is tested in P1. My girl's english tests & assessments from school have several questions on this topic...
Thanks....still in state of mini-shock.
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