2009 GEP Screening And Selection

[vlim]

Merlion:

>The principal gave out the offer to those who got in in front of the entire P3 at that time and get them to clap for them and congradulate them.


I think the same thing happens in a lot of schools when it comes to release of PSLE result right? The teacher will announce the top 3 or 5 students in that school and the students will go up to the stage and receive the result. All the students sitting on the floor will clap for them and congradulate them. Agree?
Please don't be so sensitive when it comes to GEP. I thought we were teaching our kids to have better sportmanship - congradulate those who did better. I hope everyone in this forum can be more fair to GEP students, not all of them are trained or drilled to get into GEP. :celebrate:

I totally agree with you.. you sound like a teacher. Are you? :lol:

[Full.010894Cream]

Merlion:

>The principal gave out the offer to those who got in in front of the entire P3 at that time and get them to clap for them and congradulate them.


I think the same thing happens in a lot of schools when it comes to release of PSLE result right? The teacher will announce the top 3 or 5 students in that school and the students will go up to the stage and receive the result. All the students sitting on the floor will clap for them and congradulate them. Agree?
Please don't be so sensitive when it comes to GEP. I thought we were teaching our kids to have better sportmanship - congradulate those who did better. I hope everyone in this forum can be more fair to GEP students, not all of them are trained or drilled to get into GEP. :celebrate:

maybe to some of us, it's like this. But from what I read here, ie, students crying when they are not selected for 2nd rd, I guess GEP is even MORE important than topping the school!!

[Zann]

Full.Cream:

maybe to some of us, it's like this. But from what I read here, ie, students crying when they are not selected for 2nd rd, I guess GEP is even MORE important than topping the school!!

Exactly, I was kind of confused later when reading the thread ... Thought the conversation began with student cry when heard did not get into round 1 and some parents feedback that their school made good arrangement for not releasing it openly... and so the principal for not being sensitive to openly announce. :?
I think PSLE is different, students work hard to see their own performance at end of 6 years, so they should take pride of their good results and be complimented to encourage the other to do the same. While in GEP selection process, it was intended to be sensitive and not to worry those who are not selected . Afterall, getting into GEP does not guarantee success in life and attitude is always more important in whatever we do.

[Merlion]

> so they should take pride of their good results and be complimented to encourage the other to do the same.


I think ALL good result should be treated equally; it does not matter if it is GEP or PSLE. For those who got selected for GEP should take pride of THIS good result too.

Of course GEP is just a small step in life, it does not guarantee anything. And it does not mean that all GEP kids are smarter. What I am saying here is I hope some parents can be fairer when it comes to GEP. It is wrong to assume that all those who got selected are trained. In fact, only a small portion of GEP kids are trained to do so. And these are the ones who might suffer deeply in GEP.

Let’s look at PSLE. It has the same problem too. There are kids who spend a lot of money to go to enrichment center to prepare their PSLE. There are also kids from poor family who can not afford that. So can the poor kid keep saying that it is unfair? What good does it do?
There are a lot of unfair things in this world. There are people who do not need to work as hard but still are rich because they have rich parents. Some hit 4D, some hit Toto. Some got promoted for being know how to kiss butt. The important thing is not to complain about it. The important thing is to teach your kid how to deal with it.

I have read some articles in this forum about how bad GEP is. And some of the parents do not quite understand what GEP is all about. They just assumed that "the kids got trained to get in" or "GEP kids got advantage when it comes to DSA". I can respect all these views but I also hope that some parents can see thing from different angles.

My intention is not to create a war here. I have equal respect for both GEP and mainstream kids who work hard and try their best. As parents, this is all we can ask from our kids.

[Merlion]

> I totally agree with you.. you sound like a teacher. Are you?


Sorry, I am not.

[Merlion]

> ie, students crying when they are not selected for 2nd rd, I guess GEP is even MORE important than topping the school!!


I think students cry mainly because of the high expectation and pressure from parents. If the parents have correct attitude towards GEP, this should not happen. And to be frank, there are also students cry when they do not do well in P6 prelim, some even wants to kill themselves. As parents, we should try to tell the kids what GEP is all about and let them know that it is ok if they do not get in.

[tony]

Merlion:

> Are GEP kids less rowdy?


I think you are talking about boys. There is no different between GEP and mainstream kids. Boys are boys and most of them are very playful at this age. I would not say that they are rough or rude or anything. One big difference is that they like to argue among themselves, even in class. GEP classrooms are never quiet as they like to ask a lot of questions, then argue a lot.

Tks, Merlion. At least he knows what to expect.

[JHFMum]

If parents send kids for GEP prep class for a yr and get them "trained" for GEP test, can you imagine the amount of pressure on the kids to get in? I pity such kids- if they get in via training, they may not cope well. If they do not get in, I wonder what they will think of themselves.


Parents, we will have to bear the consequences of our decisions.

[async28]

Can not ler.

I have tried to lower down my daughter expectation, but all her friends wanted to get into GEP :?

Merlion:

As parents, we should try to tell the kids what GEP is all about and let them know that it is ok if they do not get in.

[Puffer]

Merlion:

.... As parents, we should try to tell the kids what GEP is all about and let them know that it is ok if they do not get in.

I concur with your point.

I have been quite worried since DS1 came to a class of competitive and bright kids this year. He was third in his level in P2, but all of a sudden, his result deteriorated to 30s in mid-year. We seeked to see his form teacher (that was during the H1N1 period). We believed that DS1 had given up on himself and lost interest in his studies. Being sensitive and reserved, we tried to show him support, and encourage him till he is back to his self and rebuilt his confidence again. For the past week, I didn't harp on the issue of GEP screening result, although I half suspect the form teacher had not released it due to her absence in school. As it turned out, the relief teacher gave out the letters to the class today - 3/4 of the class got into the selection stage (inclu. DS1). Just now, I had a 1-to-1 talk with DS1 - I told him it was already an achievement for him to get into the 2nd round. Knowing him, I didn't want him to put too much pressure onto himself. (He just got his UNSW result as well and is in the top 2% for Science and 5% for Maths). I'm also afraid that his doing well might have 'repercussions' on his younger brother whos in P2. Sigh...not easy.