Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary

[freezeat2]

An account of what happened yesterday night which really shocked me …


My son’s cousin visited and after hearing that he was posted to No. 2 class in P3, my son secretly told me that that was the lousiest class among all!!!

I tried to explain to him that there is no "lousiest" class as according to the Principal’s talk I have attended, she said that besides the four classes which are ranked (9,8,7,6), the rest are mixed ability class. However, he insisted that there is ranking among the mixed ability classes as well, as principal told them that 9,8,7 and 6 are the first 4 high ability classes, ranked in descending order, 1 is the best among the average ability class and then, the rest of the classes ranked according to 5 4 3 2.

I have two concern after hearing his comment for the first time.

(1) Is there really hidden ranking in the school?
(2) How is class ranking communicated to the students.

I am thankful that my son is in the so called "higher ability" ranked class, which in a way helped build up his confidence. However, I am also worried about the impact of this ranking system on the average ability students, worst of all, the so called "last class" students. Are they perceived to be "lousy" by themselves or by their school mates? I am worried about the damage on the confidence level of some of these kids, as I personally believe that confidence in young kids and is an important step to success.

[markfch]

comfy:

Aiyo, Mark, are you sure? Your precious ds that can play classical song on piano so well, mature in thinking.... in xchange for my dd.
I din meant that way, what I meant is in comparison with E3'dd. 一山还有一山高 mah.

You know me. I tend to see the lighter side of everything.

If everybody compares with E3, then we'll get 359 pairs of stressed P3 parents. 人比人氣死人 mah.

Compared with us mainstreamers, your dd is already 高高在上.

[php]

markfch:

comfy:

Aiyo, Mark, are you sure? Your precious ds that can play classical song on piano so well, mature in thinking.... in xchange for my dd.
I din meant that way, what I meant is in comparison with E3'dd. 一山还有一山高 mah.

You know me. I tend to see the lighter side of everything.

If everybody compares with E3, then we'll get 359 pairs of stressed P3 parents. 人比人氣死人 mah. Compared with us mainstreamers, your dd is already 高高在上.

:goodpost:

[markfch]

freezeat2:

However, I am also worried about the impact of this ranking system on the average ability students, worst of all, the so called \"last class\" students. Are they perceived to be \"lousy\" by themselves or by their school mates? I am worried about the damage on the confidence level of some of these kids, as I personally believe that confidence in young kids and is an important step to success.

The fact is, we lived in a competitive society. And the school - in an indirect way - is a reflection of society. Ultimately, it's up to us parents to teach our kids that their worthiness in life is not measured by how well they do in exams. Who's to say that just because so-and-so is in the bottom strata, he will not make it in life? This only happens if we as parents allow our children to think this way, which is very wrong.

A child with very average results but with an abundance of confidence will do better in life than a child with good results but always worried about failing. This, I've no doubt.

[php]

markfch:

freezeat2:

However, I am also worried about the impact of this ranking system on the average ability students, worst of all, the so called \"last class\" students. Are they perceived to be \"lousy\" by themselves or by their school mates? I am worried about the damage on the confidence level of some of these kids, as I personally believe that confidence in young kids and is an important step to success.

The fact is, we lived in a competitive society. And the school - in an indirect way - is a reflection of society. Ultimately, it's up to us parents to teach our kids that their worthiness in life is not measured by how well they do in exams. Who's to say that just because so-and-so is in the bottom strata, he will not make it in life? This only happens if we as parents allow our children to think this way, which is very wrong.

A child with very average results but with an abundance of confidence will do better in life than a child with good results but always worried about failing. This, I've no doubt.

:goodpost:

[madragon]

freezeat,

Ds is in ave class this yr P3,there isn’t any top ability class for ave. Last yr, he got friends with the same marks as him but posted to another class. (class 4 & 3)

From what I know, there’s somebody fail some subjects in class 1 & 4 in this yr.

As for P5, there’s a top class for NCL, the rest are s-band for NCL.

[dyh]

hl124273:

Hi, I have a DD going K2 next year, and Pei Hwa in the following year .. and now I wonder if it matters whether a kid comes from a top notch kindy or it doesn't matter? Will be intersted to hear from all of you whose kids are already in PHPPS and are coping well .. does kindy matter ? I see many of my friends sending their kids to Pat's schoolhouse .. does it really matter, as in they prepare the kids better for P1 ? My gal is attending Montessori childcare .. definitely not the cream of the crop but I think it's ok as they seem to be well rounded .. of couse they aren't exposed to the high tech stuffs taught in Pat's schoolhouse from what I heard.

I think it does not really matter which kindy. Parent involvement is most important, read to the kid when they are young to cultivate reading habit.

Montessori method does not work well in some cases. have a friend who put his child in such centre. as their method is more western style and focus on all-round ability and less work, the academic part may suffer. his child did not do well in primay school and the kid has to go for tuitions to catch up. he admitted on hind sight, he would not have put the kid there.

actually nothing wrong with the centre method, just that it does not seem to fit the exam results oriented nature of the school system here.

[dyh]

For those who need to buy English story book recommended in the book list, you may want to check out popular. I bought the P5 English story book there and even at list price, it is about 4% lower than the school bookshop. If you are a pop member, there is another additional 20% off with the POP club voucher.

[cheerie]

php:

markfch:

[quote=\"freezeat2\"]
However, I am also worried about the impact of this ranking system on the average ability students, worst of all, the so called \"last class\" students. Are they perceived to be \"lousy\" by themselves or by their school mates? I am worried about the damage on the confidence level of some of these kids, as I personally believe that confidence in young kids and is an important step to success.

The fact is, we lived in a competitive society. And the school - in an indirect way - is a reflection of society. Ultimately, it's up to us parents to teach our kids that their worthiness in life is not measured by how well they do in exams. Who's to say that just because so-and-so is in the bottom strata, he will not make it in life? This only happens if we as parents allow our children to think this way, which is very wrong.

A child with very average results but with an abundance of confidence will do better in life than a child with good results but always worried about failing. This, I've no doubt.

:goodpost:[/quote] Bro Mark - :udaman: :goodpost: And I totally agree with u! :rahrah:

[kohhweelin.010441gmail.010441com]

hl124273:

Hi E3 , didn't know your child is in p3 .. I thought p6 when you provided me the recommendations for science. I saw the casco 100% science assessment u recommended at popular , did u get the p3 one or upgrade? Btw , can u also recommend abt good eng and math assessments? Any good English guide bk ?

Hi hl123273, pm you.