2009 GEP Screening And Selection

[glchua]

Fairy:

P4 attending P5 class? I am aware (from an aquaintance) of a P4 GEP girl who has completed P6 enrichment classes together with the graduating classes! This girl is also attending SMO (J) classes meant for the sec1s! That's really kiasu. Anyway, look at the participants of SMO J. It's meant for sec1 & 2s but many primary school students took part. Of course, their results are non-spectacular. Their parents probably sent them for classes/competitions to get the exposure ahead of their time. There's no end to how kiasu people can be.

I am also aware of sec1 IP students signing up & already completed a year of sec3 enrichment classes for pure Sciences & Maths. (Information from enrichment centres).

The competiveness of these students & parents is suffocating for normal students who prefer to take one step at a time and enjoy the learning journey. However, these students have sacrificed a lot of their childhood, leisure and life to stay ahead of the cohort. Except for the truely highly gifted who has a good reason for their thirst for knowledge, the rest have paid a high price for what they are chasing after. So, don't envy them. Be glad that our children are more balanced and have the best of both world.

I think these parents are just killing off their children's giftedness this way. I think your choice of the word \"suffocating\" is very appropriate.

Very few who are pushed to get ahead in life academically will do well in later years. How many achievers and inventers who were child prodigies that entered Uni at 13/14? I don't know of any. I knew of a kid who was studying Physics at age 13 in Uni. It came out in the news at that time. But in the end, he disappeared into oblivion and did not even finish his Honours.

I knew of a guy who studied in the same year as me in Uni. He was very smart and was offered accelerated Honours. He turned it down just because he merely wants to spend his free time exploring other things. This guy is really gifted. He could study his friend's course and started coaching her without even attending the course. I can't reveal too much but he is doing very very well now and had won several awards and published extensively.

Academic knowledge is all black and white with defined answers and is necessarily tested as such. The real world is mostly grey with many a times, no answers. Scientific and artistic achievements are all explorations with no answers. Solutions to engineering and software problems in the industry are often not found in a textbook. Students that are too grilled will have a fear of stepping out, of not giving the \"correct\" answers and will stop exploring.

Students who are \"nurtured\" from young to stay in the \"correct answer\" path will in the end, just be mediocre like everyone else, contributing less than they were originally cut out to be.

[tracy2009]

Fairy:

P4 attending P5 class? I am aware (from an aquaintance) of a P4 GEP girl who has completed P6 enrichment classes together with the graduating classes! This girl is also attending SMO (J) classes meant for the sec1s!

Hi, may I know which is the subject that the girl has completed for P6 enrichment classes? If it is maths, then that could explain why she joined SMO (J) as she has completed the primary maths syllabus.

[sleepy]

MdmKS:

I came across GEP students at enrichment/tuition centres to \"upgrade\" or \"learn aheard\" themselve. The P4 kid was attending P5 level for English there,...etc but whether this is the right thing to do? The parents told me they are just not so educated ah soh, they can't teach the GEP kids so better let them learn ahead and be able to do well in school.

Fairy:

P4 attending P5 class? I am aware (from an aquaintance) of a P4 GEP girl who has completed P6 enrichment classes together with the graduating classes! This girl is also attending SMO (J) classes meant for the sec1s!

I am also aware of sec1 IP students signing up & already completed a year of sec3 enrichment classes for pure Sciences & Maths. (Information from enrichment centres).

Can you share which are those enrichment centers?

More often than not, I encountered centers that only want to restrict kids in their age group, despites their capabilties in higher learning

[david59]

sleepy:

MdmKS:

I came across GEP students at enrichment/tuition centres to \"upgrade\" or \"learn aheard\" themselve. The P4 kid was attending P5 level for English there,...etc but whether this is the right thing to do? The parents told me they are just not so educated ah soh, they can't teach the GEP kids so better let them learn ahead and be able to do well in school.

Fairy:

P4 attending P5 class? I am aware (from an aquaintance) of a P4 GEP girl who has completed P6 enrichment classes together with the graduating classes! This girl is also attending SMO (J) classes meant for the sec1s!

I am also aware of sec1 IP students signing up & already completed a year of sec3 enrichment classes for pure Sciences & Maths. (Information from enrichment centres).

Can you share which are those enrichment centers?

More often than not, I encountered centers that only want to restrict kids in their age group, despites their capabilties in higher learning

I do not have a problem with a kid studying at a higher level if he is capable of doing it. I have a boy in my centre who is already doing P3 maths although he is in P1 only. But of course we do not purposely push him to do it. He must want to. He is another GEP potential, excelling in English and Chinese as well. :celebrate:

[ApronMama]

sleepy:

Can you share which are those enrichment centers?

More often than not, I encountered centers that only want to restrict kids in their age group, despites their capabilties in higher learning

It does not seem uncommon. I'd ever learnt in this forum there are pre-schools upgrade high ability children despite their age. Usually, it is not parents' request to upgrade but the centre identify and reccommend thru their assessment after sometimes. For some, they automatically upgrade the child to one level up if they know they are from GEP. My neighbourhood (HDB) tuition centre does that.

[Full.010894Cream]

Gifted is just a label…there are so many kinds of character in the GEP.


Got to meet few of my boy’s classmates during a grp project. in the pack, there was a potential leader, hardworking and tried to get things done. Another one equally matured but not the same level of leadership. a couple of geeky ones and the last one…simply bo-chup…heard very low EQ too.

don’t think there’s ever be a perfect prog for them. but it’s a good idea to take them off the mainstream coz I believe most of them can handle sec sch science and maths.

[glchua]

Even if a kid is capable of studying at a higher level, what is the point of studying ahead? Wouldn’t the time be better spent doing other things, like experimentation and play?


Unless of course, the sole aim in life is just to get a few pieces of paper.

[david59]

glchua:

Even if a kid is capable of studying at a higher level, what is the point of studying ahead? Wouldn't the time be better spent doing other things, like experimentation and play?


Unless of course, the sole aim in life is just to get a few pieces of paper.

I think it is not a question of trying to be ahead that is an issue. Rather it is whether the kid has an insatiable urge and desire to acquire more knowledge for a particular subject or interest/ skill. It would be wrong to stifle such kids. Another alternative would be to send such kids besides the normal school curriculum to specialise institutions like the Polytechnic or Uni to advance their quest for greater knowledge or skills.

[glchua]

Kid’s insatiable urge or parent’s/teacher’s insatiable urge?


More knowledge in which eventually everyone is able to acquire?

It is already dubious that the kids are doing it in a learning centre, with curriculum that most will go through. Purpose?

Won’t the kid get the same thing repeated to him when he goes to school?

Sorry, I’m cynical of the concept of "jumping grades" in whatever manner. One thing our government does right in this area is not to allow it in our public school. Rather, they took the more difficult route of introducing GEP etc.

Accelerated learning is easy to do and implement, but broadening horizon is not. Hence I guess, that is what most people would justify to do to "satisfy kid’s insatiable urge for knowledge".

[tony]

glchua:

... One thing our government does right in this area is not to allow it in our public school.

Correction: It is possible to accelerate even in Singapore.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/gifted-education-programme/faq/exceptionally-gifted/

Agree with David59. Some kids really do need it. There are two sides to the normal distribution curve. Granted the number is insignificant, but they exist nonetheless. They're the sort who would feel bored and fidgety in class and even drop out of school from the sheer boredom if their needs are not met. Very early on, they learn to tune out of class because they don't need to study; a lot of things are intuitive to them. But the problem comes when they need study skills at, say the secondary school level. Unlike their peers, they never took the time to develop these skills. They start to do badly and their self esteem goes down the drain. Better to challenge them academically from young and help them than let them fall by the wayside.

The difficulty is in the identification of who should be accelerated. Especially at a younger age, it is hard to distinguish whether the learning requirement is child motivated or parent motivated. Perhaps that is why the cut-off criteria is so strict, so that it is only the very clear cut cases that get accelerated.