The Alternative Story (TAS) - Discussion

[cleo]

Hi parents,


Read from the above postings on referral for AMK.
Is that for TAS?

May I know how does that work?

[hquek]

his stressedt,


My kid has been there for over a year. So far so good. On the stuff they cover:
1. Compo (aka creative writing). Kids were taught phrases they can use to spice up their compo. Used to have to memorise but now I think they stopped it. Mine is learning the use of tension curve to set out the story.

2. Compre. They will let the child do and they mark. Early on, understand that teacher taught them some techniques like reading the questions prior to reading the passage etc. i think that’s really useful.

3. spelling. they use mnemonics to aid the child in learning spelling. There may be spelling on many weeks. there used to be dictation (passages and passages of compo) but I see my kid doing that. whew!

4. grammar, vocab - this is also covered during the lesson with exercises.

btw, it’s classroom size with teacher standing in front. so far I’ve heard that their teachers are generally engaging and enthusiastic. But you may want to consider that their classes can be quite cramped and there could be like more than 10-16 in the classrooms. For me that’s not a concern becos my child enjoys the lessons.

another concern raised is that becos they cover so much, sometimes there will be errors in marking, or even work may not be marked. I did not look too much into this becos child is lower P, but will have to pull up my socks. That said, teachers are generally open to parents queries and I’m always amazed that they can tell me so much about my child even though it’s his first time (trial) in class and they have so many inside.

There is a free trial. Go use that and see if it works. You can still explore other centres if those may fit your child better.

[hquek]

cleo:

Hi parents,


Read from the above postings on referral for AMK.
Is that for TAS?

May I know how does that work?

hi cleo, for tas, if new signups can say they are referred by a student (name, class, timing, centre), they get $10 off the first term's fee. The referror also gets $10 off.

Each student can only get max $10 off per term - so if you have friends joining, you may like to spread the joy by giving others a chance to refer. I'm not sure if there is any prize for most referrals per year.

and you don't have to get referral from the same centre. I have gotten referral to other centres.

[awfullyKS]

My child has been in TAS since late last year. Abt 2 months or so. I find that they do cover quite a lot in one lesson compared to other centres. But my child can remember what is taught. I think the methods are effective.


Like recently for compre, I saw some writing about vocab. And I realized that the teacher taught them in order to understand unknown vocab words, there are 4 things they can do and I felt it was very clear. For compo now they are also teaching the kids how to have stronger characters for the story and i find the stories very humorous and interesting. Classes tend to be big but if teacher can hold their attention and teach well, I am more than happy.

[cleo]

hquek:

cleo:

Hi parents,


Read from the above postings on referral for AMK.
Is that for TAS?

May I know how does that work?

hi cleo, for tas, if new signups can say they are referred by a student (name, class, timing, centre), they get $10 off the first term's fee. The referror also gets $10 off.

Each student can only get max $10 off per term - so if you have friends joining, you may like to spread the joy by giving others a chance to refer. I'm not sure if there is any prize for most referrals per year.

and you don't have to get referral from the same centre. I have gotten referral to other centres.

Hi hQuek,

Thank you for the explanation.

My child is on their waiting list. Not sure if there's long wait.

[Yong HL]

Hi hquek and tas parents


My dd just joined tas last week. She is in p2. I wonder if i can rely solely on tas to tacke the compo section as i really have no clue how to teach at all… Thks for advise.

[jojo]

Yong HL:

Hi hquek and tas parents


My dd just joined tas last week. She is in p2. I wonder if i can rely solely on tas to tacke the compo section as i really have no clue how to teach at all... Thks for advise.

Hi Yong HL, any classes that my kids attending I will let them try for 6 mths to 1 to see how ismy kid adapting n their result.
If the ctr is gd n cant deliver result deliver I might considering withdrawing. My girl was with anOther ctr, her teacher was v passionate toward her students, it was too bad she didn't teach compo which I think my kid's needed help for compo. It was struggled to withdraw my girl n hopped to Tas. I have no regret to do the switch!

[hquek]

Yong HL:

Hi hquek and tas parents


My dd just joined tas last week. She is in p2. I wonder if i can rely solely on tas to tacke the compo section as i really have no clue how to teach at all... Thks for advise.

Hi hi, if you are talking about compo, then I feel def no problems. Mine started his P1 with very short sentences for his school work. After 3 months, he had enough ammo to fill up 3 to 5 pages (exercise book size) for each journal he had to write (eg my favorite teacher, my family, trip to the zoo). But he didn't do it by himself, I had to hold his hand a bit to guide him on what he can include. Still, the stuff he learnt in TAS came in useful. His teacher couldn't tell me he writes awfully short sentences after that.

[iLoveChubby]

jojo:

Yong HL:

Hi hquek and tas parents


My dd just joined tas last week. She is in p2. I wonder if i can rely solely on tas to tacke the compo section as i really have no clue how to teach at all... Thks for advise.

Hi Yong HL, any classes that my kids attending I will let them try for 6 mths to 1 to see how ismy kid adapting n their result.
If the ctr is gd n cant deliver result deliver I might considering withdrawing. My girl was with anOther ctr, her teacher was v passionate toward her students, it was too bad she didn't teach compo which I think my kid's needed help for compo. It was struggled to withdraw my girl n hopped to Tas. I have no regret to do the switch!

Hi all!
Ya I agreed with jojo that we have to give the centre some time to see if the centre suits our kids. I used to enroll my DS in another centre, i knew that he didnt like it (at first I thought he was just plain lazy to go) but i made him stayed on until end of last yr before i decide to change...

This yr i also \"hopped\" to TAS, like jojo... ...
It was only my DS's first lesson but he told he loved the lesson and was proud of himself able to step out to answer questions (which is q unlike his passive character).
His teacher later also feedback to me that my DS was very participative in the class - which surprised me.

Then again, my main purpose is to instill the love of language and learning back into him (which i thk the prev centre \"killed\" it.. :rotflmao: ) ..
Well, whether that will translate into good/better grades or not i really dont know but at least I am looking forward to see him enjoying class and hope that will help him to absorb and learn better... :rahrah:

[sean wife]

Hi, does TAS conduct any assessment for P1 enrollment? If so, how is the assessment like? Many thanks!