Parents, not enrichment centres, are key to result
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wonderm:
haha...not really. I wasn't \"kiasu\" enough in ds1's time to know there was \"top school exam papers\" and there wasn't many good maths assessments (such as Maths Olympiad books) available at Popular.
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:siam: The question is how to build a strong foundation for the children? I hope I'm not offending anybody but there's a serious flaw in the way Maths is taught in schools. Most of my students have problems understanding the basic concepts, not to mention moving on to heuristics. :siam: How do most schools teach fractions - numerators and denominators? How about X more than Y is _______? Z is ______ less than X? When they see problem sums in lower primary, they would have 'switch off' already reason being that they find it very difficult. I've throughout the years devised my own methods of teaching and even have students at the verge of failing in P3 getting above 90 for P4. My methods are designed in such a way that the children find it very easy to understand the concepts and drawing models step by step. By the time they take their PSLE, even very weak students who really do not have a talent in Maths (yes, you need talent as well) manage to get a decent pass cos at least they applied what insider has mentioned earlier - i.e. memorising - which is the last resort.
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coast:
Teachers do make a difference. I am sure there are many students who benefit from teachers whether they are from school, enrichment or tuition. I sincerely salute all those teachers who have made a difference to their students! By all means give credit to the individual teacher. But if it is the \"fantastic\" worksheets from the centres, then we need to ask ... why can't MOE provide adequate materials to ALL students? Why parents need to visit Popular, KSP and other places to source for external assessment, resources, ... etc? Why some schools give different materials to different classes? The key reason I am writing this ... we need to make it as much a level playing field for every student as possible .. not dependent on extensive parent coaching, enrichment materials, ...
coast ,
I was exactly at the same thinking when DS is your DS age etc,
over time ....the system give you no choice but tuition due to
no time , pretty exhausted after a days work etc..
and the system with Parents , schoolwork load etc
create a very 'unlevel\" playing field .... enrichment and
add help is a good boost to marks and save efforts on the parents and child research work .
Actually - the workload the children now have entails a parents child
study group because with CCA and what have you , it just not possible
to cramp all that in the 8 waking hours a day
Our education have somewhat become a Elite system ...over time
coast - observe it over time and you know what I mean...
Parents/grading of school/ tuition etc create the standard of the education system as a whole.....the harder the push the higher the
standard goes.. :faint:
If you have an independent inquisitive ready to learn child .
good luck ...you will beat the system without any help :hi5:
ENJOY the journey...its an education in itself -
Agree that understanding of concept is important before learning to use heuristics. And for some kids who don’t do well in problem sums, the issue could be well be language skills and understanding before we even go to the step of which method to apply. So would think certainly heuristics is not a magic pill or a cure all for all children who do badly in Maths. But it may help those who already have a good foundation.
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linden2000:
Agree that understanding of concept is important before learning to use heuristics. And for some kids who don't do well in problem sums, the issue could be well be language skills and understanding before we even go to the step of which method to apply. So would think certainly heuristics is not a magic pill or a cure all for all children who do badly in Maths. But it can help those who already have a good foundation.
Linden2000 and I have very similar experiences indeed. Both our kids failed Paper 2 in early P5 and were much helped by heuristics. But both our kids were already good at Math in P4. -
tutormum:
:siam: The question is how to build a strong foundation for the children? I hope I'm not offending anybody but there's a serious flaw in the way Maths is taught in schools. Most of my students have problems understanding the basic concepts, not to mention moving on to heuristics. :siam: How do most schools teach fractions - numerators and denominators? How about X more than Y is _______? Z is ______ less than X? When they see problem sums in lower primary, they would have 'switch off' already reason being that they find it very difficult. I've throughout the years devised my own methods of teaching and even have students at the verge of failing in P3 getting above 90 for P4. My methods are designed in such a way that the children find it very easy to understand the concepts and drawing models step by step. By the time they take their PSLE, even very weak students who really do not have a talent in Maths (yes, you need talent as well) manage to get a decent pass cos at least they applied what insider has mentioned earlier - i.e. memorising - which is the last resort.
Precisely this is the group that would dash for tuition cos there is no choice if what is taught in school simply is not getting through. And this is the group that is of concern if it is growing in size. MOE needs to study what is contributing to this problem eg:
1. Math language skills? I used to have these scholastics books I bought from a friend which I innocently let my child read for pleasure. In hindsight, perhaps these books helped my child understand the language of Math better. I only browsed those books but I vaguely remember they are written in Math language. Maybe should get the children to read such books to get it into their system.
2. Is Timeline to learn certain concepts realistic?
How much time is required on average for the mastery of certain Math skills? Are the children given enough time to learn them or we rush because we try to do many more things to make the education look holistic? Also, all children enter P1 with different background....
3. Foundation for Basic Computation Skills Missing?
4. Not enjoying the lesson?
Why?
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Funz:
I want the 2 of you to teach ME! Then I can teach my kids.
I oso want you to teach mine leh... just paiseh to ask only!!!!Chenonceau:
[quote=\"ksi\"]
By the way, did you notice sth up there......
Just to share a lighter moment with you about my experience, I get PM asking me to teach their children.....of course it is joking but at the end of the day, we know every parent is concerned about this issue after our debate....
.[/quote]You gotta be kidding Funz.....I am still learning...
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I really wish someone from MOE (of course with some kind of authority)reads this thread and give feedback to higher authorities.
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Chenonceau:
Like I tell Funz, I am still learning as a parent....you are your child's best teacher in every sense.
I oso want you to teach mine leh... just paiseh to ask only!!!!
Yeah... I know the debate has made the issue salient to many parents. That's why I thought I should write a proper integration post. Unfortunately, we have not had much representation from parents who work and who have no time to teach their kids, so the perspective may still be incomplete.
Yes.. I noticed the streaming. Chose not to respond because seriously, my brain works by taking in new perspectives, and I CHANGE my mind as new pesrpectives come in... At present, I have no entrenched position on streaming. What I wrote... I wrote as questions to stimulate thought and push the boundaries. I haven't thought through streaming properly so I dun really have anything sensible to say. I have questions more than objections.
I do have an entrenched position on textbooks, however.
As for streaming, there is no standardization on how the schools deal with their best classes. It is really quite different from schools to schools though all the intent is common, to stretch their potential. Probably this is where the disparity comes about in terms of how much the children know as additional knowledge. My thought is even if MOE standardises the practices, would schools stop doing more to stretch their children just to stay on the PSLE chart or would parents stop doing more to stretch their children to get onto the PSLE chart? I don't know.... -
ksi:
The issue bears thinking about... I really have no very strong objections at present against streaming because as someone who teaches adults, I am familiar with the challenges of managing a disparate class.
Like I tell Funz, I am still learning as a parent....you are your child's best teacher in every sense.Chenonceau:
I oso want you to teach mine leh... just paiseh to ask only!!!!
Yeah... I know the debate has made the issue salient to many parents. That's why I thought I should write a proper integration post. Unfortunately, we have not had much representation from parents who work and who have no time to teach their kids, so the perspective may still be incomplete.
Yes.. I noticed the streaming. Chose not to respond because seriously, my brain works by taking in new perspectives, and I CHANGE my mind as new pesrpectives come in... At present, I have no entrenched position on streaming. What I wrote... I wrote as questions to stimulate thought and push the boundaries. I haven't thought through streaming properly so I dun really have anything sensible to say. I have questions more than objections.
I do have an entrenched position on textbooks, however.
As for streaming, there is no standardization on how the schools deal with their best classes. It is really quite different from schools to schools though all the intent is common, to stretch their potential. Probably this is where the disparity comes about in terms of how much the children know as additional knowledge. My thought is even if MOE standardises the practices, would schools stop doing more to stretch their children just to stay on the PSLE chart or would parents stop doing more to stretch their children to get onto the PSLE chart? I don't know....
But I do feel that some contingencies in the form of better documentation of scholastic material would go some way in tempering some of the negative effects of streaming - building linkages between streams so kids who can and want to, can stretch themselves... without Mommy having to hunt high and low for material. I would have been happy with just a bibliography... or even NLB resources earmarked as useful stretch material for PSLE.
The best teachers are those who don't stop learning.
I, for one, have no intention to stretch my kid beyond the PSLE. He's doing secondary stuff 'cos it helps with PSLE. I can think of much more fun and exciting developmental journeys that have nothing to do with PSLE. :frustrated: :frustrated:
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