Parents, not enrichment centres, are key to result
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coast:
Solly! Solly!
You forgot about Fathers again? :stompfeet: -
kiddo:
hi kiddo,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
Thanks for your encouraging message in bold above
Isn’t it an unhealthy system? Is there something we could improve? Hopefully when we share ideas here, someone from MOE will take note and implement the feasible ones to improve the situation. Not just simply “we cannot stop parents from sending their kids to tuition” without understanding the various factors why we are relying so much on enrichment/tuition/help. There is always a market for enrichment/tuition and they have their merits. But it is sad if it is due to “system gives us no choice” and that our system results in many kids having to \"cramp all that in the 8 waking hours a day\". -
ksi:
:goodpost: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?
MOE recognises that all children enter P1 with different background. The schools have a LSP programme for P1 and P2 students who are weak in their literacy and numeracy skills. From what I know, these students usually attend separate classes (regular school hours) with a smaller teacher-student ratio. -
insider:
I like the way you put it \"PSLE is just a PSLE\"
Some schools are not over-expecting but parents are over-feeding (the 'stretch').Funz:
Is it the paper that is forcing the parents to need all these tuition and enrichment or is it the parents who refuse let their children stumble on these questions that led to this 'tuition culture'?
Some schools over-test kids, like what Chenonceau's son is experiencing.
Base on my experience, PSLE is just a PSLE and as parents, we can pace accordingly and not necessary according to schools or 'peer pressure' if they are unreasonable in their testing and 'standard' (their intent is good but then I take it as 'posion').
Know your kids well. As long as they have been diligently doing homework, etc, the road will even out when come closer to PSLE for most kids... (prior to PSLE, most teachers will throw many sets of past year PSLE papers for kids and kids who do all these papers over and over again may begin to enjoy the 'Ah-Huh' enlightenment, with or without heuristics...) During that time, most kids will have minimal time to even look at assessment books (it's the 'quality' that counts instead of quantity at the 'final countdown'. So can save money...)
PS:
I shared before about PSLE is really not that bad a monster. 'Regular' kids should not have big issues getting their As in all subjects (T score around 220), even for those who are weak in Chinese (like my son with horrible Chinese and still managed an A and so the standard is real LOW). The papers are manageable. If a 'regular' child is looking at getting all A*s, then another totally different story...(need to do like what Chamonix is doing with 'chimmer' external guide books).
I can't agree more than what you stated in bold above. I feel the same way too. As early as the first few months last year (my DS was in P1), I noticed some Maths questions and English open-ended compre (inference questions) that my DS brought home from school (not to mention a lot of bombastic words for Vocab). I made the judgement that this was too advanced for P1 and chucked them aside. But I also know many parents started to worry and began sending their kids for tuition or doing tonnes of assessments/ past years' papers as they thought this is the \"standard\".
I feel that PSLE standard is lower than many schools' internal exams papers too. If there is more transparency on PSLE, perhaps it will make it easier for parents to pace their children and to determine what is \"unreasonable\". We trust the schools. It is not easy for parents to believe that the schools are \"unreasonable\" in their testing I have a feeling that we are unconventional in our approach. I could understand what many parents feel when they look at the school standards ... thinking this is the \"standard\". Frankly, without having access to actual PSLE papers, would we be convincing in our approach?
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coast:
I too have a strange feeling that PSLE is easier than the schools' exam papers.
I feel that PSLE standard is lower than many schools' internal exams papers too. If there is more transparency on PSLE, perhaps it will make it easier for parents to pace their children and to determine what is \"unreasonable\". We trust the schools. It is not easy for parents to believe that the schools are \"unreasonable\" in their testing I have a feeling that we are unconventional in our approach. I could understand what many parents feel when they look at the school standards ... thinking this is the \"standard\". Frankly, without having access to actual PSLE papers, would we be convincing in our approach?
One mum shared with me that her principal in the school told the parents that the school set the P5 exam papers as a killer paper especially for Math just to make it as a wake-up call for the parents to start them on an early preparation for PSLE. For those already strong, such papers have little impact but for the average which is the majority, it will definitely be a wake-up call and that is actually an objective of the school. Now, is this an acceptable approach?
PS: With this wake-up call, many scramble for tuition at this time according to this mum. -
I have this thing against SCARING people towards performance. My kids work really hard but I've never SHAMED them into working hard... nor FRIGHTENED them into working hard. I coax them... encourage them... and teach them to believe that hard work pays off... give them hope and self-belief (no matter how lousy they are at a certain subject).
Hope motivates.
It's a barbaric system that TERRORISES kids into working hard. Not just kids are terrorised. Parents are too. Look at poor beanbear (post here http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=696954#p696954) whose P5 son (in the school's Math Olympiad training) flunked Math the whole P5 year!! :yikes:
Think Hitler... Genghis Khan... Attila the Hun. -
Chenonceau:
They are actually terrorising the PARENTS hor!!!
It's a barbaric system that TERRORISES kids into working hard. Not just kids are terrorised. Parents are too. Look at poor beanbear (post here http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=696954#p696954) whose P5 son (in the school's Math Olympiad training) flunked Math the whole P5 year!! :yikes:
Think Hitler... Genghis Khan... Attila the Hun. -
Nebbermind:
Exactly so!!
They are actually terrorising the PARENTS hor!!!Chenonceau:
It's a barbaric system that TERRORISES kids into working hard. Not just kids are terrorised. Parents are too. Look at poor beanbear (post here http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=696954#p696954) whose P5 son (in the school's Math Olympiad training) flunked Math the whole P5 year!! :yikes:
Think Hitler... Genghis Khan... Attila the Hun.
Because the children's psyches are more fragile... without an adult by their side to affirm and encourage them, many kids go into escapism. They feel no fear. They wanna play all day. How many terrorised parents say their P5 kids are still in lala land? It is psychologically too painful for a kid that age to face a failure they have no answers to.
(1) I did all my homework.
(2) I paid attention in class.
(3) I understood everything Teacher said.
(4) I dunno why I flunked and other people didn't. I must be dumb. Anyway, who cares... let's play some computer games. Dumb is dumb. I'm just not cut out for academics. I hate studying and learning.
Kids use avoidance coping strategies to manage the stress. Adults use active coping strategies to manage the stress. It doesn't mean kids are less stressed or terrified.
If I didn't constantly explain to my son that it's normal to feel stupid in P5... that the exams are designed to be way beyond his ability, he would be out all day playing an escapism game too. DS works hard because I am there to give HOPE. I am also there to temper the stress in such a way that he can ENJOY his learning. -
I am also against this ‘terrorism’ approach at P5 but is this out of some kind of desperate measures? I don’t know but it is something MOE should investigate. Such an approach takes the joy out of learning. Even if a child eventually mugged to get good PSLE results, I believe the damage caused by such an exam takes a long time to heal for the joy of learning and what if a child does not recover from it?
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Sill, alot of parents believe in this kinda terrorism...which is why past yr ppr of branded schools which is typically more difficult are selling so well!!
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