Parents, not enrichment centres, are key to result

[DesertWind]

2ppaamm:

The best schooled children are the ones with the most dedicated parents. The most fortunate ones. Look at the number of successes we get from children of KSP. This is very similar to homeschooled kids....

Parents are indeed the best teachers. No doubt about it. As for enrichment centers. Er... :censored: who wouldn't want money thrown at them? (as one of my China students related how naive Singapore parents are. We are a bunch of clowns.)

There is no way I can argue or disagree with the above. But at the back of my mind, I have a very big question, that is, how about during my parents' time? How come I can go through the school system without much help from parents or tutors and yet can still reach the university? None of my schools were elite schools.

My mother is illiterate hence no way could she help with my school work except to provide a good home environment for us. Imagine my Chinese tutor telling my mother \"Parents, not tutors, are key to result\". Duh? :faint:

How come we are swallowing such shit hook, line and sinker now? Is it because we this generation of parents are educated and hence enrichment centres can sing us this tune and we trapped with guilt, then go home-school our kids? No accountability for results needed after paying hundreds of dollars.

My colleague with a P3 kid told me the school teacher called her and said her girl's Maths was not up to standard, did she send her for tuition? My colleague (who is a PR) asked the teacher, if she thought the girl's Maths not up to standard, then why don't the teacher/school give her remedial lessons? This PR colleague told the teacher, then you do something lah! I have to tell her that from all my readings at KSP, I have learnt that nowadays, teachers are all pushing it to the parents already and pushing parents to send kids to tuition agencies!

Philosophical arguments aside, what is at stack is my kids' learning hence if we need to \"home-school\" we need to \"home-school\" our kids other than going regular school. But lets not let the enrichment centres make suckers out of us throwing our hard-earned money their way with no accountability for results.

[2ppaamm]

Kekeke… I said exactly the same thing to my friend, who was the RGS HOD at dinner. He just stared at me and wondered whether to agree. I asked why our parents have to send kids to tuition, or why I have to teach my kids, when I too had illiterate parents but my teachers taught me everything. I needed no educated parents or tuition to finish two degrees.


I am tired of listening to teachers explaining why they have too many students in a class, or why they are asked to teach too many subjects. I told him that educators are not supposed to make excuses, they do their jobs and teach regardless. I’m an educator too, and my class size is much larger, I teach more subjects, but I’ve never given any such excuse. So he kept quiet lor… Either he is nicer than me or I have a point. Haha…

But that is exactly how I feel. Something is so wrong. Just because Singapore parents are great and take ownership, they just throw everything at us. How about getting the kid to stay back and finish his work? How about taking him aside and teaching him what he missed in class? How about skipping recess and copy a page of Chinese to improve on the language? And, I even have the GEP teacher complaining to me her class size is 25! It is a full class! She said. No wonder everyone needs outside school help. Feel like telling her, "Don’t teach!"

[2ppaamm]

Busymom:

2ppaamm:

... (as one of my China students related how naive Singapore parents are. We are a bunch of clowns.)

In what context is this student making that remark?

If this is about SG parents jumping on the enrichment bandwagon, or paper chasing, or... :scratchhead:

Parents from China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong... Not doing the same? Or even more extreme than SG?

This particular student made this comment about 3 years ago, and I can no longer track her to ask her why. If I remember correctly, we were talking about tuition, and she said that she and her friends found easy money just giving tuition to anxious Singaporean parents' kids. She was shocked by the tuition phenomenon, and how easy it was to make good money through these parents who won't teach their own kids, and schools that cannot teach effectively. I don't remember her talking about China.

Today, I spoke to another Chinese student. She told me that many Sec students in China take tuition for English and Math only so that they can qualify for the university.

Haha...in Japan, the tuition centres are listed companies! I know how I can earn a lot of money if Singapore continues with the rate we are going. No wonder even principals who retire from schools go into these businesses.

I once read a certain enrichment/tuition centre's claim to be linked to Harvard in their flyer. I was so skeptical. How can that be true? Yet parents flock there and queue up for months to get their kids into that tuition centre. They only take in students who passed their exams. I think only their selective entrance method is similar to Harvard. I am not aware of Harvard having a documented method for Primary or Sec school or that they have ever run any such programs.

Since they are selective and take in good input, they get good output lah. They boast their students PSLE results and display them proudly on a big screen outside their center. They charge exhorbitent fees. I walked past this place with my daughter today, and I continue to despise the way they do business, yet I understand when money is concerned, it is really not fair to criticize other people's shrewdness. But hey, why would anyone send their kids to people who will make such shameless claims?

There. In schools, it is about KPIs, in tuition centers, it is about money. The safest haven is home. So what does this leave a kid without educated parents. A kid like me?

[kitty2]

2ppaamm:

Kekeke... I said exactly the same thing to my friend, who was the RGS HOD at dinner. He just stared at me and wondered whether to agree. I asked why our parents have to send kids to tuition, or why I have to teach my kids, when I too had illiterate parents but my teachers taught me everything. I needed no educated parents or tuition to finish two degrees.


I am tired of listening to teachers explaining why they have too many students in a class, or why they are asked to teach too many subjects. I told him that educators are not supposed to make excuses, they do their jobs and teach regardless. I'm an educator too, and my class size is much larger, I teach more subjects, but I've never given any such excuse. So he kept quiet lor... Either he is nicer than me or I have a point. Haha...

But that is exactly how I feel. Something is so wrong. Just because Singapore parents are great and take ownership, they just throw everything at us. How about getting the kid to stay back and finish his work? How about taking him aside and teaching him what he missed in class? How about skipping recess and copy a page of Chinese to improve on the language? And, I even have the GEP teacher complaining to me her class size is 25! It is a full class! She said. No wonder everyone needs outside school help. Feel like telling her, \"Don't teach!\"

Teachers are complaining too much to do in school and wonder why they still have time to give tuition or even open tuition centre?They charge sky high fee.

[Champion]

ksi:

I have been wondering about these lousy textbooks issues. Why are the current teachers not complaining if it hinders their teaching progress? Is it not more effective for the pro to make this point strongly to MOE? Not that I am condoning the lousy textbooks, I am wondering if the teachers are using computer resources in school to supplement the textbooks which may be unknown to us?

I brought up the issue of the MPAL Science Textbooks to my DD1's Science T - the books have so many colourful pictures and notes are so insufficient that parents have to spend extra :moneyflies: :moneyflies: to get assessment and/or guide books! :mad:

Here is what the teacher replied,\" I understand your concern regarding MPAL Science textbooks. These textbooks are approved books by MOE, basically the textbooks cover the essential concepts pupils are expected to know for each theme and topic. The intention of having less written text in the textbooks is to allow pupils to learn Science in an inquiry way, thus in class, teachers do focus a lot on hands-on activities such as experiments conducted using the workbook.\"

Somehow...somewhere...I still do not agree fully to her reply :skeptical:

[2ppaamm]

kitty2:

Teachers are complaining too much to do in school and wonder why they still have time to give tuition or even open tuition centre?They charge sky high fee.

O yah hor.... how come got time to give tuition, and no time to answer my email, no time to change the toilet tag to say the right class, no time to this and that... they even tell me their teachers have families and cannot expect to be at 24 hours service. Huh? Sending an email requires 24x7x3months ah? Simply put, don't feel like answering an email, don't answer lor... Not one email, but 3 emails asking the same thing. My question was why they call my son racist. I wanted to know what he said, so that I can correct and teach him. Since they are so busy and got no time to teach him, I will do them a favour and get rid of him from their sight, never ever to return! And I believe will be for the better, for parents are the best teachers.

[janet88]

When teachers give tuition, they get to charge high bcos they have the mentality that they know the syllabus and what’s going on. Some teachers pay more attention to side-line biz bcos that’s where their cash cow is…being a teacher is to get more students and generate income.

[2ppaamm]

How come moe don’t pay enough to get great teachers who don’t need sidelines. so the cost is passed to parents now.

[Lynn2010]

Chenonceau:

PiggyLalala:

Btw, the GE also did not teach the kids on solving simultaneous equations.

See lah... that's why my son's ex best friend JJ, in GEP, has to go for tuition too!!!!!!!!

Last year they did teach the GE students simultaneous eq for my dd sch

[Lynn2010]

Chenonceau:

wonderm:

Actually all mathematically correct methods have always been accepted, including algebra. In my children's time, they also learnt simple algebra in P6.

Thanks for clarifying.

Chenonceau, I was told this too.... by a \"PSLE marker\"