2009 GEP Screening And Selection
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ChiefKiasu:
Dear All
Of course I knew you were jokingwatmekiasu:
It was meant to be a joke. Sorry if it offended anyone.
Many of the postings here are quite funny. :lol: I think a few of us pointed out that it is NORMAL to be not in the GEP, so uh, not much glorifying here...
so don't worry about it.
On a more serious note, I see references to the belief that those that made it past the screening test represent the top 10% of the cohort, while those that get selected makes up the top 1%. This is a fallacy, and it perpetuates the myth that a kid is not bright if he/she doesn't \"pass\" the GEP tests.
The fact is, most kids today are BRIGHT in the academic sense. How many of us managed to score above 90% for all our subjects during our time in Primary school? And if we were to sit then for the same tests that our children are put through today, it is unlikely we can even pass the tests.
So, if half of the kids today are able to score above 90% for English and Math in their normal academic work, but only 1% of the cohort is selected for GEP, it would mean that 49% of bright kids will be disappointed for not being classified as \"gifted\" despite their diligence and academic excellence. To these kids, they have \"failed\" the test by not being selected. They are not gifted in the eyes of the education system. How would they feel?
I will be happy for the 1% of children that get selected for the GEP, but I will cry more for the majority who are bright kids who just could not make the cut, and left wondering if they will forever be inferior to the 1%.
Concur with chief message.
Let's bear in mind, the result only capture at the instance of the particluar time frame.
And this label will not be able to hold to the particular person, if he/seh chose not to excel in his/her undertaking.
But being in the selected few, they are expose to different things early in life and may be able to gain advantages than the rest of pupils, who because of some reason, did not excel in the selection test.
And this lot of people doesnot belong to the previlage few.
Not all my son classmate stay in private housing, and some of them like my family, from humble HDB heartland.
Cheers -
Full.Cream:
Hi
you forgot...'well' is a relative term. From what I see in this GEP thread, if u can't get into RGS/RI, it is NOT 'well' enough!!Bing_He:
All prosepctive GEPers parent, not to worry about PSLE, almost all of the GEPers can do well in PSLE except very few.
Cheers.
It is a myth.
All school has their own way of educating children.
It is up to us, as parent, to define good or normal school.
And compare to 80's, there are much more avenue to reach individual potential and not just few selected route.
Cheers. -
kiasimom:
Kiasimom, my side too he always do his things faster and distrub others , I had tried in P1 to keep tuition but teachers didnt want to accept that.leeven:
me too , my DS cannot sit for more than 10mins to study or do papers :x (every one including his teach teacher complains of this). I am too stressed always to go around him begging for him to sit to study. probably will start to put him in tutions.
Tuition doesn't work for my son. He makes his tutors so mad by not listening. In the end, I have to be his personal tutor.
but now the tuition centre I am planning for said for such a kid just give a book to read while waiting for others to finish their work... Good advise so planning to follow. I am not to personal tuition as I want my son to sit with others to know QAs from his class mates and more over he cannot really sit alone for a while as said earlier (I have tried for MT tuition and need to stop her due to his reactions) :roll: -
ChiefKiasu:
Chief,
I will be happy for the 1% of children that get selected for the GEP, but I will cry more for the majority who are bright kids who just could not make the cut, and left wondering if they will forever be inferior to the 1%.
No need to cry!
In a sense, the GEPers do represent the top 1%: the top 1% for the GEP selection test.
Of course, the validity of the test is debatable, even the program itself is debatable.
The future performance, achievements etc from these kids are questionable too. Some of these students, even as early as in secondary schools, start to fail exams. You would be surprised, some even fail mathematics, the very core of the GEP test.
So there is no need to feel sorry for those who didn't even go through the 1st round.
I take it as one measure of my son's mind at the time of test. That is it. Just like the results from tests and exams. That is also why I don't allow my kids to do past year papers or extra assessments to prepare for exams. I want to see the real result.
Just like height, weight, blood pressure etc. Non of the data would point out the health of a person. Just a general consensus of what kind of data constitutes good health. And even for a fundamental thing like health, investigators are constantly changing their views.
So does getting into GEP means \"bright\"? Does getting good PSLE grades means \"bright\"? Results are just crude measures of intelligence. Even the definition of \"intelligence\" is changing.
The link between \"success\" and \"intelligent\" is also questionable. Look around you and you would hardly see people holding high positions being very smart. Average intelligence is sufficient, hardwork is needed, but \"success\" always requires topping up with huge doses of EQ, luck and connection.
BTW, \"success\" above is the typical narrow definition that the majority agrees on. -
When kids are very active they may have very mild ADHD. Usually such kids are more intelligent than others. Their patience needs to be \"nurtured\" through extra effort from a very young age.
Most parents think that it is normal for small children to be inattentive and with short attention span. However, if we study the profile of a top gifted kid (not genius - they are in a different category - genius and lunatics are separated by only a very fine line), usually we will be looking at a child who can stay focus for a longer time than others. In fact one of the greatest gift of a gifted kid is the ability to stay focus at a young age no matter whether the subject is of interest to him or her i.e. they listen and digest.
Educators are clever. To overcome a child's short attention span, methods such as \"flash card\" was invented. However, if the kid is indeed with mild ADHD then we will be reinforcing his short attention span with the use of such method. Therefore, for such kids, a necessary approach may be to spend effort in teaching him/her to stay still for a longer period of time, regardless whether he/she has finished the work (a social life skill)
We believe that children will grow out of this when they are older. True, when they are older, most will learn to keep still when the occasion requires. However, mentally, they are very impatient and have lost the ability to \"listen\" and empathise. Sometimes we call them \"elitist\". However, I think it is the way the child was brought up that created such mental state. -
glchua:
In fact, alot of the these 'gifted' ones I've seen are abit overly geeky, and/or exhibit poor EQ and self centred.
The link between \"success\" and \"intelligent\" is also questionable. Look around you and you would hardly see people holding high positions being very smart. Average intelligence is sufficient, hardwork is needed, but \"success\" always requires topping up with huge doses of EQ, luck and connection.
BTW, \"success\" above is the typical narrow definition that the majority agrees on. -
atutor2001:
atutor2001, agree with you. My DS very impatient ,gets angry, tensed very fast and lose interest in any very fast except for reading but ya his grasping power is very good and studies well too .Only he accepts what his FT or LT says and no one else ,lucky he is having very patient teachers in school and reminds him again and again to slow down and gives tips for before exam for him . Only thing he can sit down is when reading books :lol: which he can do sit for hours, lucky me in that.When kids are very active they may have very mild ADHD. Usually such kids are more intelligent than others. Their patience needs to be \"nurtured\" through extra effort from a very young age.
Most parents think that it is normal for small children to be inattentive and with short attention span. However, if we study the profile of a top gifted kid (not genius - they are in a different category - genius and lunatics are separated by only a very fine line), usually we will be looking at a child who can stay focus for a longer time than others. In fact one of the greatest gift of a gifted kid is the ability to stay focus at a young age no matter whether the subject is of interest to him or her i.e. they listen and digest.
Educators are clever. To overcome a child's short attention span, methods such as \"flash card\" was invented. However, if the kid is indeed with mild ADHD then we will be reinforcing his short attention span with the use of such method. Therefore, for such kids, a necessary approach may be to spend effort in teaching him/her to stay still for a longer period of time, regardless whether he/she has finished the work (a social life skill)
We believe that children will grow out of this when they are older. True, when they are older, most will learn to keep still when the occasion requires. However, mentally, they are very impatient and have lost the ability to \"listen\" and empathise. Sometimes we call them \"elitist\". However, I think it is the way the child was brought up that created such mental state. -
tracy2009:
Rookie here. Just to add my 2 cents worth of info.Kiasu101:
Is it true that most of the kids who got admitted to GEP are those who top their classes in Pr 1 and 2?
For my kid’s school, there are two top classes. Those make it into gep are all from these two classes.
Some info gathered from my friends for last year (with student selected into gep): Nan Yang-30; RGPS-18;Tao Nan-18; Catholic-7
My son is in GEP P4 this year. He was from neighbour school, and in the top class (3A). In his year, there were about 30-40 qualified for the GEP 2nd round, mostly coming from his class. Eventually, 11 got into GEP, and I believed all of them left the school to join schools that offer GEP. His current GEP school arrange the class in the opposite way, GEP classes is 4K and 4L, and top mainstream class 4I. -
Hi TwaTau, Is your kid from RVPS? The info you’ve given coincides with what my kid’s FT told him.
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Puffer:
Hi TwaTau, Is your kid from RVPS? The info you've given coincides with what my kid's FT told him.
Right on. Yours from the same batch or is taking the GEP test this year.?
Mine wasn't too keen to leave the school at first. Last year after getting the yellow envelope, it took us almost to the last minute to convince him to join GEP. Eventually, after he has agreed, we fax the consent form to MOE. Reason he cited was mainly of his attachment to his previous school and his knuckle head and very strong will. We cited that 1/4 of classmate will be leaving and with them gone, we are worry that he will lost all his competition. We told him to try it out and if he is not able to cope, we are OK for him to withdraw and return to mainstream.
After one year of GEP, I can see that he is enjoying the curriculum and his results is also OK. Social Science, Science and Maths he enjoy alot. English ok and HCL was the toughest for him. At end of second semester, first time he fail (Chinese composition) something in school. That really wake him up, getting us to buy Chinese story books from his reading list, which we gladly oblige. It was a good experience for both us parent and child.
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