Parents, not enrichment centres, are key to result

[hokkiengirl]

Hello, everyone!


I realise my post will not be very related to the previous few ones as I will be writing about my pre-primary son who is many, many years away from the Upper Primary Fear-Factor Zone. This is also a slightly different take on the whole topic, but from the onset, yup, I agree that parents are the key to results (although it sometimes entails the judicious use of enrichment centres!)

I think there has to be a re-look at the definition of 'results'. We may have been too conditioned to think of 'results' as getting into the prestigious 'A' class, such that anything else beneath that elicits sighs of disappointment and the feeling that our kids are dumb. Admit it, we've all felt that before. And I think the kids know how we feel. Parents may pretend and mouth platitudes like, 'it's ok, never mind, try again next year,' but you can bet your booty your kid knows you think he just messed up.

I am conditioning myself to think of 'results' as the best my child can do. To not take this approach would be to break his spirit. To put things in perspective, my eldest son started reading when he was 3.5 years old. I thought this was normal as EVERYONE'S kid appeared to be reading at 2. Oops. So we were already a little late. He understood fractions, could do mental sums and understood multiplication and division very early on. I thought that was par for the course, too. EVERYONE'S kid was doing that, right?

That's possibly one of the biggest lies parents are being fed... by other parents. It's not deliberate malice or showing off. It's justifiably proud parents sharing their kids' achievements online, etc. But it has nasty repercussions sometimes.

Case in point: Son No. 2. Poor darling couldn't read at 3.5. He couldn't read at 4 either. I was so frustrated because he couldn't figure out that M-A-N was man, and so on. A lot of yelling went on. I mean, here I was, doing my part, and it wasn't working. I gave up and tried again 6 months later. Suddenly, something clicked in his brain and he could read in K1! And from being unable to comprehend plus and minus, he somehow got it! It was his evil mummy's fault for not realising that he had his own time to bloom. According to some doctors, to force children to read and write before they ready could actually cause more damage to their brains.

I think we need to recognise that children learn at different paces and at different times. As long we make the atmosphere conducive to learning (meaning not so much screaming involved) and we try with them on a regular basis, we have done our job. Let's stop believing that it is normal for ALL kids to read by 2, do maths by 3, master the piano by 4 and the vioin by 5. If your child can do all those things, well done! He / She is truly talented. Most of our kids do not fall into those categories except by blood, sweat and tears, I think, and I don't think it is worth it. Let's give them and ourselves a break, guide them according to how their brain works, and I believe results of some sort will follow.

Today, Son No. 2 is still struggling with some parts of learning, but it makes my day when he picks up a simple book to read to himself. How's that for results without enrichment centres?

Er, I hope this post is vaguely relevant to the topic...

[buds]

Relevant or not, I just hv one thing to say...


:goodpost:

Then again like many here we hold restraint on
the notion of never say never... especially since
in your case now, neither of ur two boys hv
taken the 1st step into formal primary sch
education....... yet. :evil:

Naaahhh.. I'm just frightening u.

PS. For a hokkien babe, your England iser veries goods arh. :salute:
(Pardon the poor pronunciation, side effect from watching Lulu on The Noose.)

:rotflmao:

[tankee]

zeemimi:

likely most of the 45 students have tuition. so big class size also nevermind.

maybe they have more than 1 teacher assistant assigned to that class? :scratchhead:

[janet88]

With tuition being a necessity in today’s context, how many kids bunked in a class is no issue. I was very resistant to tuition for Eng, Math and science until last year. CL tuition is definitely needed.


Somehow tutors have their ways to teach.
And I wonder, why aren’t our school teachers equipped to do that. It’s so strange.

[buds]

Mebbe if school teachers are allowed to charge per hour like tutors, they'd start to show you their \"equip\"ment or what they're REALLY equipped with. :evil:


:rubhands:

[1amber]

It’s a whole lot easier to teach one to one or small group than handle a large class especially when there are one or two noisy disruptive ones.

[buds]

tankee:

zeemimi:

likely most of the 45 students have tuition. so big class size also nevermind.

maybe they have more than 1 teacher assistant assigned to that class? :scratchhead:

Close to the number of children my girls' classes have.

My DDs classes have over forty. Still one teacher.
VP answered me this when I raised concern over the big class size.

\"Which classes are they in?\"

Followed by...

\"Oh.. your children are in the better classes.\"
\"The teachers assigned to these classes and
the children themselves can cope. Better
classes can manage with bigger class size.\"

[buds]

And no... not many children have tuition.

Mine doesn't.

Yet. :scared:

Last year's teachers were beyond extraordinary! :please:
This year (now only Feb some more)... teachers are all
different and we're beginning to see *CMI traits. :nailbite:

And like Janet has reiterated many times over... P5 is THE YEAR! *gulp*

*Cannot Make It* :roll:

[janet88]

buds:

And like Janet has reiterated many times over... P5 is THE YEAR! *gulp*


*Cannot Make It* :roll:

Enrichment/tuition prior P5 preparation can't seem to prepare a child when he/she faces the first CA. My son cried when he came home last year...my hubby couldn't understand either.

[jedamum]

buds:

And no... not many children have tuition.

Mine doesn't.

Yet. :scared:

Last year's teachers were beyond extraordinary! :please:
This year (now only Feb some more)... teachers are all
different and we're beginning to see *CMI traits. :nailbite:

And like Janet has reiterated many times over... P5 is THE YEAR! *gulp*

*Cannot Make It* :roll:

although my kid has 2 tuition, i want to be inspired that it is do-able to do well with none..
jiayou buds!