All Schools are GOOD Schools
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Piggylalala, I am pretty sure VKS2010’s child is from GEP. If not, it is certain that the school is NYPS, which produces 40% of a cohort with more than 25X. This says something. If the family has siblings of which one is in mainstream, they will both attend the same school… a school that houses the GEP. This makes a difference too.
Next, GEP is a privileged group. There is no doubt about that. Whether there is more or less Teach Less Learn More is beside the point. Or more or less PSLE prep is also beside the point. We are happy for you and grudge you nothing. Leave us parents in schools with weak Principals and weak Teachers to suggest improvements that will also benefit GEP. There is nothing wrong with
(1) better textbooks
(2) e-database to resource teachers
(3) testing appropriately
(4) having fewer students in each class
Teach Less Learn More in a class of 40 is less effective than Teach Less Learn More in a class of 25. Does it matter to us that GEP does more Teach Less Learn More? No. Does it matter that Teach Less Learn More is badly implemented in mainstream? Yes.
There really is no quarrel between GEP and non-GEP. They are different programs. I am focused on improving mainstream. What happens in GEP is irrelevant to people in mainstream. You drink fine water. That is good. I cannot drink your water. All I am asking is for the water in mainstream to be improved. -
PiggyLalala:
There are enough positive and glowing tributes to MOE in the Straits Times. Many silent parents have felt compelled to post in the last 2 days because Minister Heng says its our fault.
:goodpost: We need more positive posts about schools and teachers.
Surely if you say that the tuition phenomenon is our fault, then we will defend ourselves. Don't point fingers at parents, and parents won't point fingers back with even more negative posts. -
Chenonceau:
In this forum, it seems that there are more negative experiences than the positive ones. I think it is not healthy. If we paint a picture that schools are doing a lousy job, then it would encourage more parents to send their children to tuition centre. I think parents should first access whether there is a genuine need.
There are enough positive and glowing tributes to MOE in the Straits Times. Many silent parents have felt compelled to post in the last 2 days because Minister Heng says its our fault.PiggyLalala:
:goodpost: We need more positive posts about schools and teachers.
Surely if you say that the tuition phenomenon is our fault, then we will defend ourselves. Don't point fingers at parents, and parents won't point fingers back with even more negative posts. -
PiggyLalala:
In this forum, it seems that there are more negative experiences than the positive ones. I think it is not healthy. If we paint a picture that schools are doing a lousy job, then it would encourage more parents to send their children to tuition centre. I think parents should first access whether there is a genuine need.[/quote]You are free to post your own glowing experiences too as long as you too acknowledge that your child is from GEP. I would have stopped posting a long time ago and waited patiently if there was at all ANY indication in the Straits Times that there ARE concerns. Instead Straits Times reports evoke an educational paradise.
There are enough positive and glowing tributes to MOE in the Straits Times. Many silent parents have felt compelled to post in the last 2 days because Minister Heng says its our fault.Chenonceau:
[quote=\"PiggyLalala\"]
:goodpost: We need more positive posts about schools and teachers.
Surely if you say that the tuition phenomenon is our fault, then we will defend ourselves. Don't point fingers at parents, and parents won't point fingers back with even more negative posts.
In response to Straits Times' idyllic reports which has wider reach, the impact of the posts here is hardly enough to balance out the incomplete picture posted by ST of a world class education system that can do no wrong. Surely the ST reports are sufficient to lull parents into believing that tuition is unnecessary because
(1) textbooks are sufficient
(2) teachers share freely
(3) we have enough teachers to effectuate Teach Less Learn More
Believe me... the posts in KSP have much smaller readership than ST. It isn't negative posts that push parents to tuition. Parents scramble for tuition when half the class fails CA1... or in some cases the whole class fails. -
Perhaps, ban current school teachers from giving tuition too. Since we all agree that teachers have heavy workload, they should not have the time to give tuition. If no current teachers are tutors, then the best teachers will be the school teachers who know of the lastest syllabus and marking requirements. Maybe less parents will send their kids to tuition centres then.
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PiggyLalala:
It is a misconception that school teachers make the best tutors. I always tell my friends never to engage a current teacher to be a tutor. The reason is simple and self-explanatory by logical deduction.... If no current teachers are tutors, then the best teachers will be the school teachers who know of the lastest syllabus and marking requirements. Maybe less parents will send their kids to tuition centres then.
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atutor2001:
It is a misconception that school teachers make the best tutors. I always tell my friends never to engage a current teacher to be a tutor. The reason is simple and self-explanatory by logical deduction.PiggyLalala:
... If no current teachers are tutors, then the best teachers will be the school teachers who know of the lastest syllabus and marking requirements. Maybe less parents will send their kids to tuition centres then.
But at least they know of the latest marking scheme, especially for PSLE which is marked locally. -
PiggyLalala:
It is a misconception that school teachers make the best tutors. I always tell my friends never to engage a current teacher to be a tutor. The reason is simple and self-explanatory by logical deduction.atutor2001:
[quote=\"PiggyLalala\"]... If no current teachers are tutors, then the best teachers will be the school teachers who know of the lastest syllabus and marking requirements. Maybe less parents will send their kids to tuition centres then.
But at least they know of the latest marking scheme, especially for PSLE which is marked locally.[/quote]Misconception again. Being exposed to the answer keys does not imply knowing the marking scheme. Many teachers are so sotong and just follow the marks indicated in the answer keys blindly. The answer keys state the various possible answers and their corresponding marks. If a particular way of answering is given zero, this teacher will go back to the class and tell their students - \"Cannot answer this way ok, no mark you know!\" And that is good only for that particular question. Ask them why (i.e. the concept) is it that no mark should be awarded if answered this way, the same teacher has nothing to offer. Yes lots of silly parents are wasting their money engaging so called teachers as \"tutors\". -
Being exposed to the answer keys does not imply knowing the marking scheme. Many teachers are so sotong and just follow the marks indicated in the answer keys blindly. The answer keys state the various possible answers and their corresponding marks. If a particular way of answering is given zero, this teacher will go back to the class and tell their students - \"Cannot answer this way ok, no mark you know!\" And that is good only for that particular question. Ask them why (i.e. the concept) is it that no mark should be awarded if answered this way, the same teacher has nothing to offer. Yes lots of silly parents are wasting their money engaging so called teachers as \"tutors\".[/quote]
:goodpost: Most of teachers have answer keys and they just follow them without knowing what they're teaching.Sometimes,different teachers give different answers :? :slapshead: -
My personal experience on teachers/school’s role in pushing parents (even non-kiasu ones) to tuition
1. My boy scored 9 or 10 out of 10 P1 and P2. In P3 1st term, suddenly the scores dropped to 13 or 14 out of 20. Teachers said 'cos expectations have raisen. 3 months time and the results are so drastic? Question is: What expectations? Have they taught them extra? Or simply artifically raise the bar? When asked how to improve? The answers were so generic and honestlly, how do you expect a teacher of class 40 teaching multiple subjects to be able to assess the students specific strengths and weaknesses so effectively? Even in corporate world you talk about span of control.
2. My friend just told me that her kid’s ENTIRE class fail higher chinese in P5 & these were supposedly better in Chinese students selected for the higher chinese. SHOCK TACTICS to get parents to buck up? and hence send to more tuition classes?
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