All Schools are GOOD Schools
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janet_lee88:
It's hard for people who are doing policy-making to appreciate what parents are going through if they keep holding onto the mindset that \"Parents are Kiasu so they make children have a lot of tuition. There is nothing wrong with the system - we are trying to give children a holistic education but the parents keep over-emphasizing on marks\".Our Education Minister has been sent overseas to America to study more policies. He is sitting up there. We are down here sweating and pulling our hair out over the kids' education. Does anyone in education ministry understand what we are going through ?
Kids wake up at 6am to go to school. They are not taught methods to handle tough syllabus. After school, they have to attend tuition in order to pass exams. Should this be the case ?
I keep asking myself : why is it that almost every parent I meet sings the same song - the standard is too high, system is crazy, children are tested beyond their ability. Every education officer I've met so far thinks Parents are the crazy ones, pressuring their kids to excel. So both parties are blaming each other.
What is the objective data that both Parents & Policy-Makers can look at? Yes, we can offer data such as $820mil spent yearly on the tuition industry. Maybe someone can even churn out numbers that tell us what's the average number of hours a student attends tuition. What is the piece of data that will tell us there is something wrong with the system?
I suspect people from MOE HQ does not know what REALLY happens at schools. What is the objective data we can surface to demonstrate that schools test beyond what they are taught? This data must be large enough so that MOE doesn't think parents are exaggerating or making up stories. For eg, policy-makers do not see the level of difficulty of exams set at school - it's left to schools to customize so every school decides their own level of difficulty and they do not need to account to the policy-makers if they set a paper that's unfair or too difficult. Schools do not need to show to policy-makers for them to verify if the level of difficulty is too much. It's all done internally. THe levels of vetting is done by different heads + vice-principal in charge of exams. Policy-makers do not see the number of times schools subject students to failure. These numbers are NOT TRACKED by policy-makers. Schools do not need to report to HQ that for CA1, we failed 60%, for SA1, we failed 50% of students, etc etc. Yet from anecdotal evidence from parents, we do know that students are failing by large numbers. Failing is the new norm. Schools start to fail students as early as Primary 2 by setting papers far beyond their ability and beyond what they are taught. But do the policy-makers know this piece of data? No because it's all done internally - the principal is not going to tell the Superintendant that many students fail for the school exams. Why would I tell my boss that my students are failing exams set by my school? At the end only the PSLE results are accounted for. Are principals held accountable for damaging students' confidence by failing them young and frequently? No. Is this sort of abuse reported? No. Schools don't see it as abuse. -
beanbear:
:goodpost:
It's hard for people who are doing policy-making to appreciate what parents are going through if they keep holding onto the mindset that \"Parents are Kiasu so they make children have a lot of tuition. There is nothing wrong with the system - we are trying to give children a holistic education but the parents keep over-emphasizing on marks\".janet_lee88:
Our Education Minister has been sent overseas to America to study more policies. He is sitting up there. We are down here sweating and pulling our hair out over the kids' education. Does anyone in education ministry understand what we are going through ?
Kids wake up at 6am to go to school. They are not taught methods to handle tough syllabus. After school, they have to attend tuition in order to pass exams. Should this be the case ?
I keep asking myself : why is it that almost every parent I meet sings the same song - the standard is too high, system is crazy, children are tested beyond their ability. Every education officer I've met so far thinks Parents are the crazy ones, pressuring their kids to excel. So both parties are blaming each other.
What is the objective data that both Parents & Policy-Makers can look at? Yes, we can offer data such as $820mil spent yearly on the tuition industry. Maybe someone can even churn out numbers that tell us what's the average number of hours a student attends tuition. What is the piece of data that will tell us there is something wrong with the system?
I suspect people from MOE HQ does not know what REALLY happens at schools. What is the objective data we can surface to demonstrate that schools test beyond what they are taught? This data must be large enough so that MOE doesn't think parents are exaggerating or making up stories. For eg, policy-makers do not see the level of difficulty of exams set at school - it's left to schools to customize so every school decides their own level of difficulty and they do not need to account to the policy-makers if they set a paper that's unfair or too difficult. Schools do not need to show to policy-makers for them to verify if the level of difficulty is too much. It's all done internally. THe levels of vetting is done by different heads + vice-principal in charge of exams. Policy-makers do not see the number of times schools subject students to failure. These numbers are NOT TRACKED by policy-makers. Schools do not need to report to HQ that for CA1, we failed 60%, for SA1, we failed 50% of students, etc etc. Yet from anecdotal evidence from parents, we do know that students are failing by large numbers. Failing is the new norm. Schools start to fail students as early as Primary 2 by setting papers far beyond their ability and beyond what they are taught. But do the policy-makers know this piece of data? No because it's all done internally - the principal is not going to tell the Superintendant that many students fail for the school exams. Why would I tell my boss that my students are failing exams set by my school? At the end only the PSLE results are accounted for. Are principals held accountable for damaging students' confidence by failing them young and frequently? No. Is this sort of abuse reported? No. Schools don't see it as abuse. -
Unless there is an increase in children suicides lah......unless there is an increase in admission to IMH lah.....then it is a wake up call for them bah. Sounds very sad, isn't it. :sad:
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laughingcat:
Unless there is an increase in children suicides lah......unless there is an increase in admission to IMH lah.....then it is a wake up call for them bah. Sounds very sad, isn't it. :sad:
Tracking number of suicides will not lead to wake-up call. Only parents will feel more guilty & broken-hearted. I personally don't think number of suicides will cause MOE to consider the contributing factor is High Exam standards & Testing beyond what is Taught. It will point back to \"It's the parents' fault. Parents pressure the kid to suicide.\"
When you read stories about how abusive prisons' environment can be, there are obviously suicides but that does not cause the authorities to question how they create a system where abuse is thriving. There have even experiments done where they put normal functioning people into a \"prison-like\" environment - just put enough of those conditions and normal people will turn abusive and turn on the \"weaker\".
Our school systems are already creating spaces where abuses are taking place - I don't mean physical - the worst kind of abuses are the deep emotional & psychological scarring that carry on for years and gets passed on to the next generation and the cycle of abuse keeps perpetuating - the origins may be from their childhood where they were made to feel ashamed, unworthy, stupid and insecure. This is a formula for bringing up emotionally broken people. Authorities are in denial that abuse is happening. Parents are afraid to speak up, we feel helpless and we are so busy just trying to help our children stay afloat and prevent them from jumping out of the window. -
Authorities up there will never see what’s happening at ground level…how parents are struggling with kids’ CA1 or SA2. The baton is passed to the parents to make sure kids are up to mark, passing exams etc.
During parent-teacher meetings, teachers tell parents how to prepare kids for next term. Should this be the case ? I send kids to school…after 6-7 hours of school, they still have to attend tuition because what they learn in school is insufficient to pass exams. Which parent will have the heart to allow his/her child to fail ? -
Apparently, situation in China is just as bad as ours:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/chinas-education-prepares-students-tests/story?id=12348599[quote]...From a very young age, China breeds a test-oriented educational environment.
In junior high, they write the zhongkao -- \"middle test\" -- to get placed in a good high school.
In high school, the stakes are higher with the gaokao -- \"high test.\"
The final prize is entrance to a coveted college, which could lead to a leg up in the competitive job market, which could lead to a well-paid job, which in turn could lead to a happy and prosperous life. Failure or low scores on the test send many students back to high school for one more year of gaokao preparation.
The two- to three-day exam is nothing short of an obsession for parents. And it's nothing short of miserable for students...[/quote]Could it be possible that the obsession with good academic (exams) scores is already so entrenched in Asian - particularly Chinese's - culture that regardless of how MOE revamp the system, students/parents will always be subjected to exam stress? -
mum_sugoku:
Could it be possible that the obsession with good academic (exams) scores is already so entrenched in Asian - particularly Chinese's - culture that regardless of how MOE revamp the system, students/parents will always be subjected to exam stress?[/quote]Apparently, situation in China is just as bad as ours:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/chinas-education-prepares-students-tests/story?id=12348599[quote]...From a very young age, China breeds a test-oriented educational environment.
In junior high, they write the zhongkao -- \"middle test\" -- to get placed in a good high school.
In high school, the stakes are higher with the gaokao -- \"high test.\"
The final prize is entrance to a coveted college, which could lead to a leg up in the competitive job market, which could lead to a well-paid job, which in turn could lead to a happy and prosperous life. Failure or low scores on the test send many students back to high school for one more year of gaokao preparation.
The two- to three-day exam is nothing short of an obsession for parents. And it's nothing short of miserable for students...
how about doing away with PSLE??? No more crazy t-scores...schools evaluate kids throughout the year without numbered scores like in the european/some international school systems. -
beanbear:
It's hard for people who are doing policy-making to appreciate what parents are going through if they keep holding onto the mindset that \"Parents are Kiasu so they make children have a lot of tuition. There is nothing wrong with the system - we are trying to give children a holistic education but the parents keep over-emphasizing on marks\".
I keep asking myself : why is it that almost every parent I meet sings the same song - the standard is too high, system is crazy, children are tested beyond their ability. Every education officer I've met so far thinks Parents are the crazy ones, pressuring their kids to excel. So both parties are blaming each other.
What is the objective data that both Parents & Policy-Makers can look at? Yes, we can offer data such as $820mil spent yearly on the tuition industry. Maybe someone can even churn out numbers that tell us what's the average number of hours a student attends tuition. What is the piece of data that will tell us there is something wrong with the system?
I suspect people from MOE HQ does not know what REALLY happens at schools. What is the objective data we can surface to demonstrate that schools test beyond what they are taught? This data must be large enough so that MOE doesn't think parents are exaggerating or making up stories. For eg, policy-makers do not see the level of difficulty of exams set at school - it's left to schools to customize so every school decides their own level of difficulty and they do not need to account to the policy-makers if they set a paper that's unfair or too difficult. Schools do not need to show to policy-makers for them to verify if the level of difficulty is too much. It's all done internally. THe levels of vetting is done by different heads + vice-principal in charge of exams. Policy-makers do not see the number of times schools subject students to failure. These numbers are NOT TRACKED by policy-makers. Schools do not need to report to HQ that for CA1, we failed 60%, for SA1, we failed 50% of students, etc etc. Yet from anecdotal evidence from parents, we do know that students are failing by large numbers. Failing is the new norm. Schools start to fail students as early as Primary 2 by setting papers far beyond their ability and beyond what they are taught. But do the policy-makers know this piece of data? No because it's all done internally - the principal is not going to tell the Superintendant that many students fail for the school exams. Why would I tell my boss that my students are failing exams set by my school? At the end only the PSLE results are accounted for. Are principals held accountable for damaging students' confidence by failing them young and frequently? No. Is this sort of abuse reported? No. Schools don't see it as abuse.
Beanbear![](\"http://i41.tinypic.com/xnc0fc.gif\")
http://i41.tinypic.com/xnc0fc.gif\">
:goodpost:
the social responsibilities systematically being passed down gradually - slowly but surely. Housing, healthcare, education......
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yah it is a holy terror! :imconstipated: :?: :pokeeye: HI im new so excuse the stupid mistakes
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beanbear:
Let's say NO to such abuse :nunchuk:laughingcat:
Unless there is an increase in children suicides lah......unless there is an increase in admission to IMH lah.....then it is a wake up call for them bah. Sounds very sad, isn't it. :sad:
Tracking number of suicides will not lead to wake-up call. Only parents will feel more guilty & broken-hearted. I personally don't think number of suicides will cause MOE to consider the contributing factor is High Exam standards & Testing beyond what is Taught. It will point back to \"It's the parents' fault. Parents pressure the kid to suicide.\"
When you read stories about how abusive prisons' environment can be, there are obviously suicides but that does not cause the authorities to question how they create a system where abuse is thriving. There have even experiments done where they put normal functioning people into a \"prison-like\" environment - just put enough of those conditions and normal people will turn abusive and turn on the \"weaker\".
Our school systems are already creating spaces where abuses are taking place - I don't mean physical - the worst kind of abuses are the deep emotional & psychological scarring that carry on for years and gets passed on to the next generation and the cycle of abuse keeps perpetuating - the origins may be from their childhood where they were made to feel ashamed, unworthy, stupid and insecure. This is a formula for bringing up emotionally broken people. Authorities are in denial that abuse is happening. Parents are afraid to speak up, we feel helpless and we are so busy just trying to help our children stay afloat and prevent them from jumping out of the window.
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