All Schools are GOOD Schools
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Why I don’t say ban private tuition?
bcoz, if the student is weak, I believe, these student would reasonably be assumed that they cannot follow class lesson as well… and they NEED individual attention. These student wouldn’t benefit from attending tuition centers classes bcoz they do not get individual attention at all…
If, many students benefit from tuition center classes, it means they can follow lessons w/o individual attention… why then they cannot follow in class? In this case, kindly look at the quality of the teachers… and work from there, and MOE shd not take the easy way and simply outsource to tuition center to do a MOE teacher’s Job!
So, private tuition and tuition centers target different market. One shd be allowed, the other shd not. -
limlim:
Singaporeans are all very shy and reserved. They prefer to keep things to themselves, hence no feedback to teachers, HOD, principal, MOE etc that the teachers (some, not all lah) could not make it or not doing it right. Thus MOE was deceived by parents that all things are okay.Why I don't say ban private tuition?
bcoz, if the student is weak, I believe, these student would reasonably be assumed that they cannot follow class lesson as well.. and they NEED individual attention. These student wouldn't benefit from attending tuition centers classes bcoz they do not get individual attention at all..
If, many students benefit from tuition center classes, it means they can follow lessons w/o individual attention.. why then they cannot follow in class? In this case, kindly look at the quality of the teachers.. and work from there, and MOE shd not take the easy way and simply outsource to tuition center to do a MOE teacher's Job!
So, private tuition and tuition centers target different market. One shd be allowed, the other shd not.
Also, Singaporeans are all very selfish. They know the problem. The solve the problem themselves quietly by getting tuition for the kids and hence the kids perform and hush hush not to tell the school and other parents about the problem. That way the kids perform \"ahead\" of the peers..... kiasu mah ......
I say \"Singaporeans are all ......\" as an intended generalisation .......
:siam: :siam:
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limlim... Thanks for clarifying. I hear you.
You are saying that...
(1) one-to-one tuition should be allowed (to help those who are really weak)
(2) ban only big group tuition
The sequence of events you envisage is as follows...
(1) Ban big group tuition centres
(2) Kids will all fail without recourse (because got no one to turn to)
(3) MOE teachers must step up and take charge or else kids will keep failing
(4) MOE will be forced to improve teaching support
How I see it is that between Steps (2) and (3) there is...
Step 2(a) - Kids will be super stressed and parents will be super angry. Given that a large number of parents are currently into tuition, this is the best way to lose a lot of votes. It is also at this point when Chenonceau can laugh all the way to the bank because all parents will be clamouring for How To Teach Children Workshop.
Next, between Steps (3) and (4) there is...
Step 3(a) - MOE teachers will suddenly be carrying double load. The teaching that was done by the tuition centres will drop on them like a ton of bricks and then they will be very stressed and low in morale... and they will quit the service in droves.
Then, finally, seeing all that pain (parents, children, teachers), MOE will start to invest in teacher support and better textbooks. Let's say that the time lag to complete the development of a Teacher Resources e-database and to redesign the school incentives is 12 months (at the fastest). This means that there will be hurting parents, children and teachers for a whole 12 months.
The social costs of banning tuition is very high in the short term.
The more gentle way of doing it is...
(1) Introduce system-wide teaching quality strengtheners like better textbooks, an e-resources Teacher database and smaller classes
(2) Go easy on the testing until the teaching is strong enough to test more aggressively
(3) Once teaching quality is enhanced in schools, a large number of parents will naturally try to save money on tuition. Other parents will choose to give their kids play time.
In the process, no one gets hurt... except of course, tuition centre profits. The logic is simple. What would I do if my child steals food? I can punish the child (which causes pain) or I can understand that only hungry children choose food. Feed that stealing child enough and the child might even refuse to eat food (a no pain solution). Feed parents and children enough high quality teaching from within MOE and there will be far less reason for them to desire tuition.
You won't reduce tuition to a zero, but it won't be the monster it is today, where parents hire tutors to help with tuition homework... where parents hire others to do easy homework. -
Out of curiosity … when we say schools/PSLE test beyond what is taught, are we talking about all 4 subjects or are we talking about one or two, or just certain components in the subjects.
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Chenonceau:
at the very least.. ban tuition advertisement..
The social costs of banning tuition is very high in the short term.
No more misleading ads.. and parents find tutors by word of mouth.. not a bad thing ya..
wouldn't hurt anyone (parents/students/schools), isn't it?
I also don't agree that teachers will get double workload. it is their job in the first place.
At the end of the day, My view is this.. If tuition became a main component of the education system, it only show 1 thing.. that MOE failed miserably.. The national education program would be like a joke..
No body trust the school teachers to deliver quality education anymore..
And I wonder if teachers, if driven by passion, still have any pride in the profession.
Previously..
Parent A to parent B: Wah.. the whole class got 25x.. these school have very good teachers..
Next time..
Parent A to parent B: Wah.. the whole class got 25x.. the students must have very good tutors or attended very good tuition centers... (Hello, what happen to the teachers?)
A teacher's contribution would be diminished.. good for the pple? good for the nation? -
limlim:
I have no opinion here. I don't care either way. As long as teaching quality substantively improves... the rest is not important to me.
at the very least.. ban tuition advertisement..Chenonceau:
The social costs of banning tuition is very high in the short term.
No more misleading ads.. and parents find tutors by word of mouth.. not a bad thing ya..
wouldn't hurt anyone (parents/students/schools), isn't it?
I also don't agree that teachers will get double workload. it is their job in the first place.
At the end of the day, My view is this.. If tuition became a main component of the education system, it only show 1 thing.. that MOE failed miserably.. The national education program would be like a joke..
No body trust the school teachers to deliver quality education anymore..
And I wonder if teachers, if driven by passion, still have any pride in the profession.
Previously..
Parent A to parent B: Wah.. the whole class got 25x.. these school have very good teachers..
Next time..
Parent A to parent B: Wah.. the whole class got 25x.. the students must have very good tutors or attended very good tuition centers... (Hello, what happen to the teachers?)
A teacher's contribution would be diminished.. good for the pple? good for the nation? -
Chenonceau:
As long as teaching quality substantively improves... the rest is not important to me.
Same here.. the question is.. how..
If teachers teach properly and I do not need to send my kids for tuition to keep up with the curriculum, I don't care if the tuition industry flourish or not..
but if the curriculum is accelerated due to the presence of tuition centers.. (via a chain of cause and effect), and the teacher don't teach as detailed bcoz they expect the kids to know since many already attended tuition classes..
Definitely I'll make noise.. -
COS 2012 Debates: MOE – Integrated Programme
by NCMP Yee Jenn Jong
We started the Integrated Programme, or IP in 2004 to allow higher ability secondary students to skip the O levels into the A levels or its equivalent.
I wish to propose an alternative IP, from primary 1 to secondary 4.
The current system puts huge pressure on students, parents and teachers in primary schools to prepare for the PSLE. Various members in this House, including myself have spoken on the excessive pressures in our school system. A Straits Times article last month reported more parents taking their primary school kids to see psychologists after doing badly in school tests, some as young as primary 2.
The purpose of PSLE and other major exams appears to be to sort students into different streams and into different schools. Our highly competitive exam-driven system has resulted in high dependency on tuition and drilling for exams, rather than education for the joy of learning.
Sir, I understand this is a difficult and emotive issue, as there are parents who may feel a competitive system is desirable. However, there are parents like myself, who can accept that our children need not fight to be in the best schools. The current system offers us no choice at all because of dreaded consequence of the child doing poorly in a major exam at age 12. Many parents feel their child’s future is determined by the PSLE.
Many private schools globally already through-train students from primary to secondary, including overseas schools based on the Singapore curriculum. Some of these schools have done well in international tests despite not subjecting students to standardised exams at primary 6. Finland switched to such a through-train system nation-wide with encouraging outcomes. Its PISA test scores are comparable to Singapore’s.
I like MOE to consider piloting primary through secondary IP schools, with the same level of funding per student as any government or aided school. With such schools, primary education need not be focused on grinding out results just for PSLE. Schools can then spend more time on values-based education. The post primary section will eventually prepare students for a recognised exam, namely O or A levels or even the International Baccalaureate. By that time, students are more matured and better able to handle stress.
Existing school groups may opt to run such a programme. There are already Aided schools in Singapore with affiliation schemes, where the majority of primary students enter the affiliated secondary school. Some schools have long histories and are trusted education brands. They are potential candidates to kick-start the programme.
MOE has implemented holistic assessments since 2010. The experience of holistic assessment can be incorporated to ensure the rigor in learning throughout the 10 years of studies in such pilot schools.
Sir, I believe we have the calibre of management and teachers in Singapore to achieve this. I hope MOE can do a serious study on making this option available.
http://wp.sg/2012/03/cos-2012-debates-moe-integrated-programme/
This eliminate PSLE stress at P6 but does not address the issue of quality of materials, class size (assuming all schools have equally good teachers). Gaps may be greater between elite & neighbourhood schools due to longer years from 6 to 10. -
limlim:
School teachers now do not have patience with weaker students. So these slower ones need 1-to-1 tuition in order to keep up with the rest of the class. At primary level, kids need that individual attention bcos they are not that mature yet. My son is one such example. He is weak, so he needs individual attention to keep up. It was only with this kind of attention that he can pass his Math (p6) CA1 this year. His classmate had math tuition since P3, which was why he didn't fail Math in P5. My hubby and I coached him all these years other than CL.Why I don't say ban private tuition?
bcoz, if the student is weak, I believe, these student would reasonably be assumed that they cannot follow class lesson as well.. and they NEED individual attention. These student wouldn't benefit from attending tuition centers classes bcoz they do not get individual attention at all.. -
verykiasu2010:
I did just that, more than ten years ago at my sister's PTM. Think it was regarding JC1 end year results. Sitting across me was her teacher who kept rambling on how badly my sister had performed for Econs, how she must study harder. I got annoyed and asked her as politely as i could the percentage of failures in the class vs the cohort. She refused to give me any numbers or percentages. I told her that if my sister was one of the very few who failed, then it showed my sister's poor grasp of the subject. Shouldn't the teacher render more help to her and the other weaker ones? But if a large number failed, wouldn't that indicate something is amiss? Perhaps there was a need to provide better resources or there existed some communication problems between the students and teacher? So much for my feedback. My sister had a tough time in school since then. Once, the principal insisted on meeting only our parents, not the infamous sister, regarding my sister's discisplinary issues. (She was being accused of dyeing her hair and skipping PE lessons.) I felt apologetic towards my sister.
Singaporeans are all very shy and reserved. They prefer to keep things to themselves, hence no feedback to teachers, HOD, principal, MOE etc that the teachers (some, not all lah) could not make it or not doing it right. Thus MOE was deceived by parents that all things .
I say \"Singaporeans are all ......\" as an intended generalisation ....... :siam: :siam:
Now, I will think twice before giving the educators my feedback. Not because I prefer to keep things to myself, but the repercussions on our kids may not be what I can manage.
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