2009 GEP Screening And Selection
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Neko:
Hi Neko
...dd is not the hardworking type.... she is pretty happy that everythg (except math) is so easy & she can always top the std.
so .... no decision
The fact that your dd is not hardworking and is selected for GEP is a clear proof that she is gifted. Don't miss the chance. Math is not everything. However, close monitoring and constant show of concern and interest in her study is important to make sure that she does not fall behind.
It will be easier for her to go to RGS through GEP than by normal PSLE because math has a great effect on the T-score. Pr syllabus is skewed towards math/science because there are no human subjects such as History, Geography... Once in RGS, she will excel in the human subjects - by Sec 3 she can elect to do the human course.
The most compelling reason why I feel that a child who is capable should take up the challenge is, the \"environment\". Being surrounded by bright children will push her to a greater height. My children are all only average and none of them qualified for GEP. However, I \"make sure\" they get top score in PSLE to go to the top sec school. Most people think that it is for prestige and pride (or hao lian). No, it is the environment that I want them to be in. Once in those schools, I can relax and have peace of mind that there is less chance that they will mix with bad companies. They have been on auto-mode all the way. No tuition no personal coaching - just giving moral support like staying up late with them and listening to their complaints. (that is why I am so free can kaypoh here everyday :oops: )
I have never regretted and neither have they. Their results can be average from sec 1 to 3. However, push them to do well in sec 4 because the class allocation in JC depends on that score. It is important to get into the top class in JC - for the same reason, \"environment\". All the students in those classes will do well on their own. Students in the other classes are equally smart if not smarter but are too playful. JC is only 2 years and JC1 is the honeymoon year for most of them. If a child did not settle down fast enough, he/she will not do as well in A level. It is so competitive nowadays that not doing well to students in the top JC means not getting all As. it is no longer a great achievement when a child gets all As because there are so many out there with the same score. It is saddening but that is the fact of life. -
leeven:
thnx a lot vlim for your reply in short time. taking time now to start browsing... :thankyou:
hi leeven u are most welcome!... :rahrah: Oh just got to know from your earlier post that your son mt is not chinese.... if I were you i would put rosyth as my first choice... -
//Editor's note: Topic selected for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/gep-or-not-gep-perspectives-gep-parent.
:congrats: to all kids who've been selected. As my son has benefited greatly the last 3 years, I would like to share his experiences to parents who're having doubts.
1) It's not a fluke. Have faith in yr child's ability..unless your child has attended gep preparation course..then seriously reconsider your decision.
Mine wasn't in the top 50 of his cohort in P2, and yet he was selected. We had our doubts then. Looking back, I'm glad we've made the right decision; instead of doubting him just because he's never top his cohort.
He's had a challenging but very mentally enriching 3 years. He's had opportunities to go to RI/NUSH/NUS for some enrichment programs.
2) Is it really stressful? Mine stops his work by 9:30pm every night. No afternoon naps though. He hates them. He takes leisurely meals, long breaks to read his books. Yet, he's able to clear his work, meet his deadlines on time. He's not the hardworking type; You don't see him doing more than is necessary. Chinese takes up so much of his time..cause he's so SLOW in doing anything chinese.
Though there're stressful times, he copes well. He doesn't sigh or ever regret joining the program. The kids aren't competitive; though they always strive to do better than one another...friendly competition perhaps. but not the stressful, unhealthy kind.
3) Do I help him? Yes, stuffs like guiding him how to draw straight lines/boxes/write on vanguard sheets, how to use movie editor. I was also his cameraman in his Science project. I don't teach him academic stuff like maths n science. But I do point him the way if he needs more details..like looking up his sis' sec books, internet etc. Help him with stuff like Eng grammar, Chinese words. Other than that, I'm rather hands off with him. More like his driver. If he's stuck, there's also his teachers, his friends or the internet to help him.
Some of the projects submitted by his peers are of such high quality, it's very obvious it's done by the parents. While I guide him sometimes, I don't do his work for him.
4) With a class size of 18 and dedicated teachers, your child is in good hands. The teachers are just an email or a phone call away.
5) No worries if you're a parent who find ge maths tough. It IS very tough. If your child is weak, there're remedial classes; or sign him up for tuition. If your child excels in Maths, stretch him further by signing him up for competition training...unless of course, you're able to teach him or you found some excellent olympic maths guide so your kid can self-learn.
Note, however, that some schools only allow students of Maths club to take part in the competition..do check. These competition can beef up the portfolio.
I don't agree that ge kids, to prove that they're worthy of the program, shouldn't be seen in tuition centres.
6) You don't need to join sports cca to be successful in dsa. Mine didn't and neither did most of his friends.
7) You don't need to score more than 80% to apply for dsa.
For app to nush, it makes no diff if you're gep or not. You still need to go for selection test then camp. For RI, if you score more than 80% in p6 sa1, you can skip the gat and go straight to interview. For hci, it's just a writing segment and interview. As for dhs, you don't even need to pay to apply and no interview required either.
8 ) Higher chinese. Textbooks same as that used by mainstream higher chinese. Exams are different from mainstream but doesn't imply they're any tougher...unless you're in the BICEP program.
In the recent PSLE exams, he commented that HCL is easier than CL.
Mine goes for tuition as we don't speak the lang at home. Then again, he also goes for Eng tuition.
9) Continue to participate in the annual ICAS papers...again for beefing up his portfolio.
10) If there're opportunities for other events like Mind games olympics (ACS), RISA etc, go for it..again for the experience and his portfolio.
11) As for reading list, I reserve them from the NLB, paying $1.55 per book. He doesn't read all of them...but he also reads beyond that list.
12) Being in GEP does give your child a higher chance of being selected for IP schools. In son's class, out of 14 boys, 6 will be going to RI. Only 1 doesn't have an offer. That's because he only applies for 1 school.
PS: Though I'm not keen to be drawn into another controversy, I hope that by sharing my son's experiences, I'm able to convince some doubtful parents/kids to go for it.
The child can always join back the mainstream if the program isn't suitable. But why give up without putting up a decent fight? At least you will not look back years from now and regret your decision. -
mathsparks:
Hi mathspark,
3) Do I help him? Yes, stuffs like guiding him how to draw straight lines/boxes/write on vanguard sheets, how to use movie editor. I was also his cameraman in his Science project. I don't teach him academic stuff like maths n science. But I do point him the way if he needs more details..like looking up his sis' sec books, internet etc. Help him with stuff like Eng grammar, Chinese words. Other than that, I'm rather hands off with him. More like his driver. If he's stuck, there's also his teachers, his friends or the internet to help him.
6) You don't need to join sports cca to be successful in dsa. Mine didn't and neither did most of his friends.
7) You don't need to score more than 80% to apply for dsa.
For app to nush, it makes no diff if you're gep or not. You still need to go for selection test then camp. For RI, if you score more than 80% in p6 sa1, you can skip the gat and go straight to interview. For hci, it's just a writing segment and interview. As for dhs, you don't even need to pay to apply and no interview required either.
.
Thanks for the useful tips. Regarding above mentioned, may I ask if your son still do mainstream subject assessment books? IF so, which ones do you reccomend? When you say 80% in point 7) , are you referring to total average including SS? Or the percent of each subject? What CCA did your son join and which GEP centre were he from? -
david59:
She got 86/100 for SA2. SA1 97, CA2 90. Getting lower by each exam. dh jokingly asked me 'er, did she become stupid ah ? if the marks keep dropping, by P6 no marks left!'
What marks did she get for her Maths paper? If she got 90+, I think she is very good already.Neko:
Dd is gd with languages but less so with math. Am wondering if she can cope with GEP math. She is not the type who enjoys prob sums. Didn't do very well for SA2 math (once the qn is slightly more complicated, stuck liao). If she needs help with GEP math I don't thk I will be able to do so (modelling mtd took me a while to understd).
From what I know from my GEP student in my centre, the kind of Maths that he had to do from P5 onwards were very very 'chim' one, more like Sec 1 Maths. As for modelling, he hates to use it ( probably GEP kids are not required to use them - can anyone confirm this?) In fact most of their Maths qns. they are learning are more of the heuristic types.
So, what do you mean when you said that she did not do well in Maths? :?
I know it's not good to compare her marks with her classmates' (many near fullmarks) or her P1/P2 marks, but can't help myself lah (i admit i feel disappointed though i did not show it outwardly). dd knows she could have done better but is not particularly perturbed by her results ('oh, this yr no trophy liao').
If she decides to go GEP, dh says Rosyth seems to be the nearest to Woodlands, but dd prefs rgps (prestige and 'uniform very nice ah'). but the moment i mention it won't be so relax like currently, dd wld go 'ohhhh'
... ...
we'll go for the talk then decide (if we could...) -
mathsparks:
No controversy from me!PS: Though I'm not keen to be drawn into another controversy, I hope that by sharing my son's experiences, I'm able to convince some doubtful parents/kids to go for it.
The child can always join back the mainstream if the program isn't suitable. But why give up without putting up a decent fight? At least you will not look back years from now and regret your decision.
But rather.... :thankyou: for sharing your experience, mathsparks.
I've learnt something enlightening from you tonight.. and i shall rest
(sleep) in peace now, after hearing it from you. :please: :snooze: -
still have no results out… seems like everyone got results except my son… anyone is still waiting as i am???
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Bing_He:
Hi Bing_He
Hi Pinkgorillapinkgorilla:
Hi Again
WORKING INDEPENDENTLY
Some of you mentioned that you need not help your kids in their projects. What happen if other parents are very kiasu and they helped alot and their kids projects look really good. I am all for my dd to work independently but will the teacher be fair in the grading. A project can be done at different levels of quality. Some kids are really better then others at project work and if parents are involved, it looks even better. How can the teacher tell?
Eg. I heard from a parent that the famiy tree project, some just use a vanguard sheet and draw. Some parents buy plastic hanging trees and hang photos.
add on to your comments, it is true some parents help out. But most of the learning need to be performd by the child.
So it is up to the parent to decide how much effort need to put in to assist the child.
Ultimately, I believed marks did not allocated just how elaborate the project is put up, but also the content and the thought process in bring up the project or presentation.
Workload
Kinda enjoy seeing dd having some idle time. She reads voraciously, always have alot of ideas to occupy herself making and doing things. We go to the outdoors and exercise and that needs time too. I guess at the end of the day it's all about discipline and time managment. That's tough as when activities are too structured, we fall into a rut and it's not so fun anymore. I know 2 GEP kids who have lost the sparkle in their eyes, what happened?
For this, not to worry much.
The child will device their own way to deal with it.
The teachers in GEP will seek parent assistance if the child is not progress well.
BTW, I personally do not know some of the maths taught in GEP.
Cheers
I agree with you that the end-result of the project is not important. We teach our kids that the reward in any learning is in the journey. I believe in cooperative learning more than competitive learning for children at such a young age. Competition breeds fear and fear is the cause of alot of misery and problems for the mind. We must let children wonder and learn without pressure to outdo each other. Like the bible says, there's a time and season for everything. When the mind is ready, learning needs less effort. In Singapore, we want our kids to perform like instant noodle. Get it cooked as fast as possible. My husband and I feel very uncomfortable when we read from this forum some parents escalating their kids beyond their level on the pretext that the kids need it. Who really needs it, parent ego or child? That is a very thin line.
I'm glad the GEP is an enrichment progam and not an escalated prog as the MOE said. How true, I'll find out.
Congrats to those parents and kids who got in the program. For those who can't decide, let me share a short story about a brick layer:
Once, there was a brick layer who was laying a brick to build a wall with 1000 bricks. He did a fantastic job but found that 2 of the bricks were a little misaligned. Being a perfectionist, that really bothered him. Passers-by came and went, all commented what a beautifully layed brick wall it was but the brick layer was still unhappy because of the2 bad bricks. He told those who complimented him, \"Can't you see the 2 bad bricks?\". They replied, \"Oh no,we were looking at the 998 beautifully layed ones.\"
That's the story. The GEP will have it's flaw, the feedback about the stress level, the quirky behaviour of the kids, etc are the 2 bad bricks. Let's focus on the 998 good bricks of the program. If we want to embark on a program, we need to have faith in it. It's the same when we see a doctor, must have faith he can cure our illness.
We've decided to let dd try and hope it'll turn out well for her. She's already in a GEP school and very near home.
Thanks Bing_He for sharing! -
david59:
I'm not sure what they teach in sec 1 now but I know that they are exposed to what I did in 'O' and 'A' such as factorial (n!), combination (nCr), permutation (nPr), series (n-whatever)...prob not in depth but just the concept.
From what I know from my GEP student in my centre, the kind of Maths that he had to do from P5 onwards were very very 'chim' one, more like Sec 1 Maths. -
Since Friday, I have been reading through the discussion about GEP in this forum. I have also spoken to a few mums whose kids/friends' kids are in GEP.
Most seem to encourage my kid to try the GEP.
However, as of now, after reading through the booklet and after a discussion with my kid, she still seems very determined that she should stay in her current school. DD acknowledges that doing research, projects and presentation will help \"prepare\" her for sec school. But she makes a point to highlight that she is happy in her current school and she will miss her friends and teachers if she leaves them.
.... Somehow, I feel that her emotion and happiness are more important that academic excllence. I really don't have the heart to make her feel miserable as she's a sensitive and precocious kid.
Also, looking at her performance in school for the past 3 years (including this year) : although she has been scoring pretty well in exams, she seems to be cluless and blur :idea: most of the time. I read in the GEP booklet that she needs to be able to be organised and do her own filing - Till now, I have yet to see her being organised or can really file her own things well.
... I really doubt that she will be able to cope with the rigours and demands of the GEP.
When I share my thoughts with friends and family members about her not going for GEP, I get scolding from everyone. It appears that if I let my DD make the choice of not going, I'm depriving her a chance of improving herself. Actually, I'm in a dilemma. :stupid: On the one hand, I want her to be able to improve; on the other hand, her happiness and well-being are important to me too.
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