2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[janet88]

I am facing this prob now. :frustrated:

Son has school hw and spelling...are they sufficient for SA1 ? No, bcos even basic 'skeleton' is not taught in school, but have to do school hw. Tutors are the ones who make sure he understands and be ready for SA and PSLE.
I cannot add anymore work...if he has a breakdown now, the whole PSLE is gone !!! Is PSLE supposed to be like this ? For kids who make the grade, are tutors the ones who coached/guided them all the way through ?

How and where do I draw the line ? Any advice ? Thanks.

[tutor_ng]

janet_lee88:

I am facing this prob now. :frustrated:

Son has school hw and spelling...are they sufficient for SA1 ? No, bcos even basic 'skeleton' is not taught in school, but have to do school hw. Tutors are the ones who make sure he understands and be ready for SA and PSLE.
I cannot add anymore work...if he has a breakdown now, the whole PSLE is gone !!! Is PSLE supposed to be like this ? For kids who make the grade, are tutors the ones who coached/guided them all the way through ?

How and where do I draw the line ? Any advice ? Thanks.

What do you mean by 'basic skeleton'? What do you define as that and how do you know that the teachers in school are not teaching him that?

As a tutor, usually I will go through the homework with the kids first and ensure he understands the concept taught in school before moving on to past year papers & assessment books. Of course different students will have different requests from the parents - some prefer me to concentrate on helping them cope with their homework (which can be really difficult at times) while some rather I spend time guiding their children through the questions in top school past year papers.

[janet88]

tutor_ng:

janet_lee88:

I am facing this prob now. :frustrated:

Son has school hw and spelling...are they sufficient for SA1 ? No, bcos even basic 'skeleton' is not taught in school, but have to do school hw. Tutors are the ones who make sure he understands and be ready for SA and PSLE.
I cannot add anymore work...if he has a breakdown now, the whole PSLE is gone !!! Is PSLE supposed to be like this ? For kids who make the grade, are tutors the ones who coached/guided them all the way through ?

How and where do I draw the line ? Any advice ? Thanks.

What do you mean by 'basic skeleton'? What do you define as that and how do you know that the teachers in school are not teaching him that?

As a tutor, usually I will go through the homework with the kids first and ensure he understands the concept taught in school before moving on to past year papers & assessment books. Of course different students will have different requests from the parents - some prefer me to concentrate on helping them cope with their homework (which can be really difficult at times) while some rather I spend time guiding their children through the questions in top school past year papers.

The science taught in school is minimal. But yet the exam questions require greater depth of knowledge. My son's tutors will coach him what is required for SA/PSLE. Then get some questions in past year papers to reinforce some methods (eg math). For eng/CL, there are more components like oral, compo and compre. So it's much tougher.

By this time, he should be able to start getting SA1 papers done, but no, he doesn't know what forces in detail are.

[fightingmom]

HAPPYH:

fightingmom:

Hi,


Was reading today's WanBao and came across this article about a P6 girl loses her interest in her study. She spends her time watching Korean dramas, play computer games and facebook. The expert interviewed recommended 7 ways to help children who are facing such problem. So thought of just sharing it here.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2i8yluq.jpg\">

Will greatly appreciate if someone summarises this in English. TIA

Ok , let me try:

7 tips that could help change a child's learning attitude:
(1) Respect a child's interest
Parents need to understand where a child's real interest lies and from
there, nurture and encourage him/her

(2) Find out the root of the problem
Find out why the child has no interest in study. Talk to the teachers and
come up with ways to help the child. School and parents are to work
hand in hand in this.

(3) Listen
Listen to what your child has to say, especially when they encounter
problems in their learning. Listen before giving any appropriate
suggestions / solutions.

(4) Provide a conducive environment
Provide a conducive environment so that the child can concentrate and
revise his work.

(5) Introduce short breaks in between learning
Shorts breaks in between learning is encouraged

(6) Draft up time table
Sit down with the child to draft up a time table. The child will learn how
to fully make use of the time. From the time table, the child also knows
when to finish up his school homework, TV time, rest time and meal time.

(7) Learn together
Buddy with a classmate. Revising with a buddy generates healthy
competition between the child and his friend. They will want to outdo
each other in terms of speed and accuracy.

Hope i translate correctly.

Cheers !

[janet88]

Thanks for uploading that article from Wanbao.


As a mum, I feel pain and heartache when I see my son struggling with school and tuition hw. The pressure is enormous for a 12 year old. There is more to come as countdown begins from June.
This June will not be a holiday with extra lessons expected. I am so scared when I read about that girl in Wanbao.
Just wondering how I can possibly squeeze out time for him to relax in June.

Is it quality or quantity now ?

[Champion]

janet_lee88:

Thanks for uploading that article from Wanbao.


As a mum, I feel pain and heartache when I see my son struggling with school and tuition hw. The pressure is enormous for a 12 year old. There is more to come as countdown begins from June.
This June will not be a holiday with extra lessons expected. I am so scared when I read about that girl in Wanbao.
Just wondering how I can possibly squeeze out time for him to relax in June.

Is it quality or quantity now ?

Mummy Janet :snuggles:
加油哦! I am sure your DS will do well & do you proud! :salute: :hugs:

[HAPPYH]

fightingmom:

HAPPYH:

[quote=\"fightingmom\"]Hi,


Was reading today's WanBao and came across this article about a P6 girl loses her interest in her study. She spends her time watching Korean dramas, play computer games and facebook. The expert interviewed recommended 7 ways to help children who are facing such problem. So thought of just sharing it here.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2i8yluq.jpg\">

Will greatly appreciate if someone summarises this in English. TIA

Ok , let me try:

7 tips that could help change a child's learning attitude:
(1) Respect a child's interest
Parents need to understand where a child's real interest lies and from
there, nurture and encourage him/her

(2) Find out the root of the problem
Find out why the child has no interest in study. Talk to the teachers and
come up with ways to help the child. School and parents are to work
hand in hand in this.

(3) Listen
Listen to what your child has to say, especially when they encounter
problems in their learning. Listen before giving any appropriate
suggestions / solutions.

(4) Provide a conducive environment
Provide a conducive environment so that the child can concentrate and
revise his work.

(5) Introduce short breaks in between learning
Shorts breaks in between learning is encouraged

(6) Draft up time table
Sit down with the child to draft up a time table. The child will learn how
to fully make use of the time. From the time table, the child also knows
when to finish up his school homework, TV time, rest time and meal time.

(7) Learn together
Buddy with a classmate. Revising with a buddy generates healthy
competition between the child and his friend. They will want to outdo
each other in terms of speed and accuracy.

Hope i translate correctly.

Cheers ! [/quote] :thankyou: :thankyou: I really appreciate your efforts.

[HAPPYH]

janet_lee88:

Thanks for uploading that article from Wanbao.


As a mum, I feel pain and heartache when I see my son struggling with school and tuition hw. The pressure is enormous for a 12 year old. There is more to come as countdown begins from June.
This June will not be a holiday with extra lessons expected. I am so scared when I read about that girl in Wanbao.
Just wondering how I can possibly squeeze out time for him to relax in June.

Is it quality or quantity now ?

It should be the quality of course.

Dont worry Janet. Your DS will do a better job and make you proud.

[janet88]

School is compulsory. School work in the meantime is necessary. But what about doing past year papers In aug ? Will that help ? Those are PAST year papers.

I don’t want him to do that continuously…it’s not quality but quantity then.

[fightingmom]

janet_lee88:

Thanks for uploading that article from Wanbao.


As a mum, I feel pain and heartache when I see my son struggling with school and tuition hw. The pressure is enormous for a 12 year old. There is more to come as countdown begins from June.
This June will not be a holiday with extra lessons expected. I am so scared when I read about that girl in Wanbao.
Just wondering how I can possibly squeeze out time for him to relax in June.

Is it quality or quantity now ?

Hi Janet,

I understand how you feel cos this is exactly what i am feeling now for my DD. On one hand, i am worried that she didn't revise enough for this coming SA1 (let's not talk about Prelim or even PSLE !) with so much hw everyday. On the other hand, DH and i are very worried that she gets burn out ! :sick:

I have taught her to do her hw in terms of priority - that is, finishes up tomorrow's hw first, followed by the day after and so forth. Everyday after school, she will list down her hw list in terms of priority, put a time frame for herself to complete and she will put a big tick at the side once she completes that piece of hw. I think that gives her an overview of the time needed for each piece of hw and also a sense of accomplishment and not be overwhelmed by the hw loads. In between, she will take short breaks where she will sometimes draw/ doodle, listen to her fav music, play with our pet dog or just lie on the bed to relax.

Whenever she feels like giving up, DH will get her to ask herself,\" why am i doing all this? How badly do i want to go to my dream school ? What is my goal ?\" All these questions will re-affirm her determination to move forward.
I believe, we parents can only guide and help them that much... motivation still has to come from within the child herself / himself.

As i mentioned in my previous posts, my DD school only did 2 EL compo so far but DD is determined to get a better score for her SA1 English (she is very weak in her English subject) that she writes 4 EL compo every week for her tutor to mark. The tutor told me she is the most hardworking student in her class... yes, i agree and the credit goes to DD solely for being so self motivated.

Every P6 child is under a lot of stress and pressure. We would want to be their pillar of strength as they need our constant :rahrah: :rahrah: and understanding that as long as they put their best foot forward, we will still love and accept them no matter what the score is at the end of the day.