Primary school maths: A vicious circle (from TODAY May 8)

[LittleLambie]

Hi Chenonceau, can I come too?


DD1-P3, DD2-K1, DS3-N1 next yr.

[Chenonceau]

LittleLambie:

Hi Chenonceau, can I come too?


DD1-P3, DD2-K1, DS3-N1 next yr.

Registration is closed. But if people pull out, I will get in touch.

[LittleLambie]

Sure...thank you!

[cherryc]

Not sure whether to laugh or cry when I read this breaking news :

Pri 1 maths syllabus to be tweaked from next year
By Ng Jing Yng | Posted: 11 May 2012 0644 hrs

[Strparent]

oxyleo:

The over-emphasis on competition in our society has sadly also resulted in people falling into divides. We have those who want to win at all costs, and those who are happy to slow down for the greater good. If we see more and more people focus only on winning, we will continue to see many with a Not In My BackYard syndrome, many who do not want children and many who do not want to care for older folks, because people who want to win will not stand for the risk of their property being devalued to cater for elderly people in their neighborhood, people who want to win will not stand for being sidelined in their careers to have children ( we all know unless you have a terrific network of family support, it will slow you down), and people who want to win will not have the patience and time for the older generation. When we win as individuals, have we really won as a society? In competition, 1+1=1, because only 1 survives. In an inclusive society, 1+1=3, because we help each other succeed, and people are happy to have more children.

I don't think we are asking for everyone to be all lovey dovey, put our heads in the sand and ignore the real competition out there. We just want to say, hey, we are leaving some people behind. How can we forget about them? Isn't this the inclusiveness PM Lee wants to achieve in our society?

:salute: :goodpost:

[Chenonceau]

cherryc:

Not sure whether to laugh or cry when I read this breaking news :

Pri 1 maths syllabus to be tweaked from next year
By Ng Jing Yng | Posted: 11 May 2012 0644 hrs

I think it means nothing at all. The schools test beyond the syllabus for each level anyway. What's the use of reducing the syllabus at P1 when PSLE tests stuff at secondary level... which is not in the current un-tweaked syllabus? It's clever feint that means nothing at all.

What they need to do is to IMPROVE TEACHING QUALITY in all schools so that Teacher can manage to teach to the tests without help from parents. The children CAN hit the PSLE requirements (with parental/tutor help). It is the schools that cannot teach to it, such that the majority of students need tuition.

Like MOE said, \"High standards are good. We should not be ashamed of our high standards.\" Our kids can grasp (with parent and tutor help and enough practice). It's the schools that don't measure up in teaching quality (lousy textbooks, mistakes in marking, insufficient practices, marking that gives no detailed feedback) such that tuition and notes from tuition centres are required to boost school performance.

[jedamum]

Chenonceau:

LittleLambie:

Hi Chenonceau, can I come too?


DD1-P3, DD2-K1, DS3-N1 next yr.

Registration is closed. But if people pull out, I will get in touch.

Argh!! i missed this! :sad:
Chen, you rejected me for the motivation workshop.....so do place me on the waitlist for this one can? for my K2.
cannot nebbermind then. tq.

[3Boys]

oxyleo:

Hi 3 boys, I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It would be nice to hear your views.

I believe there is nothing majorly wrong with our education system at all.

Can it be improved? Obviously, as with all things in life, yes.

But I would think that whatever proposed solution will need to be resource neutral compared to the present. No point saying we double the number of teachers just like that, its a no-brainer that that will help in an improvement. But we already spent close to $10 billion overall on education in 2011, that's the second highest item after defence, and well ahead of health and transport. Would you sell away your car and give up your wife's medications to send your child for an extra enrichment class? Not me.

Please don't say 'MOE must invest more resources'.....I disagree.

Does it need major surgery? Not till I see that the alternative is sustainable, or for that matter, proven to be better.

[Chenonceau]

jedamum:

Chenonceau:

[quote=\"LittleLambie\"]Hi Chenonceau, can I come too?


DD1-P3, DD2-K1, DS3-N1 next yr.

Registration is closed. But if people pull out, I will get in touch.

Argh!! i missed this! :sad:
Chen, you rejected me for the motivation workshop.....so do place me on the waitlist for this one can? for my K2.
cannot nebbermind then. tq.[/quote]Ummm... cannot lah... :imsorry: Sorry to reject you twice. You have PM.

[3Boys]

Chenonceau:

coast:

I am a firm believer that majority of the kids are intellect equals, plus or minus an insignificant band. Some may be faster or slower in certain areas/ subjects, but in general, given the right environment and nurture, they can excel.

I agree.
http://petunialee.blogspot.com/2012/01/10000-hour-rule-of-practice.html

Actually Chenonceau, your citation of Malcolm Gladwell actually disproves the notion that the majority of people are in the same intellectual band.

\"Their research suggests that once a musician has ENOUGH ability to get to a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he works.\"

Capitals are yours.....

I.e. differentiated on ability first, before hard work.

As one would naturally expect.

And NOW I finally understand where you are coming from.