Let the children be (from TODAY May 16)

[welcome0]

think more important as well, to teach the child to be able to communicate effectively & coherently her thoughts & ideas across. it is not necessary via the use of flowery language or bombastic words.


this from my experience. we may need to do that for E Lit or GP, but ultimately in work or when you enter society interacting with people of different nationality or backgrounds, it does not always work.

[coast]

coast:

http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120516-0000073/Let-the-children-be


Let the children be
by Amanda Tan Pheck Choo
04:46 AM May 16, 2012

As a former teacher, I was berated by senior teachers for not using \"flowery, pretentious sentences\", as described in the letter \"It's a strong foundation that counts\" (May 9), in creative writing.

I was accused of wanting my pupils to fail their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

Recently, my eight-year-old came home with a \"creative\" writing assignment. She produced a list of \"useful words and phrases that her teacher copied from a creative writing book\" for the pupils to transfer onto the whiteboard.

But boundaries have to change, to adapt, to involve the child. This is his education, not ours.

This obsession with what to learn and how to present acceptable answers is ultimately a fear of not doing well in the PSLE. Ex-Nominated Member of Parliament Paulin Straughan's proposal to abolish it is a step in the right direction.

If they do not read, they cannot write. If they cannot write, those famous \"flowery, pretentious sentences\" will present themselves year after year in PSLE exam scripts.


The writer is a former primary school teacher and a homeschooling mother.

I agree with Amanda Tan's views (incidentally, we have kids around the same age).

My P2 DS spends little time on academics outside school. He has so many regular non-academic activities outside school that some of his classmates' parents have been asking me since P1 :\"Does he still have time for study?\"

Despite the well-meaning advice by many parents that past years' top schools exams papers are very useful, he has only practised one paper (from his own school) so far, with another one given by his school as a mock test.

He knows his school work well and to me, it is more meaningful for him to engage in non-academic activities after he has spent so many hours in school. He has learnt a lot while enjoying his childhood. Where did he get his free time from? Among others, he does not have to spend hours practising past years papers and assesssments.

However, what will happen if more and more schools set killer papers (even at P3 level) with a high % of “higher ability” questions, especially if such questions are not taught adequately in schools?

40% failed
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum ... &start=120

Questions in exams not taught in school
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum ... &start=110

Let the children be - I think the following suggestions will help, do you?

\"Let's rethink the scoring system\" - banding admission system instead of the current PSLE T-scores.

http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120504-0000062/Lets-rethink-the-scoring-system

\"Having access to unabridged (complete) PSLE past years' papers\"

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35434&start=40

[Chenonceau]

slmkhoo:

I was also rather doubtful that she could manage when she started reading LOTR. My point is that it isn't necessary that a child read adult-level literature as a large part of his reading intake, because somehow my daughter gained enough vocab and competence chiefly through reading books targeted for young people/teens. I didn't say that a 12yo reading level is sufficient to do well at PSLE, because I don't believe that it is sufficient.

This is an important point because there may be parents out there whose kids are High Ability but when they read that reading young people's literature is enough they will not know to give the necessary exposure.

slmkhoo:

I would also be surprised if a PhD in Literature scored well in PSLE English Compo. Based on my experience last year, the only way to score well in compo is to give what the teacher wants, flowery prose and all. When I figured it out, I showed my daughter what to do, and then told her to forget it all when the exam was over!

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: I scored in the top 2% of worldwide norms for the GMAT Verbal. I wrote a compo and passed it up in place of my son after he had copied it out. My grade was also 28.5/40... given by a Teacher who can't spell - http://www.petunialee.blogspot.com/2012/03/world-class-but-also-barely-literate.html

[corneyAmber]

Chenonceau:

Schools, however, insist on CONSCIOUS and EFFORTFUL learning. .

This phrase to me has always been paraphrased as EXAM-SMART! Bingo!

[kiddo]

ksi:

Chenonceau:

Schools, however, insist on CONSCIOUS and EFFORTFUL learning. .

This phrase to me has always been paraphrased as EXAM-SMART! Bingo!

70% of the schooling up to Uni LEVEL is now this :sad:

so when we will get real SG genius.....in the mass ...not the Exception. :celebrate:

[Chenonceau]

kiddo:

ksi:

[quote=\"Chenonceau\"]

Schools, however, insist on CONSCIOUS and EFFORTFUL learning. .

This phrase to me has always been paraphrased as EXAM-SMART! Bingo!

70% of the schooling up to Uni LEVEL is now this :sad:

so when we will get real SG genius.....in the mass ...not the Exception. :celebrate:[/quote]
Even if the schools teach as if 90% of PSLE requirements is in exam smartness... it does not mean that exam smartness is 90% of what is required. The PSLE is difficult because it tests True Domain Competence.

The schools don't teach to True Domain Competence. They don't read literature (and thereby expose kids to good writing models etc...). Instead, they give word lists. However, the PSLE requires 80% of True Domain Competence and 20% of exam smartness. That is why so many people find it challenging.

For kids to do well at PSLE, parents need to start reading with their children good quality and age appropriate literature from P1. This is the only way the children can absorb a good enough foundation. Then, in P5 and P6, it becomes very easy to teach the specific PSLE rubrics. They're simple enough, narrow rubrics...

[Chenonceau]

slmkhoo:

Chenonceau:

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: I scored in the top 2% of worldwide norms for the GMAT Verbal. I wrote a compo and passed it up in place of my son after he had copied it out. My grade was also 28.5/40... given by a Teacher who can't spell - http://www.petunialee.blogspot.com/2012/03/world-class-but-also-barely-literate.html

Yes, I know the feeling. I am from one of the first JC humanities programmes and a graduate in a 'wordy' sort of course, but there is no way any compo I wrote would have passed muster using the PSLE marking standard when we first got back last year. I had to 'study' how to do it and then show my daughter, who hated having to do it. Still, if you can't change the exam, you just do what you have to do. I promised her that sec school would be different, and I really hope it will be! We will find out next year.

There are numerous ex-HP Mommies in this forum... and some ex-GEP ones too!!

[toddles]

slmkhoo:

Chenonceau:

[quote=\"slmkhoo\"]Yes, I know the feeling. I am from one of the first JC humanities programmes and a graduate in a 'wordy' sort of course, but there is no way any compo I wrote would have passed muster using the PSLE marking standard when we first got back last year. I had to 'study' how to do it and then show my daughter, who hated having to do it. Still, if you can't change the exam, you just do what you have to do. I promised her that sec school would be different, and I really hope it will be! We will find out next year.

There are numerous HP Mommies in this forum... and some ex-GEP ones too!!

I'm sure there are, and I'm also sure that we all have the same thoughts about PSLE compos![/quote]hello slmkhoo senior from school of b&b? (barnard and burge)

[toddles]

slmkhoo:

I would also be surprised if a PhD in Literature scored well in PSLE English Compo. Based on my experience last year, the only way to score well in compo is to give what the teacher wants, flowery prose and all. When I figured it out, I showed my daughter what to do, and then told her to forget it all when the exam was over!

This is so DEPRESSING... :sad: that we gotta bend over backwards to give the PSLE examiners what they want and then unlearn it because it's rubbish in the first place. :skeptical:

Chenonceau:

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: I scored in the top 2% of worldwide norms for the GMAT Verbal. I wrote a compo and passed it up in place of my son after he had copied it out. My grade was also 28.5/40... given by a Teacher who can't spell - http://www.petunialee.blogspot.com/2012/03/world-class-but-also-barely-literate.html

yeah i remember doing pretty ok in SAT and GRE... in fact, actually GRE preps one very well for vocab - learnt so much from that prep book.

our system is getting awful-er and awful-er :faint:

but is it right to eschew it, write plain english well, and allow our kids to suffer lousy grades simply because they are rewarding rubbish? :sad:

[Chenonceau]

toddles:

our system is getting awful-er and awful-er :faint:

Yes I agree. Mostly because it tests harder and doesn't know how to teach to those standards.

toddles:

but is it right to eschew it, write plain english well, and allow our kids to suffer lousy grades simply because they are rewarding rubbish? :sad:

PSLE compo tests narrative writing. This isn't the kind of writing most people need to know when they start work. There is a very small section in the PSLE that stresses on other writing styles. In all, I'd like to reiterate that PSLE English standards are 80% True Domain Competence... and only 20% PSLE rubrics.

Unfortunately, schools teach the 20% of PSLE rubrics as if they were 80% of the requirements. DS can top the class in compo writing (without too much effort) because he does possess already a strong grasp of the language. He could score well from the moment I narrowed the scope of his writing to fit the rubrics. However, if all he knew were the 20% of PSLE rubrics, he would never be able to top the class because his grasp of the language would be weak.

For me PSLE compo writing is not any different than writing a sonnet or a haiku... literary styles with constraining rules. However to write a good sonnet or haiku, one needs to work from an underlying strong grasp of the language.

Gee... I hope I make some sense...