Primary school maths: A vicious circle (from TODAY May 8)
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psle2011mum:
Was about to write something similar to the above but just couldn't find the time. Yes, please know and understand your child. His/her strength and weaknesses, his/her temperament and personality. We need to manage our expectations accordingly. I always have faith that my child is capable, regardless of results. Academic success is not everything, good character and sound moral values, to me, are much more important.
I now share to spread this message -- the system is one of labels, but you know your child best. Don't let the system label your child and give up on them.
Remember --
\"Labels are for cans - not people.\" - Anthony Rapp
We all stay in different parts of Singapore and our children attend different schools. What we encounter and what our children experience in the schools affect our perception of the education system, and we will form opinions and make certain generalisations. There are about 180 primary schools in Singapore and with our limited experience with certain schools, we seem to over generalise if we say ALL schools test beyond what's taught in the classroom. Some terrifying experience shared here maybe school specific.
Textbooks are written based on the syllabus prescribed by the MOE, which is pretty basic. In all honesty, they are not enough, especially after the \"teach less learn more\" thing, which we see science textbooks being slashed to the minimum. Schools have the duty to teach, and they are provided with the resources to do so. In my children's 2 different neighbourhood schools, they test within the ability of the student population and give notes and organise programmes to help students.
Some assessment books created fanciful names of maths methods (such as unit tranfer etc) to make parents think that is something new. Frankly, these are just marketing tactics and serve only to confuse students (esp the weaker ones) even more, because they have to remember this and that method (onsponge dissected them into too many details).
In maths, there are just a few fundamental principles that the pupils need to know, and once they understand and with enough practice, they'll be able to apply. I'm sure most schools provide extra notes/resources to supplement the textbooks, and at least for the past 2 years, PSLE questions had been quite reasonable, with maybe 1 or 2 challenging questions to differentiate those with inclination towards maths.
DD1 took her PSLE 2 years back and DD2 now in lower primary. They didn't have tuition (I don't believe in that). DD1 is really an average student. She could have done very well if I had pushed her, but being without a maid, I was too busy with baby and work. I basically left her to her own devices, and only \"woke up\" 1 -2 weeks before exams to coach her. All in all, she REALLY enjoyed her childhood. I think she played too much, doing and creating stuff, reading, playing with sister, drawing, day-dreaming, even learning to play the ukulele and piano from YouTube, and of course, watch TV. I was even chided for being too relaxed! Err... maybe I don't qualify here as a member of KIASU parent. :oops: BTW, DD1 got into her choice school, and enjoys going to school despite the hectic schedule. Most importantly, she's not burnout after PSLE and is motivated to do well in her studies.
My 2 children attend 2 different neighbouhood primary schools, purely because of convenience and distance. From my observations of the 2 schools, the schools' exams test within the syllabus and not beyond, pretty much PSLE standard. They don't set killer papers, which I've read in the forum. They do identify weaker students and give them extra coaching.
Why compare with top schools exam papers and stress ourselves? It's just a handful, less than 10 out of the 180 primary schools! Why set such unrealistic standards if your child is not academically inclined?
Please know your child well. Not all schools are the same. Why push them into \"branded\" schools and later pile them with tuitions trying to keep up? Providing information packed textbooks may help students of a certain calibre, but we'll certainly complain about why our school bags are so super heavy!
Just sharing an experience from my friend. Her 3 children attended the same programme in a tuition centre when each of them reached upper primary. The eldest, being average but diligent, could absorb and apply about 80% of what was being taught. The second was very bright, maybe 98% went in. The third smart but playful, can only absorb 60%. How are we going to judge the tuition centre? The teachers are all given the same materials to teach and in fact, the same teacher taught 2 of the children. There is no one size fit all solutions. Know our children well and let them take the lead, then we will be able to make wise decisions and give them the right kind of support to help them succeed in life, and at the same time, enjoy their childhood.
Just offering a different perspective and sorry for my long rambling...getting late...a bit 语无论次... -
sunflower:
Was about to write something similar to the above but just couldn't find the time. Yes, please know and understand your child. His/her strength and weaknesses, his/her temperament and personality. We need to manage our expectations accordingly. I always have faith that my child is capable, regardless of results. Academic success is not everything, good character and sound moral values, to me, are much more important.psle2011mum:
I now share to spread this message -- the system is one of labels, but you know your child best. Don't let the system label your child and give up on them.
Remember --
\"Labels are for cans - not people.\" - Anthony Rapp
We all stay in different parts of Singapore and our children attend different schools. What we encounter and what our children experience in the schools affect our perception of the education system, and we will form opinions and make certain generalisations. There are about 180 primary schools in Singapore and with our limited experience with certain schools, we seem to over generalise if we say ALL schools test beyond what's taught in the classroom. Some terrifying experience shared here maybe school specific.
Textbooks are written based on the syllabus prescribed by the MOE, which is pretty basic. In all honesty, they are not enough, especially after the \"teach less learn more\" thing, which we see science textbooks being slashed to the minimum. Schools have the duty to teach, and they are provided with the resources to do so. In my children's 2 different neighbourhood schools, they test within the ability of the student population and give notes and organise programmes to help students.
Some assessment books created fanciful names of maths methods (such as unit tranfer etc) to make parents think that is something new. Frankly, these are just marketing tactics and serve only to confuse students (esp the weaker ones) even more, because they have to remember this and that method (onsponge dissected them into too many details).
In maths, there are just a few fundamental principles that the pupils need to know, and once they understand and with enough practice, they'll be able to apply. I'm sure most schools provide extra notes/resources to supplement the textbooks, and at least for the past 2 years, PSLE questions had been quite reasonable, with maybe 1 or 2 challenging questions to differentiate those with inclination towards maths.
DD1 took her PSLE 2 years back and DD2 now in lower primary. They didn't have tuition (I don't believe in that). DD1 is really an average student. She could have done very well if I had pushed her, but being without a maid, I was too busy with baby and work. I basically left her to her own devices, and only \"woke up\" 1 -2 weeks before exams to coach her. All in all, she REALLY enjoyed her childhood. I think she played too much, doing and creating stuff, reading, playing with sister, drawing, day-dreaming, even learning to play the ukulele and piano from YouTube, and of course, watch TV. I was even chided for being too relaxed! Err... maybe I don't qualify here as a member of KIASU parent. :oops: BTW, DD1 got into her choice school, and enjoys going to school despite the hectic schedule. Most importantly, she's not burnout after PSLE and is motivated to do well in her studies.
My 2 children attend 2 different neighbouhood primary schools, purely because of convenience and distance. From my observations of the 2 schools, the schools' exams test within the syllabus and not beyond, pretty much PSLE standard. They don't set killer papers, which I've read in the forum. They do identify weaker students and give them extra coaching.
Why compare with top schools exam papers and stress ourselves? It's just a handful, less than 10 out of the 180 primary schools! Why set such unrealistic standards if your child is not academically inclined?
Please know your child well. Not all schools are the same. Why push them into \"branded\" schools and later pile them with tuitions trying to keep up? Providing information packed textbooks may help students of a certain calibre, but we'll certainly complain about why our school bags are so super heavy!
Just sharing an experience from my friend. Her 3 children attended the same programme in a tuition centre when each of them reached upper primary. The eldest, being average but diligent, could absorb and apply about 80% of what was being taught. The second was very bright, maybe 98% went in. The third smart but playful, can only absorb 60%. How are we going to judge the tuition centre? The teachers are all given the same materials to teach and in fact, the same teacher taught 2 of the children. There is no one size fit all solutions. Know our children well and let them take the lead, then we will be able to make wise decisions and give them the right kind of support to help them succeed in life, and at the same time, enjoy their childhood.
Just offering a different perspective and sorry for my long rambling...getting late...a bit 语无论次...
:hi5: :goodpost: :goodpost:
I have 2 kids in different neighborhood Sch too. While one is a good sch, the other is probably one of the lousiest around this area (IMO & only comparing academics). Both kids' abilities are quite similar.....so I can see the difference in Sch. Eventually, my expectation from each has to be set differently too. -
sunflower:
Was about to write something similar to the above but just couldn't find the time. Yes, please know and understand your child. His/her strength and weaknesses, his/her temperament and personality. We need to manage our expectations accordingly. I always have faith that my child is capable, regardless of results. Academic success is not everything, good character and sound moral values, to me, are much more important.
I think many parents already think that character and moral development are important. That is why parents gave feedback and a Character and Moral Development Unit was created, leading MOE to express \"Parents expect more from MOE than it can deliver.\" The initiative came from parents... it was MOE that blinked here.
Character development has always been parents' job and many of us are aware of that role. Certainly psle2011mum's kids are well-grounded morally. However, what we object to is that we now ALSO have to teach in place of the school. See parts in red from tutormum and psle2011mum's sharing below.psle2011mum:
I found the above to be true - without my intervention, my DDs would have been labelled \" mixed ability\" and pulling in 70+ in an easy school. I felt the inequity of the whole scenario - why should my kids be made to feel that they aren't that good? They already have attributes going for them ie obedient, diligent, attentive in class, willing to put in the effort...so I stepped in.atutor2001:
Let's look at how a normal kids will perform with out extra coaching (tuition) and especially without extra materials.
If a child relies solely on works given by school and confine his/her knowledge to the prescribed text books, the child will be lucky to get around an average of 65 marks for the 4 subjects. Translated to T-score, that is about 190 plus for T-score. The child can still opt for express in sec school.
If the teachers are hardworking and provide extra materials, the child will be lucky to get around an average of 75 marks which is a T-score of about 220. He/she can find a more comfortable sec school and will have more well-behaving classmates.
Yes, above are my guesses. However, I can assure you that they are pretty accurate. The question is, why can't the system provide equal opportunity for all to attain a T-score of above 250 if a child rely purely just on what was covered by the school curriculum. Some will rebut that there are records showing top scorers from poor families with no access to the extras. My answer is \"don't be bullshitted\". They may be poor. But they have great parents who sourced for free assessment books and past year papers for their children. Most importantly these few special children are self-motivated and above average in intelligence to do self-study. However, without those extra materials, they will not be able to achieve that score. Therefore, is there something wrong between the amount covered during lessons and that being tested in exams? I think that is what most parents here are upset with.
I've asked the question in Bold before too - but the feedback I gave to the powers that be didn't seem to result in any changes that would be in time for my DDs so I moved on, stepped in and true enough, the DDs were labelled \"HA\" based on their PSLE results.
I now share to spread this message -- the system is one of labels, but you know your child best. Don't let the system label your child and give up on them.
Remember --
\"Labels are for cans - not people.\" - Anthony Rappsunflower:
40% of NYPS scores above 25X. This is because the school tests hard and teaches a lot. This is school specific too I would imagine. School specificity is a poor excuse for the variance in quality delivered by across schools in Singapore wherein...We all stay in different parts of Singapore and our children attend different schools. What we encounter and what our children experience in the schools affect our perception of the education system, and we will form opinions and make certain generalisations. There are about 180 primary schools in Singapore and with our limited experience with certain schools, we seem to over generalise if we say ALL schools test beyond what's taught in the classroom. Some terrifying experience shared here maybe school specific.
(a) Some schools test hard and teach little beyond the textbook
(b) Some schools test little and teach little beyond the textbook
(c) Some schools test hard and teach a lot beyond the textbook (aka NYPS)
The issue is also that in another school that tests easy and teaches easy, the chances of getting 25X and above for a child of similar calibre is much reduced. Entrance into choice secondary schools which give choice developmental opportunities will also be much reduced. Until entrance into secondary school is tweaked OR distribution of resources across schools is tweaked, PSLE will remain a high stakes exam... and there is no compelling argument to convince parents that they should not step in to level up their children who attend...
(a) Schools that test hard and teach little beyond the textbook
(b) Schools that test little and teach little beyond the textbook
This would form the majority of schools, which means that across the nation, many parents/tutors have to teach in lieu of the school.sunflower:
What resources are they provided with? It seems to me that each school gives out different sets of notes. Some are poorly written. A precious few are truly stellar. Others don't give out much notes at all. I know this because in the past 2 years, I have made a diligent effort to source for and pore through materials from all sorts of schools. Are we expecting too much of our Teachers that they have to write their own teaching materials AND teach/mark/morally educate multiple classes of 40?Textbooks are written based on the syllabus prescribed by the MOE, which is pretty basic. In all honesty, they are not enough, especially after the \"teach less learn more\" thing, which we see science textbooks being slashed to the minimum. Schools have the duty to teach, and they are provided with the resources to do so. In my children's 2 different neighbourhood schools, they test within the ability of the student population and give notes and organise programmes to help students.
This is reminiscent of Chairman Mao's Great Leap Forward where he tried to stimulate industrialization by encouraging people to develop industry in their backyards. Without the economies of scale, industry standards were low and varied from backyard to backyard. Many of these backyard industries had low standards and few were stellar.
Sounds like the quality delivered by Singapore schools in the present day.
Lastly, the comment that each of us have different experiences in different schools and we over generalise, fails to account for the perspective of professional Tutors... who make it their business to help children from a wide range of different schools. See tutormum's sharing... and this...http://www.nie.edu.sg/nie_cma/attachments/topic/1442c80437tH/13_June_08_ST_Online_Forum_A_Tutors_Take_on_Tuition_Syndrome.pdf
sunflower:
I've been sourcing for Math notes from secondary schools. I haven't found any from any school. Certainly, my son's school didn't give out Math notes. I dunno about Onsponge being \"too detailed\"... but I do know that in 2011 a GEP child found Onsponge most useful indeed (accounting for an improvement of at least 25 marks). The same happened with my son.Some assessment books created fanciful names of maths methods (such as unit tranfer etc) to make parents think that is something new. Frankly, these are just marketing tactics and serve only to confuse students (esp the weaker ones) even more, because they have to remember this and that method (onsponge dissected them into too many details).
In maths, there are just a few fundamental principles that the pupils need to know, and once they understand and with enough practice, they'll be able to apply. I'm sure most schools provide extra notes/resources to supplement the textbooks, and at least for the past 2 years, PSLE questions had been quite reasonable, with maybe 1 or 2 challenging questions to differentiate those with inclination towards maths.sunflower:
You seem to know the educational system very well for a parent who only woke up 1-2weeks before exams... even down to the exact number of 180 schools... resources given to schools generally to help them give out notes... that for the past 2 years PSLE questions have been reasonable (gee... even I didn't know that because the full PSLE papers are not released)... that Onsponge is too detailed (I don't even know that because I couldn't understand Onsponge...)DD1 took her PSLE 2 years back and DD2 now in lower primary. They didn't have tuition (I don't believe in that). DD1 is really an average student. She could have done very well if I had pushed her, but being without a maid, I was too busy with baby and work. I basically left her to her own devices, and only \"woke up\" 1 -2 weeks before exams to coach her. All in all, she REALLY enjoyed her childhood. I think she played too much, doing and creating stuff, reading, playing with sister, drawing, day-dreaming, even learning to play the ukulele and piano from YouTube, and of course, watch TV. I was even chided for being too relaxed! Err... maybe I don't qualify here as a member of KIASU parent. :oops: BTW, DD1 got into her choice school, and enjoys going to school despite the hectic schedule. Most importantly, she's not burnout after PSLE and is motivated to do well in her studies. .
Next, in my experience and that of at least 2 others (psle2011mum and tutormum), children would burn out and give up way before PSLE and for a long time after if we don't help them academically and sustain them emotionally. We certainly could not leave them to face debilitating failure after failure with no hope of doing well because the school teaches so little... and requires so much.sunflower:
I am sure you are right here. I have been able to get notes from neighbourhood schools that are excellent.My 2 children attend 2 different neighbouhood primary schools, purely because of convenience and distance. From my observations of the 2 schools, the schools' exams test within the syllabus and not beyond, pretty much PSLE standard. They don't set killer papers, which I've read in the forum. They do identify weaker students and give them extra coaching.
sunflower:
Aaaah... but many children ARE academically inclined. They CAN handle the top school papers if given the opportunity (i.e., the requisite teaching AND the tough exams). It is not the child's fault if most other schools cannot manage to teach to the level of tests set by NYPS... because there could well be children in such schools who CAN manage the rigour... and DESERVE the 25X at the PSLE.Why compare with top schools exam papers and stress ourselves? It's just a handful, less than 10 out of the 180 primary schools! Why set such unrealistic standards if your child is not academically inclined?
It's one thing when you have that opportunity to learn from the school and you don't MAKE it. It's quite another when you don't have that opportunity to learn to begin with.sunflower:
Heavy schoolbags is a good excuse for chick lit textbooks? What about iPADS and Kindles etc... These can carry more than 40 books without adding weight. But let us suppose it is a good excuse and MOE has no money to buy iPADS and Kindles for every student.Please know your child well. Not all schools are the same. Why push them into \"branded\" schools and later pile them with tuitions trying to keep up? Providing information packed textbooks may help students of a certain calibre, but we'll certainly complain about why our school bags are so super heavy!
Why not have a set of standardized notes that all schools deliver to students? Do these exist? It does not seem so.sunflower:
Because children are all different, it is an excuse for the system to NOT give same access to content (in view of PSLE as a SAME exam)... There is a flaw in logic somewhere. It's one thing when you have that opportunity to learn from the school and you don't MAKE it. It's quite another when you don't have that opportunity to learn to begin with.Just sharing an experience from my friend. Her 3 children attended the same programme in a tuition centre when each of them reached upper primary. The eldest, being average but diligent, could absorb and apply about 80% of what was being taught. The second was very bright, maybe 98% went in. The third smart but playful, can only absorb 60%. How are we going to judge the tuition centre? The teachers are all given the same materials to teach and in fact, the same teacher taught 2 of the children. There is no one size fit all solutions. Know our children well and let them take the lead, then we will be able to make wise decisions and give them the right kind of support to help them succeed in life, and at the same time, enjoy their childhood.
If schools did provide more comprehensive textbooks... supplemented by similarly comprehensive NOTES then no parent can cry foul. The reason for poor performance lies clearly in the child's capability. Access to material is fully open.
At present, there is no way to tell whether a child underperforms because he is not taught (and has no access to the material)... or because he just can't handle the material. No one is asking for 100% comprehensive textbooks... but one certainly does not expect the textbooks to document only 20% of what one needs to know for PSLE. Seriously, to do well in school exams, one hardly needs to flip the textbooks at all. They are really BASIC, as you put it.
Many children who ARE capable are NOT fulfilling their potential because they are NOT taught the material (and their parents DON'T give them tuition)... It's almost like a beehive where some bee larvae are fed Royal Jelly because they are the designated Queen Bees. The quantity and quality of the educational material our children are fed with... do have a bearing on their PSLE results.
In the current system, poor performance cannot all to be laid at the door of Low Child Capability. That is why parents cry foul. Until we resolve the wide variance in quality delivered by schools, the Queen Bee imagery is likely to gain traction in the wider political mindset. I already have heard people in the lower socio-economic circles comment that there is a conspiracy to keep the poor where they are... down to feeding them low quality education so that they won't do well at PSLE. Of course, I try to explain that this is not true... but well... the reality is that they think that way. And it will get worse if MOE doesn't stop trying explain things away.
Just fix it. -
BeContented:
Wow! Becontented, you certainly are rare in that you can stand back and watch with perfect equanimity whilst one lousy school grooms your child to BELOW his/her potential... and applaud. I am sure such generosity with the system is beyond me... and beyond the capability of many parents.
:hi5: :goodpost: :goodpost:
I have 2 kids in different neighborhood Sch too. While one is a good sch, the other is probably one of the lousiest around this area (IMO & only comparing academics). Both kids' abilities are quite similar.....so I can see the difference in Sch. Eventually, my expectation from each has to be set differently too.
I am not sure whether to kudos you or not for your selflessness. I only know that such selflessness is beyond me. At the end of the day, I feel more for my child than I do for supporting a system that allows schools to groom him to BELOW his potential. -
Chenonceau:
Same here
Wow! Becontented, you certainly are rare in that you can stand back and watch with perfect equanimity whilst one lousy school grooms your child to BELOW his/her potential... and applaud. I am sure such generosity with the system is beyond me... and beyond the capability of many parents.BeContented:
:hi5: :goodpost: :goodpost:
I have 2 kids in different neighborhood Sch too. While one is a good sch, the other is probably one of the lousiest around this area (IMO & only comparing academics). Both kids' abilities are quite similar.....so I can see the difference in Sch. Eventually, my expectation from each has to be set differently too.
I am not sure whether to kudos you or not for your selflessness. I only know that such selflessness is beyond me. At the end of the day, I feel more for my child than I do for supporting a system that allows schools to groom him to BELOW his potential. -
Chenonceau,
just to let you know…I receive your pm but cld not make it on that day…out of town. Hence, did not reply to you.
thanks. -
oneheart:
Thanks for the note. I did understand that. I've already given your place to the next person in the queue.Chenonceau,
just to let you know...I receive your pm but cld not make it on that day...out of town. Hence, did not reply to you.
thanks. -
I agree with Chenonceau.
Think of our education system this way. It’s sort of like our current access to TV channels these days.
1) Free channels - Ch 5, 8, okto…
2) Pay TV -
(i) Basic Tier Cable TV
(ii) Add-on channels
(iii) On-demand TV
The good schools, as Chen describes, give you full access to ALL channels, on the house, mind you.
Some schools give you only the free channels, and a bit of basic tier pay-TV.
According to experiences shared with me by some friends, it seems that the kids who are streamed to classes other than the top classes also are deliberately only given access to Free TV, because they are deemed to be less capable, and hence really shouldn’t view more than they brains can take.
Now think of PSLE as a test that assesses you on what you watch during the last 6 years, and the content of that cuts across all available channels on both Free and Pay Tv.
Kids who are in anything other than the good schools have to find a way to access all the other channels. Their parents, mostly not being experts in the field, need to find out somehow what is being aired on those other channels, in an amateurish, non-targeted manner. Because of this, many have decided to turn to tuition in the hope that the tution centers have a better idea than them as to what their kids were missing out on all those other channels.
If we veer the discussion away from education for a moment, and turn it purely to one of viewing TV for pleasure, surely many would argue almost instantly that it isn’t fair that some estates, such as the Bukit Timah areas, should get to watch all channels whilst others get only some. It is unlikely that people would be accepting of the differences. Whether you have the time or the capacity to watch and appreciate all the channels is besides the point.
Now, apply the above into the context of public education. Whether a child has the ability to absorb everything is besides the point. Shouldn’t they all have access to what’s out there? At the very least to the point of what will be tested? Whilst streaming arguably works in favor of the smarter ones, and we do want to ensure they don’t get bored and lose interest, are we doing the right thing by limiting or not ensuring that the other children have access to all the other channels? -
At present, there is no way to tell whether a child underperforms because he is not taught (and has no access to the material)... or because he just can't handle the material. No one is asking for 100% comprehensive textbooks... but one certainly does not expect the textbooks to document only 20% of what one needs to know for PSLE. Seriously, to do well in school exams, one hardly needs to flip the textbooks at all. They are really BASIC, as you put it.
Many children who ARE capable are NOT fulfilling their potential because they are NOT taught the material (and their parents DON'T give them tuition)... It's almost like a beehive where some bee larvae are fed Royal Jelly because they are the designated Queen Bees. The quantity and quality of the educational material our children are fed with... do have a bearing on their PSLE results.
by Chenonceau
:goodpost:
GOOD POST & WELL SAID!!!
Totally AGREE with you!
I've been sourcing materials for my children now. No point depending on the school.
Parents of p1 & 2 won't feel a sting now. They'll know it as children progress from p4 onwards. Wait for the school to do something, by the time my children already finished their PSLE lo....... Got to take action before it's too late. Sigh, my job lo...... :sick: -
Chenonceau:
Wow! Becontented, you certainly are rare in that you can stand back and watch with perfect equanimity whilst one lousy school grooms your child to BELOW his/her potential... and applaud. I am sure such generosity with the system is beyond me... and beyond the capability of many parents.BeContented:
:hi5: :goodpost: :goodpost:
I have 2 kids in different neighborhood Sch too. While one is a good sch, the other is probably one of the lousiest around this area (IMO & only comparing academics). Both kids' abilities are quite similar.....so I can see the difference in Sch. Eventually, my expectation from each has to be set differently too.
I am not sure whether to kudos you or not for your selflessness. I only know that such selflessness is beyond me. At the end of the day, I feel more for my child than I do for supporting a system that allows schools to groom him to BELOW his potential.
Selflessness?? No, I am not that noble, just simply laziness & bochup attitude. Do I just sit back and watch.....not exactly cos' I started letting my kids have tuition from P4 and tho embarrassed to admit, tuition not because they can't cope, but rather to give that extra boost to maintain/improve.
I'm a simple person, not strong in analysis and my perspective can be pretty narrow.....but these are my views.
School resources.....I feel that most schools do provide the necessary, but there will be some that provide more quality resources. True, MOE can do better with the resources, but in matter of time....some schools will again stand out and produce EVEN better resources and churn out top students. Simple reason....organization/schools are still run by humans....and humans are generally selfish and competitive (how many are truly selfless??) .....they want the advantage, they want to be differentiated. And parents will rush to those schools (so did I since I apply for transfer :oops: )
Potential....With a class size of 40, do you expect schools to have the ability to groom ALL kids to their potential? And what is their real potential? IS it really that easy to gauge? And at what expense? Most of us believe strongly in the potential of our children......me too. BUT how hungry & discipline/motivated is the child? I have quite a fair bit of books at home.... but sadly, many are untouched. Yes, I can nag & force, but I dun think they absorb anything useful thru that method.
We, the parents, the major stakeholders of our children, already have such difficulty grooming them to full potential (with 1-1 ratio).......I doubt the school can do that for big numbers. However, when a child is hungry, they will naturally source for more by themselves. This is one thing I admire about the PRC kids....they are seriously hungry. But as kiasu parent, of course I'll be glad if there are additional resources.
Expectation.....this is really one of the tough part. Whenever I feel my kids have potential to perform better....I expect more ... and MORE .... and MORE ....
Whenever I compare them to my GEP neighbour, I push them more....cos' I know if they would just play less, spend more time studying/learning, they will be a step nearer to their FULL potential. BUT is the child happy? Do I need to push them to that extend? And where exactly is that FULL potential? As long as one is always learning.....that's most important isn't it?? Frankly, I'm always in a dilemma too.
But I do know one thing......I cannot over protect my kids, they need to have some minor setbacks to learn some lessons and about the real world.
Chinese saying \"一山还有一山高 ／ 天外有天“ .....
Hope I am talking sense
PS : I must admit, my experience may be limited. I kinda have it easy with regards to my kids study.........but I will know the real truth when PSLE comes. Perhaps then I'll regret not doing more.
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