Let the children be (from TODAY May 16)
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Chenonceau:
No lah... I take rejection poorly you know.
tsk tsk chen, you gonna propose to him again? :evil:toddles:
[quote=\"Chenonceau\"]
Who b***** cares about Good English... YOU are RICH!
The last time he rejected me... I went to contemplate the Malaysian railway tracks near the Rail Mall. Then I realised that got no more train.[/quote]HAHAHA! missed the rich verykiasu train :moneyflies: *choo choooooooo * (echoes in the distance)
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Chenonceau:
maybe he's (ahem) from a different era...
You may be rich... but you sure ain't happening.verykiasu2010:
oh, what does that stand for ? GG? pwned ? :? :? -
toddles:
maybe he's (ahem) from a different era...[/quote]alamak you guys are not helping old man to understand new thing .......
You may be rich... but you sure ain't happening.Chenonceau:
[quote=\"verykiasu2010\"]
oh, what does that stand for ? GG? pwned ? :? :? -
Chenonceau:
where got ? thot was Tg Pagar Stn ....... din know you went rail more
No lah... I take rejection poorly you know. The last time he rejected me... I went to contemplate the Malaysian railway tracks near the Rail Mall. Then I realised that got no more train. -
read from sunday times yesterday about centres offering GEP training programs and how some of them will only take in students who score 90 marks and above or having an IQ of 130 and above (1 centre mentioned).
There is also a foundation GEP program for those kids in kindergarten… -
pinky:
good grief...read from sunday times yesterday about centres offering GEP training programs and how some of them will only take in students who score 90 marks and above or having an IQ of 130 and above (1 centre mentioned).
There is also a foundation GEP program for those kids in kindergarten....
i think GEP is a good thing to have in our education system..
but as for most good things, there will be people who put it to good use / misuse / abuse.
guess human nature is the same wherever we go. -
The stuff in bold was what we were ranting about a few pages ago....
this guy had 3 letters published by TODAY already... is he a KSP? own up! haha.
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It's a strong foundation that counts
Letter from Ian Tan Yong Hoe 04:45 AM May 09, 2012
I REFER to the story \"Primary school maths: A vicious circle\" (May 8). I thank the Today team for following up on my original letter and sharing a range of views on local education issues.
After my letter was published, it was shared widely on social media channels, and it was disheartening to read a common thread in the numerous responses from parents: That our opinions would fall on deaf ears.
The Ministry of Education's responses ranged from (I paraphrase) \"Primary School Leaving Examination mathematics has not gotten more difficult\" to \"subject syllabi is regularly based on widespread consultation\".
This drives home the point that the MOE may not have grasped our grievances and is quick to dismiss public feedback.
It would be challenging for the layman to dispute that maths standards have not changed over the years, as we are not steeped in pedagogy.
What we do see is a gradual destabilisation of the education system as it shifts responsibility for learning from schools to tuition centres, opening up a divide between those who can afford tuition and those who cannot.
That cannot be meritocratic in any sense.
I do not disagree with the provision of a small proportion of challenging problems to help determine the cream of the crop. I aced my studies, won a scholarship and took on numerous challenges with a relentless drive to become the best in my cohort.
I know what the MOE is driving at because I am a product of its system (and my mum's nagging). However, I remember being drilled with a strong foundation in the basics in primary school.
The glaring difference today is that learning how to answer the \"tough\" questions is emphasised so much, pupils end up with shaky basics in arithmetic, grammar or second language.
In the English-language curriculum, pupils are encouraged to memorise and use flowery, pretentious sentences for the sake of doing so.
To an ex-journalist with a decade of professional writing experience, this goes against every principle of concise communication skills. There is no point writing a dozen complex sentences when one could express the same idea with a simple phrase.
A local university professor remarked to me recently that the standards of his students' communication skills have dropped over the years. How did that happen?
As a parent, I can only hope that the MOE is able to accept our honest feedback and is willing to take a good, hard look at the system. I do fear for our children as they get caught in this vicious circle with no end in sight. -
Ian Tan Yong Hoe writes very well. He is my hero.
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Ian Tan writes with such eloquence & hits the nail on the head. It’s therapeutic to read even if we know nothing will change in our children’s lifetime. People who can write should continue to give voice to the parents’ and children’s suffering.
I agree with him about the uselessness of writing in flowery & pretentious language. I don’t believe in getting my kids to write in those verbose language just to score in Composition exam. If they can’t score because they cannot write bombastically & in complex sentence structures, then so be it. Writing simply and creatively is the true skill that will last for their lifetime. -
Our kids suffer from the day they enter kindergarten. In K2 they have ridiculous long spelling words to learn...for Chinese, they have tough sentences of ting xie every week. Why ? Because the principal of the kindergarten doesn't want to be blamed by parents for not preparing the kids for P1.
I will never forget my daughter having to learn 'di4 tan4' (carpet). :yikes: I myself dont even know how to write it. But yet, I have to teach her to write each and every Chinese character every week. I didnt bother to...this is kindy. It should be fun. Instead of all these characters, shouldnt hanyu pinyin be taught instead ? Ha! Parents have to outsource kids to tuition centers at K2. The impression kids will get is that P1 will be torture.
In fact, my son told his sister then to enjoy herself before going to P1...no more fun but homework and tests.
Our kids are badly deprived of play. Their myopia increases yearly. Gone are the days of fun. My son sitting for PSLE this year has tuition the whole month. Bcos he cannot afford to fail.
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