Real reason behind Singapore’s obsession with tuition

[atutor2001]

Imami:

atutor2001:

Fortune telling my foot. I have been following the PSLE scene since the 1900s.

Hi atutor2001, can you please tell us again - since when have you been following the PSLE scene?

Your earlier post - An average kid (quite hardworking) without tuition or supplementary exercises from parents will be very lucky to get 220 in PSLE, generally will be less than 210. Any normal playful kid without tuition or supplementary exercises from parents is guaranteed 200 and below. Relevant extra work is definitely needed to achieve 240 and above. Perhaps tutors know better in what is relevant. My figures are from \"thin air\".

The scores seem very low. As a parent, by reading the above para, it makes me think this way - to get beyond 220, my child need tuition or additional help.

My apology should be 1990s when my eldest kid was in Pr school. In terms of raw scores, a T-score of 200 actually looks quite good, which will be an average of about 70 marks per subject. (That is based on feedback of PSLE results in 2010.)

Many parents are unaware of the conversion and the national averages, feeling quite comfortable when their kids are getting 65 to 70 marks for each subject, not knowing that when converted to T-score, that could or rather usually would be less than 200 points.

[atutor2001]

verykiasu2010:

oh yeah, thanks for bringing it up. And if you think you your estimates are good, so be it, but please don't mislead other parents. Your estimates may be close but without basis. That is just your thoughts on it.

For a long time, I refused to acknowledge that we are given a few cohort's raw scores of the prelim (without names) for a number of years and these were tiredlessly worked into the t-score formula and the school database (not MOE database) and the prelim t-scores were compared with the kids' actual t-score after PSLE, and the school could say with confidence at every Pri 6 briefing that every year, their actual is better than prelim by between 5 to 70 points. The numbers I quote on the school are based on actual data.

I didn't know that your mathematical understanding is so limited. I have written all the workings on how the PSLE results were used for the computation of the estimates and you again said there is no basis. Oh I forgot, it is just another art that civil servants are good at - at blur and deny to the end. They will then go on to side track, bring in unrelated topics like schools using prelim results ... which was never in our discussion. You are good man.

[fightingmom]

hokkiengirl:

jtoh:

Hokkiengirl, do you teach your children hokkien?

Of course! All 3 can understand very well and speak somewhat. The baby (almost two) has Hokkien dreams! He had a nightmare one night and in his semi-conscious state, muttered, 'Peng Ko! Peng Ko!' (that's 'apple' in my mother tongue)

He doesn't say 'yes' or 'no'. He says 'ai' or 'mai'. I think it's so cute!!! Gush, gush.

I'm sure I'm not alone in doing this. I'm sure there are tons of families out there who still speak to their kids in dialects. Anybody else care to share?

Haha.. My DD can understand and speak teochew and hokkien - though not fluently but good enough to communicate with my parents and elderly relatives. My mum used to tease her when she was a toddler by asking,\" Li si teochew nang, ka si hokkien nang?\" [ Are you teochew or hokkien ?] and she replied,\"cham cham.\" [rojak, mixed]

Anything she is not sure of, she likes to reply ,\" wa em zai\" (yes, even now )

[optimistforum]

Melodies, I have posted you a PM.

[Melodies]

Hi,


Got it! Thanks!

Regards,

optimistforum:

Melodies, I have posted you a PM.

[cherryc]

BeContented:

Maybe I funtion a little differently. I try to tell/show my kids the holes & tell them
\"You decide whether u want to drop into that hole or leap over it. Dun say I never tell u got hole there ah. Got 'eyes' cannot see, then too bad.

If u fall, I will be sad & cry for you. But u will cry louder cos' it will be YOUR life that will be affected more in long term.\"


But importantly, must also tell them if they tried their best but still fall, it's ok. We look for help Loh.

Our education system now is full of \"holes\" (\"gaps\") which are getting bigger, we as parents have to constantly warn our kids about the holes and build bridges across the holes so that our kids can progress. Many less privileged families don't even know about these \"new\" holes and their kids will just fall right into the holes and never can achieve their full potentials. We are all concerned parents here to discuss of ways to fill out these unnecessary holes and to prevent them to become one such big hole that our entire next generation all falls into it. Pardon me for this \"hole\" theory !

[Melodies]

I like your hole analogy! it is very true. One of the hole is Schools are no longer doing much teachings nowadays and we have to fill up the gap by subscribing tuition for them to learn and they just go to school for enrichment classes and revision purpose :yikes: :siao: :sad:


In her class, I can't find any pupil who has not attended tuition class.
So far, I only can find a few pupils who just have 1 tuition class.

cherryc:

BeContented:

Maybe I funtion a little differently. I try to tell/show my kids the holes & tell them
\"You decide whether u want to drop into that hole or leap over it. Dun say I never tell u got hole there ah. Got 'eyes' cannot see, then too bad.

If u fall, I will be sad & cry for you. But u will cry louder cos' it will be YOUR life that will be affected more in long term.\"


But importantly, must also tell them if they tried their best but still fall, it's ok. We look for help Loh.

Our education system now is full of \"holes\" (\"gaps\") which are getting bigger, we as parents have to constantly warn our kids about the holes and build bridges across the holes so that our kids can progress. Many less privileged families don't even know about these \"new\" holes and their kids will just fall right into the holes and never can achieve their full potentials. We are all concerned parents here to discuss of ways to fill out these unnecessary holes and to prevent them to become one such big hole that our entire next generation all falls into it. Pardon me for this \"hole\" theory !

[Imami]

Melodies:

Oh dear, I am hokkien too but only speak to my hubby when we don't want my girl to hear our conservation and hokkien has become a secret code between myself and my hubby! My girl does not understand Hokkien

hokkiengirl:

[quote=\"jtoh\"]Hokkiengirl, do you teach your children hokkien?

Of course! All 3 can understand very well and speak somewhat. The baby (almost two) has Hokkien dreams! He had a nightmare one night and in his semi-conscious state, muttered, 'Peng Ko! Peng Ko!' (that's 'apple' in my mother tongue)
He doesn't say 'yes' or 'no'. He says 'ai' or 'mai'. I think it's so cute!!! Gush, gush.

[/quote]I speak hokkien. Had intended to teach my child hokkien too cos I think little children speaking dialects are so cool... :rotflmao: I see little ones speak French/Spanish/Japanese etc as their second/third language but I have not seen anyone speaking hokkien/teo chew yet. Cantonese got la, but I think they shd be excluded cos the family just moved to sg from honking.

Unfortunately, I don't have much opportunity to speak hokkien to my child although he listens a lot - I speak hokkien to hubby/my parents and parents in law. I don't think he understands it fully although sometimes he surprises me by answering correctly. Maybe I shd really start now, if not he would probably not pick up at all. :? Maybe not? Since he is already learning spanish and Japanese, on top of English and Chinese...?

Just in case anyone is curious - my child is attending one enrichment class which is mainly conducted in Japanese, french and german. He picks up Spanish from his cc teacher who can speak Spanish.

[verykiasu2010]

hokkiengirl:

Chenonceau:

[quote=\"hokkiengirl\"][quote=\"verykiasu2010] hello, thanks for the clarity on the matter discussed.


appreciated !

btw, you taught hokkien or not ? or just hokkien songs ?

Glad it's all cleared up.

Oh, I taught Higher Studies in Hokkien poetry and Conversational Hokkien 101. I just burst into song in class on occasion on a sleepy afternoon.

[/quote]I wanna sign up.[/quote][/quote][/quote]

Ha ha I'm gonna set up myself up as the atas Hokkien Enrichment Institute of Singapore. Not just anyhow anyhow tuition centre, k?

So... as with all high-crass edu institutes in Spore nows-adays, you must first pass my qualifying test!!! Otherwise, how will I know if you can learn Hokkien well enough to survive in Penang, Taiwan and Fujian? ke ke ke :evil:

Incidentally, one auntie at the playground asked me if I was Taiwanese!!! And someone from China thought I was from China cos my Mandarin had a Hokkien accent! Kam Siah, Ah Ma, for teaching me well. [/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote]

The Hokkien Learning Lab ?

[cherryc]

Thanks Melodies! Sometimes it is quite worrying seeing the "holes" becoming more and getting bigger as the years go by. And when these "holes" get reported in the news, the reply is always please get around the holes by "seeking alternative paths" !! But people already drop into the holes wonder how to seek alternative paths ? We parents have to constantly build planks or find detours to let our kids go up from one level to another. If more concerned parents are aware and question about the "holes" and request that we want a happy and effective path for our kids, maybe things will change for the better??