Real reason behind Singapore’s obsession with tuition

[Chenonceau]

wonderm:

Agree. This is also why I doubt if the situation would be better if they use exactly the same teaching materials in all schools. Even within the same school, the teachers may need to use different approach/different material to teach different classes effectively. Of course, this is not the same as discrepancies caused by incompetent teachers.

I get this point, and I agree. Thus... I suggested better textbooks AND the following.

Teachers should be given access to a lot more materials than they currently have access too. This helps them to generate customised student-centric materials. Part of this can be resolved by a national teacher sharing database. Teachers have no time to write their own materials, mark 40 X 4 classes of work plus others...

Exams to sift kids into good and bad classes (which then define access to material) should not be testing BEYOND what is taught. Because then, only enriched kids get into good classes and are given challenging materials. My DS can more than cope with challenging stuff... but he was given reams and reams and reams of simple sums from the Workbook all of last year (except for the 2 weeks before exams where they're given exam practices which were all of a sudden very difficult).

Part of the reason was that the classes are streamed by 4-subject-average... and the kids taught together. In DS' class, there are discrepancies in ability in all 4 subjects but the kids are taught like they were 80+ in EVERY subject. How student-centric can that be?

Some of these processes... e.g., processes defining subject-student-centrism when doing student triage can be standardized across schools. This will go some way in standardizing quality across schools. I know there are schools who do triage by subject so that the right materials go to the right brains. There are also schools who don't, relying only on SAME textbooks across every class in the level... and on tutors to fill the gap in need for customised materials.

You may have misunderstood me. I asked for better textbooks... not SAME textbooks and materials for everyone. Consistent quality doesn't equate to SAME textbooks. An inappropriate textbook for a particular calibre of child, is low quality whilst the same textbook could be high quality teaching for another. Nonetheless, whilst we agree that materials should differ with audience, is it not true that in some schools, the WHOLE level uses the SAME textbook... the whole school uses the SAME series of textbooks. AND the school produces precious little notes.

How student-centric is that? The system styles itself student-centric. Big word. But unreal.

In addition, the IP group and GEP group have gone through a standardzied triage already. It thus makes sense that RI (and GEP) uses different textbooks than XXXXXX Secondary School. In primary school, one can assume that there are bright kids in every school... and thus there CAN be 1 or 2 dedicated textbooks for the top 2 classes... and a mid-range for the middle... and of course, we have Foundation for the very weak.

There you have it... same textbooks in all primary schools ... YET different textbooks within the same school to cater to the reality that bright kids exist in all primary schools. This is far more student-centric than having different textbooks in every primary school, used for ALL the students in that school.

[Chenonceau]

Thanks a bunch Wonderm for allowing me to clarify a point. I think I spent too much time on the forum already. Better go do something that'll bring me some money.

[janet88]

Chenonceau:

I think I spent too much time on the forum already. Better go do something that'll bring me some money.

Hubby said the same thing to me. No money earned...if mention something and others think it is a slap on their face, I am affected by the bashing up after that.

[hokkiengirl]

dorisp:

BTW I recall hearding some boys from DS's kinddy speaking some dialect \"bad words\" when I was at the school the other day, sigh, and even their mother didn't stop those boys. I sure hope my DS didn't pick these up.

Yeah, too many kids cussing nowadays in all sorts of languages. I get very upset, especially when it happens at 'innocent' places like the playground. Sigh :sad:

[hokkiengirl]

fightingmom:

My DD is already 12 years old this year ... Is a big jie jie to ur 2 boys
And I do agree with you in one of your posts... Children pick up language real fast especially if they are exposed to it daily. My dd picks up basic Malay in school and she practices it with my hubby. She uses it when she wants to share some \"secrets\" with her daddy instead of me. :roll:

Am in the midst of teaching her some basic Korean which I learn from watching kdramas

Oh! ha ha! Can't fault me for tryin'!

But, hey, you guys are a wonderful bunch of linguists. Very impressed. Yup, think it is an excellent thing to learn languages. Instantly opens doors to people's hearts. Good going!

[Intermezzo]

verykiasu2010:

Intermezzo:

[quote=\"jtoh\"]
Group 1 and Group 3 parents will go for even more IQ tests and enrichment classes because if they wait until O levels and don't do well there, how? No PSLE certificate to fall back on!!! Only Kindergarten graduation photo!! Cannot!! How can their precious children's future be dependent on just the O level exams?? What if they don't do well??? Must go actively in search of some interim certification ala iPSLE exam. Then some clever iTLL centre will set up interim certification exams and all these parents will flock there. :faint:

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: first time i see jtoh used so many exclamation marks!!!!

she used lots of upside down exclamation marks iiii[/quote]well i must say they really help to put her points across... :rotflmao:

[hokkiengirl]

By the way, many teachers are also baffled by the ‘Teach Less Learn More’ approach. We agree with it in principle (it’s never a problem in principle, is it?), but when implemented, it magically assumes that students already know certain key concepts which we used to teach. So now, teachers scramble to Teach More in a Lot Less Time. Bah.


And from what I hear, teachers in primary school are bogged down by too many non-academic things they have to do to make the schools look good. The non-academic bells and whistles get more and more every year. The teachers are not happy with it, either. But it’s a vicious cycle. Schools have to look ‘good’ so that parents want to send their kids to ‘enriching’, holistic schools. Big SIGH.

For me, as a parent, it’s become a situation where I send my kid to school to ‘play-play’, socialise and have enrichment lessons like sports and drama. All these are great things, especially for the kids from less-privileged families. It just becomes very bizarre when I expect and accept that the real teaching is done at home. By me. And that’s cos I can. Even kids from low-income families whose parents may not be in a position to teach are scrambling for any available and affordable tuition they can find. Frankly, I find that unacceptable. The parent who assumes that the teaching can be left up to the primary school (like in the good ol’ days when mata cheng teh kor-wore bermudas) is in for a rude shock.

[cherryc]

Well said. That is the crux of the problems, and they have to throw in The perplexing model Maths and heuristics questions, parents with master degrees also don’t know how to teach their children and have to scramble for tuitions. Kids go to school to be assessed and be told whether they need more tuitions. Saw someone posted the tuition question in our minister FB account and …no reply.

[Imami]

cherryc:

parents with master degrees also don't know how to teach their children and have to scramble for tuitions.

This is very true.I know of at least one true example - the father is a MBA holder and an engineer but cant help the child's math at p6. :faint:

[beanbear]

Time is a fixed resource and schools these days have alot they want to accomplish with our children using this fixed precious resource. Back in our days, we attended school from 7.30am to 1pm - no supplementary classes at all. Class sizes were also 40 students. No tuition either.Homework is doable without tuition. Dunno how to do, can’t even ask parents coz they also cannot help you.


These days, children stay back on average 2-3 times a week for supplementary classes (not remedial for weaker students, all students must stay back) from Pri 3 onwards because schools say there is not enough time to cover the syllabus. What’s sucking up our kids’ time at school? We are accomplishing less with more time. What’s going on?

There are days on top of staying in school for 9-10 hours and kids then still come home with 2-3 hours worth of homework. I know this is not just my experience in my DS school, it’s happening in other schools too when I compare notes with friends. This is definitely not the parents’ doing, nor expectations. When schools need 40-50 hours of your child’s time a week in order to educate them and yet do an ineffective job because our kids end up failing, there is definitely something wrong. My child went through this brutal schedule until I stood up against this abuse and refused to let him attend anymore of this 9-hour days. Does MOE stop this practice? No, they say it’s a school decision. Who will take responsibility when schools use so much of our children’s time and yet our children can’t pass the school exam?

So I as a parent have to make a decision. I decide how my child’s time used. Because I need this precious resource for tuition (either by me or external parties) to ensure that he’s actually learning something. When my DS spent LESS time at school this year, his grades went UP. So my learning has been, ATTEND LESS SCHOOL, LEARN MORE.