Real reason behind Singapore’s obsession with tuition

[verykiasu2010]

Chenonceau:

verykiasu2010:

[quote=\"Chenonceau\"]


This is a factual inaccuracy where it concerns Singapore Math textbooks.


And yes... there no mention of Kumon, Abacus, Learning Lab... who help many kids like and ace Math. This said, we do have a better attitude toward Math than in the West. People who are good in Math are considered intelligent. Those like me, who are awful at Math, have always been viewed as a bit dumb. I've always been made to feel embarrassed and ashamed because I can't count well.

just how many kids attend Kumon, Abacus, TLL etc out of the 240,000 to 250,000 pri school kids ?

How many Kumon centres are there? How much fees to keep a centre profitable after deducting franchise fees and other costs? How prosperous are Kumon centre owners?

I know 2 Kumon centre owners. They earn enough that their husbands quit jobs to help out at the centre... enough to buy properties... and yachts. Both also tell me that schools don't teach enough... nor do schools give enough practices. Maybe your school does... and no one there goes to Kumon.[/quote]my kids' cousins attended Kumon and found them hopeless and useless. of course they quit.

[Chenonceau]

verykiasu2010:

my kids' cousins attended Kumon and found them hopeless and useless. of course they quit.

If so hopeless... then the franchise won't make money enough to fund yachts and such. I guess the business turnover speaks for itself despite the view of your nieces/nephews. I also know people who don't like Kumon but well... what do their profit-loss reports say?

This is not counting those who buy Kumon worksheets to do at home because textbooks don't give enough practice.

[Funz]

Before I get shot to bits. I declare first, I am not saying there is nothing wrong with the education system in Singapore but just need to understand certain things that I keep reading.


There have been many posts that say tutors and enrichment centres are the ones teaching, not the schools. I find that improbable. How is it that a tutor can cover the entire syllabus within that 2hrs once a week while the school with 5 days and min of 45mins each session is doing such a dismal job.

I am in the midst of switching my kids from TienHsia to private tuition for chinese. To me, it is not because the school is not doing its job teaching, but due to our family’s lack of Chinese proficiency, we are unable to guide our kids. As they have very limited exposure to the language, they need to revise but left on their own, we as parents and they, our kids have no idea where to begin and hence the tutor to facilitate their revision and focus on areas in which they are weak. Are they failing? No, but I do not want to wait and see, for base on experience, I know how hard it is to play catch up and how easy it is to hate a subject and totally give up on it.

So while we have our frustrations with the school system, we need to balance our perspective, no? Give credit where it is due and not over credit where it is not due.

[SAHM_TAN]

I'm trying to understand.


What sort of practice qns are not enough in maths textbks?

Whatever sort of qns or areas that my dd1 is weak in, I just write out similar qns for her to practice. I just change the names of the characters and qty hor, nothing complicated. Oh I hate maths, don't understand models, heuristics, and don't see the point of IQ like qns for P1 :rotflmao:

[Chenonceau]

Funz:

Before I get shot to bits. I declare first, I am not saying there is nothing wrong with the education system in Singapore but just need to understand certain things that I keep reading.


There have been many posts that say tutors and enrichment centres are the ones teaching, not the schools. I find that improbable. How is it that a tutor can cover the entire syllabus within that 2hrs once a week while the school with 5 days and min of 45mins each session is doing such a dismal job.

I am in the midst of switching my kids from TienHsia to private tuition for chinese. To me, it is not because the school is not doing its job teaching, but due to our family's lack of Chinese proficiency, we are unable to guide our kids. As they have very limited exposure to the language, they need to revise but left on their own, we as parents and they, our kids have no idea where to begin and hence the tutor to facilitate their revision and focus on areas in which they are weak. Are they failing? No, but I do not want to wait and see, for base on experience, I know how hard it is to play catch up and how easy it is to hate a subject and totally give up on it.

So while we have our frustrations with the school system, we need to balance our perspective, no? Give credit where it is due and not over credit where it is not due.

Did you expect me to shoot you? Gee... I am a bit perturbed if you do. As I recall, I jut lay down the logic and argumentation clearly. Apologies to all if I intimidate. I don't mean to.

Yes... I get you. Balanced view right?

For me, it's just that I didn't believe in guiding my kids at all academically. I had always focused more on character and food and play. But when exams test what teachers don't teach, then well... I have to teach. So... in essence, I am DS' tutor? Does that make sense to you?

Hence, since I teach what the school did not teach but did test, I conclude that kids learn what they need to know to cope with exams from tutors. How is that over-crediting my role as DS' tutor. I don't think I am being imbalanced here. It is a logical and balanced conclusion from what I have experienced.

I didn't guide DS at all in Lower Primary. We bought our first assessment book in end-P3. DS had no enrichment before P1... no tuition... no guidance from me.

I didn't know I was supposed to guide in academics too. I didn't do that with DD and she did fine simply because I built character. I thought that if I taught my kids to be diligent, hardworking (character education), the academics will sort themselves out... but no matter how good a boy he was, DS couldn't keep up... and when I sat down in P5 to analyze gap between exams and homework practice, I knew I had to step into the academic gap.

I now have to teach. If a parent can't teach, then tutors need to teach what Teachers don't. Funz, does that make sense to you?

SAHMTan... if my comments today make a difference to how MOE runs it schools, may your children get to P5 and be spared the trauma my son went through because he had a Mommy who was as laid back as you.

[Chenonceau]

I don’t have energy to post anymore. I’m not doing these posts for me. The ones who will benefit from these posts are those currently in Lower Primary. It’s too late for my DS. If parents of kids in lower primary think my posts are not helpful, why bother?


I would rather make money off you than fight over this with you.

[SAHM_TAN]

Chenonceau,


I’m not a laidback parent. I have been reflecting the whole of jun hols.

[cherryc]

Chenonceau:

I don't have energy to post anymore. I'm not doing these posts for me. The ones who will benefit from these posts are those currently in Lower Primary. It's too late for my DS. If parents of kids in lower primary think my posts are not helpful, why bother?


I would rather make money off you than fight over this with you.

:udawoman:

[Chenonceau]

SAHM_TAN:

Chenonceau,


I'm not a laidback parent. I have been reflecting the whole of jun hols.

Good for you dear... I was laidback.

I regret. Happily, I enriched him in Science and English without knowing that I was doing that. He easily tops the class even whilst we didn't do ANY assessment books. That was why I created Positive Teaching(TM) for Lower Primary parents. To share what I did with DS in Science and English.

I know other Mothers who regret AFTER PSLE... they only found out what Onsponge was after PSLE. They thought \"My kid is in a good school. Even if he does badly in this school. He'll still be fine overall.\" The whole family is in pain. The Mothers feel they have let their child down. The child has self-esteem issues.

If DS had not looked like he was developing stress and self-esteem issues, I think I would be blissfully nonchalant today. Good thing I am a psychologist and sensitive to such issues. It was because my DS told me he was dumb that I dropped everything and analyzed and strategized. We caught up.

[Funz]

Chenonceau:

Did you expect me to shoot you? Gee... I am a bit perturbed if you do. As I recall, I jut lay down the logic and argumentation clearly. Apologies to all if I intimidate. I don't mean to.

Yes... I get you. Balanced view right?

For me, it's just that I didn't believe in guiding my kids at all academically. I had always focused more on character and food and play. But when exams test what teachers don't teach, then well... I have to teach. So... in essence, I am DS' tutor? Does that make sense to you?

Hence, since I teach what the school did not teach but did test, I conclude that kids learn what they need to know to cope with exams from tutors. How is that over-crediting my role as DS' tutor. I don't think I am being imbalanced here. It is a logical and balanced conclusion from what I have experienced.

I didn't guide DS at all in Lower Primary. We bought our first assessment book in end-P3. DS had no enrichment before P1... no tuition... no guidance from me.

I didn't know I was supposed to guide in academics too. I didn't do that with DD and she did fine simply because I built character. I thought that if I taught my kids to be diligent, hardworking (character education), the academics will sort themselves out... but no matter how good a boy he was, DS couldn't keep up... and when I sat down in P5 to analyze gap between exams and homework practice, I knew I had to step into the academic gap.

I now have to teach. If a parent can't teach, then tutors need to teach what Teachers don't. Funz, does that make sense to you?

SAHMTan... if my comments today make a difference to how MOE runs it schools, may your children get to P5 and be spared the trauma my son went through because he had a Mommy who was as laid back as you.

See. riddled with bullet holes liao. Hahah. Ok just teasing you.

I am not referring to you per se when I wrote that. Your situation with your son is genuine and I may encounter the same issue when DD hits upper primary. You deserve every credit where your son is concern.

I do have friends telling me of similar problems. And I also see a lot of other friends who are on the other end of the scale. I will not use my experience as DD is still in lower primary. But looking at my niece she took her PSLE 2 yrs ago, no kumon, no TLL, no tuition, no parental guidance, well only Tien Hsia and she scored 253. She is not gifted, not in GEP but she is a serious and diligent girl. How I wish DD is more like her.

Another friend's kid, same thing, no additional classes, average kid in school, scored 240+. Then another who complain a lot about how the schools don't teach, etc, tuition in everything and the kid scored 220+. All are in different schools. Among my friends and while tracking the progress of my ex students, I see a good mix of those who go for every possible tuition and enrichment and those who do not and their results are just as mixed.

For now with DD & DS, their teachers in school do teach. And mummy needs to step in only when they do not fully understand what teacher has covered. I fill in the gaps. This gap could be a result of the teacher not teaching but it could also be a result of my kid not grasping what was taught or not paying enough attention.

Bottom line, tuition and enrichments do have their purpose and advantages and some are really truly good. But to give them all the credit for every kid that aces his/her exam and saying they are doing so well not because of the school is being too lopsided. I feel.

Ok, going to mend the holes in my shirt oredi.