2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[mummy so kiasu]

MapleSyrup:

Why teachers leave for tuition centres

3 Aug 2012
http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/why-teachers-leave-tuition-centres

AS A parent and former teacher who is still involved in the education field, I wish to make some observations.

Since I started teaching in 1995, I have seen teachers who love and excel in the profession leave the service. Many do so because they cannot concentrate on what they love, that is, teaching and interacting with children.

Today, many such former teachers are anchors in successful tuition centres,
doing superb jobs without the distraction of administrative duties, projects and committees.

Have our mainstream schools become distracted from the main goal of education? In the drive to provide more than an education, have we
perhaps failed to deliver on good old education?

Teachers have too many things to do and cannot focus on teaching. That could be why the tuition industry is thriving - because schools fall short.

I can also understand why some teachers request that parents let their
children have tuition.

They have to teach according to the level of the majority, so if most students have tuition, the teachers cannot slow down for the few that don't.

Thus, a vicious circle ensues: Good teachers leave to teach at centres while parents lose faith in the schools' ability to deliver good education, and turn
to tuition.

There is a way out of this quandary - smaller class size.
A small class size is touted as a carrot in the gifted programme.

Herein lies a serious irony: Children who are innately blessed to achieve and
are self-motivated learn well even in big groups, but those who are unable to motivate themselves due to low self-esteem are the ones who will really
benefit from small class sizes.

This unfortunate reversal will surely hinder social mobility.
I am not calling for the opposite, but for equal treatment - small class sizes for all.

This investment can improve the quality of teaching, keep good teachers - managing 25 students is vastly different from managing 40 - and produce
better adjusted children. It is not the only way, but I would argue that it is a truly important way forward for a developed country.

Recognising teachers who work with difficult students - academically or
- will also go a long way towards encouraging them. Calculating workload by the number of periods ignores the challenges of teaching difficult classes.

A more equitable method can be devised.
Leong Sun Yee (Madam)

:goodpost:

[fightingmom]

MapleSyrup:

Why teachers leave for tuition centres

3 Aug 2012
http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/why-teachers-leave-tuition-centres

AS A parent and former teacher who is still involved in the education field, I wish to make some observations.

Since I started teaching in 1995, I have seen teachers who love and excel in the profession leave the service. Many do so because they cannot concentrate on what they love, that is, teaching and interacting with children.

Today, many such former teachers are anchors in successful tuition centres, doing superb jobs without the distraction of administrative duties, projects and committees.

Have our mainstream schools become distracted from the main goal of education? In the drive to provide more than an education, have we perhaps failed to deliver on good old education?

Teachers have too many things to do and cannot focus on teaching. That could be why the tuition industry is thriving - because schools fall short.

I can also understand why some teachers request that parents let their children have tuition.

They have to teach according to the level of the majority, so if most students have tuition, the teachers cannot slow down for the few that don't.

Thus, a vicious circle ensues: Good teachers leave to teach at centres while parents lose faith in the schools' ability to deliver good education, and turn to tuition.

There is a way out of this quandary - smaller class size.

A small class size is touted as a carrot in the gifted programme.

Herein lies a serious irony: Children who are innately blessed to achieve and are self-motivated learn well even in big groups, but those who are unable to motivate themselves due to low self-esteem are the ones who will really benefit from small class sizes.

This unfortunate reversal will surely hinder social mobility.

I am not calling for the opposite, but for equal treatment - small class sizes for all.

This investment can improve the quality of teaching, keep good teachers - managing 25 students is vastly different from managing 40 - and produce better adjusted children. It is not the only way, but I would argue that it is a truly important way forward for a developed country.

Recognising teachers who work with difficult students - academically or behaviourally - will also go a long way towards encouraging them. Calculating workload by the number of periods ignores the challenges of teaching difficult classes. A more equitable method can be devised.

Leong Sun Yee (Madam)

I have this feeling that the above article was taken from some of our discussion thread .. :skeptical:

[PSLE 2012]

yukilei:

fightingmom:

For the coming Prelim, my dd's class has been instructed by their FT not to use the correction tape if possible. Any words written wrongly, they are advised to just cancel and continue their writing .

Actually, I've read from the PSLE booklet that mistake should be cancelled by pen. I did check with DS, but he said his teachers did not mention anything about this. So is it ok to use correction tape during PSLE?

Students are discouraged from using correction tape as writing over the tape can compromise legibility of handwriting. Students are not allowed to use correction fluid as this can result in pages getting stuck to each other.

[fifiyeo]

fightingmom:

fifiyeo:

Don't know why DS hardly ever uses his e-dictionary. But I think ife uses it, he'll end up wasting more time and probably not finishing his work. Anyone have the same issue?


Can't imagine the day is drawing nearer and nearer...

The thought of it is scary , right ? 2 weeks to PSLE Oral :nailbite:

Yes...I get cold feet thinking about it!!

Prelims Oral gradings are out and I'm glad to hear that DS has improved especially for CL. Phew! Lets hope it'll stay that level till PSLE Oral. DS has a tendency to go 180 degrees opposite direction at the most unexpected moments.

[fightingmom]

fifiyeo:

fightingmom:

[quote=\"fifiyeo\"]Don't know why DS hardly ever uses his e-dictionary. But I think ife uses it, he'll end up wasting more time and probably not finishing his work. Anyone have the same issue?


Can't imagine the day is drawing nearer and nearer...

The thought of it is scary , right ? 2 weeks to PSLE Oral :nailbite:

Yes...I get cold feet thinking about it!!

Prelims Oral gradings are out and I'm glad to hear that DS has improved especially for CL. Phew! Lets hope it'll stay that level till PSLE Oral. DS has a tendency to go 180 degrees opposite direction at the most unexpected moments.[/quote]Great to hear that, fifiyeo ! :grphug:

Let's jiayou together !

[Pen88n]

fightingmom:

BeContented:

[quote=\"Pen88n\"]

I understand where the school is coming from, but the reasons given are not totally accurate either. Nowadays, the kids do not use correction pen, they use correction tape. Those good quality correction tape is dried very quickly and they write amendments on the blank immediately after that - so likelihood of forgetting to write or having undried correction is rare compared with our time whereby we use liquid paper or correction pen. And if schools / MOE feel so strongly against using correction tape, why not ban that from P3 onwards? Why let the kids get used to having this for years, then ban it for national exams? I really dislike their confusing message.

Agree. I am also trying to ask DS to use sparingly, dun get use to it.
Also, now asking him to find a ballpoint that he likes.....they are used to all those smooth gel pen. Btw, is ball point pen a must?

Oh .. My dd also likes to use those gel pens ... Hmmmm ...[/quote]Sorry to disappoint your kids, but I was informed no gel pen as the ink will smudge esp. when come in contact with liquid (like sweat) accidentally. Bring your kids to popular and choose the ball point pens they like. Buy some to try out for prelims.

I remembered DS went to popular to try some ball point pens. Being choosy, he dismissed all those with caps as he found that troublesome and might lost it. He insisted must be blue in colour. Ended up choosing this brand Stabilo. I bought 3 for him to try out for prelims and ended up going back before PSLE to buy half a dozen. Well, those landed up at my study table cos he went back to gel pen after PSLE!

[fightingmom]

Pen88n:

Sorry to disappoint your kids, but I was informed no gel pen as the ink will smudge esp. when come in contact with liquid (like sweat) accidentally. Bring your kids to popular and choose the ball point pens they like. Buy some to try out for prelims.

I remembered DS went to popular to try some ball point pens. Being choosy, he dismissed all those with caps as he found that troublesome and might lost it. He insisted must be blue in colour. Ended up choosing this brand Stabilo. I bought 3 for him to try out for prelims and ended up going back before PSLE to buy half a dozen. Well, those landed up at my study table cos he went back to gel pen after PSLE!

Thanks, Pen88n. I guess I shall have to bring dd to popular bookshop this weekend to buy some stationery. She will be most happy - it's like shopping to her ! :faint:

[BeContented]

Pen88n:

Sorry to disappoint your kids, but I was informed no gel pen as the ink will smudge esp. when come in contact with liquid (like sweat) accidentally. Bring your kids to popular and choose the ball point pens they like. Buy some to try out for prelims.

I remembered DS went to popular to try some ball point pens. Being choosy, he dismissed all those with caps as he found that troublesome and might lost it. He insisted must be blue in colour. Ended up choosing this brand Stabilo. I bought 3 for him to try out for prelims and ended up going back before PSLE to buy half a dozen. Well, those landed up at my study table cos he went back to gel pen after PSLE!

Thanks for the sharing and the brand.....tomorrow Stabilo will be out of stock....that's the power of KSP

[Pen88n]

BeContented:

Pen88n:

Sorry to disappoint your kids, but I was informed no gel pen as the ink will smudge esp. when come in contact with liquid (like sweat) accidentally. Bring your kids to popular and choose the ball point pens they like. Buy some to try out for prelims.

I remembered DS went to popular to try some ball point pens. Being choosy, he dismissed all those with caps as he found that troublesome and might lost it. He insisted must be blue in colour. Ended up choosing this brand Stabilo. I bought 3 for him to try out for prelims and ended up going back before PSLE to buy half a dozen. Well, those landed up at my study table cos he went back to gel pen after PSLE!

Thanks for the sharing and the brand.....tomorrow Stabilo will be out of stock....that's the power of KSP

You're welcomed, BeContented & FightingMom!

Just to share a little more: DS prefers Stabilo because it is the \"press\" type with no caps and has better grip (with the rubber grip part). I personally prefer Uni (it comes with the separate pen cap) and I bought 1 for him to try out too - felt smoother. The Faber Castell brand also feel quite smooth too. Having said that, nothing compares to their gel pen \"smoothness\". Told DS before - not the pen that matters, it depends on the writer

[HAPPYH]

BeContented:

Pen88n:

Sorry to disappoint your kids, but I was informed no gel pen as the ink will smudge esp. when come in contact with liquid (like sweat) accidentally. Bring your kids to popular and choose the ball point pens they like. Buy some to try out for prelims.

I remembered DS went to popular to try some ball point pens. Being choosy, he dismissed all those with caps as he found that troublesome and might lost it. He insisted must be blue in colour. Ended up choosing this brand Stabilo. I bought 3 for him to try out for prelims and ended up going back before PSLE to buy half a dozen. Well, those landed up at my study table cos he went back to gel pen after PSLE!

Thanks for the sharing and the brand.....tomorrow Stabilo will be out of stock....that's the power of KSP