Is 10th August a school holiday for your kid's school?

[limlim]

Lilac66:

limlim, I agree with you alot on the other thread about tuition, but here I seriously cannot see the link betw 1 sch holiday and tuition leh. I mean what harm can 1 sch hol do? If the teachers don't teach, 1 more day in school will not benefit the children much too.

With so much time spent in school and the stress faced by pri sch going children of our era, any holiday is welcome. I see a more rejuvenated DS going back to sch after the break.

Althou 10/Aug was single out.. the essence of the matter was not \"one\" holiday only..

I got many many notices from the school.. saying so-and-so day is sch holiday, so-and-so day no lesson.. etc.. it does add up to quite a few days.. in my impression.

I wondered if these days are put back.. Will the lesson be able to be conducted at a slower pace aiding adsorption, or perhaps more could be taught..?

Will student be less stress when, say, this particular topic could be covered in 2 lessons instead of one?

[SAHM_TAN]

limlim:

SAHM_TAN:

A lady from China commented that our school going kids have many school holidays.


She told me in her village, the kids attend formal school from morning till 4.30pm. I'm not sure if this is the case in city areas as well.

I also feel there is too many school holidays here..

Little little things only school holidays.

The term holidays and June/Dec holidays is good for the students and teachers to rest.. but there is more and more holidays like 10th Aug..
And more activities being held during weekdays which effectively eat into the lessons.

If more and more are being tested by schools, but the lessons getting lesser and lesser.. what gotta give?

Are teaching methods more effective than before? or parents have to resort to tuition?

The lesson plans would take into consideration the hols here and there.

[BeContented]

FQW:

limlim:

How often is meet the parents session?

But it's not just meet the parents session; though in my son's sch they do hold it on a Sat. For instance, recently my son was involved in some external competition and some of the sch's staff including the HOD turned up in support. It was held on a Sun nite.

Again you can brush it off as just one contest. But you've to take into consideration there're 2,000 pupils in the sch. Can you see the kind logistic demands placed on T's if just 10% of the 2,000 pupils do the same as my son?

The moon is always brighter on the other side.

Hi FQW,
I know exactly what u are saying.

My son took part in Maths competition & attended various other activities such as Sudoku, leadership, innovation etc. I had to frequently postpone or skip his Sat enrichments & I'm so xianzzzzz already. His classmates science, English & others. Throw in other arts/sports events etc.....
Imagine the poor teachers, deprived of their weekend time with kids or rest. Dun sound fair to them. :sad:

[Imami]

limlim:

verykiasu2010:

that is why MOE rejected his application 9 times for a teaching position..... :rotflmao:

My impression of KSP has always been that member are matured and reasoned based on merits of posts and arguments.

I was proven wrong on many occasions when pple have to resort to character assassination and insults when they do not agree with the suggestions or view/opinions by others.

What you and some others posted is totally irrelevant to the topic discussed, and carries no value in debating whether the school holidays shd or shd not be so.

Is that the best that you can do?

Sure, MOE could reject my application nth times. If you want to use as ammunition for personal attack, be my guest. I say they are a very attractive employer, and I stand by my point.

They could have 1001 reasons, including the fact that I applied many years before but did not appear for the interview, hereby giving a bad impression. Yes, the first time I applied, I did not turn up because I got a job offer while waiting for a reply from MOE. Being inexperienced in dealing with such matter on first job application, I failed to give a courtesy call to inform them. If that shows lack of commitment, I guess I can only accept it then..

I have also heard of cases where an applicant applied 9 times and was accepted at the last try. Just because he/she was reject 8 times, does it shows that the applicant is not suitable? if not suitable, why was he/she accepted on the 9th attempt? hence, for that matter, being rejected has no relevance to a person's capability or character. It could be the interviewer misses some qualities that they failed to see in earlier attempts. And being selected on the first attempt don't say a lot either. There is not only ONE case of teacher misconduct in the news. Assessment are not always accurate.

My friend was selected on 1st attempt. And sometimes he has to consult me on subject matter. I don't feel he is very committed either as he was more keen on expanding the tuition business than to teach in schools. But that is MOE's decision, and we all have to accept it.

When I was in NS, I tutored this student. She got F9 at the first attempt at the O levels Science. She retook as private candidate, and I taught her for 3mths before the O levels and she got A2, as a private candidate. She got into her course of choice.

Whether I am suitable as a teacher will remain a mystery.. MOE could be right! who knows? But I did taught her better than what her sch teacher does. And this matters to that student even thou it doesn't matter to any other.

Enough of my ranting now.. so.. feel free to appreciate MOE's good foresight. if it pleases you.. it's a free world.

Limlim, don't get so upset. :hugs:

Actually I also wanted to comment on the \"nth attempt\" but decided not to as I thought there was more than enough ripple effect. I don't want you to feel like I am another one poking fun on you.

[Imami]

Not sure if there is a standard template or something but I suspected the failed attempt might have something to do with how you package yourself on paper. Nothing to do with you as a person, or your ability to teach.


And yes, I agree the best teacher might not be someone who conforms to the general consensus of a good teacher. My fav sec school teacher was a flamboyant lady with equally loud dress sense and personality. But under her, I had a distinction for literature. I attributed my distinction for principles of accounts to that poly student (yes, she was also a student back then) who tutored me for a short stint.

Not trying to brag about my grades (i am sure there are many 精英分子here)and certainly not carrying much emo baggages, just trying to provide some examples.

[BeContented]

Imami:

Limlim, don't get so upset. :hugs:

Actually I also wanted to comment on the \"nth attempt\" but decided not to as I thought there was more than enough ripple effect. I don't want you to feel like I am another one poking fun on you.

Imami, you are so nice.
I was in the midst of typing another posting to tease limlim (again )
Think I'll hold my fingers :evil:

But limlim, I think you are quite brave & stand by your views & to dare to admit that u tried nth times....

[PhoBIA]

Limlim : So sorry that I started the teasing by asking an innocent question…


Anyway, I love working with young children but definitely don’t covet a teaching job in school. Imagine yourself being asked to teach all subjects(including those that you are not strong on ones.) On too of that, CCA commitments, school camp, inter school competitions, form teachers. Handling 30 students with 30 pairs of parents… Also not forgetting marking 30 sets of homework after the students have went home…

So to trade in for all these, maybe the holidays are there as a bait for future teachers to join the force.

[gals_mama]

PhoBIA:

Limlim : So sorry that I started the teasing by asking an innocent question....


Anyway, I love working with young children but definitely don't covet a teaching job in school. Imagine yourself being asked to teach all subjects(including those that you are not strong on ones.) On too of that, CCA commitments, school camp, inter school competitions, form teachers. Handling 30 students with 30 pairs of parents.... Also not forgetting marking 30 sets of homework after the students have went home....

So to trade in for all these, maybe the holidays are there as a bait for future teachers to join the force.

But i do hear that teachers have to go to school during the 1st 2 weeks of holidays for meetings, training and whatever. And for those who teach in upp level like P3 dun have just 30 right? My gal has 40 in her class.

Being a teacher is really not easy IMHO.

[iRabbit]

The hardest part of being a T is not the long hrs; many parents are as educated as T’s nowadays. While many forummers like us have the EQ to appreciate the challenges faced by them, others dont give two hoots about bashing them indiscriminately.


Personally, I’ve witnessed a parent scolding a T in front of an assembly of students when I fetched my son from sch last yr. Then we have the kind of unreasonable comparison bet the effectiveness of a T teaching a class of 40 vs that of a 1-to-1 tutor. Are we even being fair in the first place?

I fear that if we don’t stand up for them, soon all the good teachers will leave the service.

[Lilac66]

FQW:

The hardest part of being a T is not the long hrs; many parents are as educated as T's nowadays. While many forummers like us have the EQ to appreciate the challenges faced by them, others dont give two hoots about bashing them indiscriminately.


Personally, I've witnessed a parent scolding a T in front of an assembly of students when I fetched my son from sch last yr. Then we have the kind of unreasonable comparison bet the effectiveness of a T teaching a class of 40 vs that of a 1-to-1 tutor. Are we even being fair in the first place?

I fear that if we don't stand up for them, soon all the good teachers will leave the service.

To be fair to limlim, I do not remember he bashed any teachers in this thread. He's just saying that perhaps it's easier if there aren't so many \"unnecesary\" school hols (not that I agree).

When forummers talk about teachers, they're talking about a handful that they encountered that may not really have that passion or commitment to teach, definitely not referring to all the teachers.

The case you you witnessed about the parent in school is also your own experience, we can't say you're bashing all the parents. Just a handful of unreasonable ones. If I were to see it, I'll think this parent has a very low EQ to do that in front of the children. Does she think she's above the teacher?

I agree that teachers' jobs aren't easy. My DS had a very committed teacher who shared how exhausted she felt having to attend so many meetings etc, even during the school hols.
That's why I don't think they should schedule the activities during weekends or take away those NDP and other hols, they need time for their own family too.

My thoughts..