PM Says new Stat Board to oversee pre-school education

[2hotTOhandle]

FairyPenguin:

Hi 2hotTOhandle,


I'm surprise your DD1 has a fair bit of hw to do in K2. Mine also K2, next yr P1 but her childcare doesn't give her any hw. This semester, they just started on ting xie & spelling (5 words weekly). No essay writing at all so my DD is very relaxed on weekdays...watch tv & korean drama, play games on ipad, go playground & cycling etc. On weekends, she goes for piano & abacus. Comparatively, my friends' children have more hectic schedules...swimming, drawing, ballet, language courses & the list goes on.

Yes, Imp 75 is right. Don't compare or it makes me nervous sometimes. Easier said than done though.

I am not sure about the amount of hw. I thought this is the norm for K2. I wonder if there is any diff between kindy and childcare?

But I do think her hw is a bit hard. I don't remember having to write sentences when I was 6 lol. For sure I would NOT have been able to write 6 sentences about Singapore!

Her weekly English spelling is about 6 words and her Chinese spelling started off this year as single or double words but has now progressed to entire sentences.

I think the English \"essay\" writing is trying to give them a foundation in compo? Do they need to write compo in P1??

So u see such vastly different standards and expectations from same aged pre-sch kids. I hope the new stat board can give clear guidelines on curriculum, academic and non-academic!

[Funz]

Mawar:

I used to hear how advanced and clever kids these days are. It is only after I have kids of my own, and started knowing more kids, I realized that preschoolers are fast learners. If learning is fun, it appears effortless to these kids. So to tell schools, where most of the students come from middle class, to keep to the basics is also not right.

Most of these kids are way above the P1 syllabus. Since the syllabus is pitched at the mid section of the cohort, it will be too easy for many. More so, if the kids have received quality enrichment outside.

With the P1 registration package, the schools encouraged all students to attend pre-school else they would trail behind their peers. So maybe the new stat board should make K2 compulsory. Some lower income families do not send their kids to preschool due mainly to costs.

No no, I don't mean to dumb down the current standard.

But if you set a preschool curriculum and tell the preschools not to touch certain things and to cover only up to certain depths, in that case you have to go on that assumption that majority of the children should start from that level.

The current P1 standard could be too easy for some but I don't think it is for the majority. For most, it will be comfortable. For a few too easy and for even a fewer number, a big yawn.

Looking at the mindset of parents these days, I worry that making preschool compulsory means the kids start having tuition at 3/4yrs old. As it is, I hear of a number of kids already having tuition at K1 or 2 in preparation of P1.

[Funz]

tuition_czar:

Imami:

:rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah: good news indeed.


But when ar?

Good news for everyone except the pre-school education vendors/providers.
Probably a clamp down on school fees in the near future. Just wait and see.

It is still positive news even for vendors and providers.

They need to ramp up preschools and childcares. NTUC was appointed to setup something like 200 preschools and childcares but there were challenges abound. They will be carving out more space for preschools and childcares, some will go directly to NTUC but in order to ramp up fast and also provide some semblance of choice for parents, some of these space will be opened to private operators thus giving them more opportunities.

With the government now recognising the importance of early childhood education, there will be more resources pumped into this industry so until such time that they decide to nationalise preschool education, this is still positive news.

[Laura02]

thetinyseed:

I think there's too much emphasis on academic preparation, even when the child is developmentally not ready. To reach the reading, writing and arithmetics stage of learning, it is important that the child goes through the developmental process of physical and sensory learning and exploration. Many pre-schools simply drill the children in the advanced skills while not realising the child has not developed in the earlier crucial skills. It is like building a house on shaky or weak foundation. Sure, you can have your house, but someday, some thing will give and it'll all come tumbling down.


Children are very resilient. They do not immediately show the difficulties and problems they are facing. They cope very well, until... Teachers in the lower primary cannot understand why some children are not learning the basics even after they've been drilled endlessly. Well, if the foundation is weak, what is there to build on?

Parents should ensure the curriculum is developmentally appropriate for the child. That's what I hope the new stat-board can implement a developmentally appropriate programme for our pre-schoolers!

:goodpost:

[concern2]

buds:

and yet gahmen doesn't recognize Montessori education. :roll:

:? Why arh? Like that too difficult to measure who is better is it?

[concern2]

pirate:

Funz:

Primary schools need to stick to their guns and not let the over prepared kids dictate the speed which each subject is taught.

Yes!!!!!! MOE are you reading this?

Oh ya hor, never thought of it this way. Hm... if parents realize their kids are getting bored because they over-accelerated them, then maybe they'll see no point being so kiasu? And perhaps that will leave the child more time to explore other areas of interest?

[concern2]

Busymom:

SAHM_TAN:

My dd1's kindy do not have ting xie but faces no problem in P1 becos during lessons her Chi trs will practise with the the class by incorporating it as part of her lesson plans.

My kids' kindy also do not have spelling or tingxie and I don't think they are any less well-prepared for it.

About tingxie, no matter how many times I get DS to practice, he'll always come back with some errors, always on different words. If I want perfect scores all the time, I think I'll go :frustrated: and he'll hate Chinese for sure. Better be moderate and make learning regular and consistent. That way, he's happy, I'm happy, and learning becomes less stressful.

[Imami]

Erm… Are there really parents who urge the childcare ctr or preschools to teach more? Even better, are there childcare ctrs or preschools who take the oarents’ comments seriously (I.e. To teach more)?


Sounds strange to me… Do parents know better ( as to how much more is enough)? It is something new to me, I hv never thought of telling the cc to teach more. I always accept what they tell me.

[Imami]

Is there anywhere to check preschool/kindy curriculum? From mcys?

[Oppsgal]

Imami:

Erm... Are there really parents who urge the childcare ctr or preschools to teach more? Even better, are there childcare ctrs or preschools who take the oarents' comments seriously (I.e. To teach more)?


Sounds strange to me... Do parents know better ( as to how much more is enough)? It is something new to me, I hv never thought of telling the cc to teach more. I always accept what they tell me.

I don't expect childcare to teach more... just hope that they teach more. If cannot teach more, at least let my kid learn on \"communication\" part with peers of similar age, learn the way to share toys etc.

If my kid cannot improve any area- study and communication skills, then I don't know what to expect...