"shocked and horrified at how bad many [state schools] were"
-
Spoke to a Scottish colleague few wks ago reg education for our kids. She was shocked that our normal class size is around 40, whereas for Scotland is around 20. Their education system is less stress too.
Agree with Dino mummy on the Sc text bk. Don’t understand why the text bk is so simple but exam paper is totally different! In son’s sch, his Sc teacher does not use the textbk actively too. Many parents had a rude shock last yr when their kids did badly for P3 SA1and many signed their kid up for tuition immediately. My DS have been doing ok so far so no tuition but we have to refer to supplementary books such as Ultimate Sc in order to tackle the exam questions. -
Imami:
Primary & secondary education in the UK is completely free with the exception of some extra-curricular activities and school trips.
What warp logic is this? The level of interest/concern on state education is Pegged to the school fees?!phtthp:
how much is school fees per month or per Term in these \"state schools\" in Britain ?
if cheap, maybe nobody bother the standard taught there.
But I really don't think this makes any difference. How many parents in Singapore really even feel like they are paying school fees? The amount is minimal and is really just a token sum; I don't think this is the reason that we have high expectations. What would you really expect to get for that amount of money?! -
Dino mummy:
If MOE can keep P1 class size to 30, why not upper levels, ESPECIALLY P6s ?If MOE should seriously look at the class size, a smaller size will defintely make a difference. My DS class size is more than 40. It would be good to have a class size around 25 or not more than 30.
And pls ...change those Science Textbooks. The textbooks are insufficient. If the kid can afford guide books and computer (for reasearching), he will not have engf information/ references to do well in the tests/exams. I had a shock when I saw the Science textbooks last year when my DS was in P3. I din noe the book is so brief....
As for those hopeless Science textbooks, it's really a waste of $$$ buying them when they serve absolutely NO purpose at all. -
Save for the Chinese textbooks, I did not buy textbooks for my DD this year. Even the workbooks are quite useless. Working on exam papers seem more effective. Am planning do the same for DS next year.
-
Atan:
Geez this is scary and can be very demoralizing for the kids! I wonder if this is some schools' idea of \"teach less learn more\", starting at P3!
Agree with Dino mummy on the Sc text bk. Don't understand why the text bk is so simple but exam paper is totally different! In son's sch, his Sc teacher does not use the textbk actively too. Many parents had a rude shock last yr when their kids did badly for P3 SA1 and many signed their kid up for tuition immediately. My DS have been doing ok so far so no tuition but we have to refer to supplementary books such as Ultimate Sc in order to tackle the exam questions. -
AceTutors123:
Science textbooks makes the subject look so easy when actually it is FAR from it. I have several guide books...but Science is not a story which allows you to cut the answer and 'paste' on answer sheet. The kids have to know how to answer the questions in a systematic way. Processing skills is necessary. It's not so straightforward as 'KEY WORDS' which teachers always tell the students. I seriously feel that teachers need to go for intensive classes at MOE to be taught how to teach Science.
Geez this is scary and can be very demoralizing for the kids! I wonder if this is some school's idea of \"teach less learn more\", starting at P3!Atan:
Don't understand why the text bk is so simple but exam paper is totally different! In son's sch, his Sc teacher does not use the textbk actively too. Many parents had a rude shock last yr when their kids did badly for P3 SA1 and many signed their kid up for tuition immediately. -
Anyway the problems facing state schools in England are quite different from Singapore. The students there are barely keeping up with the national syllabus because overall poor learning environment and teaching standard. Whereas in Singapore, students are barely keeping up because they are assigned materials that are way too advanced and deviate from the norm.
No doubt compared to a lot of countries, an average Singapore student from an average school would be more proficient and knowledgeable compared to one from a neighbouring country. This is highly desirable among many parents, even those foreign ones. A lot of Indonesian parents told me they would rather send their kids to government schools rather than international schools. But at what cost? We can see from numerous discussions here this cause high amount of stress among students and parents alike. Not to mention for those slower ones the pressure may totally kill their joy of learning.
I don’t think our schools are going to end up like state schools in UK, but that does not mean the current trend is healthy. I hope MOE implements some drastic measures to bring the fun and joy back to learning. And also more robust approach and emphasis on non academic skills. This will equip our children better for the global job markets which place a lot of emphasis on versatility and soft skills. -
Coolkidsrock2:
Save for the Chinese textbooks, I did not buy textbooks for my DD this year. Even the workbooks are quite useless. Working on exam papers seem more effective. Am planning do the same for DS next year.
Can do? I thought all students are expected to buy and use textbooks? -
textbooks are not only useless… they are misleading!!
in fact many would have thought the syllabus so easy when they see their textbooks… but in fact, gosh… the exams are a hell of shit… -
verykiasumummy:
I am just curious. Did the teachers explain what will be tested in the exams clearly beforehand regardless whether they are covered in the textbooks? For me I feel textbooks are good starting points, but I think it is good to read and learn more too outside the textbooks.textbooks are not only useless... they are misleading!!
in fact many would have thought the syllabus so easy when they see their textbooks... but in fact, gosh... the exams are a hell of shit..
Or they purposely test materials not covered or stipulated (e.g. test multiplications but said that the test only covers addition and subtraction) ? In this case I think it is extremely unfair and unsporting for the teachers to do so.
I only started learning from secondary school here and last time in my experience the teachers' papers were still reasonable. Those who studied and practiced could reasonably do well. Not sure about now.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login