2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[concerned_of_PSLE 10]

Yeasterday night before HMT today my mum freind call say tonight want go karaoke and eat dinner.I didn’t noe my mother wanted a break so desperately that even before PSLE finish.Her phone rings non stop .my mother was like:"on! Deal!" to her freinds .frankly ,I feel at a loss now. television programme .1 hour later than start can do what? i find having PSLE is better than sitting at home like a block of wood.

my mum ask me why never go out with freinds.I just don’t like to be controlled by people.
Hope Mum does not care about me until PSLE release date. She now also got something to scream at me for.She ask me pack up my stuff.There are mountains for me to clear up.I cannot be bother like what you all said burn them !!!

[corneyAmber]

Don’t burn, bad for environment, throw into recycle bins or benefit your mum’s friends’ kids.

[beanbear]

Mum of 3:

Personally, I find Science to be the most challenging subject as the scope is very broad and answers are marked according to key words in the Answer Sheet. It would be difficult for teachers and students to work on the fundamentals if the syllabus is not reduced.[/color]

Having experienced this past year helping DS with science, this is my take on science. There isn't a lot of content but alot of skills to be picked up and if the teacher doesn't know how to \"develop\" the scientific thinking skills, it's very hard to score.

1. Observation skills
There are quite a few questions where it's based on experiments and child needs to read some data or look at the setup to answer the questions. At least one of the question is observation-based. Observation means they need to answer in a way that reflects what your senses can pick up. The key disadvantage and the inadequacy of the current system is few experiments are down at P5-6 level and many kids are left to extrapolate - very hard to do at their young age.

My DD who is in P5 now, is a highly concrete learner and finds it hard to imagine what the setup looks like from the drawing on paper and finds it hard to \"observe\" just looking at a paper. The moment I do an actual setup at home with kitchen equipment, voila! the light bulb comes on.

2. Analytical Skills - Identifying the Variables
I really oppose this thing called \"keyword\" phrasing in answers. I think what's more helpful is helping the child to understand the notion of variables. When one variable increases, how does it impact another variable? Is there a causal relationship between the variables being talked about in the question? This is the kind of inquiry I teach my DS. When you teach the child to inquire, he will then identify the variables for you and then he will identify what scientific principle is being tested and phrase according to his understanding of the topic.

I don't know how they teach at school. I really deduce these things by looking at some answer sheets from school exams & assessments. What I realize school s are not very good at is helping the child to inquire. Science is really about inquiry. Actually science is about getting the child to be curious daily phenomenon. Emphasizing key words is literally stripping away the natural curiosity of a child.

To be honest, I'm an arts student through and through. I've very little content knowledge of science topics being covered. I only offer my DS & DD process thinking skills, questions to hone their analysis. I spoke with a few good ex-MOE science teachers and they shared with me earlier in the year, science is one subject you can't drill therefore it's very hard to score because you really need to use alot of inquiry skills and your language has be quite strong in order to express what you want to say.

[MMM]

concerned_of_PSLE 10:

She ask me pack up my stuff.There are mountains for me to clear up.I cannot be bother like what you all said burn them !!!!

Sell those paper to karang guni and you can earn some pocket $ as well...

[Coolkidsrock2]

Mum of 3:

I would like to start a discussion on ways to reduce PSLE stress.


Some of my suggestions:
1) allocate more time for both English and Chinese compositions

Any views?

Yes. This is long overdue.

[mummyv]

To all hardworking parents and kids taking PSLE 2012


:rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah: 3 cheers for all your hard work and perseverance. It's now time to destress and enjoy....

:congrats:

While it not my turn yet :yikes: I mean my DD's turn, I have learnt a lot from all your selfless sharings / strategies and all the best

:lovesite:

[PSLE 2012]

ksi:

http://mazzidogz.com/images/CONGRATULATIONSBannerAnimatedRainbowBalloonsConfetti_1_.gif\"> to all Parents and Children!



You DID it!!! http://i45.tinypic.com/2ug2loo.gif\">


http://i49.tinypic.com/2cdx4rr.gif\">

Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement. The journey would have been more tedious without all the help and advice I received from all here. :thankyou:

[janet88]

BeContented:

DD whining :rant: :stompfeet: cos she still has SA2, ending early Nov & her turn for PSLE next.

2012 PSLE - bye bye. Nice chatting & thanks for all the sharing here All the best to PSLE 2012 kids.

Daughter in P2 is unhappy bcos she still has to revise, but gor gor is watching TV and playing.

PSLE 2012 is over. Last year this time, I was biting my nails :nailbite: not knowing what to expect.
Now that it is over, I know it is really tough.
Nice chatting with all of you here. There were highs and lows but I know I am not alone. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

[charsen]

Hi

:congrats: to all Parents and children who have sacrified for almost 10 months for this pressuring,stressful,tedious,and mind crashing roller coaster of PSLE 2012.Well,the children should enjoy themselves as a 3 day holiday is upcoming.Those mummies who put really hard to improve their children's marks,i wish those parents's children to get good marks.Do not be put down if your children has not done well or left some questions blank.Do not think of the marks.You all need a well deserved break.

For the children,one thing to say.Enjoy with your schoolmates for these 2 months.DO NOT be afraid of your marks.As long you have the confidence and the mind set to do well in your up coming secondary years,you'll definitely reach your goals even if you fail to satisfy it in PSLE as in to get into a good school

Staying relaxed and relieved,
Charsen.

[8228]

FREEDOM! :imcool: :rahrah: