Recommendation of changes to reduce Stress for PSLE
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When my son was in P4, friends and kind neighbor told hubby & I to be prepared for a sharp drop and big landfall. We thanked them for giving us advice what to expect in P5. It was indeed painful last year. Throughout the whole year, we were in the dark tunnel, wondering when we will see light.
We drifted on to P6. Dark tunnel continues, and that the path was even harder to walk.
1) Kids are demoralized bcos they have put in hard work, yet ‘rewarded’ with poor results bcos the exams are tough. They will find it meaningless to continue working hard.
2) Again, the same statement. Test what is taught, if you want parents to rely less on tuition. -
I like Sun’s points on…
- not cutting syllabus by reducing breadth of content
- BUT to tackle the DEPTH of content
- NOT dumbing down the syllabus
- teaching what you test
- discouraging tuition
I add my following thoughts…
- if you give more time for compositions , then over the next few years, expectations of writing skill will go up the fill the extra time given because there will ALWAYS be children who can push the envelope of possibility when the system is governed by the Bell Curve
- this syllabus needs to be taught DIFFERENTLY. If teachers know HOW to teach it, covering the syllabus is not a problem (provided there are smaller classes and better access to high quality materials). -
I subscribe to Sun’s viewpoints which are well thought.
With regards to maths, I wonder how some students manage to handle challenging qns (such as speed) while the majority struggle even with repeated explanations from teachers. Could it be due to the studying style (eg rote learning) as compared to logical thinking process which the MOE hopes to encourage? -
I think my issue with science is that, marks are awarded based on production of “Key words” and required answering style… So even a common sense answer without keywords = wrong… My P5 dd manages that but my P4 ds struggles… He enjoys science BUT he struggles during exams as he always like to say in his own words…
I acknowleged I am the type of parent who struggle with science. But is the marking focus today correct??? It appears to promote rote learning eg. memorise the standard answers for given set of questions. That is really stifling. -
Another thought - make it easier to switch between different streams in sec school. Schools should be required to have at least 2 or 3 streams so it is easier to transfer between Normal/Express/IP, in either direction. Better still if there is some common core across all streams so that students can have contact with stronger/weaker students. The content subjects can be divided into separate levels (again, movement between them should be relatively easy), which will cater for students who are strong in one subject but weak in another and average in the rest. If there is less do-or-die about getting into specific streams or schools, maybe there will be less stress over PSLE results.
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Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to ‘Parenting 101’ course and explain to them that it’s not the end of the world if their kids don’t make it to IP.
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er … are we talking about reducing stress for the kids or for the parents?
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tankee:
er .... are we talking about reducing stress for the kids or for the parents?
Meant for the kids.....but from the look of it, parents need it more -
MMM:
My son loves science, so we didn't have much problems coaching him without tuition. But we got fed up bcos son couldn't score in his fav subject. We refused to bring in science tutor, still wanting to believe that school will teach students to answer OE questions the way PSLE markers are looking for. But we were deeply disappointed. I do not know how many others feel that way.I think my issue with science is that, marks are awarded based on production of \"Key words\" and required answering style..... So even a common sense answer without keywords = wrong..... My P5 dd manages that but my P4 ds struggles... He enjoys science BUT he struggles during exams as he always like to say in his own words...
I acknowleged I am the type of parent who struggle with science. But is the marking focus today correct???? It appears to promote rote learning eg. memorise the standard answers for given set of questions. That is really stifling. -
FQW:
Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to 'Parenting 101' course and explain to them that it's not the end of the world if their kids don't make it to IP.
Not every parent wants their kids to attend IP schools.
I want my son to go through the normal route...to sit for O levels. -
tankee:
er .... are we talking about reducing stress for the kids or for the parents?
A lot of stress is transferred from parent to child. If parent can let go a bit, children will be less stressed. -
janet_lee88:
Don't bluff lah Janet. You spent $2,000 a mth on tuition just so that your son can sit for O levels? Hard to believe leh.FQW:
Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to 'Parenting 101' course and explain to them that it's not the end of the world if their kids don't make it to IP.
Not every parent wants their kids to attend IP schools.
I want my son to go through the normal route...to sit for O levels. -
Give chance lah! :imanangel:
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:pokeeye: Probably Janet is spending $2000/mth for kid to go for a good secondary school.
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There is no need for me to bluff.
I know where my son stands. IP is not for him. -
janet_lee88:
I see, I tot you always say you hope [your ds] goes to the all boys sch down the road (which I read it as HCI). So I assume you're spending that kind of serious money to nudge him towards that. Mabbe I'm mistaken.There is no need for me to bluff.
I know where my son stands. IP is not for him. -
FQW:
You gotta be kidding. HCI is not for my son. My son is not anywhere near that standard. I am realistic.
I see, I tot you always say you hope [your ds] goes to the all boys sch down the road (which I read it as HCI). So I assume you're spending that kind of serious money to nudge him towards that. Mabbe I'm mistaken.janet_lee88:
There is no need for me to bluff.
I know where my son stands. IP is not for him. -
FQW:
Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to 'Parenting 101' course and explain to them that it's not the end of the world if their kids don't make it to IP.
I agree with you FQW.. In addition talks can be held to advice parents how to go through the 'stress period' with their kid with Less stress .... -
FQW:
Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to 'Parenting 101' course and explain to them that it's not the end of the world if their kids don't make it to IP.
I don't know if all parents want their kids to go to IP, but I think many parents tend to set their sights high, sometimes a little too high for their particular child? That can lead to a lot of stress on both parent and child. There is a common belief that setting sights high is a good thing as it forces a child to work harder, but if sights are set too high, that's where the child can be over-stressed. So a realistic assessment of what their child can achieve and acceptance of their child's limitations is probably needed in some (many?) families.
And it's not just parents, teachers and tutors are also guilty of setting sights too high believing that this is a good way to motivate kids. It may work for some, but I believe it doesn't for most. -
I really would like more transparency in marking rubrics for the following:
A. composition. What is considered as good enough? For 30-35 out of 40 mark range, what is really considered as good grammar or good vocabulary or ideas? I never cd get a straight answer from any teacher. For same compo u can get a difference in 5-8 marks.
B. method marks in Maths. What is considered as demonstration of thinking. Moe stresses on model drawing yet if u draw models and put in all yr working inside your model no marks given. Currently u need to show a number sentence to get method marks. Correct Answer get 2 marks for problem sum. Got this info from ex teacher who previously marked psle. More info & transparency will help to reduce stress otherwise like shooting in the dark.
Next I would like to see more transparency on statistics of psle results. For eg
A. What % of students actually attain 250 & above t score? What % attain 230 & above, 220 etc. what is the Average t score for the cohort? Is 200 the average ie right in the middle of the bell curve? Why ask for such info? I realized that many of friends actually don’t know how well their kids did as in sm parents at first think that 250 is not really good until I share that 250 may b putting u within top 5-10% of Singapore. That gives parents and children perspective. Absolute grades in themselves don’t always tell u the full story. If t score is a score to place u in comparison with yr peers, why not b more transparent? U know it’s growth chart u see in the health booklet. If u growing ok if u are within 50-80 percentile. Cause for concern if u fall within bottom half of percentile. Percentile info may b able to reduce some stress for parents as they are zooming in alot of COP rather than how yr child has fared in comparison with the rest of 40 000 kids taking exams.