Recommendation of changes to reduce Stress for PSLE

[KSP]

pirate:

KSP:

1. Allocate Pri/Sec/JC Schs by zone, child MUST attend schs nearest to home address allocated by MOE based on distance.

2. Ban ALL tuition centres.
3. Remove all streaming system.
4. Remove COP.

That's acceptable. I can afford to move to Ardmore Park if I want DD to go to RGS, where she can hob-nob with all the other kids from Draycott, Dalvey and Balmoral. :razz:

by then RGS will have to take in all kinds of PSLE marks not only top 3%.... u still want to spend 5M for a house there??

(btw, i know this will NOT happen.....)

[mamago]

KSP:

pirate:

[quote=\"KSP\"]1. Allocate Pri/Sec/JC Schs by zone, child MUST attend schs nearest to home address allocated by MOE based on distance.

2. Ban ALL tuition centres.
3. Remove all streaming system.
4. Remove COP.

That's acceptable. I can afford to move to Ardmore Park if I want DD to go to RGS, where she can hob-nob with all the other kids from Draycott, Dalvey and Balmoral. :razz:

by then RGS will have to take in all kinds of PSLE marks not only top 3%.... u still want to spend 5M for a house there??

(btw, i know this will NOT happen.....)[/quote]
It's at least $9m and above liao....

[KSP]

mamago:

It's at least $9m and above liao....

Ardmore II along Ardmore Park ..... still a good bargain....

[pirate]

KSP:

by then RGS will have to take in all kinds of PSLE marks not only top 3%.... u still want to spend 5M for a house there??

Who cares about the PSLE marks? By then the hobnobbing is worth more than a degree.

[mamago]

KSP:

mamago:

It's at least $9m and above liao....

Ardmore II along Ardmore Park ..... still a good bargain....

Smaller unit.... and the layout isn't as good as The Ardmore Park. :offtopic:

[Funz]

ummm… RGS shifting to Braddell, no?


So no need to spend so much.

[verykiasumummy]

KSP:

verykiasumummy:

[quote=\"KSP\"]1. Allocate Pri/Sec/JC Schs by zone, child MUST attend schs nearest to home address allocated by MOE based on distance.

2. Ban ALL tuition centres.
3. Remove all streaming system.
4. Remove COP.

this sounds like opposition against garment... haha...

ALL these will give no chance for parents to stress.....[/quote]but that will most likely never gonna happen... not even likely in our dreams...

[Chenonceau]

janet_lee88:

Ha Brenda,

Glad to see your post !
You are the perfect parent to seek advice.

I thought there are 8-9 subjects to manage at sec level...how is it possible to have more free time? :?
Will need to ask you for advice soon.

Private Tutor Thinks Tuition in Secondary Unnecessary
Here is a view that sounds convincing for the current situation in secondary school. It is a view that I held all through DD's years in IP too. Problem was that DD's experience was so long ago that I thought it outdated. So... I was really comforted to read this - http://kentridgecommon.com/?p=16578... at least comforted enough to contemplate a 6 month stint overseas, leaving my son at home to cope with Sec 1, using the independent study skills that I know he already has mastered.

May the above article settle your fears, Janet. I guess stress levels differ according to...
(1) parents' expectations
(2) parents' ability to teach
(3) parents' ability to pay for good tuition like TLL etc...

In my own DS' primary school experience, I reckoned that I spent too much time to plug the gaps between teaching, testing and textbooks... but I was never really STRESSED because I always had some confidence that I had the ability to help him... and failing that, I have the money to buy tuition (even if exorbitantly priced). I do understand that you do feel overwhelmed by the syllabus and by the financial costs of tuition. Your stress is understandable.

Tuition is Not Long Term Solution
However, to ensure that my child develop self-reliance, I would make sure that this tuition is TEMPORARY... enough to catch up and put him on his feet. Right now, I reckon DS is back on his feet. I would like to give him a chance to go it entirely alone and I think the above article gives me the courage to do so. So Janet, take heart. What happened in primary school may not presage the study environment in a secondary school.

O levels still quite sane
Especially if you choose a secondary school that isn't completely :siao: when it comes to academic stretch. The O levels have not seemed to change as much as the PSLE. In fact, to train my son for PSLE English, I gave him O level past year papers to do. About the same standard of difficulty as top school papers and better set. I rather believe that after you've done PSLE, secondary Math and English will be quite easy IF you are on the O level path.

Stress Less and Live More
I actually feel quite bad for you everytime I read about your stress. There are things to be thankful for eh? PSLE is over. You have an intact family... a husband who took leave to coach your DS. Errrrrrrr... mine had to be reminded a few times that DS was actually taking PSLE. You've been through it with one DS, so the next child will be somewhat easier next year. If I had one going through it next year, the quantum of unknown would be nil and I can probably help my child navigate it with less time investment.

MOE Has Made Changes
School funding will no longer depend on school popularity (i.e., quality of school). In some of our worst schools, one photocopier serves 80 teachers. Banding has been taken away so schools will not compete with each other and keep resources to themselves. An online portal fed with teacher produced resources will share everyone's resources with everyone else.

I think if this portal existed in my DS' P5 and P6 years, I would already be quite happy because I needn't beg, borrow and import learning resources. I spent a lot of time scouring Australian and American teacher resources.... as well as activated all sorts of connections to get top school and GEP resources.

Gone Through Rain, Walk Into Sunshine
Janet, you've gone through rain. It's time to smile at the sunshine and laugh at the rainbow. I wish that for you. May you enjoy that because as long as you remain truly STRESSED, your children will be affected. I always tell parents I coach, YOU have the choice to tell yourself to NOT be stressed... but your children have no choice if you choose to wallow in stress. They definitely will pick up the stress from you.

So... for the sake of your kids, you need to manage your own stress. :snuggles:

With love,
Chen

[wonderm]

KSP:

1. Allocate Pri/Sec/JC Schs by zone, child MUST attend schs nearest to home address allocated by MOE based on distance.

2. Ban ALL tuition centres.
3. Remove all streaming system.
4. Remove COP.

I know you are not saying this will (or should) happen, but thanks for it, will use it as discussion point with my ds to train his critical thinking.

If there is a way which claims to remove all the stress from everyone, and it costs no extra effort and resource from anyone (be it the students, parents, teachers, or government), is it possible to have no significant downsides, in the long run? If there are downsides, what are these? If no, then how could we solve other social problems using similar approach?

After this discussion, will watch with him a recent TV documentary which debates about Beijing's new policy of banning the use of Maths Olympiad results for Sec 1 addimission purpose. It is quite related and will be an interesting discussion.

[pirate]

wonderm:

If there is a way which claims to remove all the stress from everyone, and it costs no extra effort and resource from anyone (be it the students, parents, teachers, or government), is it possible to have no significant downsides, in the long run? If there are downsides, what are these? If no, then how could we solve other social problems using similar approach?

Discuss this: the absence of all stress is a downside.