GEP 2012 - Screening & Selection

[porcupine12trade]

25hr mama:

porcupine12trade:

If your child is already top in school, excel in all 4 subjs, will you still let your child go Gep? Or stay mainstream

Then u have to ask yourself, can you (both parents & child) accept or are prepared to accept the fact that your dc may not achieve what he or she has been achieving for the past 3 years.

When come to GEP, they need to put in more effort, as all the subjects r pitched at a higher level, in order to tap to their so called \"fullest potential\". Even if they put in more effort, they may not top their the class or score 90+ marks for all papers or all subjects anymore, & not forgetting they will be competing with so many smart kids out there.

Some parents set very high expectation of their kids, some kids are perfectionist themselves and easily feel dejected when unable to meet parents' and own expectations.

Hence, both parents & kids have to learn to manage their expectations more realistically. I dun think it is wise to expect them to excel in every paper, in all subjects. A little setback is necessary & good for the kids sometimes.

Juz my 2 cents worth

Thanks for ur reply..

we are ok our child won't be top and just avg in gep, because we understand there are many smart kids around. but what is the purpose of gep, if staying in mainstream can score well for PSLE and go to sec school of choice, then what is the objective of going gep? If staying in mainstream can breeze thru ( so less stress?) till psle, what is the motivation of opting in gep, which seems like a more challenging and tougher route. I really hope to understand the motivation of opting in gep. Thank you.

[25hr mama]

Hi porcupine12trade,


U may like to go to these links, I hv been following this blog, hope u enjoy too.

http://hedgehogcomms.blogspot.sg/2008/09/day-in-life-of-gep-kid.html

http://hedgehogcomms.blogspot.sg/2008/08/one-parents-experience-with-gifted.html

http://hedgehogcomms.blogspot.sg/2012/04/why-villainising-gep-does-no-one-any.html

[Lock]

The purpose of GEP is in the curriculum. That’s my view. I don’t choose GEP in hope that my kid will score in PSLE or get into prestigious Sch. If that’s my purpose, DS will be better off in Rulang where they prepare the kids very well for PSLE.


I am of the opinion that since DS has been selected for GEP, that will mean he needs a different curriculum to expand his learning repertoire. Currently, in mainstream, kids are very drilled in the subjects to do well, there’s v little ‘real’ learning taking place in the classroom. I hope I am not wrong to think that GEP curriculum allows the kids to explore and dig deeper into the subjects and that the learning journey is more enriched.

[prischan]

Hi all,


Glad to find this group. My ds is also selected for GEP. Will be attending the briefing on Sat.

[FireflyMom]

Main reason I've decided to let my girl join the GEP is because she said she was so bored in class when the teachers were teaching that she had to fight with 周公 all the time.


Guess from next year onwards, I'll just be asking her, 'what is the average in class?'. So long as she's not too far below it, I'm contented. Just hope she won't fail lah.. As for PSLE.... I fight next year's battle first, ok? :nunchuk:

[prischan]

Let's hope the kids will enjoy this journey

[baobei]

I believe GEP will help child who finds it bored when teacher is teaching and find the exercises or worksheet to do are too much focus on drilling the concepts.

[Mum101]

25hr mama:

porcupine12trade:

If your child is already top in school, excel in all 4 subjs, will you still let your child go Gep? Or stay mainstream

Then u have to ask yourself, can you (both parents & child) accept or are prepared to accept the fact that your dc may not achieve what he or she has been achieving for the past 3 years.

When come to GEP, they need to put in more effort, as all the subjects r pitched at a higher level, in order to tap to their so called \"fullest potential\". Even if they put in more effort, they may not top their the class or score 90+ marks for all papers or all subjects anymore, & not forgetting they will be competing with so many smart kids out there.

Some parents set very high expectation of their kids, some kids are perfectionist themselves and easily feel dejected when unable to meet parents' and own expectations.

Hence, both parents & kids have to learn to manage their expectations more realistically. I dun think it is wise to expect them to excel in every paper, in all subjects. A little setback is necessary & good for the kids sometimes.

Juz my 2 cents worth

You are absolutely right. Both parents and child have to make adjustments. You are unlikely to see 90 and above marks for all subjects without putting effort. Your child will meet many smart kids and recognise that it is good for his/her learning journey and not feel dejected that he/she can no longer top the class. So, emotional support from parents is really important. Maintain aggregrate score of 80% throughout the 3 years and have a core CCA will help in DSA if parents are worried that your child would not be able to do as well as they should in PSLE (but in most cases as I was told, majority will get 250 and above with appropriate support).

Enjoy the GEP learning journey and Good Luck!

[porcupine12trade]

25hr mama:

Hi porcupine12trade,


U may like to go to these links, I hv been following this blog, hope u enjoy too.

http://hedgehogcomms.blogspot.sg/2008/09/day-in-life-of-gep-kid.html

http://hedgehogcomms.blogspot.sg/2008/08/one-parents-experience-with-gifted.html

http://hedgehogcomms.blogspot.sg/2012/04/why-villainising-gep-does-no-one-any.html

Hi 25hr mama

I read the blog and find it very encouraging.

thanks all for your views on gep.

sorry if i may sound not so positive. becoz I am a very risk adverse person. I dont know if i am taking a big risk to opt her in. My dd is sure she wants to join, so deep down i know its probably a go otherwise i will feel guilty not letting her try, however i need to convince myself. My dd does not match the \"image\" of the gep kids that are mentioned here, so i tend to wonder if gep is suitable for her ....

I am here to try to convince myself that its ok to give it a try. thank you.

[comfy]

Lock:

The purpose of GEP is in the curriculum. That's my view. I don't choose GEP in hope that my kid will score in PSLE or get into prestigious Sch. If that's my purpose, DS will be better off in Rulang where they prepare the kids very well for PSLE.


I am of the opinion that since DS has been selected for GEP, that will mean he needs a different curriculum to expand his learning repertoire. Currently, in mainstream, kids are very drilled in the subjects to do well, there's v little 'real' learning taking place in the classroom. I hope I am not wrong to think that GEP curriculum allows the kids to explore and dig deeper into the subjects and that the learning journey is more enriched.

I like your optimistic view of GEP especially the highlighted portion. Sometimes it is the way certain subject is implemented that make it difficult for kid or parent to know how to do better. Let me give you an example, in NYPS (her class) , anything about science are filed in school, if your kid wants to take back, she/he will need to obtain permission from the teacher. So most of the times I am clueless about what is happening in school. Some parents might like it, but not so for me if your dd's result at the end of the year say otherwise. The reason given by teacher is that she is afraid the kid will lost these notes or worksheets. You might has a glimpse when your kid bring it home to finish (which is seldom). By the time, they bring home, as a parent you might not have the time to look at it or simply forget about it unless your kid is super passionate about the subject, you simply might not have an idea what is going on. The pace is rather fast in GEP, so the concept learnt is at times not 'deep' and 'explore' enough to do well in paper exam. This is just my experience, might be different from other parents.