The Real Reason Why We Send Our Children to Tuition

[AdonciaTang]

Dr.Daniel:

That was a great original post. I'd just add one thing. Not only is it an advantage for children to score well on exams, but they will be ahead in life if they learn how to think and learn that they have the potential within themselves to solve problems, figure things out and make sense out of whatever challenges they face in their careers.


Good grades will open up more options. But the chance to really excel at something comes from the ability to really know what you are doing, to be a problem solver and to be creative. I see so much potential with students in Singapore because there are a lot of really smart kids here with parents who really care for them. If they can just come to realize the full meaning of getting an education as beyond just test scores, these kids can really soar.

Agree! Kids need to know and understand why they are learning and studying

[elishatan]

Beautyful Minds:

The desire to give our children the power of choice.

I don't think Good Grades = Choice is a fair statement. Many of my smart Uni peers have to pick the shiniest of turds because of the debt they accumulated while in school and the slow economy. There are just too many other factors.

[janet88]

I can’t speak for the others.

For us, the reason to outsource is the incapability to teach own kids. Times have changed…education system is no longer like before. Math is different ball game…models used in schools are not our cup of tea. Those problem sums seem like Greek. Tutors have their way of teaching.
Hubby refused to admit earlier he cannot teach any longer…also bcos of financial reasons…finally he agreed that times have changed…after son flunked Math at CA1 and SA1 in P5. We tightened our belts and outsourced. Though late, but better than never. Son passed PSLE.
We decided not to repeat same mistake. Outsourced daughter’s English as well…foundation is really important.

[kitty2]

janet_lee88:

I can't speak for the others.

For us, the reason to outsource is the incapability to teach own kids. Times have changed...education system is no longer like before. Math is different ball game...models used in schools are not our cup of tea. Those problem sums seem like Greek. Tutors have their way of teaching.
Hubby refused to admit earlier he cannot teach any longer...also bcos of financial reasons...finally he agreed that times have changed...after son flunked Math at CA1 and SA1 in P5. We tightened our belts and outsourced. Though late, but better than never. Son passed PSLE.
We decided not to repeat same mistake. Outsourced daughter's English as well...foundation is really important.

:goodpost:

[Attolia]

janet_lee88:

I can't speak for the others.

For us, the reason to outsource is the incapability to teach own kids. Times have changed...education system is no longer like before. Math is different ball game...models used in schools are not our cup of tea. Those problem sums seem like Greek. Tutors have their way of teaching.
Hubby refused to admit earlier he cannot teach any longer...also bcos of financial reasons...finally he agreed that times have changed...after son flunked Math at CA1 and SA1 in P5. We tightened our belts and outsourced. Though late, but better than never. Son passed PSLE.
We decided not to repeat same mistake. Outsourced daughter's English as well...foundation is really important.

I'm not sure what the English exams are like in Singapore, but from what I've seen, I think the best way to improve English is just to read more books. It doesn't really matter what you read, as long you're constantly reading new things. It helps with comprehension, essay writing, speaking. I had a friend in primary school from Taiwan who came here not speaking a word of English, but she started reading lots of English books, and in a matter of months was able to converse and write very well. My workmates and I are all arts people with post-graduate degrees in English, law, history, linguistics etc, and the one thing we have in common is our love of books.

[AdonciaTang]

Attolia:

janet_lee88:

I can't speak for the others.

For us, the reason to outsource is the incapability to teach own kids. Times have changed...education system is no longer like before. Math is different ball game...models used in schools are not our cup of tea. Those problem sums seem like Greek. Tutors have their way of teaching.
Hubby refused to admit earlier he cannot teach any longer...also bcos of financial reasons...finally he agreed that times have changed...after son flunked Math at CA1 and SA1 in P5. We tightened our belts and outsourced. Though late, but better than never. Son passed PSLE.
We decided not to repeat same mistake. Outsourced daughter's English as well...foundation is really important.

I'm not sure what the English exams are like in Singapore, but from what I've seen, I think the best way to improve English is just to read more books. It doesn't really matter what you read, as long you're constantly reading new things. It helps with comprehension, essay writing, speaking. I had a friend in primary school from Taiwan who came here not speaking a word of English, but she started reading lots of English books, and in a matter of months was able to converse and write very well. My workmates and I are all arts people with post-graduate degrees in English, law, history, linguistics etc, and the one thing we have in common is our love of books.

Foundation is really important. And starting them young by getting them to read books is good

[janet88]

Reading is important…no doubts about that.

[Dr.033430Daniel]

Wow ! I love to see all this emphasis on reading. I’ve been preaching this for years to parents and students. Reading comprehension is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for a lot of the students in science. I encourage them to read the textbook after they have had a lesson, so they can better understand what they are reading. And I give them short articles to read in class that hopefully are fun and interesting. I had them reading the Singapore Science Center Magazine piece by piece this year, a little bit at a time, and most enjoyed it. It was great because so many of the articles related to what they were doing in school.


Also, students will never be able to write well if they never read. Many times the source of the problem when students bomb out on their structured papers is lack of reading comprehension and very little practice writing - or the biggest mistake of all - trying to memorize written answers to questions.

If a student can graduate Secondary school and have good solid reading comprehension and writing skills, this is a huge advantage for them.

[magiccastle]

For math , I used to struggle teach my eldest son . Using the models instead of algerba to solve was tough . So I sent my boy for math Tuition. I sat with him to learn to solve. The tutor explained n I listened . She want to make sure I understood so that I can help him with the homework . The tutor is a retiree with only sec 4 qualification. She started off with teaching her own children . Her children excelled in math and their classmates started to request her to teach.She has the passion for math and worked out with her own method to teach models. For weaker students , she will drill n drill by asking the students to come 3 times a week until they pick up n improve.

I learned her strategy and used it to apply in my teaching to my younger kids. I learned to use model to solve the problem sums. For questions that I couldn’t solve , I will discuss with my colleagues to solve them. For primary schools, I believe we can still learn to pick up the technique to teach the subjects from various sources . Eg see what the tuition centre is doing n we learn from them. But one important thing is the child must build up the foundation at the lower primary.

[janet88]

Beautyful Minds:

janet_lee88:

I can't speak for the others.

For us, the reason to outsource is the incapability to teach own kids. Times have changed...education system is no longer like before. Math is different ball game...models used in schools are not our cup of tea. Those problem sums seem like Greek. Tutors have their way of teaching.
Hubby refused to admit earlier he cannot teach any longer...also bcos of financial reasons...finally he agreed that times have changed...after son flunked Math at CA1 and SA1 in P5. We tightened our belts and outsourced. Though late, but better than never. Son passed PSLE.
We decided not to repeat same mistake. Outsourced daughter's English as well...foundation is really important.

What we have learnt over the years is that; PSLE Maths and Science depend heavily on understanding the question. Without strong basis English, students don't do well in all 3 subjects.

:goodpost: