The Alternative Story (TAS) - Discussion

[hquek]

Hi nicnac,


Careless is still ok, at least he knows. It’s probably the ‘weak’ in compre that I would veer towards the normal english class. Rest assured that during english class, they will go through compos in fair detail (tension curve, how to build up etc).

I think it’ll be good for you to go down and chat with the staff, and view their materials before making a final call. It may be that after the visit, you may go to other schools instead.

[quirkymum]

nicnac:

Thank you quirkymum and hquek for sharing your experience.. That's the dilemma. I think my kid is rather weak in compre, careless in grammar but then I also want him to have enough writing practice.


Do the classes, pure writing class and regular class, share the same essay topics?

They have similar topics but Pure writing goes more in-depth..I think if weak in compre, should go for regular class. Good to go for trial class to have a better feel..have you tried other centres?

[quirkymum]

sweetbaby:

Hmm.. How come I can't find the schedule for paya Lebar branch on their website? Any link to their Facebook?

You can look under their East schedule. That schedule is for Paya Lebar

[dark chocolate]

Hi, for those parents whose kids are currently in TAS, do your kids score well in the worksheets they do during class? DS seems to be getting very poor marks in his worksheets and I am concerned if the questions are too difficult for him. I also noticed the synthesis questions seem to be of a much higher standard compared to assessment books in bookshops.


Am just a little worried if he is absorbing what he is learning.

[sean wife]

Hi,


I also think their worksheets seem quite high standard compared to the same level assessment works. My kids are in K2 and attending their P1 class. They don’t do very well in those OE comprehension questions too. The other worksheets still not too bad, but that is also because I think teacher goes through it verbally with them first before the kids attempt.

I also find that quite a bit of time is taken for doing and marking corrections and re- corrections(maybe something to do with the standard also), leaving only a little time left the end to go through the compo part(which I thought is their forte and the reason why many parents sign up with them)…

[hquek]

Am not sure what goes on behind those doors (ie how much time taken for what work).


Do agree that their work seems to be pitched at higher level. I was initially concerned last year when Ds1 seem to be slipping (ie more work was marked wrong in comparison). However, Ds1 didn’t seem to be demoralised and teacher told me he’s still alright in class. End up I think he adjusted.

I finally came to realisation that perhaps it may make no sense to carry on if the work is easy and the child get perfect score each time, better to learn from mistakes when marks is not a cause for concern (eg in school, I may fear my child going into a not so good class).

So just monitored my kid and made sure his motivation level is still alright. IF it started flagging, I may consider either to switch him to a lower level class; or even to find another school.

[quirkymum]

Yes, their worksheets are definitely harder than school worksheets or assessment books. So the teachers would have to spend more time going through. However, I find my kids benefit as they are able to cope with their school work and tests better. They are also challenged in tas classes and not bored. For compo, I find that at times, they spend less time on it so they can help my kids cope with compre and synthesis then later on they do speed on and also work on their compo. It is not a fixed like equal time spent on compo and equal time spent on the other areas.


At the end, monitoring is important. At the beginning of the tas classes, my kids were a bit lagging behind as they had joined a class that had been together for some time. However, after monitoring them and guiding them, I found they could catch up.

[sean wife]

For higher levels, is it a norm for teachers to sort of go through the worksheets first before the children attempt? If that is the case, would we know the ‘real’ ability of the child?

[quirkymum]

What I notice so far for my kids is during the beginning of the year, the teachers would go through quite a bit of the worksheets first, to teach them what to look out for. Then later on, they get the kids to do on their own. My kids say that by then they usually get the hang of it.


During the mid year period, they would also give out tas tests and from there you can see the results and gauge how your child is doing. However the teacher always tells us that the kids do not do well for tas tests as they test them on the harder areas. They say for school papers, about 20-30 percent is difficult. But for tas papers, they do not want to test them on what is easy as they only have a limited time in class to give them the tests and go through. So you could look at the average score of the class and your child’s marks, if your child is way below average then you have cause for concern. But if your child is average or above average, even if the marks are low, it is quite all right.

[hquek]

sean wife:

For higher levels, is it a norm for teachers to sort of go through the worksheets first before the children attempt? If that is the case, would we know the ‘real’ ability of the child?

I have to go back and ask. But I still see errors and corrections....so if teacher had gone through it, then means my kid didn't catch the ball.