The use of correction tape in PSLE

[janet88]

Simkhoo,

My dear son had atrocious handwriting. Writing neatly is important especially during exam...already kancheong...so if untidy, cannot find answer.
As for correction tape, I never used it during school days.
Now there are different 'sizes'...some are wider, suitable for math problem sums. I just learnt about this :oops:

[keroppi]

I have 2 kids who have been through PSLE. It’s actually perfectly OK to use correction tape though I know some teachers will discourage.

[hquek]

My 2 kids handwriting also quite bad - i still got years to correct them. But then I won’t encourage them to use correction tape. Just cross out properly and continue - save time, save effort. I worry more that they won’t have time to finish the papers. In fact, I’m glad that DS1 takes my advice to go through the test papers fast the first time round and not get stuck and ponder over any difficult question in the middle.


I find it’s interesting leh. When I was taking my O’s, a friend had SUPER bad handwriting and in essays, she will do like 3 words per line so as to dash off whatever she needed to for the papers, I could barely read what she writes. She did well.

Is it true that psle markers will auto mark down those without good handwriting? I am not versed in the mysteries of psle marking as yet and actually find the current stress on good handwriting in lower primary quite taxing. DS2 is very 随性 when he writes, he aint ever going to get a good handwriting remark anytime soon.

[sharonkhoo]

hquek:

I find it's interesting leh. When I was taking my O's, a friend had SUPER bad handwriting and in essays, she will do like 3 words per line so as to dash off whatever she needed to for the papers, I could barely read what she writes. She did well.


Is it true that psle markers will auto mark down those without good handwriting? I am not versed in the mysteries of psle marking as yet and actually find the current stress on good handwriting in lower primary quite taxing. DS2 is very 随性 when he writes, he aint ever going to get a good handwriting remark anytime soon.

I had a classmate who had very illegible handwriting. We always wondered how the teachers coped, but he did very well all they way through his education.

I don't think we can blame the teachers for harping on handwriting because it's part of their job in the early years. I have a daughter will really bad writing and have had my share of teachers complaining. The only comfort is that once they get past P3 or so, as long as the writing is legible, the teachers will have more important things to be concerned about. At most, they will write a comment in the margin, but kids won't lose marks unless the teacher can't read the answers. (And these kids will eventually finish school and move on to computers, then no-one will care about their handwriting unless they decide to become Pr school teachers.)

[buds]

janet_lee88:

Train kid to write neatly and legibly...or else risk facing heavy penalty if marker cannot read answer. Minimize use of correction tape.

Use a ruler to strike out neatly.

Nurturing or training neat handwriting cannot begin only now when the child is in P6. :faint: Too late oredi.. This skill should be (must be) encouraged when the child first holds a crayon/pencil. The positioning of the writing tool.. the pincer grip.. then the pressure.. followed by the flow.. of the written words.. these take time to build. Easier to work on these skills on young fingers. By P3 to P4/P5, children would have already developed their signature writing style. If by this time, the children cannot write nicely just emphasize on writing legibly for there's really not much that can be done. Likewise for correction tape usage, if parents don't introduce it or allow it/encourage it from the beginning, there's higher chances of children not being heavily reliant on its usage (if at all).

[hquek]

slmkhoo:

I don't think we can blame the teachers for harping on handwriting because it's part of their job in the early years. I have a daughter will really bad writing and have had my share of teachers complaining. The only comfort is that once they get past P3 or so, as long as the writing is legible, the teachers will have more important things to be concerned about. At most, they will write a comment in the margin, but kids won't lose marks unless the teacher can't read the answers. (And these kids will eventually finish school and move on to computers, then no-one will care about their handwriting unless they decide to become Pr school teachers.)

I am glad it was DS1 who started P1 first, cos he started out with beautiful handwriting. That said, his handwriting is getting worse and worse through the years.

Ds2 is very laissez faire in his way of writing since nursery. I can talk until cows come home and he will still flourish his way of writing. This is probably the first P1 kid I know who can kinda write in cursive. I am just happy he complete his writing exercises.

I'm probably a bad parent but hey, if my kid can link 2 pictures together, I really don't care if he uses a ruler or freehand. I was really shocked when DS1 first came back with a big cross on his homework just because he didn't use a ruler and all the answers were correct.

And I think to my dying day, I will still not geddit why beautiful handwriting is a must because as they progress on, the amount of writing they will have to do will be much more - I rather my kid can finish writing than to have copperplate and not be able to complete. I have only seen one person in my years who could write fast and beautifully (it's really like printed form) - only One. The rest of us can only lapse into horrible writing when it comes to exams.

[buds]

Not being reliant on correction fluid and/or correction tape means that children will make effort (have to! ) or give extra attention as to how their work is done. It encourages conscientious attitude towards any written work being assigned to them. I bought my girls this PILOT erasable pen to discourage the use of the tapes.


http://i46.tinypic.com/zip2df.png\">

It is slightly pricey but comfortable for use - it has a good rubber grip apart from the erasable feature and the ink does flow smoothly without having to put pressure during writing.

[hquek]

Yah, love the frixion pen. It’s pricey but good. Recall erasing off pen work using that scratchy blue erasers in the past and usually end up with holes in the paper - wish we had that then.


but I think frixion may not be permitted in exams. it’s easily erasable leh.

[buds]

I only know that gel pens are not allowed.

[ngl2010]

buds:

Not being reliant on correction fluid and/or correction tape means that children will make effort (have to! ) or give extra attention as to how their work is done. It encourages conscientious attitude towards any written work being assigned to them. I bought my girls this PILOT erasable pen to discourage the use of the tapes.


http://i46.tinypic.com/zip2df.png\">

It is slightly pricey but comfortable for use - it has a good rubber grip apart from the erasable feature and the ink does flow smoothly without having to put pressure during writing.

My son's school disallowed friction pens since P4. The handwriting will disappear after a while due to friction between papers.