CMA Math - Discussion

[jaseric]

Hi JHJC,


No worry about that, just make sure she follow the way teacher teaches in the school and use CMA skill to counter check the answer instead. Their math ability will definitely be better than their peers who didn’t learn CMA .

[Miracle Child]

Hi, I do not know much about CMA Math until I read this thread. My son is 6 years old. Is it too late to start? He is quite good at Maths, as in he is able to add pretty fast (e.g. he writes down on paper eg. 56,847 + 36,782, and solves the summation by adding the nos. mentally). Thanks in advance.

[rcxmum]

Hi! i m new here n interested in registering my son in CMA! Anybody knows abt CMA@Ten Miles Junction? Went 4 an assessment tis am! saw a boy being asked to sit @ the receptionist desk to do his works, the receptionist was attending to a customer and she kept threathening tis boy to do his work or else his parents will be inform but to no avail! is this how a student should be treated? also heard some teachers shouting behind closed door!

Thanks 4 your 2 comments! :?

[kiasiparent]

rcxmum:

Hi! i m new here n interested in registering my son in CMA! Anybody knows abt CMA@Ten Miles Junction? Went 4 an assessment tis am! saw a boy being asked to sit @ the receptionist desk to do his works, the receptionist was attending to a customer and she kept threathening tis boy to do his work or else his parents will be inform but to no avail! is this how a student should be treated? also heard some teachers shouting behind closed door!

Thanks 4 your 2 comments! :?

I dont see what is wrong with shouting at students even at a tuition centre. A tuition teacher who dare to scold his/her students is better than one who doesnt dare as his class will tend to be more disciplined, more quiet and lessons can be more easily absorbed.

However, i agree with you that teacher should not threaten students to do their work. A teacher should motivate students and make them interested. If a student is uninterested, a teacher should find out the reasons why and change the attitude.

[jaseric]

The teacher cum receptionist behaved so because she is multi-tasking to guide the child (likely to make the kid to finish his undone work after the class) and attending to walk in customers’ enquiry/phone calls. Maybe we should not make our judgement that the teacher is threathening the kid, because I believe in this case, the kids had failed to complete his homework( and maynot be the first time). Of course, I agreed that the teacher should attempt to check the reason why the kid was disinterested and help to change the attitude, but they are not god, ultimately, it is the also the kid and his parents’ duty to check with the teacher if anything uncleared and have a positive attitude in learning.

[Poohbear]

As one of my gal’s previous enrichment teacher said, no matter the size of centre , big or small, branded or not, it all boils down to the teacher.

The teacher has a big impact ( together with parents active participation) in not only passing down the academic skills but also the soft skill like independent studying.

My gal started CMA abt 2-3 months ago when she was abt 4.5 years.Afer the 1st lesson, she liked it v much cos of the teacher. I would say he is quite motivational and can see that most of the kids look forward to seeing him.

For a start, the homework was quite monotonous as u hv to repeatedly stir the beats, left to right, then right to left, then both hands for 1 set of numbers. My gal literally took 1 week … do abt 1 to 2 questions a nite just to "scrap through" the assigned work. It was also stressful for me as i had to sit n try to convince her to work it through.

After abt 4 lessons ( we r on once a week program)… they change the teacher to another lady and after tat 1st lesson with her, she told me my gal progress too slow… must buck up. I was honestly feeling a bit "pissed" then … already we r struggling with the homework…yet still complain slow n must do more pages each nite… i was also v worried that my gal would throw in the towel due to the extra pages that she need to do…

And for that week… i was ultra stressed and keep asking her to do her work almost every nite just to cover some extra pages. It went to the point that she told me she was too tired and she was crying over it… i really felt so bad tat i had to push her … then i asked myself… is this wat i m hoping to get out of this class… to learn a new skill ( abacus) or just to complete homework ??

I stopped to check myself at that point in time… tat week… we didnt managed to complete watching the vcd… so i told the teacher tat we would hv to watch the same cd again the next week… Again she told me how we hv to try to make more progress… i didnt wan to argue with her… i was kind of tempted to pull out if my gal really felt too stressed over the work. Maths is just one part of learning… if this is going to take away her time to learn other subjects… then its not rite…

But guess wat… dont know wat "magic" / encouragement they did with her in tat lesson… that week when she went back… my gal was "extremely motivated to finish her work… no need me to nag / ask… she herself sit there to finish her work n even did a few extra pages… n we finished all 3 books within a nite cos she wanted to do it…

And since then, i have had no problem with her homework… we are able to finish the assigned work + some extra within a nite… n watch the vcd another nite… she is now happy and we also hv time to read / play toys on other weekday nites… most impt thing is she is motivated to do and need no extra "nagging" to do her work… to me that is an important soft skill that needs to be developed… the discipline to sit down n do her work…

So while CMA is a "proven" brand… the bulk of the communication still relies on the teachers … so do check out other centres if you feel the one you hv visited is not appropriate if you are really keen to try out the CMA methodology… tis is esp so for CMA as it is basically franchise concept… so the quality may really differ centre to centre

[jessn]

Hi!


I have called up the CMA branch at Woodlands and noted that most teachers are from China and not very eloquent in English.

Any mummies or daddies encounter this at other branches? Understand that the CMA classes are conducted in English. If so, will this affect the teachings in terms of understanding?

BTW, has anyone with feedback on the Woodlands branch?

[preciousmom]

Hi all,


Jurong safra has recently opened and there is a branch of CMA in there. I am thinking of enrolling my 3.5yrs old gal in there and this Fri will be doing the assessment and this sun will be her 1st trial lesson… Anyone has kids enrols there? Any comment so far? Thanks!

[bong]

Hi Glennmum,

How do you find the CMA IN Ten Mile Junction? I intend to enrol my girl there.

glennmum:

Hi Marc Ma,

I had registered my boy n had used your child as referral to get the discount..

Anyone interested just quote my child info for the discount..both enjoy the 8% discount for 1 term...why not ??

Can someone advise whether is it better for twice a week lesson instead of once a week ?? not sure too stress for my boy (4years old) :? twice a week lesson seen like $80 cheaper than once a week..

Child Name : Glenn Ng
Branch : Bukit Panjang (Ten Miles Junction)
Serial No : SG0110060

[bubble]

preciousmom:

Hi all,


Jurong safra has recently opened and there is a branch of CMA in there. I am thinking of enrolling my 3.5yrs old gal in there and this Fri will be doing the assessment and this sun will be her 1st trial lesson... Anyone has kids enrols there? Any comment so far? Thanks!

Hi Preciousmom

I was contemplating to enrol my 5 yo at Safra Jurong CMA as it is offering a 15% off first term fees and subsequent 8% off term fees for Safra members.

My 7 yo is attending the class with CMA Pandan Valley for 2 yrs. They can only offer 8% sibling discount for my 5yo. If both kids with Safra Jurong CMA I will enjoy 8% off for both of them.

I changed my mind after speaking to the teacher at Safra Jurong CMA. The teacher has taught 4 mths at HQ Yishun. She is non-local and I think my kids may not been able to understand her english as there is some accent in the way she speaks. Having said that, if it is the Principal Brenda or Wei Ming's class, it should be good. As far as I understand, Wei Ming is only teaching Sunday 9 am class and his son is in the class. Brenda is not taking any class now. 9 am is too early for my 5 yo. One more thing is that they only have foundation class at Safra Jurong. No point switching my 7yo.

There are a lot of China teachers in various branch, including Pandan Valley. I was given the impression that the owners are trying to recommend new students to these teachers class. Personally I still prefer the classes taught by the owners, probably due to their experience and dedication put in.