P1 workload
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Many thanks Jedamum!!! So now i can follow this thread... :celebrate:
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Different school of thoughts..
Somewhere I read, that one of the proposal forwarded to MOE Primary education restructuring committee is ALL exams should be abolished in primary 1. Instead the children should be weighed by regular class works, topical tests, assignments of varying grades of difficulty etc.
Personally I feel, one year end exam is sufficient for P1 and 2. My first son's school in P1 have SA1 and SA2. From P2 onwards have all CA1,2, SA1, 2. My last son's school have SA2 only for P1. The kids will be evaluated by topical tests, class works etc. We were informed of this in Orientation session.
For my case, it gives more freedom for my son in learning without exam fear or pressure. On our part, we have to make them understand and do the homeworks, check their progress from form teacher, verify their knowledge gained using their own books, build up basic grammar in English and MT, concept based learning in Maths. All this has to be done in fun filled environment. If we don't follow-up with them, we may be shell shocked when they come out with SA2 results.
My 2.14 cents (including GST)
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Many, if not all project work, assignments are all parents’ work. They do not reflect the true grade of the children. Such parents’ effort/work can still be seen in mid pri.
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Actually I don’t think many schools offer CAs and SAs anymore.
Now I don’t even know whether the schools I’ve shortlisted has got CA or not… Neighbourhood schools, the website like few years ago type… siao liao…
Actually I’m not worried about P1 or P2 because I believe most parents can still handle the child’s work. I’m more worried with the drastic change in standards when the child moves to P3. The trend that I have noticed is that their grades usually goes from 80-90 range, will suddenly roll-coaster down to 60-70 range when they reach P3/P4. It is a worry to me that if the schools give P1 and P2 ‘honeymoon period’ for too long, the shock will be greater when they promote up to P3/P4. At P5/P6, the grade range will shoot down drastically again.
I don’t usually teach lower pri children, so I dunno what’s their curriculum. By the time the P5 and P6 are in my hands, they are already in the 50s range liao.
Maybe I’m too gan cheong and too ks liao… -
caroline3sg:
Many, if not all project work, assignments are all parents' work. They do not reflect the true grade of the children. Such parents' effort/work can still be seen in mid pri.
I agree. Not to forget that some kids may be 'free riders', and some kids that do not have computers at home or internet access will be at the disadvantage. -
winth
Agree with your observation below:
P1/P2: 80-90 marks range
P3/P4: 60-70 marks range
P5/P6: 50 marks range
Because:
1) P3 & P5 are a level up from their previous levels.
2) Pre sch education (esp premium child care centres) have done the preparatory groundwork
3) as you said, some sch have honeymoon during P1/P2.
Comparing P5 & 6, the questions are also getting harder / need deeper thought for P6.
I notice MOE brought forward sec syllabus to P6. Is it necessary?
All these yrs MOE have kept changing their syllabus, students have been guinea pigs for as long as since Tharman took over till now Ng Eng Hen. -
Hi caroline,
I've only stopped teaching 4 years ago before joining workforce so I might not be updated with what happened these recent 4 years. I specialise only in maths and chinese, so I know only the curriculum for these 2 subjects.
[quote]students have been guinea pigs[/quote]Can't agree more.
If I remember correctly, I thought I only starting seeing algebra in math in P6? You mean they brought more in meh?
As for the other additions, maybe you could specify further?
I was already into some of the new syllabus when I begin teaching, so I might not understand what you mean. -
winth
I am comparing our time with now.
Maths, I mean algebra. But the PSLE questions are totally different level from assessment books (ie Andrew Er). Like that how to prepare for PSLE??? I recently engaged a 21-yr-old guy entering U this yr, who had As in his days.
Science, some of us adults also can’t attempt the OE questions, let alone the kids. Else it would be having difficulty phrasing the sentence though we may know the answer.
Side track a bit, S’pore govt wants to be hub for everything, medical, transport, education. We are labelled as Tuition Nation. Many businesses are making big bucks out of this industry. Emphasis is on grades in this meritocratic society. Will the children of cream of crop having learnt the knowledge follow the footsteps of current ministers (HDB, Transport, liberalise PUB become SP) who are chasing after money and lost track of the ground issues faced by man in the street? The replies from these ministries do make human/logical sense. -
Hi caroline,
You must agree with me that children this generation are SO MUCH (many times) cleverer than children in our generation. And that’s like 4-5 generations ago.
So, we should never compare children in the 60-70s with children this century. Evolution has made children this age naturally smarter than our parents and even ourselves.
For maths, the new syllabus has introduced proportions/fractions (bar-type working) to solve many problem sums and algebra to solve multiple variations. This has actually helped children of this age.
I remember that during my time for PSLE, I’ve always wondered how to solve those problem sums. Once I remember my math tutor trying to use algebra to explain how to solve one of my PSLE questions, I was like thinking ‘this guy must be nuts’ and I had no algebra exposure back then in the 80s when I took my PSLE. Now with the new syllabus, I feel that it has made things very clear and easy for the children for they can try solving them using algebra. Plus, they will continue to learn algebra throughout their sec and JC days, so I would agree with the addition. Actually algebra concept is already being taught in P1 and P2 with the use of number bonds/organization method as foundation. So I don’t think it’s fair to say that MOE just introduced them during P5/P6 to stress the students.
Actually if you don’t talk about those especially difficult questions (to sieve out the high IQ-ed from the normal hardworking children), PSLE can still be prepared using Andrew Er.
Science was never my cup of tea, so I can’t comment. What I can remember is that Science in PSLE is a general topic of how wide you read/exposed to. Textbooks only serve as a general foundation for you. This happened during my time when I took PSLE. So you can’t really prepare them if you only read and memorise textbook stuff. -
Hi caroline,
If you are engaging a private tutor to help your child, pls try to let the tutor focus on only 1 or 2 subjects. Try not to go for the 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 type. I know parents will find that $x spent, can take care of all 3/4 subjects, $x spent, take care of only 1/2 subject, former calculation more cost effective. But actually to me, that’s a waste of precious money.
If the tutor is really good, you should ask what are his strong subjects, and ‘attack’ on your child’s weaker subjects.
I have seen many types of teaching models in parents, so that’s my 2cents worth.
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