Teach Less, Learn More

[cantbearit2]

Chenonceau:

Yeah man Sleepy... better know it. Also, better self-teach the basic P5 topics at home by end P4, so that you can self-teach the P5 complex skills from Jan-March. Else, your kid will BARELY pass the P5 Math CA1 and SA1, if at all.

There is a good resource from MathHeuristics (at united Square) on Unitary Transfer. It's priced at $40/= a book. How many parents can afford this kind of money for a thin A4-sized book? Isn't that the job of the textbook? Why should we have to buy these resources to help our children PASS? Janet's kid worked so hard (so did Janet) and her child FAILED. Janet, I do hope you managed to help your child recover his confidence, and maintain interest in his work.

My son's teacher is still teaching the basics for volume. They haven't touched the complex skills for fractions nor ratio yet. BUT, the exams in 2 weeks will need these skills. One quarter of his class was pre-taught at home. Estimated marks in 90s So they're happy. One quarter of the class is about there - catching up with their Moms at home. My son has caught up. So he is okay... estimated marks in 80s.

HALF the class is clueless. The poor kids. They will get a shock and if parents are not understanding, some kids will get heavily punished. It's NOT their fault. The school sets questions that appear nowhere in homework sheets.

:!: Tats really scary!!!! & DH is always saying IM too KS by teaching ahead. My mom complaining I put too much pressure to my P1 DD.

Thks for the tips though on tat maths bk (though im clueless as to wat's Unitary Trf :? ).

[cantbearit2]

Funx3:

Actually I'm Surprise at the Sch T.
Don't they Let the Kids try out Past year Papers? Or the Prev year Sch's Exam Papers before the Exam? Unless Current year's paper is of Exceptionally High std than the Prev One or Two year's, the T Would know where the Students' Weak Areas R while going thru the Trial Papers, Right?

Unless this is Camouflaged by the Large Proportion of Self-Taught or Tuition Taught Exam-paper oriented Kids in the Class who score exceptionally well ....
And those Kids without Tuition or External Help becomes the Sacrificial Lambs ....
Dismissed as Minor Percentage of Failure in the Sch Cohort? :roll: :roll:

Aiyo, hope my DD dun bcome the little lamb leh..... :roll:

[cantbearit2]

Chenonceau:

Brenda10:

Hi Janet


It will be good to put more effort on Section B and Section C as these two area require more detail working once you don't see much problem in Section A (MCQ).

Just my 2 cents thought

Yup... Agree. All the best Janet!! Jia you!!

During my era, they will usu root 4 e kid, now we root 4 e parent cos parent oso v stress....!!!!

Gambatte, Janet! :ugogirl:

[cantbearit2]

Chenonceau:

Sorry lah :imsorry: ... but better you know now so you can be prepared mah... it's no joke ok. They really dun teach what they test in P5 CA1 and SA1. Maybe by your DD time, we make so much noise, you will be spared the agony leh...

Seriously, I am not posting this because my son can't cope. He was invited to join Math Olympiad training in P2. I refused because I wanted him to play more. I am also not posting because our family cannot manage. We can.

I am posting so that parents with kids in P3 and P4 will be forewarned and take adequate steps. If you address early... the child will be less stressed. Else, the MOE may read this and do something also.

Actually, IM pretty impressed by yur sharing as u definitely dun seem 2b facing any teaching issues. IM v touched by yur empathy. Cross my heart.

U r oso not e 1st one filling us in on tis issue. As mentioned b4, I've heard too many times esp fr parents wif upper pri kids. Many were quick to share tat getting a step ahead is crucial in getting a PASS (not band 1 ya, pass only). Reason being some kids r slower in grasping some concepts so it takes time for it to sink in. if go according to e sch pace, u will b v stressed wen they juz learnt a new concept which is gonna b tested in 1 or 2 wks time. :nailbite: :nailbite:

[cantbearit2]

Brenda10:

Funx3:

May be this is the Gar men Way of Making us Practice - \"Huo Dao Lao, Xue Dao Lao\"?

So We Parents must Set Good Examples to our Kids, Learning their Stuff at Our Grand Old Age?

Our mnd will forever young and would not suffer 老人痴呆症 (Alzheimer's disease). :lol:

aiya, i prefer e \"dry swimming\" way of keep us senile leh....

[cantbearit2]

Chenonceau:

Pen88n:

Pre-teaching make you fat - munching to reduce stress?? Wrinkles possible due to all the stress! :idea: Freckles - u need to teach outdoor under the sun??? :?

I need to go outdoor and buy assessment book mah... :lol: :lol: :lol:

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: 这样也行???

[cantbearit2]

insider:

\"teach less learn more\" is an ideal concept of education but I don't see it is possible to be realised here coz of the amount of content that MOE packed into the primary school syllabus. To achieve the essence of this concept, syllabus definitely needs to be cut so that kids can really use thinking skills to learn in terms of quality (the ability to think / analyse) instead of quantity.

About this nephew of your colleague who scored 230 in his PSLE with much enrichment. Instead of trying to imagine he may get lesser than 200, I may want to imagine what if he is not packed with so much enrichment, his score will not be so far away from 230. Without enrichment (but ideally must be with a proper nurturing home environment), the child may have nothing much to depend on and have to depend on self.

Many parents can't afford the 'what if' scenario of the kid really gets below 200 without external support and therefore buying 'insurance' via enrichment.

Thks for e sharing.

Given the time limitation faced by double income families, I do not tink it is always possible for parents to provide tat kind of environm. 1st of all, not all parents can teach or noe e correct nurturing environm. 2ndly, as vouched by many parents, enrichment is no longer to get the coveted \"A\"s. Rather, some needs e enrichm not as an insurance but to cope.

I did not noe how to teach my DD1 during her preschool yrs. Not tat i din wan to but juz din have e info on e kind of resouces. I was oso pretty stressed up wif my work during those periods. wen i realise she's falling behind compared to her peers, i started her on a reading prog which proves effective. Although she's still not reading those chim chim novels yet, but IM satisfied tat she's able to read instructions for her P1 sch work at least. I dun tink she's able to do any of her class work if she's unable to read b4 gg to P1.

IM v grateful 4 tis website & e many parents who's willing to share. thru them, I have learnt some useful techniques in teaching my DD2. I have not sent my DD2 to any academic enrichm as yet as I will like to try out on my own 1st. Tis is only made possible as I have made a career switch to gif me more time for my family & bcos of the know how i have learnt fr parents in tis website. Sad to say, there r some parents out there who even if they can afford more time for their family may not b able to coach their kids. Not every parent r educated.

I guess most of us parents juz wish we do not have to rely on external enrichm or even ourselves juz to get a pass for our kiddos. It's e teachers job to teach, parents as motivators and provide support, & our kids 2b responsible for their own learning path.

Juz my 2cents.

[QuiteKSMum]

[quote]PS: I am waiting for a good parenting camp (think is 2 days 1 night) that I will share with parents here after I get all the details. In the camp, maybe one can get some ideas of how to enjoy 'effortless' parenting, in a way you don't need to really teach but your kid will move on own ('auto-pilot'). I hope the master himself will be teaching during the camp coz he is a very good one. Many parents are 'fixated' with the physical teaching and not so aware of the 'invisible' teaching (emotional connections with your child that will drive your child to greater height) which is much more powerful / useful than the usual drilling /worrying / etc. After the camp, maybe one will feel so guilty towards her child, that she has been 'mis-treating' him for so many years under the good intention of 'love'... The camp is non-religion but it also encompasses all religions coz the essence is 'LOVE'. No harm attending if one feels like this towards her child - 'I don't know what to do with him!!!!\"...

[/quote]Hi Insider,

Can't wait for this camp of yours! DS is generally ok but he's now in his teens yrs, so another set of challenge. Is this camp still suitable for parents with teens?

I've already signed him up this coming June hols for Ernest Wong's Superteen camp, hoping that it will help in moulding him into a self-motivated self starter/learner. Unfortunately ( or fortunately?!), DH is normally outstation and I feel that during a boy's teens yrs, a father plays an even more impt role in their life...

Thanks for your sharing!

:celebrate:

[Chenonceau]

cantbearit2:

[

Hee...Chenonceau, u wanna help us bring up to e policy makers??? :lol: My \"england not so powderful\" lah.

Ummm... I am not sure how to go about doing that leh... seems like such a confrontational thingy to do. I a bit chicken leh... I was hoping that writing it up here in this forum (behind a convenient cloak of anonymity) would allow some Mommies and Daddies with ears in the right places to drop a word with them? Then things might change without making anyone lose face.

It's a problem that has crept up on us so slowly that most parents have not realized it. A bit like the boiled frog syndrome. A frog swims in a metal tub that is gently heated. He stays in there and gets himself boiled to death as the water gets from cold to warm to hot. This is in contrast to a frog who is straightaway thrown into very hot water. It would be shocked into jumping straight out.

Because the problem has crept up on us, many parents feel the heat increasingly but no one is shocked. It is shocking to me that schools now assume that parents/tutors will pre-teach (when they see their kids about to fail exam) or post-teach (after kid fails exam). It is shocking that 25 out of 60 marks in an exam is given over to un-taught skills and have question types that are not encountered in homework sheets. It's not 8/100 It's 25/100. Add in some carelessness... some conceptual misunderstanding of topics already taught and the child gets less than 50/100. On Paper 2, my son ( a top scorer in P4) was scoring 25/60 after having mastered the basics of the topics in the P5 textbook. He could get full marks for Paper 1 so his total score was 75/100. That's a pass for sure... but my son is good at math. What about those regular kids who normally score 75s and 80s. They'll fail unless they have been pre-taught.

Education was a passport out of poverty for many of my peers and my daughter's peers. I would be sad to see a system develop where children fail or are borderline passes only, just because their parents have neither time nor skill to teach... and have no money for tutors.

I thought thus that it would be good to articulate the problem so that what is hidden in plain sight becomes obvious. When you can put words to something, it becomes easier for self and others to visualize the problem... and see solutions.

I dunno how to organise petitions and I am also a bit shy about making this into a big hot issue that would embarass MOE. MOE has done a great job with my daughter... I'm hoping there are other gentler ways to get the message across without making things unpleasant for anyone? If I embarass another, it reflects badly on me right... and I dun wanna organise a petition (firstly, how does one even do that?) and look like the warrior queen that I am not. Besides, by the time things change (if they even do), it'll be too late for the kids of all the P5 & P6 parents here. I know... so selfish right? For me, I have resolved to pre-teach by 6 months.

What do other Mommies and Daddies think?

[Funx3]

Just Read Something on Class Size yesterday (Is it The New Paper, Or My Paper … Not Sure)


There is a Rather Interesting and Ingenious Suggestion Being Put Forward by a Reader …

It’s Not Easy to Achieve 1:20 T-to-student Class ratio for the Whole Nation. Despite The Many Efforts by MOE, the Class Size Remains Almost status Quo at About 1: 40, at Best 1:30.

Root of the Problem is Lack of Sufficient T and Facilities (ClassRoom).

But it is Noted that there is a Large Pool of Well-Educated Home-Makers who R the Untapped Potential. Many of them have made their presence felt in this Web site.

Suggestion :
To Entice these Group of Qualified Home-makers into the sch Teaching System, with them working part time, say, thus improve the current T-to-Students Ratio to 2:40.
Lead by a Professionally Trained T, and the assistance of the "HELP-er" in class, the Kids can have more personalised attention. Like A Pseudo-Simulation of the Tutorial Class in the Poly / Uni.

Parents, What do U Think?