Teach Less, Learn More

[Sun_2010]

ppnqq:

tamarind:

In addition to what you have mentioned, a very important point is parents who are willing to send their kids to tuition centers, even though the kids are already scoring 90+ marks for every subject. I always see the photo of the girl from my kids' primary school, who scored above 275, hanging prominently outside a tuition center in Jurong Point. She obviously had additional help outside of school.

:!: Scoring 90 over for all subjects still need to have tuition? I do not call this kiasu.. there is no word that fits this perfectly, not even super kiasu. The poor child. :heartbroken:

Dun flame me here.
Marks are but a single dimensional measure. A single exam doesnt necessarily test the knowledge. While it is generally indicative of level, it can be misleading . Knowing a childs understandings and weakness is what is important

I am just talking about my experience.

DD had no tutions/enrichment till P5. She was in the best class and doing well there too. Being a diligent child, i had to help out only when she had problems and gave her guidance. Working full tiome also meant i could only monitor so much. Like many parents I didnt believe in enrichment for academics. Its time taken for travel, centres covering a different topic while school covers different topics, home work from enrichment centers - all this leaves less time for self study, which is ofcourse the most important part.

In the 1st semester (P5), i felt when she answered the top school papers , her answers were not in line with the expected answers. Not so much as wrong as not framed with the questions objective.The tehnique was missing. She had a 91 in P4 - and i should be relaxed. But her performance was telling me otherwise. I considered myself a science and maths buff and my gut was telling me something.

I raised the topic of enrichment in Science around May since the preparation of SA1 was telling me help was needed. But DD brushed it off saying\" I know, just that i am tired after school when i do the papers, sometimes i am just lax not seroius etc. etc. so lets see after SA1 results. \"

SA1 result 97. DD was very happy , she had a \"I told ya\" written all over her face. While i was happy , I still had a niggling feeling that she needed help that i could not provide. She had hit a ceiling and needed help to go across. There were signs that things were not going in the right direction even when her marks showed she was.

Had a tough time convincing DH who thought I was paranoid and DD who thought I was being a typical mother . Told her that we just try and if i get a Saturday slot (Sunday was rest day). And then decide. Of course there were no Saturday slots available at TLL. So we waited. While preparing for SA2 , DD herself started to see what I meant . After SA2, We agreed to a weekday slot (even before we saw the SA2 marks) and try for one term and then decide whether to stick on or not. For P5 SA2 she got around 85 I think. It was not the marks that made her or me decide, it was the realisation that that she could do better. And she wanted to.

After one term she realised that it helped her. Though all that travelling and increased load in P6 was taking a toll, she wanted to continue. Her P6 SA1 marks fell to a new low (her lowest mark for any subject in all 6 yrs of primary). But I had seen the improvement in her style. While her SA1 marks, with just 4 months before PSLE did make me uneasy, I felt she had progressed to better levels and mastered some answering techniques. While the low marks said another story , I saw a different picture - a positive one. I was confidant that she would get an A*.

And thankfully we were right. In fact, I think her PSLE score was boosted by her science score. As maths being an easy paper didnt do many a favour.

PS-1 Its not just TLL that helped. The school did a lot too - but 43 kids and so much to cover teachers are really stretched. And one important part of PSLe prep is consolidating what all that was done.

PS2- dont pity DD, she is a strong willed strubbon girl. Trying to make her do something she doesnt want to is like banking my head on a brick wall :stupid: .

[Brenda10]

ksi:

Teach Less is true....Learn More is false for the majority so the effect of this scheme is currently Teach Less Learn Less but More is still expected in exam questions.


Teach Less Learn less but More is required in exams.

Well said.

To share with you something interesting, dd said there was a math question most of her classmate cannot solve lah. Only a few can solve and the teacher gets one of them to write at the white board and surprisingly the method similar to Mr. Tianzhu’s one of the colourful solution. As such, dd suspects their mummies inclusive her mummy must be the regular visitors to this Q&A- PSLE forum. :lol:

[buds]

cantbearit2:

:goodpost: u have captured the essence of the teach less, learn more concept.

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php Aaaaww.. thank you cantbearit2..

Uhmmm well, i wanted us to get back on track with the Teach Less Learn
More thread topic really.. cos everyone's suddenly talking abt grades &
marks & these worries over grading are discussed in almost every other
thread pertaining to school and/or academic prepz.. :faint:

I wanted to sift the merits of when the methodology does work and truth
to be told if people really do care about the under-privileged group of
children... then the Teach Less Learn More allows for these children
to at least play catch up.

cantbearit2:

Unfortunately in tis human dependent industry, not all teachers (in fact, given the no. of warnings i got fr my frenz, rarely heard of teachers who can) R able to deliver it like your DD's.

True. True. But don't tell me in say 10 Primary 1 classes in a school, 9
of them are hopeless cases? :!:

I mean, we gotta also be fair to the teaching pool for we may not know
their side of the coin. We shouldn't generalise or stereotype ALL teachers
to be so, just cos we got one or two bad ones, while i do not deny that 1 or
2 is depressing enough and bad enough for it can spiral down a child's
motivation faster than a tunnel slide... and not to mention it will be hard
to build it back up once again.

This can be avoided if the teacher allows for effective communication, not
just open communication... it HAS to be effective.

cantbearit2:

(if you say your England not powderful, u may juz instill fear in parents like me leh wif geniune Singlish lor.....

My England is by preschool standards when placed side by side with the
Language giants here.. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php... duo duo zi jiao.

cantbearit2:

(U inspire so many parents in KSP here leh)

:please: Aaaww.. (again)... thank you, cantbearit2.. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

cantbearit2:

(BTW, :congrats: buds on your promotion !!!! :lol:

:thankyou:
Finally broke my fast with that loooooong sharing..
Hope it didn't bore anyone.. paiseh. :oops:
Just thought to throw in some balance.

:slapshead: Alamak! How to move this congratulatory note into my intro thread? :stupid:

[buds]

cantbearit2:

haha....tis thread has attracted 2 heavyweights. 1st there was Buds, then now come Tamarind. Hee.... :lol:

You guys.. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

Did she just call me heavy... weight...? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

Oh no! I shouldn't have downed both the Haagen D's Belgian Chocs..

cantbearit2:

Thks ladies, for inspiring me wif presch teachings. :thankyou:

You're welcome. You're welcome. More to come. More to come.
When time is finally enough. The key rule to building our
children's foundation is time. Start prepz gradually so no last
minute shock or work to deal with.. After all, the best gift of
love to our children is our time. :please:

cantbearit2:

Back to our topic. My DD is still having her honeymoon period. I juz hope wif all tis info, we can better prepare her.

Yes yes.. back to topic.. with all these sharings hopefully parents can
better know what the methodology is supposed to deliver and also to
remember that effective communication is a 2-way process... if they
do not start the ball rolling, it IS okay if we make the 1st move...

It is good to know who we are working with thru' out the year... it
can really help our children more than we know it. JMHO.

[Chenonceau]

buds:

Oh no! I shouldn't have downed both the Haagen D's Belgian Chocs..

Is that what cause the 2... ummm... the... ummm... those... ummmm... you know....

[rocklee]

Hey buds, you're back to active posting again! Thot you went into hybernation after giving birth to the prince. Always :love: reading your posts. Forever so positive.

[Happy Mama]

buds:

I wanted to sift the merits of when the methodology does work and truth to be told if people really do care about the under-privileged group of children... then the Teach Less Learn More allows for these children to at least play catch up.

This is a very nice way to describe them.... more compassionate and less condescending...

Well done, Buds! :celebrate: You have gained my respect! :salute:

[Chenonceau]

buds:

My England is by preschool standards when placed side by side with the

Language giants here.. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php... duo duo zi jiao.

Hah... and what if it turns out that you in the top 0.5% eh?

Seriously though, what you wrote was a pleasure to read, and a comfort. My child has never experienced what yours experienced except at home... where I didn't consider it enrichment. I considered it family bonding... and fun activities that we all enjoyed. Interestingly, the 2 subjects that we mess around with at home for family bonding didn't look like work but has resulted in good grades even in P5, where he is tested BEYOND what is taught in class.

buds:

Finally broke my fast with that loooooong sharing..
Hope it didn't bore anyone.. paiseh. :oops:
Just thought to throw in some balance.

Not boring... definitely not boring. Thanks (1) for bringing the discussion back to topic, (2) for bringing to the fore the many merits of Teach Less Learn More, (3) for outlining the conditions for success, and (4) for providing one shining example of success from your life.

You've actually succeeded so well in bringing the discussion to a new level. :love:

[buds]

Chenonceau:

buds:

Oh no! I shouldn't have downed both the Haagen D's Belgian Chocs..

Is that what cause the 2... ummm... the... ummm... those... ummmm... you know....

The wat... the whaat? :frustrated:

Oooh you mean... the.... :evil:

Naaah.. nuh-uh. :please:

[ppnqq]

buds:

cantbearit2:

haha....tis thread has attracted 2 heavyweights. 1st there was Buds, then now come Tamarind. Hee.... :lol:

You guys.. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

Did she just call me heavy... weight...? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

Oh no! I shouldn't have downed both the Haagen D's Belgian Chocs..

Ahem, IMHO, she may not be referring to 'that' part but rather 'the other', like those in your.. avatar? Seriously, I can imagine myself being suffocated 'in there'. :politebleah: :siam: