Teach Less, Learn More
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Chenonceau:
I totally agree with you as well on this point. I, for one, is a mum who is happy to let the school do everything and I just provide the 3 meals, lodging and all the hygiene factors needs. The offer of parental support may just be moral support to the school to support the learning process, that is assuming the school is able to deliver this concept very well.
Agree. You've expressed it far better than I could. In addition to the point you raised, I would add that I would be concerned if parental involvement were a MUST for a child to succeed. The moment success hinges on parental involvement, we would lose the top talent we might otherwise find from the pool of under-privileged children whose parents may not care, may be absent, may have no time, may have no money to buy another's involvement in their child's education, may be dead or may be in jail. There should be a way to ensure that schools can teach independently and sufficiently. That way, under-privileged kids can continue to have an open path to success.
Lastly, I really cannot be expressing this better than the top 2% of English expert..you are too modest and over-rated my comments. :oops: I see myself only as a mother who is contented to be the mother like my mum was to me when I was growing up, ignorant of what went on in school but just provided the moral support and physical needs support for my growing up process. Unfortunately, this is really not possible these days.... -
Happy Mama:
Happy Mama, my children and i have personally volunteered with a groupbuds:
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:
of under-privileged children and if i can be honest, we have first hand
experience working with them. Being under-privileged aside... these
children have serious family issues having come from dysfunctional
families. These children didn't ask to be there. They were born into
these families. They cannot choose not to be there. But if more of
us care enough to give our time, they can be rescued... but from
my experience... they do need to want the help.
While Teach Less Learn More can help them adapt better not only academically
but also socially, these children need more. But not all of them do get more though
more was offered to them. I cite one family's example..
She has 5 children. Husband in jail, 2yrs and 11mths more to go. Child has been
forced into childcare with aid from a passionate volunteer who got her three pre
school kiddies in to a nearby centre. She cannot send for extra lessons apart from
what was offered for she has too much or rather too many also lar.. on her hands.
She also cited that more travelling will mean it is inconvenient for her and her other
children. When we shared we will provide free lunch and ensure the children will
be chauffered to a fixed pick up point close to her rented 1-rm place she calls home,
she asked her son if he wants to. :faint: Boy says, \"Mom, i will go cos you cannot
teach me. You need to take care of my baby siblings. There is free food and
i will bring it home for us to share when i come back.. so.. okay.. onz..\"
Different families have different limitations.
Everyone of us try to cope in the ways we can..
We raise flag if we have to ask for help and if help doesn't come we still
have to ensure life has to move on nevertheless but to improve without
help, while it may take more effort on our part.. let's do it cause we want
to and have to, with what we can within our means.
Sharing another experience... I have had one or two parents approach
me after parent volunteer in school who asked if i could share how i work
with my girls..
One of them, she had some problems helping her boy and so she asked if
i don't mind helping her with some of the stuff she was unsure of. I said
yes of course.
I asked why she approached me over the many parents who waited there.
Her reply. \"I scared to ask. They always discuss how their children make
unnecessary careless mistakes for tests and scold them upside down. I've
also seen them personally go up to their class teacher to speak to them
abt the marks. For me, i just need help to understand how to. My son's
teacher does help him a lot but he slow lar just like the mommy so i
saw you a few times.. see you don't mix with those parents.. and i like
how you speak with your girls.. abt school things.. i hope you can teach
me.. i want to help my son more.. sorry my english not so good.. hope u
can help me out a bit.. sorry arh trouble u.. some more u pregnant.. sorry
arh.. my husband working alone, he got retrenched so now do cleaner oni..
don't earn much lar.. cannot send tuition.. my son all LSP oso i tell him just
go, it's free.. i have to jaga 3 kids oso.. if you can help me a bit with this
bit, thank you.. thank you.. only this bit..\"
I applaud her drive to help her children in what way she can.. my heart
truly went out to her. From speaking to her i realized how i was more
fortunate.. even DD1 who was there said to me later on, \"So poor
thing yah mummy.. luckily i have u.. if her boy in my class i dun
mind to help also, but his class teacher is good.. not in banded
class but good.\" -
ksi:
Yes. She's too modest. :please:
I totally agree with you as well on this point. I, for one, is a mum who is happy to let the school do everything and I just provide the 3 meals, lodging and all the hygiene factors needs. The offer of parental support may just be moral support to the school to support the learning process, that is assuming the school is able to deliver this concept very well.Chenonceau:
Agree. You've expressed it far better than I could. In addition to the point you raised, I would add that I would be concerned if parental involvement were a MUST for a child to succeed. The moment success hinges on parental involvement, we would lose the top talent we might otherwise find from the pool of under-privileged children whose parents may not care, may be absent, may have no time, may have no money to buy another's involvement in their child's education, may be dead or may be in jail. There should be a way to ensure that schools can teach independently and sufficiently. That way, under-privileged kids can continue to have an open path to success.
Lastly, I really cannot be expressing this better than the top 2% of English expert..you are too modest and over-rated my comments. :oops: I see myself only as a mother who is contented to be the mother like my mum was to me when I was growing up, ignorant of what went on in school but just provided the moral support and physical needs support for my growing up process. Unfortunately, this is really not possible these days....
While i'm not totally ignorant of what goes on in school, my P4 DD is
coping quite well on her own with the current school doing almost every
other thing. *:salute:* I'm blessed so i'm sharing that it IS possible...
Not every tom, dick and harriet are alike lar, ksi... teachers included.
By blanket-sweeping it is really not possible these days... good ones
like ehekhemm... me.. *shameless* :oops:... :lol: ... oso seem to
be grouped to the market-spoilers category.
The parental involvement in Teach Less Learn More isn't only solely
physical participation pe se but also consistent information with regards
to the programme itself and parents are constantly updated on what are
the activities done in the school and in the classrooms. Not all parents can
afford the time to be physically involved in these initiatives of opening the
classroom doors for them but it is not a compulsory component... hence
the information shared by the school via school website (some with pix
and videos)... email updates, pictures of our children at work, and their
actual work itself help parents better understand the Teach Less Learn
More method. For us who can spend some time off to join the school
initiatives, we are relishing the opportunities... for in the old school
ways, parents were almost unwelcomed in school.
Under-privileged kids do get extra help these days and if they want it hard
enough, they too CAN achieve the same as the rest of the privileged ones.
All children who have the \"want it\" attitude, will at no qualms... go get it...
with presence of support or not... of whatever kind available... including
parental ones. This is a character trait that i hope for my girls to have &
still hoping and yes.. still working on it.
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At this point in time…3 weeks before SA1 (paper 2), I am getting my son to revise as much as possible…for Science, I am getting him to read the answers to some common questions (aka spotting) from Science Explorer (teacher ordered for school).
I am very afraid to let the school do everything bcos I know son’s school cannot be depended upon. -
buds:
Building on your ideas, here is a bit more to add on.These children didn't ask to be there. They were born into
these families. They cannot choose not to be there. But if more of
us care enough to give our time, they can be rescued... but from
my experience... they do need to want the help.
In my own extended family, there are children like this. One child was born out of wedlock to a 16 year old, who now works in a nightclub. She is something of an alcoholic. Her husband is in China for months at a time. The kid was shuttled from one Grandma to another until I started hinting heavily that the child should go to preschool. She was enrolled in K2. The child is bright. When I teach her English, she can remember and reuse words like \"skedaddle\" after only one exposure. I discern a definite talent for Math. She is naturally fast. In the end, visits to my house were discouraged because we were being too kay-po.
Another child within the family was abandoned by his Vietnamese mother to his taxi-driver Grandpa with all of P2 education. The father has also disappeared.
Schools need to teach sufficiently and independently else these children suffer the most... and in 20 years time, high IQ children from this pool will pit their wits against our police and win. The drive to succeed is strong in humans. If success cannot be had legitimately, then the temptation to go the other way is there for a child who can think and plan faster than others. If I had not had the opportunities the MOE gave me, I could well be on the other side of the law. The extended family has been known to produce a triad boss on the run in Europe for the past 40 years.
My daughter volunteers to tutor disadvantaged children every Wednesday afternoon. One very bright boy suddenly stopped coming. His grades were making progress. He was keen and eager to learn. In the end, we found out that the parents wanted him home to babysit a younger sibling.
The egalitarian education system has been every Singaporean's right and privilege for many years. It has been good for us. When we lived in the USA, I noted that rich people send their kids to better schools. A child from the ghetto does not have a clear path to success based on merit. That creates problems further down the road, for the child certainly, but for the nation too.
Whilst I am convinced that Teach Less Learn More will help, its faulty implementation means that in schools across the nation, parents like me, who are not used to picking the slack, have to do so. Kids without parents like me are left bereft unless there are well-meaning if transient volunteers (and kaypo relatives) to help them along. Even then, how much can one help?
At the end of the day, not only do poor kids need us in the now. WE need them in the future because their talent can contribute to the nation. The system should be independent and sufficient without parental involvement. -
On a personal note, Buds’ sharing has helped me decide to junk the Top School Exams until April next year. From now till then, I will use Teach Less Learn More methods instead.
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Chenonceau:
Agree.... :celebrate: Only privileged buds gets the good experience now. Generally the sentiment is we are not there yet.
Whilst I am convinced that Teach Less Learn More will help, its faulty implementation means that in schools across the nation, parents like me, who are not used to picking the slack, have to do so. Kids without parents like me are left bereft unless there are well-meaning if transient volunteers (and kaypo relatives) to help them along. Even then, how much can one help?
At the end of the day, not only do poor kids need us in the now. WE need them in the future because their talent can contribute to the nation. The system should be independent and sufficient without parental involvement. -
janet_lee88:
Totally empathise with your concern.At this point in time...3 weeks before SA1 (paper 2), I am getting my son to revise as much as possible...for Science, I am getting him to read the answers to some common questions (aka spotting) from Science Explorer (teacher ordered for school).
I am very afraid to let the school do everything bcos I know son's school cannot be depended upon.
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Education is compulsory in Singapore…parents go to prison if they don’t send their kids to school. But can we leave our kids in the hands of the teachers completely ? Since kids have to attend school, then teachers should educate them from A - Z. Why do we parents have to spend money to send them to enrichment centres or tuition ?
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ksi:
Son's school principal thanks parents for their support in co-operating with school and working hand-in-hand. What is this supposed to mean ? It's the job of the teachers to educate students right ?
Totally empathise with your concern.janet_lee88:
At this point in time...3 weeks before SA1 (paper 2), I am getting my son to revise as much as possible...for Science, I am getting him to read the answers to some common questions (aka spotting) from Science Explorer (teacher ordered for school).
I am very afraid to let the school do everything bcos I know son's school cannot be depended upon.
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