2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[Champion]

NewKSmum:

I'm new KS mum here ... may I know is there any KS parent has info on the date for PSLE 2012 ? Greatly appreciate it.

mitchy:

Hi Everyone

I m new to this forum. Just attended the parents' PSLE briefing in my DD school and the dates and subjects for 2012 PSLE are as follows:

16 n 17 August - Oral
14 September - Listening Comprehension
27 September - English
28 September - Maths
1 October - Mother Tongue
2 October - Science
3 October - Higher Mother Tongue

Hope the above information is useful.

[2ppaamm]

psle2011mum:

This is my Utopia ...


In Teachers We Trust: An Interview with Finnish Education Expert Reijo Laukkanen
By Claus von Zastrow on September 29, 2008 for PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS

[See link at :http://www.learningfirst.org/teachers-we-trust-interview-finnish-education-expert-reijo-laukkanen]

Finland draws its teachers from the top 10 percent of college graduates, and teaching regularly beats out law or medicine as a top career choice among high performers. \"We can trust that [teachers] are competent,\" Laukkanen told us; \"They know what to do.\"

PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS: What do you think are some of the major reasons for [Finland's] success?

LAUKKANEN: Teachers. They are the most important [aspect of] Finnish success. But there's also other issues. The second one is that we take care of all our children. And the third big issue is that we have set our objectives or the standards of education high.

PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS: The concern here [in the United States] is often that national standards might limit the work of schools and teachers.

LAUKKANEN: I can understand the hesitation of some people in the USA [to support national standards] if they hesitate for that reason, because we have sometimes [asked] would it be better to set minimum objectives. And we have found out that it's not clever, because if you set minimum objectives for the schools you'll always reach low objectives. And that's why we set objectives high, and we never set objectives in the way that they would prevent teachers [from using] their own capacity to broaden education. We only talk about the objectives, not the methods of education. Because teachers, if they have high-level education, should be given leeway enough to use their own innovation capacity.

I love both my DDs teachers as wonderfully caring people; they had so much on their hands, I had no expectation that they were able to do any more for my DDs - how to - with a class of 43, a load that rivals many of us working parents' and a job scope that goes well beyond teaching. That my DDs enjoyed their time in school with their teachers and friends - that was enough for me. Since I knew my Utopia was not going to materialise anytime soon, I did what I needed to do.

I do see the textbooks as only spelling out the minimum standards and I do think that the PSLE is not an exam to make sure your 12 year old has reached the standards required of a 12 year old [and is thus ready to move on to a next higher phase of education], but it is a differentiation exam - differentiated to 6 decimal points I am told.

I pray for a day when the system gets better but in the meantime, I do what I can to pass on the resources I was blessed with and hope someone else finds it useful

Yesterday, the Education Minister was asked this very question. Why are we not looking at the Finland education system model, that is rated the best in the world, and adopting some of their policies?

His answer? He sent a person to study their system. But he also found out that they are here to study our system. The impression given was that we have a better system than theirs. Nothing short of surprising, as all teachers in Singapore claim that we have the best education system in the world, without proof, support or validation.

I was disappointed that we have come to the point to believe that there is no need to improve our education/or revamp it. So what if they came to look at our system? Did they adopt anything useful?

It does not matter if there are better systems out there, better methods devised that we can study. The point is, by claiming that we have the best, there is no need to change. There won't be changes, people are just happy our kids are going overseas and winning awards (as boasted by the minister himself), and it does not matter if the real fuel behind the success are parents, not teachers, unfortunately, IMHO.

Complacency is the mother of failure. I have decided I will stop hoping for the next few years, and continue to contribute or make changes in my own capacity.

[autumnbronze]

Lit students from sec 1 are 'taught' to make annotations in their lit texts/practice papers to deconstruct/breakdown the passage/poem.


It's good that this habit is instilled in kids from young cuz it helps in tackling lit/compre passages.

I found that that my lit pupils tend to apply this method naturally in their EL paper as well. I have used this method to teach my pupils EL (both in schools and tuition). This skill has become very useful in EL cuz many of the questions tested are inferential and pupils need to read between the lines, just like a lit text, so making notes/references help.

At sec level, pupils can get creative and use different colored pens/highlighters

So for P6 pupils, don't forget this skill and apply it when you are doing Lit and EL at sec 1.

To me, it a 'skill' that can be picked up on your own .....it helps if one has an inquiring mind.

[Chenonceau]

Ok… now I dun have to feel bad about using secondary school resources to teach my son.

[psle2011mum]

2ppaamm:

[Yesterday, the Education Minister was asked this very question. Why are we not looking at the Finland education system model, that is rated the best in the world, and adopting some of their policies?


His answer? He sent a person to study their system. But he also found out that they are here to study our system. The impression given was that we have a better system than theirs. Nothing short of surprising, as all teachers in Singapore claim that we have the best education system in the world, without proof, support or validation.

I was disappointed that we have come to the point to believe that there is no need to improve our education/or revamp it. So what if they came to look at our system? Did they adopt anything useful?

It does not matter if there are better systems out there, better methods devised that we can study. The point is, by claiming that we have the best, there is no need to change. There won't be changes, people are just happy our kids are going overseas and winning awards (as boasted by the minister himself), and it does not matter if the real fuel behind the success are parents, not teachers, unfortunately, IMHO.

Complacency is the mother of failure. I have decided I will stop hoping for the next few years, and continue to contribute or make changes in my own capacity.

Hmm... haven't read the papers this morning - newspaper vendor keeps saner hours than I do I'm afraid.

How sad to hear it from the horse's mouth that my Utopia will remain as such...

[psle2011mum]

Chenonceau:

psle2011mum...you're a blessing in more ways than one.

Thanks Chenonceau :hugs:

Commonsense should prevail and I for one take the view that we should not and need not be defined by what is told to us, \"compulsory\" textbooks included.

Secondary textbooks have more words and these textbook writers take it that most who use their books will be [and should be] on an independent learning path; hence they are written in a style which suits self-learning.
So yes, by all means, they are excellent resouces for those who can self-learn.

DD1's Sec 1 teacher recommended O-level Guide books when I asked for help with resources for DD1 to use on her own -- so that's what I bought for her from Sec 1 on. I'm all for anything that helps my kids learn on their own.

[Chenonceau]

psle2011mum:

Secondary textbooks have more words and these textbook writers take it that most who use their books will be [and should be] on an independent learning path; hence they are written in a style which suits self-learning.
So yes, by all means, they are excellent resouces for those who can self-learn.

That's the irony. They did say they wanted to teach less and have our kids learn more. If teachers teach less, then students need to do independent learning right? How to do independent learning when reading materials are so lacking?

[2ppaamm]

delete this and post it somewhere else. http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30745&p=701518#p701518

[2ppaamm]

psle2011mum:

Chenonceau:

psle2011mum...you're a blessing in more ways than one.

Thanks Chenonceau :hugs:

Commonsense should prevail and I for one take the view that we should not and need not be defined by what is told to us, \"compulsory\" textbooks included.

Secondary textbooks have more words and these textbook writers take it that most who use their books will be [and should be] on an independent learning path; hence they are written in a style which suits self-learning.
So yes, by all means, they are excellent resouces for those who can self-learn.

DD1's Sec 1 teacher recommended O-level Guide books when I asked for help with resources for DD1 to use on her own -- so that's what I bought for her from Sec 1 on. I'm all for anything that helps my kids learn on their own.

Really. The only textbook I use is the Chinese text book, because I don't know better. The Math, English and Science texts are just meant to show support to the school. Btw, in case you are wondering. Yes, I still buy them just in case my kids decide to jump back into public school. And I still pay fees.

[fifiyeo]

psle2011mum:

This is my Utopia ...


In Teachers We Trust: An Interview with Finnish Education Expert Reijo Laukkanen
By Claus von Zastrow on September 29, 2008 for PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS

[See link at :http://www.learningfirst.org/teachers-we-trust-interview-finnish-education-expert-reijo-laukkanen]

Finland draws its teachers from the top 10 percent of college graduates, and teaching regularly beats out law or medicine as a top career choice among high performers. \"We can trust that [teachers] are competent,\" Laukkanen told us; \"They know what to do.\"

PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS: What do you think are some of the major reasons for [Finland's] success?

LAUKKANEN: Teachers. They are the most important [aspect of] Finnish success. But there's also other issues. The second one is that we take care of all our children. And the third big issue is that we have set our objectives or the standards of education high.

PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS: The concern here [in the United States] is often that national standards might limit the work of schools and teachers.

LAUKKANEN: I can understand the hesitation of some people in the USA [to support national standards] if they hesitate for that reason, because we have sometimes [asked] would it be better to set minimum objectives. And we have found out that it's not clever, because if you set minimum objectives for the schools you'll always reach low objectives. And that's why we set objectives high, and we never set objectives in the way that they would prevent teachers [from using] their own capacity to broaden education. We only talk about the objectives, not the methods of education. Because teachers, if they have high-level education, should be given leeway enough to use their own innovation capacity.

:

In Finland, they believe in taking care of all their kids and no one gets left out simply because everyone has a niche and that's what makes a society complete. Here, education is a competion. The amount of time our kids have to spend behind their books really kills creativity. There is actually so much more to learn beyond those assessment books.