2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[mummy so kiasu]

Mummyatwork:

DS came back yesterday, feeling super down. His teacher had given them some trial papers, which was super tough..... My husband and I were not able to solve some of the questions.

He has been scoring A* for Maths and Science, getting above 95 for SA1. Recent papers came back only 60+. He is feeling the stress and anxiety now, PSLE in another 2 months..

His teacher called and asked me to monitor his work closely. He mention the school is monitoring very closely on the top 10 students. Sometimes, I really wonder what is the school trying to do, studying from 7am-4.30pm giving them lots of homework and stressful papers, making them stress up etc.

Singapore is really a stressful environment for all children. My younger one saw his brother and kept asking whether is she going to go through the same process. :yikes: (Younger one also in 1st class)

I am just motivating DS at home, making him relax, cooking his favorite food and reassuring him we will love him no matter what his results is.

Is your son from one of the top schools? Most schools put a lot of focus on their 1st class. These classes usually get more & tougher worksheets than the other classes. The schools hope that one of them could become a national top scorer to do the school proud. Top school scorers usually come from the top 10, so naturally they will monitor closely on the top 10 in school. These kids have to learn how to manage their stress & time.

As a parent, all you can do is not to give him more stress or he might burn out. Health comes first. No more tuition or additional worksheets. Just give him moral support & he will do well in PSLE. I agree with you, Singapore has a very stressful education system. It will not end after PSLE. School life
will remain very stressful when he goes to top schools like RI or HCI.

[8228]

Mummyatwork:

DS came back yesterday, feeling super down. His teacher had given them some trial papers, which was super tough..... My husband and I were not able to solve some of the questions.


He has been scoring A* for Maths and Science, getting above 95 for SA1. Recent papers came back only 60+. He is feeling the stress and anxiety now, PSLE in another 2 months..

His teacher called and asked me to monitor his work closely. He mention the school is monitoring very closely on the top 10 students. Sometimes, I really wonder what is the school trying to do, studying from 7am - 4.30pm, giving them lots of homework and stressful papers, making them stress up etc..

Singapore is really a stressful environment for all children. My younger one saw his brother and kept asking whether is she going to go through the same process. :yikes: (Younger one also in 1st class)

I am just motivating DS at home, making him relax, cooking his favourite food and reassuring him we will love him no matter what his results is.

Sigh... the school should help those below average students more instead.

[mummy so kiasu]

G Tan:

Yesterday, my DD came back hoe... Refused to do homework... Just sat there....

Maybe can bring her out for lunch after school & have a talk with her. Is she feeling tired or stress out? My boy also got upset after doing so much homework everyday for so many months. He also does not feel like doing homework too. He had a lot of backlog to clear after he has recovered from fever. Can't afford to fall sick or else homework starts to pile up! Poor kids, still have 2 more months to go.

[fightingmom]

G Tan:

Yesterday, my DD came back hoe... Refused to do homework... Just sat there....

have a good heart to heart talk with your dd. most of them are feeling super stressed now with Prelim and PSLE so close now.

Some of the so-called homework from subjects like Art and Craft, Social Studies - I have instructed my dd to stop handling in already since term 3 starts. we do selective homework now. Revision is most impt now.

Hope your dd is ok now.

:grphug:

[beanbear]

G Tan:

Yesterday, my DD came back hoe... Refused to do homework... Just sat there....

My heart goes out to you & your DD. I think all of us have an internal thermometer & compass. When things get too much, we just shut down, need to withdraw a while & recharge.

Maybe a good time to just take her out and connect to see what she really needs.

I've come to realize that not everything we do serves the child's needs. Not everything the school does serves the child's needs. When our child raises the red flag through unusual behaviour, it's a good time to check in on her internal compass.

DS is home today again. Got to sleep in, go have breakfast with both daddy & mummy. Now he's doing Maths exam papers, with timer and given a checklist for specific exam techniques he must demonstrate on the exam paper. I mark the paper immediately and he gets immediate feedback.

My plan is to have DS stay at home now for 1-2 days every week until PSLE. If he gets homework that he can't finish, so be it. Teacher takes too long to mark and feedback will be too long delayed. Not effective for learning now. I'm prepared to speak with the Teacher regarding homework load if I find it unreasonable and not worth doing.

At this critical juncture, it's about confidence building, not demoralising. Some kids can pull themselves up if they don't do well but some kids, if without support of parents, will be so demoralized that they have lots of self-doubts facing the paper. That's where the kids' minds go blank. Self-belief is critical now, more than ever.

Tmr I'll take DS for a little shopping, again to chill out, have nice tea before he goes for his Berries class.

[HAPPYH]

mummy so kiasu:

HAPPYH:

Wishing all P6 students (and mums) all the best for oral.

:thankyou: HAPPYH !

Same to your child too !

Wow.. Although you are new to the Singapore system, you already behave like one of us. VERY KIASU! :rotflmao: Anyway, welcome to the kiasu family & you will be well prepared in 3 years time.[/quote]

12 years in Singapore but new to the education system as my DD is the first child (and the only child) This KSP forum is my eye opener. And :thankyou: :thankyou: :thankyou: to all the mummies for your valuable suggestion and advice.

[HAPPYH]

G Tan:

Yesterday, my DD came back hoe... Refused to do homework... Just sat there....

Don't let her morale go down. Hope she is ok now. Encourage her non-stop. All the best.

[HAPPYH]

fightingmom:

fightingmom:

[quote=\"HAPPYH\"]Wishing all P6 students (and mums) all the best for oral.

No worries ..

Build the foundation and resilience in your dd now. It is never too early to start.

[/quote] :thankyou:

[G Tan]

:thankyou:

HAPPYH:

G Tan:

Yesterday, my DD came back hoe... Refused to do homework... Just sat there....

Don't let her morale go down. Hope she is ok now. Encourage her non-stop. All the best.

Thank you

[janet88]

My son is also fed up of getting homework done. He is unlucky in the sense that his load of homework is due the next day. For some non-core stuff like xi3 zi4, I help him. Stuff like compo and comprehension is HIS. Project is daddy's work. Still giving project :faint: