Intellect or Age Peer?
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concern2:
Interesting point.[/quote]Not sure if it will help to consider in this way:ksi:
[quote=\"2ppaamm\"]Read more about Hikkikomori here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori
Take care of the little ones, a pressurizing education system can cause a lot of harm. Well meaning parents, under the pressure of the system, may also be the source of such a phenomenon.
For my case, I believe my children were saved by acceleration, which gave them confidence, hope, and escape from a system that does not forgive, that does not satisfy, that does not understand, pitching friends against friends. Radically accelerating my kids, I deliberately choose to not chase after A's, I gave my kids a totally different yardstick, themselves.
Honestly, because I read, research and talk to so many people about education, I get really scared of stuff like these (Hikkikomori) and having seen so many recluse from RI, GEP, etc etc, from as young as Sec 1, I wonder if anyone from the education ministry is ever as worried as any parent. These things never surface in our press. But I know so many personally. Sometimes I wonder if I had not rescued my kids and accelerated them, what would have happened?
I am concerned to hear that acceleration is a solution to get away from a pressurizing education system. Did I understand wrongly?
1. Pressurizing education system has its pros, so wanting to get away from it will have negative results.
2. Pressurizing education system is not conducive way of educating children, has many cons for overall development, so must find alternative methods of learning.
I think what most of us here are saying is closer to point 2. Since GEP is supposed to apply 应材施教, its evolvement seems to be going further and further away from its mission (please correct me if I am wrong) and parents who have the ability and capabilities prefer to take their children's education into their own hands and apply 应材施教 that they find lacking in the current system. -
ksi:
No, that's not what I meant. There is no solution to the problem in Japan. The problem is also present in Singapore.2ppaamm:
Read more about Hikkikomori here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori
Take care of the little ones, a pressurizing education system can cause a lot of harm. Well meaning parents, under the pressure of the system, may also be the source of such a phenomenon.
For my case, I believe my children were saved by acceleration, which gave them confidence, hope, and escape from a system that does not forgive, that does not satisfy, that does not understand, pitching friends against friends. Radically accelerating my kids, I deliberately choose to not chase after A's, I gave my kids a totally different yardstick, themselves.
Honestly, because I read, research and talk to so many people about education, I get really scared of stuff like these (Hikkikomori) and having seen so many recluse from RI, GEP, etc etc, from as young as Sec 1, I wonder if anyone from the education ministry is ever as worried as any parent. These things never surface in our press. But I know so many personally. Sometimes I wonder if I had not rescued my kids and accelerated them, what would have happened?
I am concerned to hear that acceleration is a solution to get away from a pressurizing education system. Did I understand wrongly?
There's no way out of the pressure of our education system. It is compulsory for the first 6 years, and after that, kids still have to stay in the system and not allowed to go to any other schools, unless these schools are approved by MOE. The way to get out of the pressurizing system is deliberately not to participate in the crazy race. But that would mean failing and definitely falling on the left side of the bell curve for many in our current system, even for the brighter kids. This is because on the bell curve, everything is relative to the performance of peers. Hence, if everyone is on tuition and giving up their lives for just study, it is impossible to be out of the pressure cooker.
If my kids had stayed in the system, they would have spent a lot of time (too much time) on trying to get As. They spend much more time and effort and yet get a lower GPA (because they won't be as motivated working on things they have no passion in), they have much less incentive to put passion into their work because no matter what they do, there's always someone whom the principal will call out, and those same people who are groomed to get those same awards. Those few whom the school want to nurture and win scholarships to give the school 'face'. My kids are good, but to be the BEST means to put in a lot more work in lieu of too much other pleasures in life. The teachers do not take an effort to appreciate their good work, because our system looks out for the best, not EVERYONE. Their best is never good enough, as long as there's someone better. In my kids' world, their best is always good enough as long as there's improvement, and hence there's always an incentive to work harder than what is expected but never for grades alone. In schools, they work according to what is expected. In schools, they think of what RIGHT answers to give, so that the teachers will score them A's, in my kids' system, they consider ALL the answers and all of them are right in different ways. They then ponder a little longer and decide which they can agree with best. That may not be the model answer, but it is perfectly ok. No need to get A, just need to learn.
A kid in our education system is put on the bell curve, and all of them are smart. Therefore a kid with a GPA of 2.5 may be as good as a kid in the US with a GPA of 4.0 but the former kid will never get a chance to get into a good college in US. No, the perfect SAT and AP scores are not good enough to get anyone into a good university, you need your GPA score. This is often a rude shock to students when their college application gets rejected by the Ivies, it is then too late to go and participate in a CCA, try to improve their GPA or learn other important skills. In our Singapore system, our kids suffer even in the international arena because of that bell curve that serves well only if your kid intends to study in Singapore, our very fantastic students are disadvantaged vis-a-vis poorer students in another country's system, which our students will eventually face once the kids apply to the universities.
For most of my kids, (except one), they stay in the system (until they enrol in the uni) but choose not to be pressurized. My kids happen to survive well despite having no tuition and no help, they are not #1 but manage to end up in top classes in primary and sec schools. So I figure they handle the Singapore education system ok. On the side, they work harder on something else, and happens that because they are motivated, they are accelerated on the other system. The kids dual enrolled, you see. On our system, they are above average, on another system, because of their passion, they excel. Because they excel, they are accelerated. Because they are accelerated, they self-esteem is high, because they are accelerated fast enough, their passion is not lost in the system. Because their passion is not lost in the system, they get to do what they love at an advanced level at a very young age. Because they get to do something they love at an advanced level at a young age, they get to do postgrad earlier, because they do postgrad earlier, hopefully they have more time on their side and will be in the forefront of their field. If they do not pursue research, they will enter into the work force earlier, hopefully marry earlier, have babies earlier, earn money earlier, have less debt and have a happier life.
Heheh... that's how I have envisioned the path we chose, happier life, and out of the pressure cooker. Happens they are accelerated, and with minimal pressure, at least much less than the ones from the school system. -
Chenonceau:
It seems quite shocking but if you've homeschooled before, it really isn't. It may be easier to understand this from the perspective of homeschool VS school-school.ksi:
[quote=\"2ppaamm\"]Read more about Hikkikomori here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori
Take care of the little ones, a pressurizing education system can cause a lot of harm. Well meaning parents, under the pressure of the system, may also be the source of such a phenomenon.
For my case, I believe my children were saved by acceleration, which gave them confidence, hope, and escape from a system that does not forgive, that does not satisfy, that does not understand, pitching friends against friends. Radically accelerating my kids, I deliberately choose to not chase after A's, I gave my kids a totally different yardstick, themselves.
Honestly, because I read, research and talk to so many people about education, I get really scared of stuff like these (Hikkikomori) and having seen so many recluse from RI, GEP, etc etc, from as young as Sec 1, I wonder if anyone from the education ministry is ever as worried as any parent. These things never surface in our press. But I know so many personally. Sometimes I wonder if I had not rescued my kids and accelerated them, what would have happened?
I am concerned to hear that acceleration is a solution to get away from a pressurizing education system. Did I understand wrongly?
Downtime in School
When I send my son to school, I am prepared to accept slower academic progress. In school, there is down time. You wait for Teachers to come to class. You collect exercise books. You wait for Teachers to finish scolding. You wait for Teachers to finish explaining stuff you already know. There is so much downtime in school that DS makes it a point to finish all his homework in school during the scolding sessions and explanations-not-targeted-at-him sessions. We had to do this or we would never have enough time to cover the bits that help him do well (which school does not cover but still tests).
Syllabus-Centrism
School teaches around a syllabus. The kids cannot choose what they want to learn and when because everyone is taught together. In my experience with homeschooling, I allowed DS and DD to choose from a pool of topics what they wanted to do. This is not practical in school because everyone would choose different topics and it would be a nightmare for Teachers. Nonetheless, the very small act of choosing what he or she wants to learn about helps the child to focus better when learning and feeling that he/she wants to learn. The moment this attitude is in place... the acceleration happens all by itself... and you don't even need a gifted kid.
For example, we begin by covering DNA... genes and stuff with some library books and a video on forensic investigators. Somewhere in that material, there is mentioned the notion of giving DNA data to employers and insurance companies. The child asks why employers need DNA data. A discussion begins where we explore the ethics of research (this is 4th year university level material and is a precursor to a Masters by research). In this way, you accelerate the child and no one feels accelerated.
In the natural world, knowledge isn't structured into neat levels. A P4 child is quite capable of discussing ethics in research.
I am not surprised that 2ppaamm's children were saved by acceleration. Highly gifted children do not abide teaching. They wanna discover and the best Teacher is a supportive companion. And with a wise companion, such children can accelerate themselves all by themselves... and they love it.
Friction-ful VS Friction-less
Learning within the school system comes with friction... an opposing force that interferes with learning freely (downtime is one reason... feeling forced to learn is another) that requires effort on the part of the child to counter. Learning at home reduces this friction by a great deal, especially when your companion is skilled at learning companionship.
I stress on \"learning companion\" not \"teacher\".
I would never accelerate my kid through the school system (i.e., skip levels or GEP) but I can see a lot of joy in accelerating him in homeschool. Gee... I wonder if I make sense...[/quote]O my goodness?! How is it that all your points are what I often tell people about including the time wasted in being scolded or watching others being scolded?! :hi5:
The red part. How true! I tried both. O dear! What disaster... the paper work, the justification... the tests.... the meetings after meetings the this and that, this paper work needs more this, that paper work needs more that.... you rush here and there to get this and then back again. Urgh! What a waste of time. Easier to just use the time to focus on getting the right materials for the kids, or watch an interesting movie... :boogie:
Can't agree more. Even an average student can be accelerated. But I'd just go for top 10% for now other people will definitely
. Given the right approach, the right execution and the right parenting, I cannot disagree that even the average can be accelerated. That's why the homeschooled in the US are getting better results than the school-going ones. They all have good parents.
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The thing is this. For me, it was a point of principle to NOT accelerate DS beyond his Teachers' teaching. How was I to know that in P4 and P5, schools test what they don't teach? I felt it odd in P4 that he kept asking to be taught stuff his school hadn't taught. I feel so sorry that I pushed him away and scolded him for bothering me - \"Your studies is your problem, Son! You're old enough to be an independent learner, no? You have Teachers, ask THEM.\"
How was I to know that the rest of the world had progressed up a dizzying vortex of enrichment since P1, a vortex that carried their kids on the crest of the education wave that tests beyond what is taught... and so these kids did well whilst my kid languished behind and started to accept his lot in life - as a loser?
Only in P5, when he failed, did I wake up. When I asked the Teacher why the exams tested beyond what was taught, 2 teachers gave 2 answers
(1) the bright ones naturally know
(2) there are people in class who haven't mastered the basics so Teacher cannot move up to the challenging... something has to give
In P5, they test material from P6. So in 10 weeks, we covered all the P5 material, and some P6 material in spots where P6 material was tested: e.g., ratio... Science answering skills etc... deep reading comprehension skills. In effect, I accelerated him through a whole year's worth of material in 10 weeks. It was a good thing I knew how to homeschool, having done it before once with the support of a very cohesive homeschooling mothers' group in USA.
I had to do this because he had NO ENRICHMENT and NO ACCELERATION before P5. We had to do big time CATCH UP. In lower primary, he made a name for himself as the purveyor of caterpillars to kids in his school, conducting business at the school gate, and in his spare time, he kept ledgers of how much money he earned. But ummm... he ranked somewhere near bottom of class.
I don't homeschool because I am lazy. I am selfish enough to wanna do my own things, and the French part of me believes that every individual is accountable for his/her own life. I thus tai-chi-ed my DS' work back to him.
But if I had really decided to accelerate from P1, my DS would be cruising through PSLE with no stress at all this year. DS might be doing 'O' level Math in P5!! Whether DS is gifted or not gifted is irrelevant, ME, I know HOW to do it and so I did. If he can master P5 work in 10 weeks with me, then imagine what we could have done in 4 years of the same intensive learning.
In this sense, if I had accelerated him in the early years, I would have saved him much emotional anguish... and I wouldn't have had to burn \"the loser mentality\" out of him last year. I discussed this with DS. I regret not enriching him. He is adamant that it was a good thing because \"Mom, I prefer to goof off for 4 years and suffer for 2... instead of suffer all 6 years.\"
But then you see, if I had personally enriched him myself, he wouldn't have felt any stress at all even whilst being accelerated. In fact, I did accelerate him for Science... not because I thought it was syllabus... but because we enjoyed it (he and I). The result is that when he does Science practices... he generates 2 to 3 answers for some of the longer questions. In one glance, he sees the few possible answers and now has problems choosing amongst them. PSLE Science questions can have multiple answers, depending on some of the unstated assumptions and different logic thinkthroughs.
Thank God I accelerated him in Science unknowingly, else this year would be even more stressful. So you see, acceleration also saved my kid. -
2ppaamm, you have PM… I need a bit of help from you. TIA.
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Chenonceau:
2ppaamm, you have PM... I need a bit of help from you. TIA.
Chen, I sent you a reply. Have a read and hope it helps!
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laughingcat:
Chen, it is never too late. Your DS still have time. Most importantly, he did enjoys his childhood yeah. Just nurture and assist him on his passion. That is more fun.
:snuggles: I suppose it was a good thing that DS flunked early last year. I finally gave him my time. -
raisintan:
I refused to teach beyond what Teacher was teaching. I didn't know that schools test beyond what they teach. Since I have to teach, I might as well have gone all the way and my son would already be way way ahead.Hi 2ppaamm and chenonceau,
Can u share what do u mean by holding back? As in hands off and not being involved? -
Chenonceau:
Hi Chen,
I refused to teach beyond what Teacher was teaching. I didn't know that schools test beyond what they teach. Since I have to teach, I might as well have gone all the way and my son would already be way way ahead.raisintan:
Hi 2ppaamm and chenonceau,
Can u share what do u mean by holding back? As in hands off and not being involved?
It's always a struggle isn't it? If we over-teach, our kids will get bored in class. -
raisintan:
It's always a struggle isn't it? If we over-teach, our kids will get bored in class.
I suppose it's a delicate balance. If child is motivated to learn more & is able to absorb, why not?
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