GEP 2012 - Screening & Selection
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Hi all,
Sorry to pour cold water.
The choice is pretty obvious. If a child got thru the second round, it is more than certain that his/her parents would want to accept the GEP offer. If not, why let the kid go thru the GEP Selection Test?
I don’t think many has the mindset to use GEP Selection Test solely as a means to ascertain their kids’ intellectual ability versus the whole nation standard.
The question is not whether to accept or not to accept when selected. The real question is whether would my kid be branded as "gifted"?
I guess all the questions on whether which GEP school to choose, whether the younger siblings can transfer school together, whether parental effort will be stretched are only meaningful when the kid is eventually selected, not at this point of time.
SA 2 exams would have been over for most of the Pri 3 kids, so it is time for all, parents and kids to relax abit rather than to ponder what to do when my kid is selected. When lucky stars fall, most will know what to do.
Cheers! -
tayv:
So going by your reasoning, if you go for job interviews and is offered the post, you're \"more than certain\" to accept it (otherwise why will you go for multiple job interviews at the same company right?) If I've interpreted your logic wrongly, pls correct me.Hi all,
Sorry to pour cold water.
The choice is pretty obvious. If a child got thru the second round, it is more than certain that his/her parents would want to accept the GEP offer. If not, why let the kid go thru the GEP Selection Test? -
tayv:
Benefit of the doubt to them that perhaps they have not fully decided, and there is a chance they may accept, while in the meantime find out exactly what it means to be 'gifted' (google for: asynchronous development), what is the program about, and how it would help the child. Bear in mind that it will not benefit every child, and it is the duty of the parent to understand their own child, and come to a decision if the child will fit better in that environment.Hi all,
Sorry to pour cold water.
The choice is pretty obvious. If a child got thru the second round, it is more than certain that his/her parents would want to accept the GEP offer. If not, why let the kid go thru the GEP Selection Test?tayv:
It's not solely about the intellectual ability, but coming to understand the classification of the ability, these are not necessarily strongest in all the students, but they exercise intellectual maturity to think and extrapolate new ideas and thoughts.I don't think many has the mindset to use GEP Selection Test solely as a means to ascertain their kids' intellectual ability versus the whole nation standard.
tayv:
'gifted', IMHO, is a bad choice of word, and this has led many into thinking it is all about academic results and success. IMO, it's about how a child classified in this category may not fit in the mainstream, and will benefit with different way of educating. A good number of them do have problem fitting in the mainstream.The question is not whether to accept or not to accept when selected. The real question is whether would my kid be branded as \"gifted\"?
tayv:
The program is not a one size fit all, and being in this category may, for some parents, help to explain the 'issues' their child has in school. And it may well be time to ponder about whether the program can help, if they wish to seek another path, or stay as it is and try to work things out.SA 2 exams would have been over for most of the Pri 3 kids, so it is time for all, parents and kids to relax abit rather than to ponder what to do when my kid is selected. When lucky stars fall, most will know what to do.
Naturally, this child would likely have some good idea what it means, and should also be consulted and have a say in the final decision.
To me, it's not about 'lucky stars', and it's never meant to be a 'cream of the crop' classification. These children will trip and fall just like any other.
Cheers. -
It’s good to see parents coming forward asking about the program. When my boy was selected, we didn’t have the faintest idea what gep is all about. Eventually found out a close friend’s boy was got into gep one year earlier. We were still very unsure when we went for the briefing coz our boy was not the self motivated type.
We more or less left it to him to decide after the briefing and was quite surprised he was more keen on the new challenges than ourselves!
So we bit the Bullet and HOOT lah!
I donch know about yr social circle but that friend with gep kid was about the only one we knew and could talk to. So I guess ksp is about the only place where u can get to hear the diff experience of gep parents. Always good to see more view and decide for yourself. -
shine:
Thank u for your well-wishes, shine! :)):thankyou: breezy for sharing your experience.
It’s indeed reassuring and I really appreciate it. You mentioned 3 years ago so I assume your son did PSLE this year? All the best to your son’s PSLE results and may he get into his choice school! :boogie: -
Well, I am not trying to start a words war here.
The key point I am trying to bring out is "You Will Never Know The Outcome Until You Have Tried".
Let’s say the situation whereby a parent kept receiving both positive and negative comments from the forum, is he/she still able to draw a conclusive decision based on all the comments?
Amongst receiving negative comments about the GEP programme, would I still let my kid accept the offer when selected? My answer is a straight "Yes". What did not work out for others does not mean will fail on me and what fails on me does not mean it is not good for others.
Just like a job interview, you will never know whether the company is one which you are going to be happy working in just by talking to the HR person who interviewed you.
As individual, we have to make choices all the time in our life. So go with our heart and make them.
I guess anxieties will flow starting next Thursday and parents will start asking their kids to watch out for the mysterious coloured envelope. Some of them would even hunt for the prized envelope themselves by calling the school teachers and even principals asking for the catch. What will come will definitely arrive. PEACE
Lets just stay cool as this is just one of the many evaluations which our kids will face along the education journey. -
Interesting & insightful sharing by experienced GEP parents :goodpost:
Just to chip in my 1 year of experience. In terms of parents' involvement, it's actually lesser in my case, compared to her p1 to p3 years where I had to entertain & enrich her at home. Now she has enough to keep her intrigued and challenged so I can actually sit back & relax.
In fact, I have more ME time this year because she is required to stay back in school on cetain days. So I get to go gym more often and even indulge in my favourite jap drama.
So far she managed to complete all her homework independently. Teachers already taught them well in class. My major involvement is probably helping my dd to type her report out since her typing speed is extremely sloooooowwww.
She's not tip top in her class although consistently among top 5 for every subject. Yes, there's always another classmate who scored much better than her no matter how well prepared she think she is. She is not upset at all though.
From what she relayed to me about her daily interaction with classmates, I don't find the kids in her class extremely competitive with one another. It's probably more of a 'on the same boat, if sink will sink together' kind of kinship :rotflmao:
More importantly to me, she made new friends, fostered some close friendship & enjoyed her lessons in gep immensely. -
Some kids are so keen to be selected into GEP, because of Pride, always want to win, if a child has been 1st in class every year, he/she may think that he/she is the smartest, hence, they should have high chance of being selected. However, GEP is about some hidden talent that even the child’s parents may not know their child has. GEP may not be for the academically high achievers, hence, you will be surprised to see a child who may not be in the class’s top 10 to be selected. Also, please let child know, if they are not selected into GEP, it doesn’t mean the child is a loser, they are special in their own way. They can still be high achievers in the mainstream. And especially for kids who are very kiasu, are they prepared to face the fact that they may not be the smartest in the GEP class? They may not always score the high 90s like when they are in the mainstream? The GEP standard is definitely higher than the mainstream, some truly gifted children will do extremely well in Math, is your child able to accept setbacks?
If you understand your child well, by all means, let him/her face the GEP challenge, otherwise, be prepared to balance your child’s overall development when they join GEP classes, facing more challenge, knowing there are classmates who are much smarter than them, teamwork for project, etc… If your child is ready to face the challenge, we have to believe in them, let them take up the challenge, however, if your child is not interested, please don’t force them. -
tayv:
I’m sorry but I think you still didn’t “get it”. If you belong to the norm with a typical child and parent with typical kiasu thinking, then I would say yes, what you’ve described above should and would be the typical response. You might like to read ALL the posts, especially those in the past few days (starting pg 72), to understand the context of the questions and answers, instead of making assumptions.Well, I am not trying to start a words war here.
The key point I am trying to bring out is \"You Will Never Know The Outcome Until You Have Tried\".
Let's say the situation whereby a parent kept receiving both positive and negative comments from the forum, is he/she still able to draw a conclusive decision based on all the comments?
Amongst receiving negative comments about the GEP programme, would I still let my kid accept the offer when selected? My answer is a straight \"Yes\". What did not work out for others does not mean will fail on me and what fails on me does not mean it is not good for others.
Just like a job interview, you will never know whether the company is one which you are going to be happy working in just by talking to the HR person who interviewed you.
As individual, we have to make choices all the time in our life. So go with our heart and make them.
I guess anxieties will flow starting next Thursday and parents will start asking their kids to watch out for the mysterious coloured envelope. Some of them would even hunt for the prized envelope themselves by calling the school teachers and even principals asking for the catch. What will come will definitely arrive. *PEACE*
Lets just stay cool as this is just one of the many evaluations which our kids will face along the education journey.
Why take GEP tests? First of all, it’s FREE! Secondly, it’s good experience and exposure for the kid. Best of all, NO NEED to prepare! :rahrah: Some parents just let their child take the tests without knowing exactly what GEP entails.
Every child is different. There were parents who actually gave up GEP for the child’s sake (they believed that would be the best for their child's development), or because they have other more important priorities in life. -
tayv:
Exactly! But the question is : do you even try? That's why some parents here prefer to ask the questions first before the results are out so that they can make informed decisions. They are not trying to say their child will certainly get in. You weigh the pros and cons then decide what's best for your child. So, by your logic, do PSLE parents go to open houses in May or wait for the results in Nov then decide? If you even go to the open houses of RGS/RI or Nanyang/HCI to find out more about the schools, are you then trying to say you are CERTAIN your child will get into one of these?
The key point I am trying to bring out is \"You Will Never Know The Outcome Until You Have Tried\".
Let's say the situation whereby a parent kept receiving both positive and negative comments from the forum, is he/she still able to draw a conclusive decision based on all the comments?tayv:
That's you. Not others. If I'm not wrong, every year about 20-30 kids will reject the offer. Nothing surprising. You have a straight \"Yes\" answer but some parents do not.Amongst receiving negative comments about the GEP programme, would I still let my kid accept the offer when selected? My answer is a straight \"Yes\". What did not work out for others does not mean will fail on me and what fails on me does not mean it is not good for others.
I think the fundamental purpose of this forum is to ask questions when in doubt. No? :?
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