Branded Schools / Well-known Schools

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Sun, 11 Aug 2019 07:37:27 GMT

peasants — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 07:37:27 GMT

zac's mum\" post_id=\"1928003\" time=\"1565507261\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=1928003 time=1565507261 user_id=53606]
peasants\" post_id=\"1927961\" time=\"1565491317\" user_id=\"75885:
Nope. GEP is on a totally different plane. They don’t get pre-taught with next year’s content. They get assigned a topic and have to research it in-depth themselves. That’s how they learn. University-style.

I see, much like IP style in primary schools.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Sun, 11 Aug 2019 07:07:41 GMT

zac's mum — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 07:07:41 GMT

peasants\" post_id=\"1927961\" time=\"1565491317\" user_id=\"75885:

Is GEP preteaching? Thought I read somewhere they are verse in sec 2 works even when they are in sec one.

Nope. GEP is on a totally different plane. They don’t get pre-taught with next year’s content. They get assigned a topic and have to research it in-depth themselves. That’s how they learn. University-style.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Sun, 11 Aug 2019 02:41:57 GMT

peasants — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 02:41:57 GMT

Is GEP preteaching? Thought I read somewhere they are verse in sec 2 works even when they are in sec one.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Tue, 16 Oct 2018 16:45:04 GMT

kchairenn — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 16:45:04 GMT

I also disagree with teaching the chapters several ahead of the school syllabus! Tuition is supposed to either boost the children by strengthening their foundation or enrich them by exploring the subject in-depth in an interesting way. Tutors are not supposed to rob the responsibility of the school teachers by using the same materials and teaching the exact same content. The school teachers do not function to cover areas that parents and tutors have not taught yet.

Pre-teaching has impacted many people in several aspects. I personally feel that it has affected the learning attitude of the children. Children feel that the tutors are teaching at a normal pace and the school teachers are slow. Children also find the lessons less important and prefer spending the time on activities they like but could not do usually. This is because they have seen the same content. However, most of the children have not internalised the concepts and/or able to apply them in their daily life or assessments. Furthermore, some tutors or parents even teach the wrong stuff and confuse the children.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Wed, 10 Oct 2018 10:18:36 GMT

zac's mum — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 10:18:36 GMT

mommyNg:
Maybe schools should stream students into classes not by academic grades, but by which tuition centre they go! So children who attend tuition centres who pre-teach will be in one class, and children who don't will be in another class. That way, school teachers will know to teach more to children who don't go to these pre-teach tuition centres, and give free periods to children who go to these pre-teach tuition centres (since they already know the stuff) :evil:

Actually, I know of at least 3 primary schools that have stopped academic streaming & already have pull-out classes according to the kids’ learning pace. The slower learning pace ones get remedial/LSP/LSM depending on which subject they need more coaching. The medium learning pace ones get the regular textbook curriculum. And the “already know the textbooks” kids get to go another classroom to eg practise Chinese Xiang Sheng (crosstalk) so that they can represent the school and/or perform some entertainment for assembly. Shouldn’t give free period to those kids to do nothing lah - good for school to make use of their parents’ investment to squeeze sthg out of their extra knowledge lol.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:59:00 GMT

mommyNg — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:59:00 GMT

Maybe schools should stream students into classes not by academic grades, but by which tuition centre they go! So children who attend tuition centres who pre-teach will be in one class, and children who don't will be in another class. That way, school teachers will know to teach more to children who don't go to these pre-teach tuition centres, and give free periods to children who go to these pre-teach tuition centres (since they already know the stuff) :evil:

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Wed, 10 Oct 2018 08:24:56 GMT

sharonkhoo — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 08:24:56 GMT

My other grouse about pre-teaching is that kids get used to not needing to pay attention in class. It breeds dependency on tutors (who presumably spoonfeed more directly than in a classroom), and inhibits self-learning. Then you get young adults who look at you blankly when you tell them to figure out something by themselves, and require to be "taught".

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Wed, 10 Oct 2018 06:56:58 GMT

zac's mum — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 06:56:58 GMT

This is probably a blanket statement but I’m just sharing my limited observations.

I am really irritated with TLL and other enrichment centers which pre-teach several weeks ahead of the school syllabus. This sort of system may appeal to girls, especially girls who lack confidence unless they already know the material before the schoolteacher introduces each topic. And then when the school teaches it, they hardly cause any disruption because they can sit quietly and pretend to pay attention, without disrupting the lesson, even if bored.

This sort of pre-teach system simply does not work for my boy (or most boys). If he knows even a little bit about the topic, he will switch his mind off and display his boredom. Best case scenario: read his own storybook under the table. Worst case scenario: start talking to his neighbor and/or fold paper planes to throw, fidget with his stationery, look under the table to pick up imaginary dust, doodle on his clothes…other boys who may be ADHD would walk around the room or even dash out of the classroom.

That’s why I have pity on the teachers who have to deal with all these disruptive behaviour. At the very least, I try not to pre-teach my kid anything. I wait till the school teacher covers it in school, then I recap or reinforce at home. He has no issues with low self-confidence if he doesn’t know the material in advance.

Just let the teachers do their job and teach without making life even more difficult for them, for heavens’ sake!

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Wed, 10 Oct 2018 02:36:14 GMT

asherzoby — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 02:36:14 GMT

Thanks for your comments!

My kid isn’t in any enrichment classes except for swimming. We try to expose him to reading in Chinese and English by bringing him to the library.

Why I asked is because this is something that was told to me by a teacher friend and some parents who are already in the primary school system. That a lot of parents send to TLL and the kids are already taught prior to the lessons. The teachers find it harder to engage the kids in the lessons as almost 3/4 or more of the class already know the lessons, hence the kids get quite rowdy. The teachers end up catering to the masses that have already been taught and the minority students with no tuition tend to get left out during class time.

Its good that it doesn’t seem that way so far from the responses!

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Wed, 10 Oct 2018 02:36:07 GMT

asherzoby — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 02:36:07 GMT

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Tue, 09 Oct 2018 00:34:18 GMT

sky minecrafter — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 00:34:18 GMT

Yes, I agree with floppy. If I notice children spending excessively at the school bookshop, I'd bring it to the attention of the form. Likewise, if a child is distressed cos he does not know he has to learn his spelling, I'd tinkle the parent WhatsApp-group head.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 23:40:20 GMT

floppy — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 23:40:20 GMT

phtthp:
Since branded schools / well-known schools / hot, popular schools / are \"created\" as a result of the existence of having an alumni presence within the schools : then why don't make it compulsory, or Moe to enforce that ALL primary schools in Sg, to form an Alumni association, within each and every single neighbourhood primary school ?

...

Short answer: alumni associations are not under the purview of MOE.

Long answer: alumni associations are formal organizations registered under and governed by the Societies Act, ie they must fulfill and satisfy the requirements under the Act. Forming an association may be easy; managing and running it is hard work (hence, the option of P2A2 for schools / alumni that may not be prepared to do the work).

Besides, PSG are more important than the alumni associations. Anecdotal evidences suggest that popular schools PSG are very on-the-ball and play an active role in schools. They actively organize, participate and volunteer for events (a forumer shared that her PSG even baked cookies to show support and encourage the students during exams). Surely, that’s something that schools can emulate. If parents of existing students aren’t taking a serious interest in the school, it’s unlikely that old boys / girls can be called upon to do the lifting for them.

Thus, to address the thread starter’s comment that “parents who send to \"well known\" schools tend to be more focused on children's studies”, they are not necessary more focused on children’s studies but a lot of those parents are definitely more interested in the children’s well-being, or to quote KSP favorite code word: a “holistic” education.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 22:07:08 GMT

phtthp — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 22:07:08 GMT

Since branded schools / well-known schools / hot, popular schools / are "created" as a result of the existence of having an alumni presence within the schools : then why don’t make it compulsory, or Moe to enforce that ALL primary schools in Sg, to form an Alumni association, within each and every single neighbourhood primary school ?

As it is, under Phase 2A1 Primary 1 Registration : the percentage (Or Number) of schools Not having 2A1 exceeded that of having 2A1.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 14:58:15 GMT

peasants — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 14:58:15 GMT

I would only cast a second look at students from rundown primary schools, of lower income family, and has to travel to school by B.M.W, yet earn themselve a spot in IP school. No affliated or DSA please. This is just my opinion. Primary schools are fixed variables, students are the ones which varies.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 14:43:17 GMT

sky minecrafter — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 14:43:17 GMT

kboon2009:
There was mooncake making during the mid autumn celebration. My DD made one.

Ahhh...Thanks. I will look out for it the next years to come.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 14:39:57 GMT

kboon2009 — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 14:39:57 GMT

There was mooncake making during the mid autumn celebration. My DD made one.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 14:34:02 GMT

sky minecrafter — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 14:34:02 GMT

mylilgirl:
How many schools even bother to organise cultural event such as Mid-Autumn Festival and teaching students the making of mooncakes?

Back to academic, how many neighbourhood schools get to arrange 1 or 2 buses each year to send their P3 students to take GEP round 2?

That's true - our school (nhps) usually sends out buses for gep round 2 as well as olympiads. But I don't remember we had mooncake-making for the recent Mid-Autumn festival...

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 13:56:52 GMT

mylilgirl — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 13:56:52 GMT

To add on, how many neighbourhood schools are able to run annual FULL-DAY funfilled Children’s Day celebration with unlimited game prizes to be won, trampoline, bouncing castles etc… and without asking parents for a single cent?

How many schools even bother to organise cultural event such as Mid-Autumn Festival and teaching students the making of mooncakes?

Without the strong support from alumni and PSG, I do not think these are even possible. Well, there are still some differences between neighbourhood and branded/ well-known schools.

How many neighbourhood schools can afford to build a futuristic rooftop sheltered field?

Back to academic, how many neighbourhood schools get to arrange 1 or 2 buses each year to send their P3 students to take GEP round 2? I know of a few neighbourhood schools that has less than 5 students who cleared round 1.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 11:40:27 GMT

floppy — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 11:40:27 GMT

zac's mum:
Could you please elaborate further what kinds of events and activities are these that neighborhood school kids do not get?

Aren’t the neighborhood schools fully equipped with sports equipment, school field and sheltered school hall, art rooms and aircon soundproof music rooms? I thought these have all been funded under PERI upgrading? And within the next few years, all schools will have sufficient classrooms to go single session.

For starters, are there any neighborhood schools’ with a similar programme like the Thoburn Programme? Or the Sophia Blackmore Academy? How many neighborhood schools run yearly China Immersion Programme for their cohort? How many neighborhood schools’ have alumni associations complementing / sponsoring their school’s activities like calligraphy, dance, speech and drama, social etiquette and dining workshops, mooncake festival, founder’s day, etc (while some neighborhood schools organise such activities, the difference when a 3rd party does the heavy lifting is that the school’s resources would not be tied up / exhausted and can be put to better use somewhere else).

The school’s hardware is only the basic requirement and the lowest common denominator. To paraphrase my earlier comment: “There are many parts in the learning journey, and equipment / hardware only form a small part of it.” What sets some schools apart from others are the add-ons, which aren’t always apparent. All schools are good schools, but not all schools are equal.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:43:01 GMT

zac's mum — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:43:01 GMT

Could you please elaborate further what kinds of events and activities are these that neighborhood school kids do not get?

Aren’t the neighborhood schools fully equipped with sports equipment, school field and sheltered school hall, art rooms and aircon soundproof music rooms? I thought these have all been funded under PERI upgrading? And within the next few years, all schools will have sufficient classrooms to go single session.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:19:39 GMT

floppy — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:19:39 GMT

zac's mum:
ngl2010:
[quote=\"zac's mum\"]
- so just send to neighborhood school. Can’t see any advantage for branded schools anymore.
Except if the school has affiliated secondary school, right?

Oh yes, you are right!

But then again, recently in the St Nick’s thread, somebody mentioned could not meet the affiliated COP of 230. So better to choose a school with lower affiliated COP [/quote]Unfortunately, not all schools are equal. The advantage for branded schools go beyond grades and COP. How many schools can have a building, fully funded, donated to them? How many schools can run events and activities, knowing that the alumni / clans / parents can be readily called upon to support and fund / sponsor them? How many schools sent out their pupils for donation drive and only manage to get back $50, $100 per pupil whereas some schools have parents writing cheques of $1,000? Let’s not kid ourselves and say branded schools have no advantage when it comes to resources, such as money and connections, that a lot of neighborhood schools are obviously lacking.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:01:45 GMT

MerlionInGermany — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:01:45 GMT

In every school, there will be someone who cannot meet the affiliated COP. My friend’s daughter scored 190+, could not meet the 200 for express for her IJ school, so she went to a neighbourhood school to do Express, as she did not want to do NA in the affiliated sec school.

Reply to Branded Schools / Well-known Schools on Mon, 08 Oct 2018 08:53:00 GMT

zac's mum — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 08:53:00 GMT

ngl2010:
zac's mum:

- so just send to neighborhood school. Can’t see any advantage for branded schools anymore.
Except if the school has affiliated secondary school, right?

Oh yes, you are right!

But then again, recently in the St Nick’s thread, somebody mentioned could not meet the affiliated COP of 230. So better to choose a school with lower affiliated COP