My son now in P6 is diagnosed with ADHD this year. He is able to get extra time, separate room and prompter for PSLE which are very important for him. I advise parents to get your child diagnosed ASAP. It does not matter what other people think, what is most important is to get as much help for your child as possible.

waterbay:

After reading through this thread to better understand the new changes that will affect our children future education path, why do I have a sense of sadness and disappointment.


I'm glad that a lot of parents have come in and put in their educated thoughts on this topic. And some, who had went thru the \"old\" system, lamented the new changes are just \"换汤不换药\", or shifting of goalposts.

Parents who want to chase after results, will just find a way to best the system. Going by the discussion so far, they are all about how better can the MOE grade a student in PSLE or what AL grades can get a kid into a so-and-so elite school.

My thoughts are, if these \"bold\" changes are to make our education more holistic and embracing, they have failed so far.

- No reduction of stress, some parents even comment \"the final point chase has now become a 5 point chase\"
- MT weakness has become an Achilles heel
- tuition for weak subjects are required as the new system less forgiving
- learn to be thick-skinned, so can tell our kid \"better luck next time (for JC)\"
- where or what are MOE support for the so-called children other interests(they are expensive)

Someone from MOE is reading this. Can MOE please come out and explain the scheme better and why the new changes will reduce stress, thus the need for tuition?

Don't let the poor parents assume how this new system is going to be or let our children be your guinea pigs for your whitepapers proposal.

I agree with you.

Now I feel lucky that my children finish PSLE under the current T-score system. The new AL system is even more flawed compared to the current system.

The biggest problem with our education system is streaming students according to their academic abilities. What happens when you group students with the lowest marks together like in the normal stream? Students who do not get good results are those who do not like to study and prefer to waste their time playing. I have taught such students before and their attitude is so bad and the class is so noisy that it is impossible for teachers to teach properly. Parents of course do not want their children to end up in a such a class. A class with students who are very strong academically will be very quiet and attentive. It is not only a joy to teach such a class, but every student in the class will be motivated to work hard because of the good influence from their classmates. It is only natural for parents to wish for their children to study among the best students in the country. Many people like to say that it is not the end of the world if your child ends up in the normal stream. Only teachers like me who have taught students in the normal stream know the truth that it is very difficult for a student to do well in normal stream where teachers cannot even teach properly and everything has to be dumbed down to ensure passing rate.

Do not blame parents for wanting the best environment for their children. The problem is with the education system, not with the parents.

The only way to relieve stress is to scrap PSLE completely. Primary school to secondary school based on 100% balloting. However many parents who die die want to get their children into the so called top schools will not accept this.

So there will never be a system that will please everyone. We need education experts to work out what is the best system for the country and push through the system instead of trying to make everyone happy.

rosecy:

ZhenghuaParent:

[quote=\"Acaciahua\"]Dear parents,

My dd is currently in Sec 1 in RV. My ds is in P6 this year so it will be very convenient if he can go to RV. However, his normal Chinese is currently 70+ marks only though his other subjects are good.

My concern is whether he will be able to cope with HCL. If a student fails HCL in RV, what happens?

I think Year 1 students need to get at least a B4 for HCL at year end

At least B4 for HCL & EL is for full promotion.
If C5/C6, will still be advanced to Year 2. Will not be retained in Year 1 just because HCL is not at least B4. I guess this is probably your greatest concern.[/quote]Thanks. Am I right to say that so long as the student pass HCL, he will not be retained? If he fails HCL, then he will be retained?

ZhenghuaParent:

Acaciahua:

Dear parents,

My dd is currently in Sec 1 in RV. My ds is in P6 this year so it will be very convenient if he can go to RV. However, his normal Chinese is currently 70+ marks only though his other subjects are good.

My concern is whether he will be able to cope with HCL. If a student fails HCL in RV, what happens?

I think Year 1 students need to get at least a B4 for HCL at year end

Thanks.

peasants:

1.6 to 2.0 per meal exlude drinks. Which class is your child in?

Thank you. My dd is in 1C.

lee_yl:

Acaciahua:

I actually discouraged my dd to take HCL even though she was offered. I told her the extra points are not worth it. However she insisted on taking HCL. My dd took HCL and I never saw her studying Chinese except reading some Chinese story books and doing school homework which is not much. Her Chinese compositions are beautifully written and I have no idea how she does it because she does not go for tuition. She even got first in HCL for the entire cohort before.

Acaciahua, I like the way your daughter learn Chinese.

Chinese, likewise for other languages, should not be learnt like a subject, rather, it should be part of one's life, to use it in daily conversations and to read Chinese newspapers or books. Why are we so comfortable in English? And why can't we (or our children) be just as comfortable in Chinese?

My DH only scored an A for Chinese during PSLE and went to an English medium school but his interest in Chinese grew as he came in touch with 金庸 books and comics like 龙虎门 and 中华英雄. Without deliberate effort, his standard in Chinese improved and he eventually enjoyed his time in 北京大学.

Had he restricted himself by the fact that he was not from a SAP school or that he didn't get an A* for Chinese during PSLE, he would not have known how far he could go in Chinese. There is thus no need to be overly worried about not doing well in Chinese during primary school, nor should any psychological barrier be placed to prevent a child from learning and enjoying the language. With or without the HMT bonus, my children must take HMT as ultimately, we are still Chinese.

lee_yl,
I absolutely agree with you, especially the point about the psychological barrier.

I am concerned about my ds because he scored only 70+ marks for normal Chinese, and the only reason is because he rejects the language. I have no idea why. Both my dd and ds grow up in the exact same environment. I do wish that my ds can enter the same school as my dd, but that school requires all students to take HCL. I know that my ds will have a hard time doing HCL. I will ask him to decide but I think his answer will be just put me in the secondary school downstairs lah (Boon Lay).

Dear parents,

My dd is currently in Sec 1 in RV. My ds is in P6 this year so it will be very convenient if he can go to RV. However, his normal Chinese is currently 70+ marks only though his other subjects are good.

My concern is whether he will be able to cope with HCL. If a student fails HCL in RV, what happens?

starlight1968sg:

Acaciahua:

Dear parents,

May I know how much money you give your child everyday to go to school? I used to give dd $3 a day in primary school, I think it might not be enough for secondary school.

You may wish to find out the average cost of a meal in sch and then probably add 50% more if he/she is having food during recess too.

FYI, I give my dd $4 per day since she brings bread/biscuits to sch for recess.

I haven't got the chance to go inside the school, not sure what is the average cost of a meal. Anyone knows?

Dear parents,

May I know how much money you give your child everyday to go to school? I used to give dd $3 a day in primary school, I think it might not be enough for secondary school.

StillThinking:

TBH, I hate chinese, the words are just so annoying. However, I did well in P4 for the subject and was recommended to take it, I risked it for the 1-3 point and for the -2 in O level. Though we had more work and all, the other normal chinese teacher, I do not know if she was kiasu or something, gave their class 2x the work(I would hv ended up in that class if I didn't take HCL. Do also note that though we do not have as much work as that class, we had way more than the other classes and we had to learn more words, just merely less work than that class) Though we had to work harder, this doesn't mean we had to do more work, it was a matter of brain, and not hand. I may have made it seem like its even harder for normal chinese, but that is not exactly what I mean, I merely mean that though hcl may be tougher, it may not take up more time.

It is good to know that HCL did not take up more time for you. That means you are a very clever child.

I actually discouraged my dd to take HCL even though she was offered. I told her the extra points are not worth it. However she insisted on taking HCL. My dd took HCL and I never saw her studying Chinese except reading some Chinese story books and doing school homework which is not much. Her Chinese compositions are beautifully written and I have no idea how she does it because she does not go for tuition. She even got first in HCL for the entire cohort before.

My ds on the other hand, had to work very hard just to get over 70 for his normal Chinese. He has private Chinese tuition 3 times a week and that cost me a lot of money.

I think the majority of students are like my ds. That is why in the past many parents have called for the exclusion of normal Chinese in the calculation of PSLE scores. I disagree even though my ds has to spend a lot of time studying normal Chinese because it is important to know the Chinese language.

HCL should be taken only if the child is truly interested in learning Chinese. Parents should not make the decision for the child. Let your child decide whether he/she wants to take HCL or not.