who’s to say the test was accurate ? anyone can come back and give a set of results but how can the results be verified for accuracy?

stay away from anything where you can’t verify the results.

well, I did some research on the web and came out with an explanation on how this \"activation\" method works.


http://simplestupidblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/midbrain-activation-or-mythbrain.html

and here's the youtube explanation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RKh9Yh-GsU

the kids actually see through a tiny gap between the eye mask and the nose. They train the kids not to tell their parents about it.
The real test is when you give them a pair of goggles that doesn't let light in. Maybe a pair of swimming goggles painted with black paint on the outside. If the kid can still read with the blackened goggles, I'll believe this.

oh, and here's one more evidence of the scam:
http://www.randi.org/jr/022202.html
I like the Dilbert cartoon at the end of the page.

for a minute there, I thought this was posted by some really Kiasu parent who wants to prepare their 5 year son for officer course in National Service. Thank goodness it’s not.

you can use any computer for Skype. Go to Sim Lim Square and pick up some flyers. Go for computers that is around $600. A lot cheaper than name brands who will charge 30% more with the same specs.

fo12eal:

If she is keen and wants to go for workshop or even attend proper course, I am fine. But photography is not a cheap hobby

nowadays, photography is a cheap hobby. Apart from the one time cost of the camera, there're no other costs involved if you don't print. A point and shoot these days costs about $400-$500.

my son is in P4 this year. We don’t speaking Mandarin at home. He has failed twice in his Chinese test this year and his Chinese teacher says that he will most likely fail his exams. He can’t read words that P2 students can. I really don’t know what to do. He is so reluctant to learn Mandarin. He goes for Chinese Tuition, but doesn’t seem to be helping him.

All the parents here seem to have started the groundwork early. Unfortnately for me, that is all in the past now.

smurf:

Weiqi is more fun I guess...it's not as simple as forming lines, but you need to place the 'qi' at a strategic place to eventually beat your opponent.


And there are many ways of playing weiqi whereas for chess, the movement is fixed.

yes, Weiqi is much more complex than Chess. In WeiQi, the game is easy to learn, but is difficult to master. In Chess, the game is difficult to learn and moderate to master.
The strategies in WeiQi are much more complex than Chess. When you lose a battle in WeiQi, you can always fight another battle on another part of the board. The war is not lost. In Chess, if you lose the battle, you lose the war.

Scientists have developed computer Chess programs that can beat GrandMaster level human opponents. They have yet to come up with something to best WeiQi Grandmaster level. That gives you an idea on the complexities of WeiQi.

WeiQi is not about forming lines, it's about surrounding your opponent. You can fight several battles on one board at the same time.

Computers can't beat human WeiQi opponents because the board is so large that the number of permutations increases exponentially. The computing power required far exceeds anything that is currently available today.

I tried Tian Xia at the Singapore shopping Center. Started in December last year. I find that the teachers there don’t have the love for the children. It’s just a job for them. Class over, they don’t bother to discuss the kid’s progress with the parents, just want to rush off to catch the bus. Anyway, my kid failed his chinese test twice in a row. So, not much progress that I can see from Tian Xia. I’ve pulled him out of it.

Of course, I’m not saying all of Tian Xia’s teachers are like that.

It is very important to get a teacher who is really interested in getting your kid to improve his Chinese, and not just view it as a salary paying job.

tamarind:

The only way to improve creative writing skills, is to read as many story books as possible. Otherwise no matter how many creative writing classes the child attend, it is not going to help.

I agree with you on the reading as many books as possible part. I too love reading when I was young and never had problems with my English. Chinese on the other hand was never a love for me.
Now my son has language problems. He is in P4 this year. He is in the last band for his English, failed in his Chinese. With him being weak in both English and Chinese, I am at a loss. There is just not enough time to brush up on both languages at the same time. As a result of weaknesses in English, his maths and science is affected as he can't understand the problem statements in Maths and can't express the answers in Science. There are just too many weak areas.
How much time does one allocate to reading on a daily basis ?