Chenonceau:
Like I said, I am happy that people like Intermezzo and VKS2010 have been able to easily bridge the holes in the system that others cannot easily bridge. What I don't understand is why you would prevent parents in pain from seeking recourse by...
(1) blaming them
(2) making excuses for Teachers (they taught but your kid did not listen)
(3) making excuses for the system (they have constraints)
Believe me... when I write this post, I am quite as worried of getting slammed by people who write \"sian\" or by a raging bear. It's no fun to be doing what I am doing. Yet, there is a reality out there that I am seeing. In the long term, it is not good for our country. So I speak out. First, in private. Next, here. I am glad that there are others (independent of me) who also see that... and care enough to speak out.
Don't worry Chen, believe you me, i'm more scared of getting slammed by you then vice versa.. :rotflmao:
i dun have your quick reflexes, your skills in writing nor your wealth of examples to quote to your advantage. all i'm doing here is also to share and speak out from
my pov. surely this thread is not only for parents who are unhappy about Education in singapore? surely a better picture of the whole situation can be made with views from both sides?
And if it comes to that, who really is the minority here who is likely to get slammed? you get pm after pm encouraging you to carry on. all i'm likely to get is hate mail.. :rotflmao:
i have already apologized for the use of the word 'sian' in the other thread. i used it THERE because that thread was not about Education in singapore per se. i would NEVER use that word in this thread, because everyone is entitled to sharing their experience on singapore's schools. but still, i have already admitted that i should not have used the word because it is bound to hurt your feelings.
(oso, i really dun understand why you should see my post as being directed at you. it is never directed at
anyone here. Everything i write here is based on my
general observations.)
so, to state my point, i did not commit any of the 3 \"accusations\" above.
if you'd read my post, i said,
[[[[[[[[ This is exactly what i feel is the case for
most kids.
People like to talk and air our views, but really.. we are not so good when it comes to listening.
In fact, studies on listening skills indicate that typical adults only listen to between 30 to 50% of what is being said.
so how about the kids? can't be anywhere near 100%, right?
actually both my kids tried it on me before, saying that \"teacher didn't teach.. so dunno how to do..\"
i just tell them nicely,
Maybe she did teach, but you weren't paying attention at that time?
and there's no way they could dispute that.. because they KNOW there IS no way they could have been paying 100% attention... ]]]]]]]]]
when i quoted vks2010, i even highlighted the part about the kids which i agree on. i didn't even mention the parents. vks2010 did, and he has the actual personal experience to back his statement up.
so actually, i'm giving BOTH sides the benefit of the doubt. and
personally i would not spend any of my time finding out which part the
teacher didn't teach or which part my kids
didn't pay attention. sounds too tedious for words. if it's given in the schools' worksheets, test papers, exams, etc. and they dunno how to do, just go find out. period. or try to answer as well as they can. get wrong oso nebbermind. as long as they have applied their thinking process to the problem, they will be able to learn from their mistakes.
i dun expect my kids to know how to answer all the challenging questions in any exams. what i'm concerned about is that they love to learn new things and are not learning just for the sake of PSLE. As long as i know my kids have their own little caches of knowledge and skills and hobbies beyond the syllabus of PSLE which they acquired out of their own initiative and interest, i'm happy.
if your kids love to learn beyond the text books, then does it matter what the text books are like in the first place? if they are interested enough to pick up a wide range of different stuff beyond the text books & syllabus, then of cos they would \"naturally know\"
most of the things tested; they don't even have to be bright. (ok, this is jmho.)
Eg. everyone knows the only way to be good at English is to read more books right? same thing in chinese - 多读课外书. do they only test vocab or phrases from English text books? do they only allow students to use what vocab/phrases are found in text books to write compositions? i doubt. to me, it's the same with every subject.
(hey.. actually i can also complain.. how come some kids take the initiative to learn so many things out of PSLE syllabus, and MOE nebber bother to test those things??? then actually the PSLE is not fair to them right?? it's only good for those muggers who know the syllabus inside out and go for tuition to perfect their exam skills, what?? ...ok now i really must siam oredi... guess i just like asking for trouble once in a while kekeke.... :rotflmao: )
ok, just to add, i have no doubt that some parents DO really have good reason to be unhappy with Education in singapore. i have no doubt you are an impartial observer to your kids' education, and that people like you, BeContented, cherryc..
etc put your kids in neighbourhood schools in good faith and came away disillusioned because your kids are not stretched to the best of their abilites.
but then there are also parents whose kids are in some of the most sought-after schools in singapore, some in GEP even, and still end up sending them for tuition after tuition. (which, incidentally, is what this thread is all about in the first place)
and then again, there is
Lim Jeck, came from a Neighbourhood School, not even GEP background, no formal math olympiad training in primary school, but fuelled by his own interest and aspirations, has been aceing every MO he went for, and is now 2nd in the
WORLD in last year's International Maths Olympiad.
Dun mean to offend anyone or directing this at ANYONE. After all, everyone should know best about their own case. I'm just sharing my own POV and trying to see things more from both sides.