Funny hearing this from you......
I already gave my assessment of Lee Kuan Yew long time ago already, that is 60% good, 40% bad.
I think that is fair.
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:I already gave my assessment of Lee Kuan Yew long time ago already, that is 60% good, 40% bad.
I think that is fair.
Soon or later, the bad will outweigh the good I think.
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:I already gave my assessment of Lee Kuan Yew long time ago already, that is 60% good, 40% bad.
I think that is fair.
alright who the hell are you,how did you get Poh Ah Pak's password?
From P1 to P5, her results had been on the borderline. She was never punished for failing her exams; I have always stood by her and encouraged her on.
It takes many years and patience to build a child's self-esteem and confidence; but what it needs is one day to clash them!
Why take away her chance to try out PSLE at standard? Whether she passed or failed, it doesn't matter. What matter is she is given a fair chance to try!
To: Poh Ah Pak
REFORM? Never in Singapore! What is said and voiced; the MOE turn a deaf ear. The only possible reform is ACTION from parents but how many parents have energy for ACTION?
Voiced from a father of 3
Do something about primary-school education (dated 23 Sep 2008)
"However, what really takes the joy out of having kids is not the period when they attend nursery and kindergarten, but the stress they encounter when attending primary school.
I hope the authorities can understand and appreciate the stress that kids and parents go through in trying to understand the primary-school curriculum.
I spoke to an acquaintance whose children are in international Indian schools, and he was shocked at the standard of the examination questions set for our primary pupils.
The difficulty level of the exams goes beyond what is required of 10- to 12-year-olds."
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20080923-89392.html
so she has been borderline though p1 to p5, and will most likely be borderline in p6, PSLE?
so instead of stressing her with exams that has difficulty level beyond what is required of 10-12 years old, the principal is opting to let her go FOUNDATION?
And that's the dropping QC of our Education
MATHEMATICS
Take a look at her Mathematics result:
Section A - 15/20 (75%)
Section B - 14/20 (70%)
Section C - 14/60 (23%)
Section A & B results show that her basic knowledge for Mathematics is quite good.
The problem lies in the method of teaching! A simple formula for triangle:
1/2 x base x height
is taught as
Step 1: base x height
Step 2: take the answer divide by 2
Why complicant a simple formula?
How many parents who had learnt Algebra in secondary level can answer the question taught in primary level using bars comparison?
I'm wondering how much is taught in the classroom? Only the basic? And they expect a 10 - 12 year old to apply in a complicated and 'challenging' problems!
ENGLISH
English is another dumb-found. I still remembered my time, we learnt new words and their meanings. We construct sentences with them. We had spelling and dictation. We also learnt cursive writing.
From P1 - P4, she still had spelling once a week. But P5 spelling was abolished after a few months. She never have to do new words nor sentences construction. No cursive writing lession!
Really wondering what was taught!
SCIENCE
Look at the text book. They look very simple. Not one guidebook covers everything, you have to buy a few.
Questions on experiments. In the first place, were these children shown or done the experiments? Do you think enough is done to make them understand?
Ridiculous! What is holistic teaching?
HOLISTIC : treating the whole person rather than just the symptoms of a disease.
Maths:
Section C is problem sums right? Could it be that it is her language that is pulling her down? Maths can't stand alone without understanding the language in which it can be used in context. That is why so many of us who used the older system find the current system very difficult - because language is AS important as maths.
For the models system - i understand what they are trying to start is to get younger students to learn how to use trial and error as well as logical analysis. Whereas algebra teaches more of simply 'steps' to get an answer - the current maths tries to teach why and perspective of looking at problems. This is to teach kids to try as many ways as possible to GET an answer and not just memorise steps to solve it. So, yes it is a lot harder because now you are required to really understand the concept - not just put x in the correct place.
Looks to me that your child understands WHAT to do - she just needs help to understand WHEN to do WHAT.
English:
What other thing does she have in place of spelling? Some educators feel that spelling is not a very appropriate way of teaching a language because it is very artificial, forced and often does not have long term benefits as children forget after the test. It also puts children away from learning a language by making it very technical. (how many of us hate chinese thanks to 'ting xie'?) On the other hand - SENTENCE construction is very important. Maybe you can help her by getting her to read more by bringing her to the library. To help her with her spelling, I suggest you can borrow this software from National Library Board called Spelltrack. As for cursive writing...err.. as long as she writes reasonably fast, it isn't all that important is it?
By the way, not stopping you from lodging all your feedback and all with MOE. But please do it with dignity and don't let them have the excuse of taking your feedback lightly because you were unclear and sarcarstic about it. Some people don't understand sarcarsm u know :P
so her classmates all ok, but she has some problems.
so you have 2 options: identify and solve her problem, or complain the whole system is flawed, and request to change it.
somehow i have this nagging feeling that even if the whole system is changed, the problem will still be there.
Originally posted by skythewood:so her classmates all ok, but she has some problems.
so you have 2 options: identify and solve her problem, or complain the whole system is flawed, and request to change it.
somehow i have this nagging feeling that even if the whole system is changed, the problem will still be there.
ultimately all systems need to cater to children who need more time and more attention to learn. But if society always label these children as 'not good enough' without seeing it holistically (to borrow a word from TS). But taking the longer road doesn't mean you cannot reach the same (or further) destination. But labels are given by people - not the system.
Actually, as a student after seeing this 'foundation' thingy, I think this filtering of the good, the bad, and the lazy cannot be avoided. Simply because...
All of us are different and we have different levels of learning.
Why not turn this foundation thingy around and see to it that it's a matched level for your child to adapt to learning to the fullest? And from there make full use of all the teachings to do her best in PSLE and not repeat the same mistake in P5.
Ultimately, EM3/foundation and all those streaming are merely just names. If your learning level is just there, then only your child can change her own learning level.
there is a reason why your child is going to foundation and the rest of her peers are not. Its simply because your child cant perform as well as them. You know what that means? That means she is not ready for mainstream.
Going into foundation is not necessary bad. There, she can learn things at her own pace and really get the foundations right before progessing. After her primary school days, if you dont like her to enter a normal technical stream, you can do all the home tuition you like to prepare her for her O's. If she is really as genius as you think, then simply enroll her as a private candidate when the time comes.
Please do not blame the system. Its a dog eat dog world. If she underperforms, she drops down the rank.
So, what is the problem, i got frens who studied 3- 5 years in total more then meand still are very successful in life..they also graduated and landed in well pay jobs too.
Some kids and tennagers take a longer time to open up, just like some of us gals, at sec 1 already puberty, some at pri 5 already puberty, so relax lah.
Anyway education only form the basic and the foundation pillars of your life, but in working life, if you are smart enough, you still remain poor or strangling. Some only O level standard are already towkay liao, who employed U grad. And some honour or master holders are still strangling and trying to meet the end needs.
So education is only the 20% of your qualities, the rest 80% belong to your smartness, intelligent, daring and of course, hardwork
THat is why those w/o good tuition suffer all the way up to sec school
LIke me, my fraction pulled me down, i onli manage to pass maths at sec 3 end of year
I cannot solve complicated p5p6 maths problem
and for eng wise, the sentence structure for my compo isnt strong
we were taught to use complicated, sophisticated sentence, with a variety of idioms- all was great but lack practices.
Foundation for english is important, you may understand what i am writing now because i have time and can slowly develop the sentence and the correct word to use in this sentence, however, when it comes to exam condition, it is hard or even impossible to come out with such long sentence while making sure it does not go out of point- which will lose marks in the tests.
Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:Maths:
Section C is problem sums right? Could it be that it is her language that is pulling her down? Maths can't stand alone without understanding the language in which it can be used in context. That is why so many of us who used the older system find the current system very difficult - because language is AS important as maths.
For the models system - i understand what they are trying to start is to get younger students to learn how to use trial and error as well as logical analysis. Whereas algebra teaches more of simply 'steps' to get an answer - the current maths tries to teach why and perspective of looking at problems. This is to teach kids to try as many ways as possible to GET an answer and not just memorise steps to solve it. So, yes it is a lot harder because now you are required to really understand the concept - not just put x in the correct place.
Looks to me that your child understands WHAT to do - she just needs help to understand WHEN to do WHAT.
English:What other thing does she have in place of spelling? Some educators feel that spelling is not a very appropriate way of teaching a language because it is very artificial, forced and often does not have long term benefits as children forget after the test. It also puts children away from learning a language by making it very technical. (how many of us hate chinese thanks to 'ting xie'?) On the other hand - SENTENCE construction is very important. Maybe you can help her by getting her to read more by bringing her to the library. To help her with her spelling, I suggest you can borrow this software from National Library Board called Spelltrack. As for cursive writing...err.. as long as she writes reasonably fast, it isn't all that important is it?
By the way, not stopping you from lodging all your feedback and all with MOE. But please do it with dignity and don't let them have the excuse of taking your feedback lightly because you were unclear and sarcarstic about it. Some people don't understand sarcarsm u know :P
Section C - problem sums
Yes, the children need to use trial and error, logical analysis and different perspective to understand the concept. But are they trained in the classroom? Time is needed, is 1hr 40mins enough for 16 - 18 Qs?
It is true that English is highly tested in Maths. Her spelling is great, but sad to say her vocabulary is not powerful. Anyway, I had already started her on 5-word-a-day to help build her vocabulary.
I'm not lodging feedback / complaint for them to change. MOE will never change for better, I rather they remain as it is, for fear of change cause more damage than good.
My main purpose is to fight for her to stay at standard because I believe she can make it in her PSLE next year.
Standard or Foundation; a child should be given a chance to opt for it.
The problem here is why MOE said it is up to the school principal to decide; and the school VP said it is the System that they must follow.
Originally posted by skythewood:so her classmates all ok, but she has some problems.
so you have 2 options: identify and solve her problem, or complain the whole system is flawed, and request to change it.
somehow i have this nagging feeling that even if the whole system is changed, the problem will still be there.
There is no more indication in position. Last year, her position in her level was slightly below the mid range. I believe she is still in the mid range this year.
Her class is amongst the worst.
Like I said earlier, MOE will never change for better, I rather they remain as it is, for fear of change cause more damage than good.
Originally posted by loki_chaos:Actually, as a student after seeing this 'foundation' thingy, I think this filtering of the good, the bad, and the lazy cannot be avoided. Simply because...
All of us are different and we have different levels of learning.
Why not turn this foundation thingy around and see to it that it's a matched level for your child to adapt to learning to the fullest? And from there make full use of all the teachings to do her best in PSLE and not repeat the same mistake in P5.
Ultimately, EM3/foundation and all those streaming are merely just names. If your learning level is just there, then only your child can change her own learning level.
It'll be good to have different schools for classification at the start. Let's call them the Foundation School, Standard School and the Super School. At least it is a choice from the start.
Branding on adolescent is unhealthy. For a product, it has the prestige.
Originally posted by angel7030:So, what is the problem, i got frens who studied 3- 5 years in total more then meand still are very successful in life..they also graduated and landed in well pay jobs too.
Some kids and tennagers take a longer time to open up, just like some of us gals, at sec 1 already puberty, some at pri 5 already puberty, so relax lah.
Anyway education only form the basic and the foundation pillars of your life, but in working life, if you are smart enough, you still remain poor or strangling. Some only O level standard are already towkay liao, who employed U grad. And some honour or master holders are still strangling and trying to meet the end needs.
So education is only the 20% of your qualities, the rest 80% belong to your smartness, intelligent, daring and of course, hardwork
Like I mentioned, my biz partner is only NTC II. And I'd gone through JC. We are also bosses.
How many of us actually use what we learnt in primary school? From Maths: +, -, x, /, % and ratio
From Science: body parts and functions, plants for gardening
From Chinese: spoken only in Singapore
We use English much more in our daily life, both spoken and written.
So, why do we need such a quixotic education system? It not only deplete the adolescent of their childhood; it also stressed up the family; and quality life is also depleted.
This is intriguing. The TS child obviously is unable to cope with the rigour of the primary school education system. Instead of taking time to coach her child or ensure she studies properly, she starts blaming the schools...The school imparts knowledge to all equally but some absorb it faster than others. If your child can't keep up, perhaps foundation wiould be the platform to help him study at a more suitable pace.
The very fact that you are computer literate and well erm... literate proves that at the very least, MOE is doing something right in educating our populace.
Originally posted by Kimtan:There is no more indication in position. Last year, her position in her level was slightly below the mid range. I believe she is still in the mid range this year.
Her class is amongst the worst.
Like I said earlier, MOE will never change for better, I rather they remain as it is, for fear of change cause more damage than good.
so moe is sending a pupil who is in mid range to foundation?
than alot of people is going to foundation, so it becomes the new norm?
Originally posted by Kimtan:Like I mentioned, my biz partner is only NTC II. And I'd gone through JC. We are also bosses.
How many of us actually use what we learnt in primary school? From Maths: +, -, x, /, % and ratio
From Science: body parts and functions, plants for gardening
From Chinese: spoken only in Singapore
We use English much more in our daily life, both spoken and written.
So, why do we need such a quixotic education system? It not only deplete the adolescent of their childhood; it also stressed up the family; and quality life is also depleted.
The ideology in math is not to ask you to calculate, but to improve your EQ and IQ, yes you are right that most subjects taught are not applicable in our daily adult life, however we still need the basic foundation, then from there, we see what the child is interested in, identify the training needs and put him on that speciality. Perhaps by Secondary School, he/she should be taking less subjects and concentrate on his/her speciality, let say if child is noted to interested to be a chef, he/she will be put on cooking courses, he/she will still have to take Math and Science as an extra knowledge only, no need to be tested or examined, attendence will be enough.
But then our education system protray a jack of all trade and master of done paradox, that is why we created less entrepreneurs and more wage earners. But then, our govt may not like entrepreneurs, they prefer we to be wage earners to work for both GLC and MNC companies.
Anyway, MOE is now under that surgeon Dr Ng, and i dun like him, he didn't do well at MOM, created a laugh stock out of retirement long life CPF plans, now at MOE, he is creating silly stuff again.
the typical singaporean response mah ... everything is the system's fault ....
but i shall stop on that tangent here ... because a parent's love for the child is really 伟大 .... she's really trying to do her best for her child here ... even if her methods and reactions are somewhat extreme ....
my suggestion ..... is that the TS brings her child to a shrink .... get a psychometric/IQ test done ... plus some tests to see if she's suffering from some sort of learning disability .....
if she's on the left side of the bell curve ... then, tough cookie, there's really not much you can do ...cos they haven't invented a smart pill yet ... so there's no point blaming the system ..... no point blaming a lousy car if the problem is with the driver, neh ? ... whether it's a toyota or a ferrari, the outcome would still be the same ... the driver's still gonna crash, neh ? ...
and if it's because she's got some learning disability ... (I dunno, autism ... ADD ? that sort of thing) ... then yes, it's better to take her out of the system anyways ... but it's not really the system's fault too ... cos the system has to cater for, and is designed for, the majority ...
the education system in sg is a big joke; u stress the children out from pri 1 to the point that they nearly break, bestowed on them the title of "genius" for passing the rigourous gauntlets of studies, and dump them into the society with all the head knowledge but absolute zero on social and environmental awareness, personal and civil rights, not to mention a damaged personality that will take years to fix with counselling and medications. and all these for what?? in a tiny island of 24x48km?
so if you the are parent and u see your children "suffer" under the rigorous system, what are u going to do about it?
let me recall this incident that happened to my cousin back in the 90s; she was studying in a reputable sec school, parents are hawkers that her classmates made fun of. because of study and exam stress and coupled with changes in the family structure, she snapped when she finished her exam miserably. thinking that she had failed the exam, she lept to her death from a 20+ floor condo.
the scene at the funeral was one that i will never forget. and i have been questioning the whys and hows behind this tragic incident.
so how? will u consider taking your children out of the stress pit in sg before or after they jump to the death or commit to mental asylum? sure, many have survived the system, maybe it is too kia-see to speculate this but the possibility is always there.
what nonsense from MOE, as usual.
I feel your pain.
No spelling for english..wtf? If that is the case, how is student able to excel if he/she is unable to even express his/her thoughts clearly? I still remember like 6/7 years ago, we were forced to learn cheem cheem words and memorise them and learn to use them in essays. Good phrases..etc.
Learn to manage such shit from MOE, just know that your support, love and respect for your child is so damned important, because whether a person succeeds in life is not based on academics alone. I've even known of people who are just too nerdish to even pass an interview and end up driving a taxi with a bloody PHD cert in the taxi (just joking for this part).
Honestly, if my economic status was to allow me to be a second class citizen elsewhere, so be it; the aim of life is not to pwnt exams and be like 1337 n3rd.
To think that the people of Singapore regard students from the Raffles family and many others as elites; I would not say this is a bad thing, but it is the result of the segregation in difference of learning abilities at such a tender age..Abolish EM3, come out with foundation..-.-