Newspaper Article: Sorry, your child is not bright enough
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coast:
I completely agree with the line in bold.
Thanks :oops: You are right to use \"probably\". Every child is unique. These are the 3 things that matter most to me for my DS: Good Health, Happy, Good Character. He is doing very well so far but as parents, we have to keep learning and adjust our parenting style especially in this global world and fast-changing society. I suppose things will work out well when there is a strong parent-child bond
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ksi:
:goodpost:
Yes you are exactly right to know what I mean. It takes wisdom in a parent to recognise and acknowledge how their kids tick to steer them correctly. You are right to point out that working hard alone is not the only criteria, it requires many accompanying factors. And diligence to me is effective diligence. If a person spends an unhealthy amount of time to try and do well in something, sacrificing many things along the way, then aptitude needs to be checked.coast:
While it is good to teach our children to work hard, we have to understand that results are dependent on various factors, some of which are beyond our control Some students or parents also take \"extra efforts\" to extreme and the poor kids spend hours and hours on study, neglecting a balanced life. But I know you don't mean that Just want to point it out in case other parents read it and use it to \"inspire\" their kids to put in even more hours on their studies
\"unhealthy amount\" ... if we are talking about primary school academics, then it might not be a question of aptitude but mindset. I chanced upon this article \"Neighbourhood schools producing top PSLE students\" just a few minutes ago :-
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-is-buzzing/neighborhood-schools-producing-top-psle-students-023150377.html
\"Her parents cite her independent study attitude and constant revision that played a significant role in her academic achievements.\"
\"began studying intensely for 5-6 hours a day in June, and the days leading up to the exams placed so much stress on her that she once screamed in tears.\"
\"Even though she always does well in school, she still goes for tuition for Science and Malay subjects.\"
A top scholar from RGPS has tuition in all 4 subjects.
http://news.omy.sg/News/Local%2BNews/Story/OMYStory201112121502-297019.html
ST also interviewed some of the PSLE top scholars and some (or at least one) said she studied 6 to 7 hours daily after school.
I am not judging these kids as they could be leading a happy childhood, enjoy studying long hours or doing this only in the final months of PSLE prep ... but it is sending a wrong signal that our PSLE top scholars require tuition and many hours of study daily for months. It is \"unhealthy\" to me but unlikely a question of aptitude. -
ksi:
Totally agree. I would always tell my children that every child has different learning aptitudes and capabilities. Comparing results with friends shouldn't be the yardstick to gauge his performance. As long as they put in effort on their part and try to maximise what I personally believe they can achieve, I am happy. Both my wife and myself are educators. We do not place outright expectations on their results. If they are deemed to have underachieved, we would have a chat with them and try to work out a mutual understanding on what has gone wrong. Hopefully, we can identify the loose nut and tighten it together. Communication in this aspect is important.
Yes you are exactly right to know what I mean. It takes wisdom in a parent to recognise and acknowledge how their kids tick to steer them correctly. You are right to point out that working hard alone is not the only criteria, it requires many accompanying factors. And diligence to me is effective diligence. If a person spends an unhealthy amount of time to try and do well in something, sacrificing many things along the way, then aptitude needs to be checked.
I feel we shouldn't apply any kind of excessive stress on them. They shouldn't do that as well. We allow them to study independently and encourage them to refer to us if they have any problems. By the way, my children do not have any tuition except for a once a week Mother Tongue enrichment class which they have been enjoying so much that we feel they wouldn't \"allow\" us to take them off. They are in a \"Top 10\" neighbourhood primary school and has so far done well in school.
In addition to setting a good studying habit, we would always give them ample playtime at home and with neighbours from the same school. Having a balanced lifestyle is crucial in their growth. Both my wife and I avocate in our belief that \"a happy child in learning is a successful child in learning\". -
ksi:
Totally concur with the statement as well!
I completely agree with the line in bold.coast:
Thanks :oops: You are right to use \"probably\". Every child is unique. These are the 3 things that matter most to me for my DS: Good Health, Happy, Good Character. He is doing very well so far but as parents, we have to keep learning and adjust our parenting style especially in this global world and fast-changing society. I suppose things will work out well when there is a strong parent-child bond -
coast:
I read these articles about top P6 students who study 5-6 hours or 8-9 hours daily in the run-up to PSLE and I wonder where's their childhood? And some of these students also attend music lessons and I wonder where do they find the hours in a day. When do they have time to play? I tell my dd about the schedules of my P6 neighbour and she says I was a good mother for not stressing her out during PSLE.
\"unhealthy amount\" ... if we are talking about primary school academics, then it might not be a question of aptitude but mindset. I chanced upon this article \"Neighbourhood schools producing top PSLE students\" just a few minutes ago :-
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-is-buzzing/neighborhood-schools-producing-top-psle-students-023150377.html
\"Her parents cite her independent study attitude and constant revision that played a significant role in her academic achievements.\"
\"began studying intensely for 5-6 hours a day in June, and the days leading up to the exams placed so much stress on her that she once screamed in tears.\"
\"Even though she always does well in school, she still goes for tuition for Science and Malay subjects.\"
A top scholar from RGPS has tuition in all 4 subjects.
http://news.omy.sg/News/Local%2BNews/Story/OMYStory201112121502-297019.html
ST also interviewed some of the PSLE top scholars and some (or at least one) said she studied 6 to 7 hours daily after school.
I am not judging these kids as they could be leading a happy childhood, enjoy studying long hours or doing this only in the final months of PSLE prep ... but it is sending a wrong signal that our PSLE top scholars require tuition and many hours of study daily for months. It is \"unhealthy\" to me but unlikely a question of aptitude.
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Deleted
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jtoh:
They perform better when they get to play enough. And their development in other important areas is not stunted either.
I read these articles about top P6 students who study 5-6 hours or 8-9 hours daily in the run-up to PSLE and I wonder where's their childhood? And some of these students also attend music lessons and I wonder where do they find the hours in a day. When do they have time to play? I tell my dd about the schedules of my P6 neighbour and she says I was a good mother for not stressing her out during PSLE. -
ksi:
Fully agree with you on the higlighted sentence. That would be my approach as well.
Yes actually for the top 10 schools, I don't think they teach every kind of questions too, those kind of application questions are really for the children to think about it themselves. If we all agree that concepts are covered in school, then really whatever the questions are as long as they cover the concepts, it is a \"may the best student shine\" approach. Then of course parents try to level that up by providing alot of additional help in their own creative way. As parents we need to recognise if our kids have concepts issue. If concept is an issue, then every question will appear like a new question. So we need to ascertain further if the concept is not taught properly in school or our kids simply have a mental block on certain concept. If a concept is not taught properly in school as in the majority of the class is struggling, then it can be raised as an issue. I really do not expect all kinds of questions to be taught to my child to mean that she has been prepared well for PSLE. Perhaps for PSLE she is so-called prepared well if all kinds of questions are taught but in handling life, I think she is severely handicapped. JMHO.try:
I should have phrased \" MOE does not provide adequate material if SCHOOLS are setting exams which are much harder than what are in textbooks.\"
I agree with ksi that \"MOE/SEAB sets questions that ARE COVERED conceptually in the classroom\". But more and more schools are setting school exam papers which are of the top ten primary school standard. Many schools are using these top ten school papers as preparation(mock papers) for PSLE preparation on top of past PSLE papers which is understandable as all PSLE students are competing against their own cohort.
We can't expect every child to get an A* for an exam. I think parents are also not expecting that, to be honest.
The main issue perhaps, is how some schools have been setting their papers, which could be demoralising for the students if the papers are set too difficult. At times, it may also be a case of students requiring some time to digest the concept before they are being tested. I still remember a time when almost my entire class failed our first A Math test... but everyone did well in the end.
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Chenonceau:
Agree. Some parents underappreciate the value of play. They think that primary school kids are \"big\" enough that they do not need to play much especially outdoor activities. I feel that play is critical for healthy development for children.
They perform better when they get to play enough. And their development in other important areas is not stunted either.jtoh:
I read these articles about top P6 students who study 5-6 hours or 8-9 hours daily in the run-up to PSLE and I wonder where's their childhood? And some of these students also attend music lessons and I wonder where do they find the hours in a day. When do they have time to play? I tell my dd about the schedules of my P6 neighbour and she says I was a good mother for not stressing her out during PSLE. -
ksi:
To be fair, I find that MOE/SEAB sets questions that ARE COVERED conceptually in the classroom. The difference is the questions may not be seen before in any 10-years PSLE series but that is rightfully so if we want to see new emerging little scholars to place them in the right schools.
Chi & colleagues (1981) asked novice and expert physicists to sort physics experiments by type. The novices tended to sort by concrete surfaces, such as \"contains blocks on an incline plane.\" The experts, in contrast, identified similarity through the physics principles used to solve problems.
In a similarly novice manner, our primary school math syllabus (and textbooks) are organised by concepts as follows
(1) Percentage
(2) Ratio
(3) Fractions
(4) Average
(5) Etc...
In a similarly expert manner, the book Challenging Maths Problems Made Easy is organised by mathematical principles used to solve problems
(1) Remainder
(2) Repeated identity
(3) Equal
(4) External transfer with unchanged quantity
My DS has no tuition so I need to make sure I identify the gaps in the school's teaching in order to find resources for him to self-study at home. Once I plugged this gap with the right resource, his grades went up to 90+ easy. My DS' school assumed that having covered the concepts, the child will figure out skill. In reality, children simply pay tutors to help them master skill.
The same novice/expert pattern can be discerned in cookbooks. My James Peterson book has detailed explanations of
(1) Roasting
(2) Braising
(3) Poaching
(4) Steaming
(5) Etc...
... and then each technique for processing food is then applied in turn to
(1) Chicken
(2) Beef
(3) Pork
(4) Vegetables etc...
In contrast, Shermay Lee, gives a collection of recipes expecting that the good home cook will naturally know fire control... viscosity of rempah etc... without explanation of technique. According to some sources, her cookbooks are more hype than substance... http://kitchentigress.blogspot.com/2011/09/babi-pongteh.html.
Teaching what is important. Teaching how is equally important. Schools don't really teach the how very well. School textbooks don't document the how at all.
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