Asia spending billions on tutors: study

[BeContented]

MOE at fault - gotta prepare hard & well for P1?

Parents not kiasu?

I dunno what to say. Just glad that I din subject my kids to such stuff when they were young, at least they got to play a lot

[verykiasu2010]

BeContented:

MOE at fault - gotta prepare hard & well for P1?

Parents not kiasu?

I dunno what to say. Just glad that I din subject my kids to such stuff when they were young, at least they got to play a lot

these are the products of kiasu, kiabo, kiasi parents, expecting their pri 1 kids to top the cohort from day 1 of pri 1 in order to secure some bragging rights, and so hothousing them during kindy years, attending multiple kindy and enrichment classes

blame MOE ? blame the parents' kiasu mentality is more like it

ouch, the truth hurts :siam: :siam:

[verykiasu2010]

janet_lee88:

SAHM_TAN:

What's so unusual about preparing kids consistently and gradually for PSLE? For example, I don't understand why science is only introduced in P3. I think it should be in P1.


I'm not expecting all kids to do excellently well. But I do not think that it need to be a shock. Why can't it be a gentle process, as in consistent and gradual? Either way, there will be kids who get all As and kids who go Normal Academic and Normal Technical.

P1-4 were not easy to pass...the stress of maintaining his average position, not falling downwards :nailbite:

At P5, MOE feels that the kids are mature enough overnight to kill them with tough Math prob questions...18 of them. Section A (no calculator), every question can only use 2 marks to get it done.
It is not easy to teach 40 kids how to solve those tough problem sums. I dont know how to, even after reading it several times. What about 10+/11 year olds? That is, if teacher knows how to teach and passionate enough to do so. If not, tutors have to come in.

Science is not easy. I've been through it. Answering OE questions is no walk in the park. Even those MCQs...simply not just whack an answer. Teaching my son science at P3 was nail-biting. Diversity itself consists of 5 topics.

Bashing the school is not my intention. Of course who hasn't experienced terrible teachers? P6 is a crucial year, strangely i need tutors now more than his earlier years in school.

may be the kids not passionate enough to learn oso wat .... and may be parents don't know how to motivate the kids oso,,,,,,, not referring to you nor your kid lah .....

[Picolo]

BeContented:

MOE at fault - gotta prepare hard & well for P1?

Parents not kiasu?

I dunno what to say. Just glad that I din subject my kids to such stuff when they were young, at least they got to play a lot

:celebrate: Same here. If it's not child abuse, I dunno what's that. :rotflmao:

[cnimed]

<blockquote style="border:1px solid black;"> I would guess at their age playing would seem so much more interesting and of greater value to them. What do parents think? Are your kids very eager to know more about how the world works?


Oh yes, very eager to know about how the world works. But school doesn’t really teach about the world mah.

I think the two kindys a day is horrible. I don’t think it is for the child’s benefit, but for the benefit of the caregiver. I met a mum who did that when my son just entered nursery - she will drop her younger child at her mum’s place, take the older one to kindy 1 and then either go shopping or read her book. After that, they have a quick lunch and proceed to kindy 2 and do the same.

[janet88]

BeContented:

I dunno what to say. Just glad that I din subject my kids to such stuff when they were young, at least they got to play a lot

Sending kids to school early is heartache for me...I kept my kids at home until the age of nursery. If can avoid nursery and attend K1, it would be more fun.
Daughter in P2 this year has tests every 9-10 weeks. I don't push her to ace them...just want her to have some preparation for it. Seeing my son so jelak, education is a LONG way to go. Do not wish to see her burnt out.

[SAHM_TAN]

I did not conduct survey. I have 3 kids and they have different personalities and temper of varying degree but one thing is common among my kids, they are curious, like to learn and read. I’m a very average mother and I did not do anything special for them, especially so for bb, becos I’m so tired out, but I love to read, books are scattered all over the house, sometimes becos I’m too tired to tidy.


I guide my older kids on their reading and now bb, 23 months, on her own accord will point out words and in her non-verbal communication manner ask me what the word means and she’s rather happy. She a very normal bb hor, can’t even speak yet. In some ways considered behind liao becos she can’t recite the abc, 123, heck she doesnt even speak.

My point is that from my observation of my kids, I know small until cannot be small sample size, kids by nature love and want to learn. They are terrible curious creatures. It’s not a typo when I state terrible. We do not need to nurture their love for learning. We just need to make sure we don’t extinguish it.

[SAHM_TAN]

Kids are being exposed to science as early as kindy. The difficulty level can be adjusted but I think it’s not fair to the kids to totally exclude science till P3.


My dd1 is a very average kid. She’s not GEP type hor. She’s the type that couldn’t read with basic ability till K2. I’m not being over-ambition on her reading abilities nor a extreme modest parent. But at K1, she was able to explain to me very clearly and logically why certain countries are daytime and why others are night-time. So if my kid can be reached so can other kids.

I have believed that P1 should be introduced to science before I have these 2 pieces of information. This is just one example to show helping kids to prepare consistently and gradually for PSLE.

A neighbourhood school, not those from top ones, has science projects for their P1 kids and my school encourage the P1 kids to subscribe to science magazine. These are signals to me that even school teachers realise the need to expose kids to science earlier than P3. So why don’t do it across the board? The subject does not have to be tested. My kids were not tested in kindy and they still learned the stuff that were taught to them.

PSLE of today is more difficult than my time. This is a fact. I’m not interested in why or that it’s too difficult for the kids. My stand is if the papers are so difficult, then schools have a responsibility to give the kids a fair and fighting chance and not just fall back on the argument of that there are just kids who cannot be taught or that there are classes for varying abilities kids. The process can be gentle. I do not associate nurture with shock treatments. I don’t understand why I must be shocked when my kids are in P5 or that it’s normal to shock them when they are in P5.

Oh, my idea of consistent and gradual preparation of my kids do not include 2 sessions of kindy hor.

One more thing, I spoke to a P4 kid from one of the popular schooland she told me PSLE preparation starts in P4, and she was rather serious when she told me. She’s a rather normal kid too. So working backwards, I have to start now for my P1 kid. It’s not about kiasu or kiasi. It’s about gradual preparation in view that the papers are no longer the standard of our times.

My dd1 does not have tuition for every subject. She has maths because I do not understand models and all the new stuff that it’s maths that’s suppose to make it easier for kids to learn maths. For science I subscribe to magazines and have science kits for the kids. The kits, I’ve yet to let her try becos bb is rather destructive now. I do not test my dd1 on the science facts that she read, I just give her the stuff to read. She’s the very girly type but she’s still ok to read abt science. Like I post in my earlier post, kids have a natural curiosity.

[janet88]

Boy mentioned in yesterday’s ST could have been brainwashed to attend 2 kindergartens everyday. Kids at his age have brains like sponges…quick to absorb…but starting too early can lead to melt-down or burnt out early too. Very 可怜


Are some parents too eager to get kids started seeing that their precious tots are intelligent or plain kiasu? Once kids start school, they will be studying for the next 16-18 years at least, maybe more if taking MBA.

[Champion]

SAHM_TAN:

Kids are being exposed to science as early as kindy. The difficulty level can be adjusted but I think it's not fair to the kids to totally exclude science till P3.

:hi5: SAHM_TAN I had a \"culture shock\" when my youngest, now barely coming to 3 years old brought back a All about Science colouring book from his playgroup last Term! :yikes: Both my P1 and P4 DDs were \"curious\" and started flipping thru the pages and commented,\" Aiyoh, how di di will know about trees, plants, etc. He still so young!\"

SAHM_TAN:

I have believed that P1 should be introduced to science before I have these 2 pieces of information. This is just one example to show helping kids to prepare consistently and gradually for PSLE.

:evil: :evil: That why we are all seeing P1 or Pre-Primary Science Assessment books at Popular Bookstore. I believe Science is a everyday thing so by observing and talking, think kids will be exposed to Science in one way or another; JMHO

SAHM_TAN:

One more thing, I spoke to a P4 kid from one of the popular schooland she told me PSLE preparation starts in P4, and she was rather serious when she told me. She's a rather normal kid too. So working backwards, I have to start now for my P1 kid. It's not about kiasu or kiasi. It's about gradual preparation in view that the papers are no longer the standard of our times.

My dd1 does not have tuition for every subject. She has maths because I do not understand models and all the new stuff that it's maths that's suppose to make it easier for kids to learn maths. For science I subscribe to magazines and have science kits for the kids. The kits, I've yet to let her try becos bb is rather destructive now. I do not test my dd1 on the science facts that she read, I just give her the stuff to read. She's the very girly type but she's still ok to read abt science. Like I post in my earlier post, kids have a natural curiosity.

:salute: :celebrate: Jiayou, mummy SAHM_TAN! For P1, we still have a long way to go so we shall not be stress out here but continue to move with them in a steadfast and gradual manner that best suits him/her.

My elder is P4 this year and I can feel the \"heat\" coming up but I am more a supporting role to her and I always have this to say,\" I will render all kinda of help to you within my means to you but ultimately you are the sitting for the exam so be the best you can!\" :please: