Asia spending billions on tutors: study

[Busymom]

autumnbronze:

Since it has been established that there are SOME NIE trained teachers who cannot teach, I don't see why the fuss about untrained teachers. For many other professions, we all have to start from somewhere. Why pick on the teachers only? This is clearly looking like a witch hunt .... a means to find any negative crumb against teachers to feed the masses.


I am very sure many pupils have benefitted from their teaching.

During my time, there were this batch of teachers referred to as contract teachers who were untrained. Perhaps they had to wait for the next intake into NIE, hence their teaching stint first.

I was a relief teacher for a year before entering NIE. That was because I missed the year's intake. It was a wonderful experience and re-affirmed my decision to join the teaching fraternity. I had a mentor/co-operating
teacher who was a senior to assist me. I KNOW I wasn't a bad teacher
because of the accolades that I received from the kids. I still have their gifts and notes of appreciation kept securely in a box.

On a separate note, it is becoming very pain(ful) to read the postings here. And I apologize first now if this is going to be harsh. But I will be speaking from my heart. I am doubting the extent of the 'pain' that those
have gone through. The alternative camp here has only tried to seek to clarify and provide, well, an alternative view. For those who claim that we are not civilized in our postings, well my FIL always admonishes my son that \"remember boy, for one finger pointing at others, there are four fingers pointing back at you\".

For myself, if I have adopted an unfriendly tone, I have explained why in
my previous post. However, seems to me that limlim's camp time and again take offense in what the alternative group have to say and choose to
read what they want to read, to the point of truncating certain statements in their replies. The latest posts that I have just read, the subtle or not so
subtle nuances towards the alternative group shocked me. Now who is stoking the fire huh?? Haiz, it's so clear that ONLY their views hold water, only THEY have experienced the pain, ONLY they are victims of bad teachers. Well, life is full of choices!!! You make your life out the way you
want it to be. Not happy with the sch, nothing being done by MOE or the sch after feedback, then transfer out if you want immediate changes to be
put in effect, as someone aptly put it.

(FYI) my K1 son was a victim of a 'bad' teacher. It affected his self-esteem
in one aspect. Until today, he refuses to participate in sand and water play once very week because of what happened, something he looked forward to before the incident. This happened one year ago. I am still working on building up his confidence. That same teacher has tried to put him as well
as my parenting style down right to my face. I just ignored her. Why? Because I believe she didn't know my son as well as the other teachers, including the Principal. The teacher left after a while. I found out earlier on she was inundated with personal problems. Unprofessional to take it out on my son, yes I agree but I saw a rationale there which I do not wish to share here cuz it's personal. To me, this my son's very FIRST life lesson that he is dealing with and if he pulls through successfully, I will give myself a pat on my back fobeing a damn good parent. If you think my actions are magnanimous, well, thats MY philosophy towards life. I have personally
gone through so much PAIN in life during my younger days that which has shaped me the way I am now. I have my PRIORITIES in check. and I choose to see the good in life. Nothing wrong in that. Perhaps that's why I am at peace with myself.

I feel for you. I feel for you because there is so much bitterness in your
posts. And as someone put it in another thread, this is only Pri education.
There is so much to life, please. In case anyone who feels that I am not qualified to comment cuz I do not have any Pri sch going kids, well I will
just share with you that I was a late bloomer due to circumstances at home. BUT, I have done well in my education and life, even though I had to take the road less travelled through faith, determination, sacrifice and hard work. Much much better than my peers who did well in their PSLE or even at tertiary level. In the recent years, I have seen 4 cousins-in-law picking themselves up after their secondary education because they imbibed the same qualities mentioned above and are doing very well now. 2 of them were from Rosyth, one from a neighbourhood and one from the normal technical stream. So not all from good schools do well in their PSLE. And there are a myriad of reasons why pupils may not do well in their studies in their younger days.

This is an open forum, lest someone comes in and blasts me for my post.
Please bear that in mind. And I am certainly not off topic. There are underlying messages. But then again, perhaps one is in too much pain to read them. If you do not agree with me, I am fine with that. If you choose to respond to this post. I won't be replying. It's my last in here. So you can say \"good riddance to this poster\" under your breath or if
it makes you feel better, aloud then.

Where are the mods anyway??? Seriously CKS, you should reinstate those
who have 'resigned' from the posts because when they were around, the forum was so much more civil. But I guess views from ole timers like me don't matter much anymore .....

:hugs:

[BeContented]

firefly38:

When I first joined KSP last year, I simply loved this forum... :love:

Same here......I joined 2 months earlier than you.

I remember the first 2 threads I participated in were ''2011 DSA'' and ''2011 PSLE Discussion & Strategy'' threads.. Never once had I come across any 'MOE/teacher-bashing' or 'tutor-glorifying' remarks.. The 2011 PSLE parents discussed (most of the time, with lots of humour), encouraged and supported each other in our DSs/DDs' DSA/PSLE journey.. Ex-PSLE parents (ksp2010, strparent, jtoh, intermezzo, to name a few..) also joined in to give us advice & support.. How I treasure those fond memories.. :grphug:

VSK2010 started a ''2012 PSLE Discussion & Strategy\" thread, even before 2011 PSLE ended, with the good intention to allow the 2012 PSLE parents to discuss & share, and give each other support & encouragement during the tough period of PSLE preparation (for their kids).. However, the thread has turned out to be... :sad:
:snuggles: Understand this part too. Cos' I too started with education threads. I was ranting over PIL issues too.....but whenever I come back to the education thread, the feel was very positive. It was so enjoyable that eventually I went on to read other threads, got myself hooked onto KSP and was often smiling & chuckling to myself over all the teasings and notti comments )

I was shocked to read (in another thread) that a parent actually told her kid not to listen to his school Math teacher (who was either not teaching, or teaching the wrong things), but to follow his private Math tutor's methods in solving Math problems.. :shock:

Wonder how the kid will respect his school teachers, if the parents keep slamming that their school teachers are no good, lousy, lazy, giving them loads of other school's exam papers to do, instead of revising with topical papers (which the private tutors are doing).. :skeptical:
Agree. We need to teach kids to respect their school teachers more.....like an elder. If they respect authority, some will bother more about finishing their work, listening and paying attention to teachers etc.

I feel that most kids handle topical test papers well, but they stumble if they have to do the full paper within a stipulated time (all topics coming together, no time to finish paper, poor time-management etc).. Hence, the school teachers are doing the RIGHT thing to let the kids practise with other schools' exam papers.. What better way to prepare the kids for PSLE than to give them a taste of the ''real'' thing.. :roll:

I remember my DS' teachers gave them lots of other schools' exam papers to do in the final months of PSLE prpearation last year.. I loved it, as I didn't buy any for DS to do.. DS loved it too and would look forward to his teachers giving him more, especially over the weekends.. And we parents also posted our questions and discussed the answers in the ''2011 PSLE'' thread, whenever we needed clarification (sometimes, the model answers given were wrong) or had doubts on any topics/issues..
That's what DS school is doing too. I can't help wondering, those who are complaining about doing other school exam papers.....can help suggest what is REVISION in your definition? What exactly should Sch teachers be doing during revision? Also, since some mentioned that doing top sch papers is the private tutor's job, kids without tuition, what's to happen to them? The whole thing just look ironical to me......cos' this contradiction seems to come from the same people.

Well.. those were the days.. where have they gone..

[Busymom]

schweppes:

I remember those days in ksp, firefly38. The teasings and the hippo and l-o-n-g l-o-n-g giraffe necks inside jokes. Any side swipes were all made in good fun. And whilst I was never active in those threads, I was reading and laughing and learning from the posts and sharing.

VK, jtoh, intermezzo... were very generous and selfless in their sharing and encouragement. Tere were a lot more support and encouragement and motivation for each other and our kids. More positive energy then.

I find that negativity breeds toxicity. Is that necessary? Maybe I'm naive in my thinking. But our kids are what we are.

I apologise if my post has offended. It's not my intention and not directed at anyone. But sharing as it is from someone who has grown with ksp over the past 3 years.

:hi5: I miss those days too.

The negativity in some threads... also make me want to :siam:

Life as it is, already tough. We don't need more from the cyberspace.

[Busymom]

firefly38:

When I first joined KSP last year, I simply loved this forum... :love:


I remember the first 2 threads I participated in were ''2011 DSA'' and ''2011 PSLE Discussion & Strategy'' threads.. Never once had I come across any 'MOE/teacher-bashing' or 'tutor-glorifying' remarks.. The 2011 PSLE parents discussed (most of the time, with lots of humour), encouraged and supported each other in our DSs/DDs' DSA/PSLE journey.. Ex-PSLE parents (ksp2010, strparent, jtoh, intermezzo, to name a few..) also joined in to give us advice & support.. How I treasure those fond memories.. :grphug:

VSK2010 started a ''2012 PSLE Discussion & Strategy\" thread, even before 2011 PSLE ended, with the good intention to allow the 2012 PSLE parents to discuss & share, and give each other support & encouragement during the tough period of PSLE preparation (for their kids).. However, the thread has turned out to be... :sad:

I was shocked to read (in another thread) that a parent actually told her kid not to listen to his school Math teacher (who was either not teaching, or teaching the wrong things), but to follow his private Math tutor's methods in solving Math problems.. :shock:

Wonder how the kid will respect his school teachers, if the parents keep slamming that their school teachers are no good, lousy, lazy, giving them loads of other school's exam papers to do, instead of revising with topical papers (which the private tutors are doing).. :skeptical:

I feel that most kids handle topical test papers well, but they stumble if they have to do the full paper within a stipulated time (all topics coming together, no time to finish paper, poor time-management etc).. Hence, the school teachers are doing the RIGHT thing to let the kids practise with other schools' exam papers.. What better way to prepare the kids for PSLE than to give them a taste of the ''real'' thing.. :roll:

I remember my DS' teachers gave them lots of other schools' exam papers to do in the final months of PSLE prpearation last year.. I loved it, as I didn't buy any for DS to do.. DS loved it too and would look forward to his teachers giving him more, especially over the weekends.. And we parents also posted our questions and discussed the answers in the ''2011 PSLE'' thread, whenever we needed clarification (sometimes, the model answers given were wrong) or had doubts on any topics/issues..

Well.. those were the days.. where have they gone..

:goodpost:

[BeContented]

Busymom:

schweppes:

I remember those days in ksp, firefly38. The teasings and the hippo and l-o-n-g l-o-n-g giraffe necks inside jokes. Any side swipes were all made in good fun. And whilst I was never active in those threads, I was reading and laughing and learning from the posts and sharing.

VK, jtoh, intermezzo... were very generous and selfless in their sharing and encouragement. Tere were a lot more support and encouragement and motivation for each other and our kids. More positive energy then.

I find that negativity breeds toxicity. Is that necessary? Maybe I'm naive in my thinking. But our kids are what we are.

I apologise if my post has offended. It's not my intention and not directed at anyone. But sharing as it is from someone who has grown with ksp over the past 3 years.

:hi5: I miss those days too.

The negativity in some threads... also make me want to :siam:

Life as it is, already tough. We don't need more from the cyberspace.

:hi5: :celebrate:
:grphug: to all others who feel so too :love:
I guess pretty soon.....we may realised that these old-timers are slowly disappearing from the KSP scene......

[Busymom]

ksi:

Busymom:

Limlim


This is what you may have overlooked.
[quote=\"ksi\"]
This is only one area, there could be more and Sun_2010 has mentioned about materials designed which should rightfully belong to the school. Also, how is MOE or school going to track if a teacher is teaching their own students or not? It is again an issue of span of control. In any case, this moonlight issue in the commercial world is clearly spelt out in the hiring contract for most large companies with protection over intellectual property rights and their customer base.

Just to clarify, I am writing this with reference to tuition centres because we were comparing school versus tuition centre in moonlighting scenario, not about sharing across schools when Sun_2010 shared about the materials. In line with what limlim has mentioned, when used in tuition centres, it is for personal gains. So our understanding has been consistent.[/quote]I guess I misunderstood then. :imsorry:

[limlim]

Lilac66:

Autumnbronze, rest assured that alot of parents here know there are alot of dedicated teachers , and you are one of them like I mentioned. How many teachers will do a one-on-one with the students before exam just because they requested it. (See I remember that post). I believe you are a very gentle parent and forumner but I also know you reacted that way because this is something very close to your heart and having through alot of pain. I'm just afraid this may have clouded your judgment and you may have read more into some posts more than intended.
:snuggles: :hugs:

I read that too :hi5: :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

[limlim]

Busymom:

:hi5: I miss those days too.

The negativity in some threads... also make me want to :siam:

Life as it is, already tough. We don't need more from the cyberspace.

Maybe, chief would ban some of us here who are \"not-so-contented\"..

Then, you can have all the peace you want and everyone so happy and contented.. and KSP is all flower blooming and nice smell all around..

If KSP choose to be detached from reality..

it's the admin's call..

:evil:

Oops.. 3 yrs ago is before I join.. I may be 1 bad apple that pollute the air here..

[iFirefly]

BeContented:

Busymom:

[quote=\"schweppes\"]

I remember those days in ksp, firefly38. The teasings and the hippo and l-o-n-g l-o-n-g giraffe necks inside jokes. Any side swipes were all made in good fun. And whilst I was never active in those threads, I was reading and laughing and learning from the posts and sharing.

VK, jtoh, intermezzo... were very generous and selfless in their sharing and encouragement. Tere were a lot more support and encouragement and motivation for each other and our kids. More positive energy then.

I find that negativity breeds toxicity. Is that necessary? Maybe I'm naive in my thinking. But our kids are what we are.

I apologise if my post has offended. It's not my intention and not directed at anyone. But sharing as it is from someone who has grown with ksp over the past 3 years.

:hi5: I miss those days too.

The negativity in some threads... also make me want to :siam:

Life as it is, already tough. We don't need more from the cyberspace.

:hi5: :celebrate:
:grphug: to all others who feel so too :love:
I guess pretty soon.....we may realised that these old-timers are slowly disappearing from the KSP scene...... [/quote]I remember during those few days to the release of the PSLE results, we (moms) were discussing about going for facials (mud baths for THE hippo) & massages.. making appointments to perm, highlight & SET our hair as high as Bart Simpsons' mom's.. buying new dresses and matching shoes & handbags.. all just in case our DS/DD could be the TOP PSLE student and reporters would take our photos and we would appear on the national newspapers mah.. :rotflmao:

Of course, we were all kidding and pulling one another's legs at that time.. but our teasings came true, when one of our ksp moms' (Ms Tay) DS came in as the TOP student in his primary school.. :rahrah:

[Lilac66]

limlim:

Lilac66:

Autumnbronze, rest assured that alot of parents here know there are alot of dedicated teachers , and you are one of them like I mentioned. How many teachers will do a one-on-one with the students before exam just because they requested it. (See I remember that post). I believe you are a very gentle parent and forumner but I also know you reacted that way because this is something very close to your heart and having through alot of pain. I'm just afraid this may have clouded your judgment and you may have read more into some posts more than intended.
:snuggles: :hugs:

I read that too :hi5: :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

:celebrate: Aiyo, old and blur already. The truncated post I mentioned earlier was from another thread, not this one. So maybe Autumnbronze didn't mean that post? Anyway, I'll make my exit from these 2 threads liao, scared of new crossfire. Oxyleo, your crystal ball's prediction was spot on!