Enrichment or draconian?

[wet]

For working parents, the question of whether to send their kids to student care centres is always controversial. On one hand, you don’t want your kids to waste their time away at home unsupervised. On the other, if the student care centre is just another tuition centre, then you might burn out your child.


Can anyone with experience with student care centres comment?

Much appreciated!

[phantom]

My kid is currently been looked after by my parents. But my wife is thinking of sending him to student care when he is in primary school. My wife felt that my son is doing nothing useful at home and wasting time.


Personally, I don’t think we should burn out our kids by doing too much tuition and homework. If I am to send him to student care, I would have preferred those that teach things like abacus, creative thinking, writing and other thing that is not curricula.

Any idea if there are such student care center?

[admin 0]

I had a long correspondence with the founder of the http://www.pro-teach.com/pro-teach.htm franchise of student care centres about 6 months ago. They had then recently encountered a bit of negative press regarding their methods which stresses on academic excellence. The question was whether it is good for kids to be practically studying in another unofficial \"institution\" right before or after they go for their official school.


Well, students are given \"free\" daily tuition in each of the 4 subjects according to the MOE syllabus. They even issue a \"progress card\" for reporting to parents on the child's performance academically and socially. They offer free enrichment programmes during the holidays.

They also focus on moral and social development, but its pretty much within a classroom environment.

So I think if you are looking for a place to park your kids and make sure they do their homework while you are busy at work, Pro-Teach does a pretty good job. But I'm not sure about how much the child likes it. Peggy says that their children loves going to their centres, but that's coming from the founder herself.

Has anyone sent their children to Pro-Teach? What are your experiences?

[Working Mum]

My P1 boy is enjoying his freedom at home in the afternoons with my dad. So much free time, he watches TV, plays computer games… I set some homework but it is usually half done when we get home in the evenings. It is difficult to monitor the self administered work done in assessment books especially when the caregiver is the grandparent. I wish to get him hook onto a series of story books but I think for him, P1 is still to early for solid books. Frankly I am afraid that he may be "wasting" time and spoiling his eyes on TV and computer. But what can I do?

[wet]

Working Mum:

My P1 boy is enjoying his freedom at home in the afternoons with my dad. So much free time, he watches TV, plays computer games.... I set some homework but it is usually half done when we get home in the evenings. It is difficult to monitor the self administered work done in assessment books especially when the caregiver is the grandparent. I wish to get him hook onto a series of story books but I think for him, P1 is still to early for solid books. Frankly I am afraid that he may be \"wasting\" time and spoiling his eyes on TV and computer. But what can I do?

after 2 years of given our son \"freedom\" at home to do his own homework, we've given up and basically enlisted the help of the student care nearest to our home. we both work and when he was in the afternoon school (P1-P2), we try to get home early to help him with his homework, but it was tough. during the morning, he was pretty much left on his own, but at his age, he lacks the discipline to manage his own studies. now in P3, he is in the morning class which means by the time we get back, he will already have to sleep => no time for us to make him do his homework.

so now we park him at the student care immediately after school, where he gets to take a quick shower, have lunch, and then they will make him do his school homework, and then do further studies if time permits. so when we get home, we will just have to run through his completed homework with him just before his bedtime. let's see how this works out in the long term.

some of the kids at the student care centre have been there since P1. you might want to consider this solution seriously.

[350906]

My son is in P3 attending morning session class. I sent him to Pro-Teach for Afterschool Care programme. For the last 2 months, I felt that he is really BURN OUT with the amount of Tuition and worksheets that he has to managed between his school & Pro-Teach centre. He has showed sign of \"detest\" going to Pro-Teach Centre. I am a working mum, by the time I reached home will be 7pm, I felt difficult to coach him with his work, which is why I put him up in a student care centre thinking that his school work will be taken care of. I don't have anybody to help to take care of him after school. Unfortunately, he is not too happy with this arrangement because the amount of worksheets the student care centre has given out is just too much. What should I do? I am afraid that in the long run, indirectly this will kill his interest in studying. What should I do now?


Worried Mum :?:

[wet]

350906:

My son is in P3 attending morning session class. I sent him to Pro-Teach for Afterschool Care programme. For the last 2 months, I felt that he is really BURN OUT with the amount of Tuition and worksheets that he has to managed between his school & Pro-Teach centre. He has showed sign of \"detest\" going to Pro-Teach Centre. I am a working mum, by the time I reached home will be 7pm, I felt difficult to coach him with his work, which is why I put him up in a student care centre thinking that his school work will be taken care of. I don't have anybody to help to take care of him after school. Unfortunately, he is not too happy with this arrangement because the amount of worksheets the student care centre has given out is just too much. What should I do? I am afraid that in the long run, indirectly this will kill his interest in studying. What should I do now?


Worried Mum :?:

u r same case as me. my son also hates going to his student care (NOT Pro-Teach)... not because of the worksheets he has to do, but because he is unable to make good friends in there. the kids there have mostly been together since p1, so he is having difficulty getting accepted. the teachers there are also not too well trained themselves.

I would think a good student care service is one which:
1. help kids develop the good habit of finishing their homework before play
2. encourage kids to work and play together, and form long-lasting friendships.
3. help build good habits and characters.

I am thinking of getting my son out of that student care.

Didn't know Pro-teach is so work sheet centric. maybe it depends on the centre you go to. it would be ridiculous if they make your son bring back homework... do they?? we have to be careful of burning out our children.

[wwcookie]

Recently I engaged a tutor for my son to help him finish his homework and spend his time more productively instead of watching TV from the time he gets home at 2pm till evening when I reached home. I told the tutor to concentrate on getting his school homework done and then do painting or play the many creative / educational games that I have bought for him. Guess what? The tutor just makes him do assessments upon assessments! :shock: I guess tutors nowadays are so used to giving kids assessments that they don't understand that that's not what I wanted!! :roll: So how?? Any creative, fun-loving tutor to recommend?

[jedamum]

wwcookie:

I told the tutor to concentrate on getting his school homework done and then do painting or play the many creative / educational games that I have bought for him.

:shock: nowadays, do tutors have to take on the role of a nanny? i thought tutors are supposed to teach subjects?

[ChiefKiasu]

jedamum:

:shock: nowadays, do tutors have to take on the role of a nanny? i thought tutors are supposed to teach subjects?

Perhaps the concept of having governesses with full-time responsibilities of looking after children while their parents work is making a comeback in these trying times.