Hi,


I purchased P6 Eng, Maths and Sci past year papers from Mr Gan last year. Some of the papers are so blurred (either due to printing issues or the master copy is blurred or sth) that the questions cannot be read properly…

As for the Science solutions… Incomplete and inaccurate, to say the least… I wonder if ‘all answers are provided by experienced tutors’ as advertised in his website is just a tactic to get parents to buy from him…

Just my two cents worth…

Emma_CY:

Why do I sense a lot of fear mongering and subtle marketing in this thread? Tuition centres all over Singapore are seizing this opportunity to distinguish themselves from others, offering their own set of tactics and strategies to conquer the new syllabus. :stompfeet:


BUT, if we take a closer look at why our children / students are not scoring today, perhaps we'd realize that teaching them a load of inferential skills isn't going to be the best way to help the majority of them (and would perhaps only directly help those who are already the cream of the crop).

Many students whom I have come into contact with are still struggling with their basics (e.g. spelling, past perfect tense) which is why they are forever stuck with C grades unless they have a tutor or teacher who can help them conquer these hurdles. :imdrowning:

Truth be told, the new component in comprehension (the visual stimulus) only constitutes a tiny 3.5% of their entire grade, and taking into consideration the other integrated elements such as new question types in Text 2 comprehension and even editing/oral, these purported \"new\" skills would help influence at most 15-25% of their overall grade.

What happens to the other 75-85%? The paper ultimately consists of traditional sections like the continuous writing, the situational writing (not much of a difference given that the expectations are the same - tone, audience, context)

I see no need for parents or centres to kick up a fuss when in reality, kids simply have poor English. I have seen many parents using the \"new syllabus\" as an excuse for their kids' poor English.

Literary techniques and inferencing skills are good, useful, and necessary. The change in syllabus will benefit our kids. Yet, there is no reason to make parents worry unduly or start using the \"lack of inferential skills\" or the lack of teachers trained in Literature/English as reasons for bad grades.

Traditional learning still has to go on, alongside the new.

Finally, while exposing kids to the beauty of language and literature (tone, impact, meaning of words etc), it is also of paramount importance to expose them to greater things, deeper themes and broader topics (e.g. marginalization, poaching, human rights) that will help them comprehend texts and eventually become better people.

:salute:

As a tutor myself, I have also been searching for relevant materials for my Sec 3 students. Hence, I welcome publishers and tuition centres to share with us the resources that they have managed to gather for the new syllabus 1128. I can confirm that there are no assessment books at the moment in Popular and other bookstores that cater to the new syllabus, so please please.. share with us any links or materials that you can get your hands on..

Here is one: http://www.phd-education.com.sg
I got their flyer from my fellow tutor colleague. Apparently students get one year of academic tutoring with each subscription. Their content for syllabus 1128 is relevant (you can view their 'package preview')..

Yes, and I also agree with Emma_CY that the visual component should not be a cause of worry for parents because basically a huge section of the papers are still on 'traditional' sections. That is how I assure my students' parents.. :rahrah: