Any Mommies in mid-late 30s or over 40 with small children?

tamarind

Yes, there are a few kids whose parents opted out of screening last year. Naturally we didn't opt out since we knew from day 1 my dd has a good chance - don't mean to sound arrogant, just our realistic assessment.

It's just good chance, we're not absolutely confident since we have no idea how they will be screened & we didn't send her for training. We kind of wonder if she would be squeeze out by the hothoused or prep class kids. Luckily didn't lor

However, there are a handful in her current class who clear cut cannot cope, they started failing tests and it's only a few months into the programme. Majority are around same calibre so it's good to keep each other on their toes to stay hardworking. Problem is too many leaders & nobody wants to be followers, haha!

I think some parents may by pushing their kids a little too hard though. One of her classmates fell asleep during some test, probably studied too late the night before. If you recall my earlier post, I insisted my dd to go to bed at her usual bedtime despites not finishing her homework and her teacher made her 罚站 for more than an hour the next day. Now she agrees with me the importance of having sufficient rest after seeing what happened to that sleepy classmate.

Another classmate cried when he didn't get full marks for tingxie. My dd didn't do so well for tingxie either, I think she got around 70 for that particular tingxie but she wasn't stressed because she knew I won't kick a fuss as long as she learned her tingxie. Teacher tested beyond tingxie list so I don't expect her to get full marks even if she did learn her tingxie. Only during times like this, she appreciates me. Hehe, got comparison then she knows her mommy has been so easy on her

If fact, I've been 95% hands off this year. She was way too idle & under challenged previously. At least now I don't have to keep her 'entertain' anymore, more free time to go exercise & read my manga

I think bottom line is to manage our own expectations
 


Hi All,

I simply think it's ridiculous the way Maths syllabus has evolved over the years. Tricky, mind-boggling and totally inane (even though they test the IQ, reading comprehension and provide mental challenge). The values some of these problems represent is disturbing. I absolutely don't want my kid's life to be centred on being calculating with time, sweets and money! I really really hope such stupid questions will be outlawed by the time my kid reaches the age of schooling. Where is the simplistic fun in learning addition, time, measurement etc? Why should kids be made to do multiple steps and the horrid model-drawing?!

On the topic of property. Unless one has extra cash to speculate, it's best to settle down into a jumbo flat like Tam and be content with renovating it nicely every decade or whenever affordable. It's no longer like in the 80s where assets triple in value and one is sure to 'earn' an extra property back in a few years' time. If my mom hadn't stopped my dad from purchasing an old shophouse off Orchard (was only 300k), we'll be sitting on a few million dollars now 'cos I know someone who sold one for 6.8m in the 1990s... scary big leaps in prices in the late 1980s and 1990s. My neighbour bought the apartment below ours for S$400k late 1989 and within a year got rid of it at S$700k I recall. Another neighbour who has been staying there since the buildingw was up sold his at over a million (think he bought the apartment for 50k in the 1970s).

I just think it's time for folks who are money-crazy to settle down to do some careful maths and think through if they're over-optimistic about their investments (whether already invested or soon-to-dabble-in).

Too many people wish to get rich, retire fast BUT forget the reality of the market (which is more volatile than ever, thanks to the ever surprising new crises that pop up just when things get better). One will never know when the next bad thing will be or how hard it will hit our economy or the stocks you're holding. Even blue chips can be rocked by internal scandal, changes in CEO or adverse news. Even SIA profits dived 70%. As much as some of us have faith in certain companies, you'll never know how the companies are really run and if it's almost curtain-call (if there are irregularities and lousy strategies etc).

I am definitely content to be in my HDB zone after all the scares of previous near-losses and now that I'm a mother and stayhome with no income. Better to be safe than let avarice take over.
 
snowball

My dd got tuition, but it's not to help her with her current level of work but to stimulate her interests in Maths. Upon her request, she has been skipping 2 years in Maths since p2. She's in a p6 maths tuition class this year. Fortunately we managed to find a center willing to accept her otherwise I would be overwhelmed if she expects me to teach her all those concepts.

So while her p6 tuition classmates are busy preparing for psle this year, she just attend for fun, no stress at all
 
tamarind

I'm quite skeptical about learning lab's advert lah. psle got 4 subjects leh. Even if a student took merely 1 subject with learning lab, they will claim full credit for that student's psle results. Similarly for Mindstretcher if you noticed their advert

And we all know that being labelled gifted doesn't necessarily mean that child is super in all subjects. Some kids are better in languages, some are better in Maths &/or Science. If mainstream can openly attend tuition since they aren't burden by that gifted label, gep students must struggle on their own even if confirm no talent in a particular subject? I think dd's entire class has Chinese tuition. Her Chinese teacher told them the entire class is around similar 'lousy' standard, haha!
 
yawn,
GEP classes has a max size of 18, while marinstream classes are 40. MOE has put in their best resources and teachers for these GEP kids. If GEP kids still require tuition in any subject to keep up, then it shows that the GEP program is a failure and a complete waste of taxpayers' money. Since gep parents are so willing to spend on tuition, then the government should use the money spent on gep to help the weak students instead.

I know the characteristics of a gifted kids, it is not only about being very good in one or two subjects.

As for Chinese, I firmly believe that the only reason why gifted kids do not do well in Chinese is because their parents neglected teaching the language when they are young. If the parents have taught both language at the same time, they would have been good in Chinese too.

Of course being in the gep has many advantages like almost guaranteed admission to the top secondary schools, so to many parents, it is worth pushing their kids into it. I do respect other parents' decision to put their kids in GEP. I just do not think that it is worth going through all the troubles, since I am not aiming for the top secondary schools for my kids.

I think MOE will also tell parents to manage their expectations. How many parents will honestly hope for their kids to go to ITE or poly because they are academically inclined ? It is because there is so much streaming in our system, GEP, IP, etc, parents naturally want to push their kids into the best stream. Take away all these, and the parents will have nothing to push for.
 
Tamarind,

Yes, actually I also do not know what is the defination of Gifted.In dd gifted class, all students in this secondary school are just high achievers but not so much being gifted.Just one cent of my thought.
 
mumusings,
I also hated model drawing. My students can pass O level maths but still don't understand basic algebra, and I totally blame all the time wasted teaching model drawing from P1 to P5.

Like you I also think that all those tricky questions are meaningless. They should just spend more time teaching simple algebra in primary school so that the weak students have more time to master it.

Besides Maths, the way English is taught in school is totally hopeless. Kids will take many years to learn to read if they do not have tuition or help from parents, unless the child is one of the very few really gifted kids who can learn to read on his own.

That is why I realize that our system is nothing to be proud about.
 
joy,
MOE's definition of giftedness is to pass the gep screening test which many bright kids can be trained to do.

There are many definitions of giftedness, the most important ones are the ability to learn rapidly and independently, and an excellent memory. With these abilities, the child does not need to be taught by anyone, once he/she has acquired the ability to read independently. A gifted child, of course, must have the intrinsic motivation to learn.

I have encountered students who can learn a computer language simply by reading the book, without any guidance from teachers. Gifted kids should be able to do better than that.
 
joy

My dd had an IQ test when she was much much younger.But that IQ test is totally different from gep screening test.
I also have no idea how the gep screening works.

Is there such thing as gifted class in secondary school? I thought no more, scrap already.
That's why there was a call to scrap gep in primary school too.
 
Typo mistake :
How many parents will honestly hope for their kids to go to ITE or poly because they are [not] academically inclined ?
 
tamarind

I went to poly too. I don't see that as failure leh

Hehe, can tell you feel so strongly about gep hor. Except in forum where I sometimes discuss, none of my relatives knew. I don't like to be perceived as 'bragging' or get suck into a debate, very tiring. Against my carefree lifestyle. Might as well spend that time reading manga. Yeah yeah, admit I'm a manga addict.

Bottom line - as long my dd is happy lor, whichever programme is fine with me, even homeschooling is fine too, if she's willing (she isn't, I proposed to her many times before)

A person's meat can be another person's poison. My dd2 is not suitable for gep. She is gifted too (by my own defintion, not moe's definition). Not academically gifted but in other aspects, and I adore her as well, even more than dd1. Oops, admit I'm into favouritism too

As parents, ultimately we just want our kids to be healthy and filial. And hopefully married a wonderful husband when grows up. And I get to see my grandchildren. Arh... it's about parents' expectations again. That's my expectations lor

I didn't do so well for psle. Don't think it ruins my life in any way leh, haha!
 
Sophia,
My maid has been with me for 6 years. I don't know what to do without her, for example, I have been very sick for the past 2 weeks, but I still had to go to work. She does a very good job taking care of the kids and keeping the house clean. That is why I think she is worth this salary.

She is happy with alternate sundays off, and refused to take every sunday off. I will still give her increment of $50 when I renew her contract 2 years later, that should be enough to compensate,
 
yawn,
The poly students now are different from before. I have encountered many very smart ones who simply gave up and refused to study. These are the ones who felt that they have failed in life, because the system told them so. The majority give up on questions which have too many words, because the system made them think that they are not good enough to tackle difficult questions.

Of course there are some hardworking students who choose to come to poly and they excel. These are the minority.
 
tamarind

Oh just to add, regarding the smaller class size, I can't tell there's advantage in the way Chinese language is being taught. It's still being conducted in the same manner, one way delivery from teacher to entire class (no difference whether 40 students are listening or 25 are listening)

I think the smaller class size is probably more beneficial for subject such as science, more interactions


Gosh, didn't realise poly standard deterioriate so much. My batch of classmates all super on leh. My best friend got so many distinctions, incredible. She even tutor me in accounting which was a new subject to me at that time
 
snowball

Forget to add, attending advanced maths class doesn't mean my dd get full marks for Maths exam. From p1 to p3, at every exam, there is always someone else who did better than her, don't ask me why hor, haha!

But it's okay lah, no sweat. As long she enjoys her learning, I don't expect advanced learning to be translated into full marks. Once we equate a certain score to learning, it takes all the joy away

Now my dd2 is into practising 'fun' pieces, not exam pieces. I 随她去 lor, she said it's much more enjoyable playing 'fun' pieces
 
Hi Yawn,

Great to hear that you're committed to developing your dd's values. To me, having paper certs don't mean anything if the kid isn't happy or if kid doesn't grow up with the right basic principles.

GEP/scholarships etc don't mean anything if the person is rotten to the core like some of the scums in the local news (embezzling, soliciting sex, pimping, philandering etc).
 
hi pink gerbera,

Yes, we do live in the Bay Area...close to 7 years. Gilroy is good always, but REALLY good on Black Friday. My hubby will drive down at 3am for good deals!

hi everyone,

From all that I've read abt the Pri school education, it's really scary how parents push kids through this GEP screening test.

Would the kids be able to transfer out of the program if they change their minds, or if the teachers feel they might not be able to cope?

I agree with tamarind, gifted kids do not need training. But they are fortunate to have parents and educators who recognize their talents and develop them in that areas. They need to be encouraged. Their giftedness might not be knowing all the math answers off the top of their head, but more importantly to learn across the subjects. That, to me, is real learning.
 
Hi Yawn,

Thanks for the link on explanation of GEP. I totally agree that no 2 kids are the same. Likewise for the 2 friends' kids I have earlier mentioned, only one of their kids are GEP gifted and the other kids are not. My friends leave it as it is and life moves on with them having happy kids and not pressurised kids who are trying to catch up.

Hi Redvelvet - Like what Yawn has mentioned, on parents frantically preparing their kids for GEP tests, its all boils down to mgt of expectation and realistically understanding what your child can or cannot do.
 
Hi Yawn,

On Music - We also decided to let our kids learn at their own pace and will not be pressed for them to start 1-to-1 lessons. We wanted them to enjoy music & hopefully this can be a form of relaxation for them in future.
 
Talking abt music. I read abt a young Cristofori School'd violin teacher who was irc-ing to complain abt teaching/students/parents during violin lessons. Such is the quality of professionals these days! (The entire transcript was posted out.)
 
redvelvet, snowball,
The fact is that there are GEP preparation classes that charge sky high prices show that there is a great demand for them. MOE can tell parents that they should not prepare the kids, but they cannot stop those who are willing to spend the money.

Actually the aim of these parents is to push their kids into IP schools, GEP kids who score less than the cut off points of the tops schools can still get in, this is already very unfair for mainstream students.

In any case, parents need to consider the feelings of their kids. Imagine being told that you are not gifted at such a young age, which may not be true because giftedness cannot be determined simply by doing tests in Maths and English. I have heard of kids crying badly when they knew that they failed to get selected. Why put kids through this unnecessary stress at such a young age ?

yawn,
Chinese is not considered important for GEP students since GEP screening only test for English and Maths.

The fact is that if you put a gifted child in a class of 100, he will still do better than than the rest. Weak students, on the other hand, will definitely benefit from a small class size.
 
Hi Tam,

Agree. Truly gifted kids may not be paper/exam-savvy. Alot of them are excellent with their hands and little inventions from young. I absolutely agree that parents shouldn't make their kids feel like 2nd-rate just because they don't qualify because the top schools naturally will field more students in by virtue of the fact their school cohort is very diff from neighbourhood schools.

Kids should consolidate their learning through meaningful activities and understand what they are learning. Many kids are great at memorising times-tables etc but if you give them a real problem, they panic because the solution isn't part of their schema and they have to think beyond what they've crammed in.

Such is the tragedy of education in Singapore. Kids who love learning are stifled and rejected while the propped-up/augmented 'geniuses' become eventually the 'scholars' and 'elites' who may be just excellent at presenting reports and papers. Better still, with a whole army of script writers. No heart, no personal conviction, just the hunger to climb/prosper/win.
 
Just look around us. The folks who graduate from Ivy league unis etc are no longer the same tough-cookies and intelligent ones. More like the rich or those who took free rides via family links and businesses. Talking/sounding intelligent = NOT necessarily intelligence. I've seen so many ppl with Masters degrees who cannot even speak/write grammatically and logically.

Doctors are one good example. All the money they earn cannot make up for their lack of scruples when it comes to prescription/diagnosis and ethics. Even the famous Woffles Wu has been found out to have bribed an old man to take the rap for his speeding offence!
 
Hi Tam/ Mumusings/ Yawn,

I guess my hb is a really good check on me when it comes to the academic chase for my kids as I have to admit I tend to be the more "kan cheong" one.

I keep reminding myself that so long as I prepare them well with good foundation in English and Chinese, the rest is up to them.
 
Hi Snowball,

It's natural to be anxious for our children
happy.gif
Some things just can't be forced. Some kids are late bloomers.

I think I posted here before abt an aunt who only felt she wanted to study when she was in her late 30s and there was no stopping her -- now she even has a master's degree (she's 50 now). She's not studying because she wanted some huge pay, just that she suddenly found interest in the subject area she was specialising in.

My hb and I are on the same platform on this matter luckily.
 
regarding Chinese

True, she is a fast learner even for Chinese. Within band 1 from p1 to p3 because school only tested within syllabus & whatever teacher covered during lesson time she would remember lor. But that's not the point, right? As mentioned earlier, I don't attach a particular score to learning. I feel that learning Chinese is not just about learning a list of words for exam.
Of course I know she is capable of learning new words independently provided she is interested. She does self learning & read up independently for a lot of stuff that she is interested in but not Chinese lor.

Anyway, I really enjoy reading 小说, I hope she can reach that standard one day so I can introduce her to my top 2 favourite authors
 
snowball, mumusings, redvelvet

Yes, I can't say this enough, it's all about managing expectations, expectations, expectations.

Not just expectations on our children's result. On relationships too. For example, what is our expectations on our parents, siblings, spouse?

I used to feel upset because my parents 种男轻女 although I know they love me too. I adjusted what I expected of them. My parents didn't change but I changed. And I'm the one who benefited the most out of this adjustment in expectation. I learn to appreciate their love, I feel much happier & I enjoy a greater bond with them. I don't want to have any regrets after they passed away. Want to be filial, do it now!
 
tamarind

Have you read monlim's blog? The link provided above

With regards to your earlier concern about 'GEP kids who score less than the cut off points of the tops schools can still get in, this is already very unfair for mainstream students'

This is already addressed by monlim in her blog. Cut & paste here fyi 'The GEP does not hothouse kids for the PSLE. In fact, it might surprise most to know that because of the expanded curriculum, significantly less time is allocated to PSLE drilling compared to mainstream classes. Only in term 3 of p6 do the GEP kids get down to doing extensive exam papers in preparation for this exam. Therefore, it's ludicrous to say, "see, the GEP isn't effective cos the GEP kids don't do better in the PSLE than mainstream kids." That's not the purpose of the GEP to begin with and rightly so.'

Please read her blog in details. She wrote extensively about gep education. Her blog is really informative and can possibly clarify many of your concerns

http://hedgehogcomms.blogspot.com/search/label/GEP education
 
Any mommies who exercise regularly?

I picked up exercing again, after an incredibly long break of 15 years! Can tell immediately 大不如前, everywhere so stiff. I even had sudden muscles pull the other day while doing stretching exercise, so painful till I see stars, gosh!

I watched Avengers yesterday. The movie lasted 140 minutes. And I had problem standing up right after the movie. My knees were so stiff and kind of locked after sitting through the movie. Movie was great though, I love superhero movies! don't miss hor

Sigh.... 真的老了
 
yawn,
I have read monlim's blog before, and I am not impressed by what GEP has to offer. She only has one daughter in GEP, while I have being mentor for many GEP kids. My opinion is that GEP is not value added for gifted kids.

In fact, what you posted already shows how unfair the system is. GEP students don't send much time studying for PSLE, yet they can still get into the top schools when their scores are below the cut off point.

Monlim's blog is only one parent's opinion. You should read the link that I posted above, by another GEP parent, Pamela, who is also an educator.

The bottom line is that GEP is wasting precious resources on kids whose parents are so willing to spend tons of money on tuition and enrichment. Taxpayer's money should be spent on helping children from poor families who could not even read at P1, and cannot afford to send them for tuition.
 
mumusings,
Regarding how kids should learn, I absolutely agree with you.

Unfortunately, too many parents are being too helpful, cramming their kids with numerous enrichment, tuition classes since 3 years old. The end result is that even a gifted kid may lose the ability to learn independently, or lose interest in a language if he never attended enrichment class for it.

I also worried about whether I am not maximizing my kids potential when they were young. Then I realized that kids are actually better off when left to learn on their own, once they are able to read independently.
 
Chinese
The reason why kids are not interested in Chinese is because parents focus too much in English and neglected Chinese before the age of 6. Once a child is very good in English, he will naturally reject other languages.

If parents want kids to be good in the 2 languages, then you need to expose them to both English and Chinese for equal amounts of time. The best time to learn is 3 to 6 years old. If parents do this, it will be easy to develop a love in Chinese.

The fact is that Chinese is a very easy language to learn, if parents know how it should be learned.
 
snowball,
Yes it is most important for kids to have a good foundation in English and Chinese. In fact, the school textbooks are really quite hopeless in teaching the languages.
 
mumusings,
Talking about the tragedy of education, have you heard of the GEP girl who famously wrote that there are :
"many wretched, undermotivated, overassuming leeches in our country, and in this world"

http://sgforums.com/forums/10/topics/215996

She is talking about all the average people who needs to constantly worry about our jobs everyday.

Ironically, I don't remember any other GEP kid as famous as she is.
 
tamarind

I read the other page before too. In fact I've chatted with that mommy through forum before, she is a really nice & helpful lady. Her son was asked to transfer out of gep. For parents with resources, whether in mainstream, gep or homeschool, it really doesn't matter, their children will get the best possible education.

She is the same lady who wrote about going to university at age 14. Unforuntately, we don't have the resources to go the same route, way beyond our affordibility.


Regarding that girl who wrote insensitive comments, bottom line, it's parents' duty to impart right values & teach her empathy, regardless she's in mainstream/gep/homeschooled


oh just curious, you mentioned about being a mentor for gep kids, is it in the course you're conducting?
 
yawn,
Yes for parents with resources, their kids will get the best education. The fact is the GEP is wasting taxpayer's money which should be better spent on helping students from poor families. These poor students have already lost the rat race by the time they start P1.

That famous GEP girl's father was an MP. It is quite obvious nowadays that many parents are not capable of teaching values at home, that is why the new education minister says that MOE needs to focus in character education.

Gifted kids do not need any help academically, parents and educators need to focus in their character education.
 
tamarind

I think I get your drift. So it's not that you 'hate' gep concept but you rather moe direct that funds allocated to gep to helping students from low income families & give them a smaller class size to help them to catch up with the rest?

Yes, I certainly think this group of children need help. Currently there is financial assistance for them. One of my relatives' son is on financial assistance. A smaller class size will cetainly be beneficial for this group of chidren too. There is CDAC tuition for them (I thought of being a voluteer teacher so I research a little in that direction) CDAC classes filled up very quickly

However, realistically speaking, commoners like us got absolutely no say over how moe choose to allocate their budget. There is also no guarantee that even if scrap gep, moe will allocate those freed resources to helping children from low income families. Anyway, I don't see this 2 group of children competiting for moe budget. Our govt is rich. As long as moe is convinced, they can easily afford to allocate more funds to helping needy children

Honestly, I don't feel very strongly about anything. Maybe it's just my personality. So if gep is in place & my dd qualifies for it, I won't reject the more challenging syllabus. If it's not available, it's not something to loose sleep over either. All these are beyond my control and I don't worry about things beyond my control

I guess you gonna let your dd opt out of gep screening? she's p3 this year
 
yawn,
I never wrote that I hate GEP. I only wrote that it is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers' money. Currently there is not enough help given to low income families, and it makes better sense if we use all the GEP resources to teach the weak and poor students instead. I am surprised that many people failed to see this logic.

I myself was born into one of the poorest families in Singapore. That is why I wish for more help to be given to the poor. A good education is the best thing that you can give to a poor child.

The GEP is a very unfair allocation of resources and I do wish that it will be removed in the future.

I will be opting out of GEP screening for my girl, no point wasting time. I have much more useful things to teach her at home, and she also has no problem occupying herself with interesting projects.

As I wrote earlier, I understand that parents want their kids to get into gep for a better chance of getting into the IP schools. Then it is probably worth the effort.
 
Hi tamarind,

I read yr postings with interest. May I know what is IP school? What can GEP do for a child when she is in this programme? All these are very new to me. Pls enlighten me. Thanks.

I hv read up yr blog on teaching kids to read, it is very beneficial. Thanks for sharing.
 
Hi moorspa,
Glad to know that you find my blogs beneficial.

IP refers to the Integrated program, students study 6 years from Sec 1 to JC without taking O levels. Currently only 9 schools offer IP :
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/other/integrated-programme/

All parents hope that their kids can get into the IP, because almost all IP students will get into university.

You can read about the goals of GEP here:
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/gifted-education-programme/rationale-and-goals/

Kids take a GEP screening test at P3, and only the top 1% will get selected. GEP kids have a very good chance of getting into IP schools because even if their PSLE score falls below the cutoff point, they can get in through DSA (direct school admission).

GEP and IP only takes in the very best students, however, it is a well known fact at most GEP students require tuition. The newspapers also reported IP students who need tuition teachers to do their homework for them.
 
Hi Yawn,

Its good to take up yoga to loosen the muscles and at the same time start your exercise regime. It should work better than jump-starting direct to exercise. I am also going to start my swimming when my kids are having their lessons.

On management of expectations, I guess we really have to be realistic and come to term on the capabilities and abilities of our kids and be happy that we are indeed already very happy that we have healthy kids and most importantly, they mush be happy kids. I shd admit I am trying hard to achieve this.

GEP - I guess it is meant to be a means to pickup the cream of the crop but, being kiasu parents, everyone joined in the crazy chase (typical S'poreans). I agree with Tam that there must be changes made to our education system, else, we will end up churning out robotic kids who are only exam smart.

IP program - I read with interest that students in IP programs are still opting to takeup GCE "O" Levels as a private candidate to buy themselves "insurance" as the gp of students are unsure if they get their "A" Levels Cert at the end of the day......Hence, one thing to ponder, is the IP prog effective afterall.
 
Hi Everyone,

Guess the topic the week was GEP/IP?

I guess be it GEP or IP, it is just another form of education.

In dd school, from day one, they are told that they are not allowed to take O level as a private candidate.

So, thus, am not really sure what about the rest of the IP school.Seems like psle is the new entry to IP school?

As for gep, I feel that even if one is not there, its still ok, cos there is still PSLE route , in which most will do very very well as long as they are consistent worker.Just one cent of my thoughts.

Cheers,
Joy
 
Good morning mommies!

re GEP/IP
Knew that P3 ds will be going through the GEP exam in August but did not know that we can actually opt out. Dh actually said ds will not be selected due to his Chinese ability, so was surprised to know that Chinese is not included in the test after reading here.

We talked about it last weekend and decided to let ds go through the test like doing ordinary assessment papers, but will choose to remain (can right?) in current school despite the outcome. We are happy with the current school curriculum and most importantly ds is happy and enjoying school now.

Next, will need to read more on IP/DSA thing, which my friends and even moms of ds classmates had been talking.
Wonder what's wrong with MOE? Why so many different thing (GEP/IP/DSA ?)? As working parents, already very stress coping with work and family, can't they just make our lives easier by having the old system (PSLE/GCE O/A levels)??
 
Hi Tam,

On building foundations for English and Chinese. I try to balance between Chinese and English readings for my kids at home and the results are encouraging.

My BIL who used to brand my kids "Kan Tang" (becos I started them off with English Speaking at home, started to ask his children (K1/ K2)) - MUST speak English at home to him (except for the grandparents & their mother - Chinese National). I find this so hiliarious as he is planting his own "Kan Tang" speaking broken English. Maybe, I should also call his kids "Chinese-styled Kan Tang" and see how he react and perhaps start to feel how I felt when he called my kids "Kan Tang" once upon a time.
 
snowball,
You are doing the right thing at the right time
happy.gif
. If we want a child to love 2 languages,  the trick is not to let them be much better in English than Chinese.
Actually I made this mistake of teaching my kids to read in English first. It was not easy for me to undo the damages.   

OIC IP students are also taking O levels as insurance. This is interesting news to me.  There were forum letters questioning the effectiveness of the IP program.

The problem with IP
by Phyllis Cheong (Madam) 
11 April 2012 ST 

MOST parents view the Integrated Programme (IP) as positively as Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education) Sim Ann does, to the extent that it is perceived as the preferred pathway to tertiary education rather than an alternative avenue.

It does not help perception either when top-ranked junior colleges, namely, Raffles, Hwa Chong, National and Victoria were IP's chosen ones initially.

This perception is strengthened when the IP is associated with positive elements of education like offering more depth, flexibility and exposure, as well as stretching a student's learning faculties: Parents want these for their children.

So it is not hard to understand why most parents clamour for the IP rather than have their children opt for the more structured O-level track ('IP or O levels? Choice hinges on learning style: Sim Ann'; yesterday).

While we probably can agree that the IP caters to brighter students who can learn independently, there are two matters the Government can clarify.

First, determine via a survey the percentage of IP students who are indeed learning independently versus those who still rely heavily on tuition or enrichment classes to prepare for the A levels and even beyond. While seeking such help may not signify inadequate academic ability, it does beg the question of how independent such students truly are in studying.

Could it be that this premium programme has, in a way, created a crutch for top students that they may find hard to discard?

Second, the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) result is the criterion determining whether a child is bright(!). There are no official statistics, but tuition centre advertisements anecdotally suggest how 'independently' these stellar results are obtained.

These children may not be less bright but their tuition-aided achievement does beg the question of how independently bright they are. So it may be ironic that we qualify such PSLE achievers for an educational pathway for independent learners.

There must be another way to instil the confidence and independence students need in their lifelong learning quest.

If the Education Ministry can address this vital need, the IP may well be able to leave a window open for children from low-income families who, by and large, must rely on their intrinsic independent abilities to secure places in their preferred pathways.



My opinion about the GEP is similar to Madam Cheong's opinion about IP schools.  If GEP kids still need tuition, then how effective are the gep screening tests ?   It makes more sense to use precious resources on low income families   who definitely cannot afford to spend on tuition.  
 
aa,
I also wish that MOE can just revert to the old system, less stressful. No one can prove that the current system has been beneficial to the country as a whole. There are many low income families still surviving on less than $1000 a month.

I think some schools probably don't allow kids to opt out of GEP screening. I personally asked the principal of my kids' school and she told me that we are allowed to opt out.

I think it is perfectly natural for parents to want the best for their kids. However, I think that most parents do not have a clear understanding of how the GEP can help a gifted child. My personal experience working with GEP kids is that it is not worth the trouble changing schools. Perhaps my standards are too high. However, other gep parents may be happy with the program and think that it is worth it.

My criticism is about the education system as a whole, resources should be allocated more fairly.
 
joy,
I agree with you that if a child is hardworking, it does not make any difference whether he is GEP or not.

I only found out about the fact that GEP class sizes are 25 or less last year. I immediately thought of those weak students thrown into a class of 40 with unmotivated teachers. From the point of view of an educator, I felt that it is very unfair.
 


How to enter university at 14
Actually not much resources are required. Just sit for the SAT tests : http://sat.collegeboard.org/home?affiliateId=nav&bannerId=h-satb

If a child is capable of independently learning, just give him the right textbooks will do, no need for any coaching. I am speaking from personal experience, when I was in secondary school, I had problem paying attention in class, so I learned Calculus, Physics, etc by reading the textbooks, even though I am not gifted. A gifted child should be able to do this at a younger age.
 
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