I had a very interesting tutor in NIE who said to her secondary school class (during her school teaching days), "If you have a tuition teacher outside of school for my subject, please don't tell me. It's an insult to my teaching."
Isn't that true? If students have already learnt the teacher's lesson in the school classroom, why is there a need for tuition? Why has it become such a necessity to find a tuition teacher for our children?
These days, some (many?) school teachers are encouraging their students to please go and find a tuition teacher so that they can cope with the school work, don't fail my tests and pull down my MSG.
Is it that the teachers are not teaching well? Not necessarily so.
Let me go the long way around.... For many years now, I've been hearing my mother, a retired teacher say that the primary school maths now is so difficult and confusing. It's more like testing your English than your maths.
16 is 2 less than ________? So does the child add or subtract? This is a Pri 1 qn, btw.
You open the Primary 1 Chinese textbook and you see whole paragraphs for the child to read. I remember the first lesson in my Pri 1 textbook was ren (man), kou (mouth) and tou (head).
When did our children get so smart? Or did they really get smarter? Or are our poor children chasing someone's fantasy that they can actually stomach all the contents of the syllabus?
Oh it's like the tale of the Emperor's New Clothes. Nobody dares to say they don't see ANYTHING lest they be thought a fool.
I just came across a primary one math worksheet today. Curiously, at the end of the worksheet (which is graded upon 20) was a section called "Put on your thinking cap". This section had nothing to do with the rest of what the worksheet was about.
It said to study the number patterns in box A and B and to fill in the missing number.
Box A : 3 1 2
1 2 1
Box B : 2 1 2
2 3 ?
You want to know what this (kind of) worksheet is saying in the whole scheme of things in the "Singapore Education System"?
School: We set very high standards for our children who can outperform children from other schools.
Teacher: You better know how to answer this kind of questions if not, go and find a tuition teacher. And honestly, I can't tell you the answer either.
Parent: My children go to a good school! All the tests are very difficult! Now do more homework so you can answer this kind of questions!
Tuition Teacher: I can explain this qn and the fifteen other qns you don't understand. Come twice a week for 2 hours after your school remedial. And tell your mother to buy more assessment books.
Children: It's unattainable. I give up. I must be stupid. I hate school.
No, child! A thousand times, no! You are NOT STUPID! It's just that they're making you run before you can walk. :O(
Okay, let's say there's a hypothetical scenario in a hypothetical school in Singapore (unlikely as it seems) where the school considers fixing this crazy machine that has been jammed too long in fastforward mode, and got it to play at normal speed.
The school actually thinks of preparing worksheets and CA tests for primary 1 where they are only required to do sums like addition up to 10. (SHOCK HORROR). You know what will go through every one of the player's minds?
School: We will be telling parents and other schools that our kids are below mediocre. Our "stake holders" will loose confidence in our school and next year's intake will be lousy. Cannot be done.
Teachers: parents sure chase me to give extra worksheets.
Tuition Teacher/ Parent: What happened to the teacher? Crazy ah? Not difficult enough, sure fail exam. Go and buy and do more assessment books and other school papers.
The almighty System will right itself (like those unsinkable rescue boats) and the children will continue suffering.
But you know what the children will say if all they had to do was school work that they can actually grasp on their own?:
Children: This is easy! I can do this! I like school! I want to be a rocket scientist! Finished my school work in school and now, I'm going to play!
Soon, I'll put in an article about teaching our children AGE APPROPRIATE materials.... and another one about SCAFFOLDING.. and another one... and another one...
PS. Don't go bust your brains over that missing number. I don't know if i remember the numbers correctly, but the effect was as mind boggling as trying to guess what the above given example was. :OP
Hi Suwei,
I guess we must have come from the same batch - I remember the first Chinese lesson as Ren, Kou, Tou too!
A couple of perspectives though..
I remember my mom (who went to a Chinese school in Malaysia) being horrified at that first lesson, saying it was so easy compared to her time, and she was convinced that Chinese standards had declined (I'm afraid that my level of Chinese confirmed that viewpoint).
And now, the points of the Maths lessons you mentioned, e.g. word problems, higher standards, are among the reasons that Singapore Math is esteemed here in the US! (http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/3853357.html)
What to say.. neither being tough nor easy is the right answer. I would just conclude that education is at its best when it challenges but doesn't frustrate the student. And homeschooling has a leg up here over the 'mass education', since parents can tailor the pace to each child. :)
Posted by: Yee-Wah | September 10, 2007 at 11:26 AM