Clarice Lim, Author at ILLAC

GEP or Not?

November 7, 2017By Clarice Lim

Congratulations! Now that your child has been selected for the GEP program, what’s next for him/her?

It might be an extremely straightforward answer for some parents but not so for some others. My opinion is, go for it. Reasons being:

PROS:

It’s a great confidence-booster.
- Your gifted child knows what “gifted” means and there is no better way to inform your child that he/she is really good at what he/she has been doing than being identified as the top 1% of the cohort in Singapore. A generally high self-confidence can lead to higher competency in everything else that the child attempts and an even stronger love for learning.
It’s a label that will follow your child for life (in a good way)
- We are always cautious about having labels put on our children but this is one label you want stuck to your child. With the label of being the top 1% of the cohort, your child can potentially find him/herself in more favourable situations in his/her adult-life, starting with the choice of secondary schools such as Anglo-Chinese School, Dunman High School, Hwa Chong Institution, Nanyang Girls’ High School, NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) and Raffles Institution which offers IP programs for GEP students.
- (Source: https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/gifted-education-programme/development-and-growth)
Life is more than English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue!
- Not only will your child be changing school (if he/she is not already in one of the assigned GEP school), he/she will be experiencing more than the main-stream curriculum has to offer. The GEP program is administered under an enrichment model where the curriculum:
  - extends beyond the basic syllabus in depth and breadth
  - covers more advanced topics whenever necessary
  - caters more to individual needs and interests
  - makes interdisciplinary connections
  - encourages the investigation of real-life problems
  - promotes the examination of affective issues in the various subject areas

(Source: https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/gifted-education-programme/enrichment-model)

CONS:

GEP students are not necessarily top PSLE students
- GEP students are very busy. Not only do they attend mainstream lessons and continue mainstream work, they have projects, camps and out-of-the-classroom programs to participate in. Their PSLE results may not show their intelligence since PSLE preparation requires much drills and regurgitation which are not in the interest of GEP students.
Danger of complacency
- We all know and have heard of children who think they are too smart for their pants and end up failing in life. And yes, these are true/real stories that will happen if left unguided. Some GEP students end up doing really well but unfortunately, some will slide off the grid and end up in mediocre vocations just like any others. The key that parents need to remind themselves is to psychologically support their children in continuous hard work and effort so as to ground them in thoughts of continuous improvement of themselves.

For those parents who think that the GEP program will be extremely beneficial for their children, they are right. The program will bring children beyond what they are capable of and help them reach their peak potential.

However, you are NOT advised to “train” your child for GEP by signing up for GEP-training classes at centers that claim to “create” GEP students because talent, although can be groomed, cannot be “naturalised” into a child. Meaning, if your child is not naturally prepared for the high demands of the GEP program, you will only do more harm than benefits by artificially fitting your child into the GEP program. Think of the stress the child has to go through just to remain in that GEP class you have planted her/him into. If it works out, good for him/her. If it doesn’t, the poor kid suffers the repercussion for life.

Once again, congratulations for being the parent of a gifted child, embrace the learning journey with your child, support her/him throughout the program and remind them of the importance of effort to achieve great success in life.

Why Shouldn’t You Scold Your Child for Their Bad Results

October 28, 2017By Clarice Lim

It’s easy to blame your child for the bad results he received.

“Why didn’t you pay attention in class?!”

“You don’t know and you didn’t ask?!”

“What were you doing when the teacher was teaching?!”

These might have been your first thoughts but it’s really unfair for you to blame your child for her bad results simply because:

They didn’t mean it! – No child in the right mind will want to do badly in their examination. It is every human being’s instinct to want to excel in life. They may have been careless in their work or in your opinion, not “interested” in ensuring perfection. However, they are still young. They are like “L” plate drivers who are tentative and tend to make mistakes. Be understanding and forgiving, cut them some slack.

They don’t know what they don’t know. – Languages, Mathematics and Sciences are not topics that you can master just because you “pay attention” in class or “ask” when you don’t understand. We have to remind ourselves that not all teachers are made equal and not all learning environment is the same. Even if you pay 100% attention every time the teacher is teaching, you may not understand or be taught what you need to know in order to deal with the examination questions.

Let me give you a simple example, which of the following is correct?

a) An FBI agent

b) A FBI agent

If your answer is “a”, you are wrong. Because “F” is read as /effe/, which is sounded with an /e/ at the beginning thus you use an “an” in front of it (It’s actually not about the spelling but the sounds of the first syllable.).

If you got it right, good for you, you are one of the lucky ones who had gotten a great English teacher when you were young.

Now try this:

____________ more dustbins in school ___________ in reducing littering?

1) does, help 3) do, helps

2) do, help 4) does, helps

The answer is option 1). It is a real examination question picked out from a Primary 6 SA2 examination paper. This kind of question is not something that you will know how to answer without the guidance of a good English teacher and definitely not something that is taught actively in the textbook or even in class. However, they do, somehow, find their way into the test papers.

You will increase their anxiety level. – The only thing that will result from your scolding is their increased stress and anxiety level in dealing with their studies. Stress is defined as “a response that occurs when an individual faces the lack of resources to deal with the situation given”. Screaming at them simply makes them feel inadequate without them feeling like they are receiving the help that they need, this thus results in undue stress, which in turn affects learning.

To help your child, start them young. Be reasonable in your expectations of your child’s results. Right from Primary 1, do not scold them for the bad results. I’ve seen so many children who have tried forging signatures, hiding test papers, crying in school because they didn’t want to go home to their parents with their bad scores. Don’t give your children the undue stress that they are already facing on a daily basis. It’s not their fault to have done badly, they don’t know what they were not taught. Even if they were taught, they are not experts of the topic yet and therefore failure is simply one of the paths they had to walk on in their learning journey.

When you receive your child’s papers, look into it, analyse it, see what the problems are, be understanding and seek help for him/her. That’s only fair for your child.

The Importance of Hugs After Punishments

February 17, 2017By Clarice Lim

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Hugs are forms of affirmation and affection for the child to feel loved. In the Asian context, the words “I love you” might not come out easily therefore making “hugs” even more important as an alternative to show affection especially after a harsh punishment.

No parents enjoy punishing their children, but when the need arises, it is vital it is executed swiftly and with perfect orchestration.

Firstly, it must be pre-warned that a punishment is coming, but when the warning didn’t work, the punishment must be meted out. Once punishment is meted out, the child must always apologise for the misbehaviour and parents MUST hug them to let them know that they are punished because

They are loved and are forgiven
Mummy and Daddy want the best for him/her
Mummy and Daddy still love him/her no matter what

When hugs do not follow a harsh punishment, children will be left thinking

I’m naughty and not forgiven
Mummy and Daddy hate me
Daddy and Mummy don’t love me anymore

Hugging increases the bonding hormone oxytocin, allowing the child to bond back together with the parent again after receiving the punishment. Hugs also help to reduce the stress that they encounter while receiving the punishment. All the crying and begging not to be punished release lots of stress hormones that require the release of hormones like oxytocin to counter the negative effects.

When we hug our child affectionately after a punishment, the child will feel a sense of acceptance by the parent again and not be left to self-doubt and self-blame. This sense of acceptance is very important in affecting their overall growth and development.

A child who feels accepted and loved develops better learning ability as compared to a child who feels unaccepted and unloved. This is because the child is able to boost his self-esteem and confidence from feeling good about himself as well as his environment regardless of the mistakes that he may make. This thus helps the child develop the confidence to tackle the world’s challenges and not be afraid to make mistakes.

Don’t be afraid to mete out punishments, just remember to wrap it up with a warm and affectionate hug to encourage a positive environment for optimal growth and development.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to make my child smarter?

January 11, 2017By Clarice Lim

Don’t most of us want to know that? The answer is, fortunately, easier than we thought. Apart from good genes, we can make our children smarter by using the appropriate praises.

Research has shown that those who believed that ability is fixed, doesn’t feel that they need to put in effort to score in a test, they believe they will get good scores just because they are born smart. Even when they have gotten answers wrong, they won’t bother to find out what went wrong or how to fix it because that will show their disability in being smart.

Whereas those who believed that ability can be improved, will always want to know what the right answer is and how to get the right answer, so that they can become better. Therefore, they will always put in the effort to learn more and remember more. That’s not all, students who believe they can become smarter, are also more persistent in times of failure because, if you believe you can become better, you will naturally not be beaten by a one-off failure and look forward to correcting your failure.

What we can do as parents to instil the correct mindset towards ability/intelligence, will be to always emphasize on the effort, so your child will develop the mindset that it is effort that did the magic, or that it’s the lack of effort, that made one fail.

Praises that you should use will be like “Good effort!”, “Good persistence!”, “Good patience!” etc.

Never, NEVER, say, “So clever!”, “Smart boy!” etc. without injecting elements of ‘effort’ into the praise. The moment your child feels that he is born with it or he is naturally good, he should not need to put in the effort to improve, and he might never want to try again at the first instance of failure because he might have somehow “lost” the ability to be good.

For example, say “Good use of colours! I like your effort in making the picture so colourful.” Instead of “What a beautiful picture! You can draw really well.”

The difference between the 2 types of praises is that one tells specifically what is good, so the next time the child wants to create another picture, he will put in the effort to use more colours. In a way, you are not just encouraging your child to work hard, you are telling your child what exactly he is doing that is right.

In conclusion, in order to ensure your child becomes smarter, be sure to use the right words when praising. Praise the effort, the determination, the decision-making, the choice of level of difficulty, the improvement, the attitude and so on. Your child will thus want to learn more, know more, become more persistent in the face of failure and therefore, become smarter.

Image courtesy of jk1991 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Don’t Fall for “Assessments” Done on Your Child

January 5, 2017By Clarice Lim

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Most of us won’t mind having our children assessed once in a while just to know where they stand relative to other kids. However, don’t buy it totally, especially if it is done at an enrichment center.

The most recent case I’ve heard was an assessment done on a 4 year old boy. Parents wanted him to work on some Mathematics skills and chanced upon this St****** enrichment program. After some 20min of assessment, one of the conclusions given to the parents was that their son did not understand the concept of Place Values.

Place Values?? Seriously? Did they seriously expect a 4 year old to understand Place Value? What is the value of that assessment? To identify prodigies in Maths? What’s the reason for a 4 year old to understand Place Value anyway? So that they can add 3 digits by 2 digits? Come on! He’s only 4!

So the next thing they said to the parent was, “He needs to pick up the skills and our program can help him.” Well, I’m sure the child can learn if he was taught but does he really need it at 4??

Assessments are great for an educator to find out which level of learning is most suitable for the child, but when assessments are used as marketing gimmicks, alarm bells should be rung and the parents should simply walk away from such underhanded stunts to pull in more customers.

Unfortunately, that is not the only center that pulls such stunts to ‘scare’ parents into signing their children up. Many centers out there do that. This also explains why every time I mention “assessment” to parents, they give me a fearful look and start saying that their child does not know how to read yet or that their child is not able to even add. This is really sad because if you are looking for a center to outsource what you can’t teach at home or gain access to in school, you shouldn’t need to feel like your child is inferior in any ways!

A good “assessment” should, therefore, target the learning ability of the child, discover what the child can potentially achieve and learn and not what the child already knows. If the test is about what the child already knows, then the smarter kids will simply be placed into a class with older kids and a slightly slowly kid be placed into a class with younger kids. Neither of the situation would be an optimal learning environment for the poor child. Besides, a kid who has higher prior knowledge may simply have been privileged enough to be exposed to more content from schools or home, but it does not mean he/she is ready for even more abstract concepts. Likewise, a kid with lower prior knowledge may simply be deprived from exposure but it does not mean he/she cannot be exposed to more abstract concepts.

Assessment of the child’s learning ability is a much better tool to advise the parents on what is suitable for the child and which level of learning is more appropriate.

The next time you go shopping around for enrichment programs for your kid, don’t fall for “assessments” that tests content knowledge. If they did present the shortfall of your child to you, be sure to ask, when would that knowledge be necessary in a child’s learning journey.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4 Tips for Choosing a Secondary School

November 25, 2016By Clarice Lim

It’s never easy for any kind of parents. Be it the hands-off type or the “kan cheong” type. Many see it as a determiner of the child’s future, which sort of explains the emphasis placed on the PSLE results. But no matter the results, now is the time to consider what school to choose. Many parents had sought my advice on this and these are the top 4 tips on how to choose a secondary school:

1. What is the level of competition you want your child to face?

To put your child into a good school means competition will be intense. Competition is healthy if everyone studies for the sake of learning, but it becomes stressful and undesirable if it’s all about being Number 1.

Regardless of whether we have faith in our children, we need to remind ourselves that the universal truth is that there is always only one who is Number 1. The rest of the thousands of students are not. To strive for excellence in comparison with others guarantees failure 99% of the time, adding on unnecessary pressure and developing the hatred for learning.

Of course, you wouldn’t know the culture of the school before you step into one. It’s the attitude and mindset before you enter that matters. If you and your child have chosen a school because it’s a good school where students with high aggregate enter, then you have inevitably stepped into the realm of unhealthy competition. Your child will already feel the “pressure” even before the first step into the school.

2. Choose a school that value-adds

We have to admit that not “All schools are good schools”, because different schools have different focus and direction and if they don’t align with the values we embrace, they cannot be ideal schools.

Therefore, choose a school that could value-add to your child’s current strength. Value-adding can come in different forms, like CCA, values, culture, subjects offered etc. Bear in mind that your child is still developing and growing, he/she needs all the opportunities to learn new things or to further a skill. For example, if your child is already playing violin, enrol him into a school that has an orchestra. If you want your child to become more immersed in the Chinese culture, send him to those with an emphasis in Chinese culture e.g. All Secondary 1 students in Chung Cheng Sec will undergo a tea chapter under the Appreciation of the Chinese Culture (ACC) education.

3. Choose a school that doesn’t require long hours of travelling

As a little red dot, how far can a school be right? But do consider the time taken to walk to the nearest bus-stop, waiting time of the bus, traffic jams, transfers required etc. A school that is 4km away that doesn’t have a direct route to your house can require more than 1hour of travelling time to and fro on a daily basis. This time could have been better used.

4. Don’t leave the choice entirely to your child

I’m not saying you shouldn’t consult them, rather, you should discuss with them and talk about it at length. It’s a great opportunity to teach your children how to decide on life events. Use decision-making tools like a matrix, pros and cons listing to help him learn prioritization of different factors. This whole process can open up a whole horizon of analytical skills which he can use in any other situation that may pop up in future.

In a nutshell, discuss the school with your child based on point 2 and 3 above, don’t focus too much on the aggregate even if it is of utmost concern to you. When using the decision-making matrix, aggregate should only be discussed because it affects the chance of getting into that school, do not address it in the form of the O Level results he will get.

This is an important decision that the family has to make together, make sure it is properly analysed and discussed as a family. Ultimately, a family that works out an issue together bonds closer together, and that’s already a good start for better things to come.

Injustice of an ADD boy

October 29, 2016By Clarice Lim

I was cleaning the windows of my center due to the huge amount of finger prints left behind after a busy weekend of classes. It was Monday afternoon and there usually ain’t any enquiries. Then she appeared. I noticed how lost she looked in her eyes and almost thought she was just asking for directions.

“I would like to make an enquiry please,” the lady began.

OK, I was wrong. I quickly led her to a seat at our counter and put away my rag and glass cleaner. I asked her how old her kid was so I could recommend the right program to her. To this question, she told me it was a long story… I was bewildered. Age had never occurred to me to possibly contain a “long story”. I straightened my seat and got myself ready for it. I noticed how beautiful her eyes were yet sorrowful at the same time as she related her story to me.

She had recently received her son’s psychological report that he was suffering from ADD. My judgemental self told myself that, “Alright, small issue…”. She continued, “He was kicked out of kindergarten because of the report.”

I was aghast and immediately cast the question, “What school is that?”. To be exact, in my mind, I was screaming at the absurd and disgusting reaction of the school. That was the first I’ve heard of schools that would be so blatant in ostracizing children with special needs to the point that they would openly ask the parents to withdraw their children immediately. The forgiving mother, though, did not wish to disclose the name of the school to me and I knew, I had to collect myself to continue offering the professional advice that I am capable of providing her.

Before coming to me, she had in fact enquired at all the nearby kindergartens and was turned away either due to a lack of vacancy or they were not willing to take in a child with ADD.

At this, I couldn’t help but interrupted her to let her know that many researchers had already agreed that ADD doesn’t exist, that there is even an institution dedicated to “treating” children with ADD by putting their parents through parenting courses.

She held my hands and said, “Thank you for telling me this, it’s really nice talking to you.”

“He was really upset, he kept asking me why he was not sent to school. He loves learning and wanted to attend school so much. Does your center accept ADD children?” the lovely mother continued.

Tears welled up in my eyes. The poor chap had to suffer because the society had sought the easy way out in labeling these beautiful souls with a nasty name that causes nothing but suffering.

Without hesitation, I told her, “Mdm, ADD children does not exist in my center.” She looked at me with bewilderment, as if already accusing me of hypocrisy in her mind. I continued, “Children who are diagnosed with ADD blends in perfectly in our classes, one wouldn’t be able to tell he’s an ADD.”

She could not believe what she was hearing and asked me to explain how we have managed to do that.

It’s very simple actually. At ILLAC, all our lessons are activities based, customised to the learning ability of the child. Students aged two to six goes through a “sorting” activity to determine his learning ability before being allocated into a class. Inside, learning is extremely hands-on, fast-paced, challenging and filled with fun, music and movement to stimulate their working memory, mental flexibility and inhibitory control. We also do breathing exercises and self-awareness activities to help students improve in their self-regulation so that they can blend easily into a big class setting in primary 1. Students aged 7 to 13 are given worksheets appropriate to their ability and customised to their needs. Students are challenged and motivated to achieve greater heights with our goal-setting activities, speed reading training and character education discussions, all within the two hours time frame of each lesson. Most interesting of all, our Primary 1-Secondary students sit on gym balls and they are free to bounce and waggle all they like while working in ILLAC. There is never a dull-moment in the classroom of ILLAC and none of our students would end up walking around restlessly or drifting out of task.

At this point, I could see sparkles in her eyes. She could already envision her child in our classroom and not feel let down by the society again.

She held my hands and shook it with gratitude for my sharing with her.

She and her son are the reasons why I run my center, to make a difference in the lives of those who were academically-rejected and to shed light to point the right direction when all seem lost.

I went back to cleaning my windows as soon as her registration was done, with a different sense of accomplishment and purpose.

The struggle between academic achievement and training another Joseph Schooling

August 16, 2016By Clarice Lim

I had wanted to write an article about Joseph Schooling and his academic achievement to discuss the balance that one can achieve between studies and sports. However, I can’t seem to find anything about his results in school. Then it struck me… seriously… who cares? Who cares if Joseph Schooling had done well in school when he is now a world champion. However, many parents will want their children to have the back-up plan, in case they don’t achieve their sporting goals… come on, there can’t possibly be too many Joseph Schooling anyway.

Joseph Schooling had, most probably, in my opinion/assumption, done very well in school because academic achievement and athletic performance have been found to go hand-in-hand in many situations.

In a study conducted over 4 years at a highly selective liberal arts college and an Ivy League university, about 1000 student-athletes and non-athletes presented some really positive research results. In that study, it was found that the academic performance of the athletes was not below what would be expected based on their entering profiles. In fact, the athletes were found to surpass non-athletes on sociability/extraversion and self-reported well-being in each annual wave of the study. Athletes were also reportedly not isolated from the rest of the student body; they spent over 50% of their time with non-group members and belonged to non-athletic extracurricular groups every year (Aries, McCarthy, Salovey and Banaji, 2004).

This goes to show that academic achievement and sociability need not necessarily be sacrificed for athletic performance.

Furthermore, in another study that included about 8000 undergraduates from the University of Montana in 1997,it was found that national collegiate athletes displayed a higher level of “hope” when compared to the non-athlete undergraduates (Curry, Snyder & Cook, 1997). Which means, athletes in schools were found to exhibit more goal-directed behaviours with specific plans to reach their goals. They are generally more self-disciplined and determined in reaching their goals both in court/pool and otherwise.

Sadly, we don’t have similar studies done in Singapore. However, one can make reference to the performance of the students in the Singapore Sports School (SSP).

In the news on 5 Jan 2016, it was reported that 13 out of 19 of the school’s first batch of International Baccalaureate (IB) graduates attained at least 40 points out of a maximum of 45. Its cohort of student-athletes achieved a 100 per cent pass rate, slightly higher than the national pass rate of 98 percent (Straits Times, 2016).

Additionally, in SSP’s Review Report for the year 2011, it was reported that of those who sat for the GCE O-Level Examinations, which constitute about half of each SSP cohort, the distinction rates for many core O-Level subjects are higher than the national averages.

These reports go to show that sporting achievements and academic performances do go hand-in-hand and parents can really put their hearts at ease in allowing their children to further their sporting talent!

However, just a caveat, the dream to achieve must come from the child and not the parent. If the parents are the ones who want their children to pursue a sporting career, the results wouldn’t be ideal…

Play it well! Academic achievement with sporting success is possible!

A teacher’s viewpoints of the new PSLE grading system in 2021

July 14, 2016By Clarice Lim

Many websites have written about it, netizens have criticised it, but of course, some defended it as well. As a teacher of 14 years and a private educator of 3 years, I would like to present the changes and the impact it might have on children, their parents and the industry from a teacher’s point of view.

Everyone knows, every child is unique. Each of them have their own learning preferences, cognitive ability and achievement motivation etc. To analyse the new PSLE grading system, I will broadly categorise the children into 3 groups: The High Ability (HA), Middle Ability (MA) and Low Ability (LA). (Every teacher who has been through NIE will find these terms extremely familiar 😉 ).

From 2021 onwards, “pupils’ scores will not be benchmarked against their peers. Instead, they just have to do the best they can in each subject. Their marks will be converted according to the new scoring bands of Achievement Level (AL) 1- AL8.” (Straits Times, 13 Jul 2016)

(Source: MOE Press Release)

My analysis:

HA (AL1-2)

Before 2021, in order to get into a good school like Raffles Institution with cut-off point of 264 in 2015, a HA student can afford to get 85-89 raw score in any two of the subjects (given an average cohort score of 65, a standard deviation of 20 and that the other two subjects are 90 and above) and safely qualify for entry into RI.

After 2021, assuming RI’s cut-off maintains at the same standard which is around 6 (AL1 + AL1 + AL2 + AL2), the child will still need to work extra hard to score that 90 marks.

Conclusion: No difference for the HAs.

Discussion: In fact, the usual gauge parents use to determine if their child is doing well is usually their performance in school, which is not measured using T-scores. Many parents do not know the details of the calculation of T-scores and hardly talks about how the school cohort is performing compared to their own child because such information is not readily available. Therefore, to say that parents are pushing their kids for that one extra mark because T-scores are used is not accurate in my experience. Rather, parents are pushing their kids because they want their HA kids to safely land a spot in the best school and not risk a borderline performance. Thus, removing the T-score would not make a difference to the HA kids and their parents.

MA (AL3-5)

Before 2021, children who are scoring 65-84 are considered ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades in school and are usually treated as potentials for entry into good schools. All they need is a little pushing and they might just fall into the ‘A’ or ‘A*’ category, thus, these are usually the kids who are sent for tuition.

After 2021, these children will no longer be ‘A’ or ‘B’ but AL3, AL4 and AL5. Let’s say they wanted to go into Victoria School (2015 cut-off was 247), if they maintain the standard, and assuming the new established cut-off becomes 8 (using the same assumption as the calculation above for consistency), students scoring 84 will no longer stand a chance to enter schools such as ACS (I), Cedar Girls’, Anderson, Nan Hua, River Valley etc. Because at 84, they are merely an AL3. If they get AL3 for all subjects, they are only a 12, they would have missed the cut-off point by a lot. Unless they can score an AL 1 for 2 subjects and AL3 for the other 2 (=8), they could still make it. Of course, there are many possible combinations that can be tabled, but the point is, an average score of 84 for all subjects will not get you into Victoria under the new system.

Conclusion: More stressful times ahead for the MAs.

Discussion: But what about the lower MAs (those scoring 65-74)? They will be choosing schools with previous cut-offs of around 200 and postings will be based on order of choice rather than by their aggregate score. They were previously at least able to choose schools of a higher cut-off (around 218).

Yes, the range of choice has increased for these lower MAs so in a way it’s a good news and parents can indeed relax a bit if their kids are in this category. However, from the parents whom I have spoken to, “kiasu” and “non-kiasu” ones, the one common thing they talk about is to give their children the best that they can afford. Still holding the mindset that a good secondary school makes a whole lot of difference to the child, none of the parents I know will say “It’s ok, just maintain at this level will do, no need to work so hard.”

Therefore, the group of parents that the new changes are targeted at might just end up giving their children more help by sending them to more tuitions, buy more assessment books etc.

LA (AL 6-7)

Before 2021, scoring 60 would fetch the child a ‘B’ and a T-score of 190 (assuming the same is scored for all 4 subjects with the same calculation assumptions as above). The child is still eligible for Express Stream in 45 schools (according to 2015 cut-off points).

After 2021, scoring 60 would fetch the child an AL6. Assuming the same for all subjects, the child would have accumulated a total of AL24, thus failing the criteria of a minimum of AL22 for the Express Stream in the new system.

Conclusion: An average score of 60-64 will land you in Normal Academic in 2021

Discussion: To some parents, going to the Normal stream is unacceptable. They will do everything they can to prevent that from happening. Without any other changes to the current education system, they will simply have to resort to what had worked for most students in the past, tuition, tuition and more tuition…
*There is no change to the old system for students scoring below 20. Therefore it is not included in the analysis above.

As a caveat, a lot of assumptions had to be made for the analysis above. For e.g., in order to calculate the T-scores and it’s aggregate, the cohort average is assumed to be at 65, the standard deviation is 20. Many other combinations of these numbers can easily fetch many different outcomes.

The above analysis is purely subjective. They are based on my experience as an educator (both government and private) and my day-to-day interactions with parents. Everyone has their rights to their own opinions and do feel free to leave your comments below if you feel otherwise.

Ultimately, it is really up to the parents to decide what is the next best course of action for their children but I personally feel that knowledge is what allows everyone to make informed and wise decisions. Even if tuition is the way forward for at least another 5 years till 2021, please make sure it is a center/tutor that knows how to motivate your child, knows how to bring out the love for learning in your child, and knows how to keep you informed of their progress for your decision-making. Tuition, can make or break your child’s future, just like the school that he/she attends.

Tuition – Social evil or confidence booster?

July 14, 2016By Clarice Lim

I read with great concern as more and more articles surface addressing the “social evil” of tuition; how this industry should be considered a bane to the happiness of children and thus should be eradicated.

I have been running a tuition center for 3 years now. I was previously from MOE teaching for the past 14 years, I was even awarded the best trainee teacher in my time and a medalist in my university days. When I first decided to venture into the business, I barely dared announce it to my friends and relatives, feeling like I had decided to join the “dark side” and should be treated with disdain and loathe. That I had abandoned what I was taught in NIE to join the money-spinning industry that feeds on the fear and kiasuism of parents and strips away the happiness of children.

Quite the opposite. I have joined the much-needed-yet-negatively-recognised industry because I still remember what I have learnt in NIE. It is precisely because I want to put what I have learnt into practice that I have joined the “dark forces”. I want to put the smile back onto the faces of children and tell their parents that grades are not everything.

Children have different learning preferences, from kinesthetic to audio and visual combined with many different permutations and combinations. Children also have many different learning obstacles from short attention span to low cognitive ability. They need the option to learn in small groups, to have different methods used in teaching and learning, to have teachers who act as mentors to listen to them and to guide them. Schools, unfortunately, doesn’t provide such a channel to 100% of the students. In a big class of more than 30, teachers hardly have the time and attention span for all of them, usually only the top and the bottom kids get the attention. If tuition is not available or easily accessible, who is going to attend to these “middle-child”?

No puns intended, the “middle-child” syndrome applies even in the classroom. How do u think the child feels about not getting attention in class? They either act up or sink low, depending on their personality. Tuition provides the attention these children require and gives them the guidance they need apart from their busy parents.

To say that the public education system is sufficient in catering to all children in classes of 30 to 40 is equivalent to thinking that all coffee is perfect without the need for additives. Sadly, this is not the case. Coffee is perfect only to a few individuals who knows how to appreciate it neat, but to many, additives of various amount are preferred.

Part of my job running a center includes talking to parents, giving them the much-needed advice in ensuring a great education for their kids, teaching them how to teach concepts, sometimes even correcting their grammar so they know how to correct their kids. Most of the time, I also take on the role of counsellors teaching parents how to best manage their children to ensure both academic and non-academic performance. I will also not hesitate in telling them to put less focus on grades and give the child more exposure in the outdoors and other interests.

It is true that certain parents are overdoing it. They deprive their children of their needed childhood. However, see it this way, if you are not performing at work, are always producing results that are mediocre compared to your co-workers and your boss does not show much interest in you, would you feel happy about your work and wish to focus instead on travelling and enjoying yourself outside of work? Children are sensitive to their own achievements and how others see them. To ask them to ignore their inability to perform is equivalent to asking them to “switch off” for the entire 8 to 10 hours in school and only “switching on” again to enjoy playtime and childhood after school. Human beings are competitive by nature because it’s innate in us to want to progress as a species, as a civilisation. Children, unfortunately, cannot ‘switch’ on and off as easily as adults and tuition, therefore, is the saving grace to help them regain their confidence in school and increase their self-esteem.

Tuition, if to be seen as an evil, is a necessary evil that helps children reach their maximum potential. However, evil as it is, it also helps to boost a higher confidence level in learning and in life. Furthermore, it helps to comfort parents in areas where they need assistance with. Of course, I don’t speak for all tuition teachers and centers but neither do articles that try to cast a shadow on this industry.

Calling all parents whose children are receiving tuition, do not be ashamed by these “forces” that wants you to stop stressing your kids. Be a proud parent who is genuinely seeking help for your child just as you would when they are having a cold.